Hop between three time-capsule coffee houses
Junkissa are old-style Japanese coffee houses from the postwar decades, many still with velvet sofas, chandeliers and dim, warm lighting. In Ueno, Tokyo, three well-known ones sit a short walk apart, so you can order Neapolitan spaghetti, a ketchup-flavored pasta, at one and a cream soda, bright green melon soda topped with ice cream, at the next. Old coffee houses often prefer cash, so bring some yen.
A coffee house a few minutes from Ueno Station, lit by chandeliers and lined with velvet-covered sofas that have changed little in decades. The menu is the classic junkissa set, including Neapolitan spaghetti and cream soda. It closes on irregular days, so it is worth having a second shop in mind.
Kojo means old castle, and stained glass and stone walls make this coffee house feel like a hall in a European castle or a film set. It is a quiet, formal room for sitting a long while over coffee. It is closed on Sundays.
Oka, meaning hill, is a basement coffee house you reach down a grand spiral staircase. At the bottom, soft, moody lighting fills the room, and it feels like stepping into another world. It is a relaxed place to linger over a coffee and a chat.