Tokyo's Suginami Ward is making a name for itself as an area where senior citizens can meet at least once a month and chat over a cup of coffee, tea or cocoa at a private home or assembly hall converted into a makeshift cafe by volunteers.

Five such cafes, named "kizuna (bonding) salons" because they are designed to promote bonds of friendship, were operating in the ward as of October, according to the Suginami Ward social welfare council. Three more are expected to open by April.

Most of the cafes open once a month, but at least one of them is available once a week.

Kazuko Ito, 54, who lives in a residential area a short distance from a bus stop, is the manager of Asagaya Kita Kizuna Salon, which she opened at her home in September.

She operates the cafe from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the second Sunday of every month. It is equipped with two tables and 15 chairs. On sunny days, she sets the chairs up in front of the entrance to her house. She bought the chairs with a support fund she received from the social welfare council.

Her peers in the neighborhood come to her house and start preparations 30 minutes before the cafe opens. Coffee, tea and cocoa are on the menu for 100 yen a cup -- a fee, Ito said, that goes to the cafe management cooperation fund.

Elderly wheelchair users exchange greetings with other senior citizens, and snacks brought in by staff and customers alike sit on the tables.

By the time Japanese green tea is served, the cafe is bustling with people and it's difficult to tell which are the customers and which are the staff. Also mingling are cats and dogs, brought along by their owners.

"I'd like to see elderly people who are living alone come to our place," Ito said. "But it's very hard to entice them to come in."

She said such senior citizens would have a chance to talk to and get acquainted with other people.

She hopes news of the cafe spreads by word of mouth, drawing more people in.

A few kilometers away, Kugayama Kizuna Salon offers mini-handicraft sessions in addition to tea and a chance to chat.

Eikichi Nakajima, 78, and his friends, who completed a Japanese cedar handicraft course offered by the Suginami Ward Office, opened the salon in a condominium's assembly hall in May.

Nakajima says his group plans to hold other functions such as concerts and tea ceremonies to ensure customers keep coming.

Meanwhile, Emiko Kajiwara, 51, has been running Koenji Kizuna Salon once a week since October 2000, using a room in a nursing center for the elderly.

Asked if she has hopes of keeping the salon going for a long time, she said that even if she can't, she has friends who are willing to help her.