In Japan's old port towns, foreign merchants and diplomats built Western-style houses from the late 1800s on, and some of them now serve tea in their old rooms. Sit by a tall window with a pot of tea and a slice of cake, and take your time. Popular tearooms can have a line, so a weekday or an early start is easier.
A tearoom in a white house with arched windows on Yamate, the hill above Yokohama's port where foreign residents once lived. Homemade cakes come with a pot of tea, served in rooms that still feel like a family home. It is a short walk uphill from Motomachi-Chukagai Station.
A tearoom inside the former British Consulate in Hakodate, on the hillside of old churches and consulates above the harbor. Sit among antique furniture brought from England with tea and cake, or order the afternoon tea set. Last orders are at 4 pm, so come in the afternoon with time to spare.