Smart Coffee
Kawaramachi, Kyoto
- Daily
- 8:00 to 19:00
The upstairs lunch room serves 11:00 to 14:30 (last order) and is closed on Tuesdays.
Source: smartcoffee.jp, checked 11 Oct 2026.
Smart Coffee, on Teramachi just north of Sanjo, opened in 1932 as Smart Lunch, and it still roasts its own beans the way it did then. Downstairs is the coffee shop, with hotcakes, French toast and egg sandwiches at ¥800 to ¥850, and upstairs is a lunch room serving Western-style plates.
Insider tip
A hotcake or French toast set with coffee is ¥1,400. The upstairs Smart Lunch is ¥1,500 for two mains, and you can book it by phone on weekdays only. No smoking anywhere since April 2020.
What the guides say about Smart Coffee
20. Breakfast in an old coffee house. Inoda Coffee opens at 7:00 and serves its Kyoto Breakfast until 11:00 (¥1,890), with the coffee's milk and sugar already in. Smart Coffee on Teramachi opened in 1932 and does hotcakes from 8:00. The where to eat guide covers lunch and dinner.
What's on near Smart Coffee
Upcoming events within a ten-minute walk of Smart Coffee, from the weekly Kyoto events calendar.
Pumpkin Memorial Service at Kyoto Yada-dera
かぼちゃ供養
Time From 10:00
Visitors stroke a pumpkin that has been blessed in the main hall to pray against illness, in a winter solstice tradition at the temple on Teramachi.
Kyo no Satoyama Marche
京の里山マルシェ
Time 10:30 to 15:30 Station Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae Station (Tozai Line), right next to it
Eleven mountain communities of northern Kyoto sell local goods such as rice cakes, honey, pickles, vegetables and charcoal. A relocation advice desk needs no booking.
New Year's Eve Bell at Seigan-ji
誓願寺 除夜の鐘
Time From about 23:00 Station Shijo-Kawaramachi, 8 min walk
Numbered tickets are handed out from about 23:00 in front of the Shinkyogoku gate, for 108 groups of two or three people.
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY-SA 4.0 Setsubun Service at Seigan-ji
誓願寺 節分会
Station Shijo-Kawaramachi, 8 min walk
Setsubun at Seigan-ji with prayers, a dance offering and bean throwing.
Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert, CC BY-SA 4.0 Mi-gawari Fudo Saito Goma Fire Rite at Hoju-ji
身代不動尊採燈大護摩供
Time Goma rite from 14:00 Station Bus Hakubutsukan Sanjusangendo-mae, 3 min walk
Masked tengu and red, blue and black demons dance in a procession before a large outdoor fire rite starting at 14:00, at the temple on the site of Emperor Go-Shirakawa's palace.
Smaller local events nearby
Kaneyo Yose rakugo night Performance
Last Monday of the month, doors 17:00, show 19:00. Next: Mon 26 Oct · Kyogoku Kaneyo, Kawaramachi
A monthly rakugo night upstairs at the Kyogoku Kaneyo eel restaurant on Rokkaku-dori, with Katsura school storytellers. Advance tickets are by phone only, and bookings for the next month open at 11:30 the day after each show.
3,000 yen, with a 3,000 yen meal voucher for the day · Doors 17:00, show 19:00 · Map · Source: Kyogoku Kaneyo · かねよ寄席
SUNSET SUNDAY at Kyoto City Hall Square Festival
Sun 1 Nov · Kyoto City Hall Square, Kawaramachi
Kyoto DJs and artists, jazz dancers, craft beer, sake, wine, local restaurants and food trucks on the City Hall Square. Admission is free and the day is cancelled in bad weather. A jazz after party follows at CLUB METRO.
Free · 15:00 to 20:00 · Map · Source: SUNSET SUNDAY · SUNSET SUNDAY
Live music nearby
Nearby
Around Kawaramachi
Downtown Kyoto, between Nishiki Market and the Kamo River
Kawaramachi is downtown Kyoto, the shopping streets round the Shijo-Kawaramachi crossing. The Teramachi and Shinkyogoku Arcades run north from Shijo-dori, Nishiki Market runs west from them, and east of Kawaramachi-dori the Takase canal and Pontocho squeeze in before the Kamo River. You'll come here to eat, mostly. Some of the tea, incense and paper shops date from the Edo period.
Kawaramachi has 26 places on the Roam Kyoto map: 5 shops, 4 cafes, 4 restaurants, 3 shrines and temples, 3 landmarks, 2 bars, 2 neighbourhoods, 1 park or garden, 1 market and 1 bathhouse. Read the Kawaramachi guide.
Good to know
- What is the address of Smart Coffee?
- 537 Tenshojimae-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto (in Japanese: 京都市中京区寺町通三条上る天性寺前町537).
- What are the opening hours of Smart Coffee?
- Daily 8:00 to 19:00. The upstairs lunch room serves 11:00 to 14:30 (last order) and is closed on Tuesdays.
- How do I get to Smart Coffee?
- The nearest station is Kyoto Shiyakusho-mae (Tozai Line). Smart Coffee is in Kawaramachi, Kyoto.
- How much does Smart Coffee cost?
- Smart Coffee is cheap, marked ¥ on the site's price scale.
- How long do you need at Smart Coffee?
- Plan for 45 min.
- When is the best time to visit Smart Coffee?
- Breakfast, from 8am.
Stay near Smart Coffee
Browse live availability and compare prices around Kawaramachi.
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