Salon de thé François (1934) says that in 2003 it became the first kissaten registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property. The interior is the 1941 remodel modelled on an Italian ocean liner's saloon, done with the Italian Alessandro Benchivenni and the painter Takagi Shirō.
Why it's unique
The claim to be the first coffee house in Japan on the national cultural property register is the café's own, from its concept page; blogs repeat it and give 2002 or 2003, so it is attributed and confidence is lowered.
The history behind it is specific. The founder Tateno Shōichi opened it as a place to talk freely about ideas and art, and before the war it doubled as a meeting point for the left and for the anti-fascist magazine Doyōbi, whose illustrator painted the Seine scene on the wall.
Before you go
Order the coffee with cream and the cheesecake. No reservations, cash only: queue facing south along the wall, and they may ask you to give up the table after about two hours.
The founder Tateno Shōichi opened it as a place to talk freely about ideas and art; prewar it doubled as a meeting point for the left and for the anti-fascist magazine Doyōbi, whose illustrator painted the Seine scene on the wall.
Open 11:00 to 22:00 (food last orders 20:00); closed 31 December to 2 January only. No under-school-age children; no phone calls or long laptop use. Tel 075-351-4042.
