Violon

Food & Drink | KNOWING KISSATEN Mar 24, 2017

Tokyo's classical music cafes are time capsules for audiophiles

by James Hadfield

In this age of musical abundance, it's hard to fathom that an LP once cost the equivalent of a few days' wages in Japan. In the 1950s, audiophiles who couldn't afford to buy their own music did their listening at coffee shops known as ...

Food & Drink | KNOWING KISSATEN Feb 24, 2017

Tokyo's retro coffee palaces are in a class entirely their own

by James Hadfield

The archetypical kissaten (traditional coffee shop) would probably be a cozy neighborhood joint with faded '60s decor, one of those vintage pink pay phones that only take ¥10 coins and a couple of elderly customers smoking furiously as they squint over their newspapers. If you ...