The archetypical kissaten (traditional coffee shop) would probably be a cozy neighborhood joint with faded '60s decor, one of those vintage pink pay phones that only take ¥10 coins and a couple of elderly customers smoking furiously as they squint over their newspapers.
If you look in the right places, though, you'll find a few opulent relics scattered around the capital that have strived to be something more — something truly fabulous. These parlors of pomp may have taken inspiration from the storied coffee houses of Vienna and Budapest, but the pleasures they evoke are distinctively Japanese.
If you didn't experience the heady excesses of the '80s bubble era firsthand, Tokyo's classier kissaten offer the next best thing. And if you did — well, consider it a trip down memory lane.
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