Sip tea by a tiny garden in an old townhouse
Machiya are the old wooden townhouses of Kyoto, long and narrow, and many have a tsuboniwa, a tiny courtyard garden that brings light and green into the middle of the house. Some have become cafes where you sit facing the garden over matcha or tea and a sweet. They are in central Kyoto, a short walk from busy streets, and some ask you to take off your shoes at the entrance.
The tea room of Marukyu Koyamaen, a long-established tea maker from Uji, set in a Kyoto machiya with a small courtyard garden. Have fine matcha or a matcha roll cake while looking at the garden, then buy tea leaves in the shop to take home. It is closed on Wednesdays.
A machiya at the end of a narrow lane in Gion, where you take off your shoes and step up into rooms facing a courtyard garden of moss. From the window seats you can watch the garden change with the seasons. It is about 6 minutes on foot from Gion-Shijo Station on the Keihan Line.
A cafe in an old merchant house where kimono were once re-dyed, with a tatami room facing the courtyard garden in the middle of the building. It is down a quiet lane near the Kyoto Imperial Palace, so it pairs well with a walk in the palace park. It is closed on Sundays.
A cafe in a machiya about 100 years old, with a small courtyard garden inside the building. Have tea and a homemade tart while looking at the greenery. It is about 4 minutes on foot from Shijo Station on the subway, and you can reserve online.