Between Jazz and Cigarette Smoke – Tokyo’s Old Coffeehouse Culture

In a city that rewrites itself each decade, a few rooms still resist the clock. Behind fogged windows and heavy curtains, the air smells of roasted beans and tobacco; a record hums faintly through the static. These are Tōkyō’s kissaten 喫茶店 — traditional coffeehouses that survive on ritual, reputation and the quiet loyalty of regulars.