Nestled away on a side street just south of the busy intersection of Shijo and Kiyamachi streets, the Western facade of the Salon de the Francois cafe stands out amidst the traditional machiya wooden townhouses.
Inside, the Italian Baroque design, the classical music playing in the background, the old, slightly musty smell of the chairs, and the entire atmosphere evokes the cafe culture of the pre-Internet Showa Era, when people gathered in coffee shops to talk or read books and newspapers.
There are plenty of coffee shops and restaurants around Japan that invite nostalgia trips. But unknown to most customers is that Salon de the Francois is not merely another European-inspired coffee shop your parents or grandparents once visited. It's a Registered Tangible Property over 80 years old that, in its youth, served as one of the city's most important centers of anti-fascist opposition.