Time has stopped.
Kissa Keishoku Mikado TEXT/YUSUKE TOKOSHIMA, PHOTO/NAOKO TAKAHASHIA vividly orange tent-fabric awning. A classic logo with a charming flowing script, and retro green curtains. This is what it must mean to say “time has stopped.” Kissa Keishoku Mikado has kept this same appearance for 45 years since opening. Mama Tsukamoto has quietly watched the tides of a turbulent era pass by. The name “Mikado” is said to come from combining the characters for “flavor,” “aroma,” and “sound” — a wish for guests to slowly savor the taste and aroma of coffee alongside music. Records and wired radio broadcasts once played classical music here; today, a television set in the corner of the counter quietly murmurs instead.
Every piece of the interior is heavy and full of character, hinting at the shop's former glory. There's a small counter and several box seats, in a fairly spacious layout. At its peak, the shop was so busy that extra chairs had to be brought out. There were always four or five part-timers on staff, with customers coming in from the 8:30 AM opening straight through until around midnight. As a kissaten, a restaurant, and a bar all at once, the shop played different roles depending on the customer and the time of day. Today Tsukamoto runs it alone, closing just three days a month. She still has plenty of regulars who visit often. "When I think someone might come in, I can hardly bring myself to take a day off, let alone quit," she says, with a dignified look on her face.
Even an ordinary cup of coffee here becomes something moving, thanks to the atmosphere, the aroma, and Tsukamoto's words all coming together. In hot weather, she makes hiyamugi (chilled wheat noodles) for 480 yen — richer and more full-bodied with dashi than its appearance suggests. The shop's matches, whose exact age Tsukamoto herself has forgotten, are a small masterpiece, radiating both cuteness and Showa-era nostalgia. "Young women always want them," she says, sounding a little pleased. Showa lives on in this corner of the city. Simply visiting is worth it.
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