Hōkōdō Kahi is descended from a Kyoto tea house that set up in Kobe in the early Meiji period and began importing Indian coffee beans. In 1878 it advertised coffee as a drink in the newspaper, the evidence on which it calls itself Japan's oldest coffee shop.
Why it's unique
The shop's claim rests on an 1878 newspaper advertisement for coffee as a drink, which makes it the earliest documented seller of coffee to drink in Japan. It is not the first café: Tokyo's Kahiichakan (1888) is usually given that title.
What makes the visit worth it is that the shop still makes coffee the Meiji way, ground on a stone mill, and still sells tea at the front, the giveaway that this was a tea merchant first.
Before you go
Order the "Rintarō", ground on a stone mill as in the Meiji period and made in a French press. The stone grinding keeps the beans cool and gives an uneven grind that is brighter than you expect. Ask for the pot (about two cups) for a small supplement.
The tea side of the business still runs at the front of the shop, which is the giveaway that this was a tea merchant first.
