Japan's social media-influenced youth have begun romanticizing an unknown vintage past as old-fashioned Showa-era cafes, featuring dimmed lighting and cozy furnishings, gain in popularity.
It is a nostalgia for a time and place they have never known directly, captured by the coined word "anemoia" describing their longing for this past era of understated elegance.
On weekends, customers line up not only in Tokyo but also at famous coffee shops in other parts of Japan, a trend driven by young people wishing to post their photos of this bygone era on Instagram and other social media sites.
One of the most popular cafes is Kojo (literally meaning old castle), located near Tokyo's Ueno Station and said to have been established in 1963. As the name suggests, its interior is designed to resemble a European castle, with gorgeous chandeliers and stained glass windows filling out the shop's decor.
"The experience was extraordinary, and the patterns on the mugs are really cute," said a 20-year-old female university student visiting from Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. "I'll process my photos and upload them to Instagram."
Kyoko Matsui, 77, Kojo's second-generation owner, said with a smile, "My father, the first owner, created the restaurant because he was fascinated by medieval Europe. We went through hard times when chain stores were pushing us out, but I'm glad that young people are coming today."
Rina Namba -- dressed in an elegant pleated gray dress and black beret reminiscent of the Showa era (1926-1989) -- is a driving force behind the recent boom.
She has visited more than 2,000 coffee shops nationwide, and published many books, including a recent photo collection of Showa-era cafes, which she also introduces on Instagram.
Speaking during an interview at Yuraku, an old-fashioned coffee shop in Tokyo's Asakusabashi district known for its many wholesale shops and stores that sell traditional Japanese dolls, Namba suggested that the appeal of retro coffee shops resulted from having unique decor and a "freshness" not seen in many big chain stores.
"Many of them are privately owned, and the owner's passion and thoughts are reflected in every corner of the shops, so no two shop spaces are the same. Here (at Yuraku), too, the space between the seats is wide, so you can spend your time comfortably," she said.
While attributing the boom to the power of social media, she added, "Although many people feel comfortable with the manualized chain stores, I think they feel a freshness in the old-fashioned coffee shops that are not like that."
Many famous retro cafes are disappearing due to aging owners and a lack of successors. But there are cases of young people with no family ties to the shops taking up the mantle.
In 2023, Miki Takenaka, 32, took over Suzuki in Kyoto's Higashiyama Ward, which had had loyal customers for 53 years -- reopening it as Toto-to.
Takenaka had been involved in the restaurant business and thought, "Someday I'd like to open my own shop."
When she heard from an acquaintance that the proprietor, who was in his 70s, was closing the coffee shop due to the coronavirus pandemic among other reasons, she went to check it out.
"I thought it would be sad to see the shop close because it was a place where locals gathered to relax," she said.
She kept the old-style cafe counter and tables the same as before, but introduced new menu items such as pudding. "I hoped to attract new customers while maintaining the Showa-era feel of the previous shop and the local clientele," she said.
In discussing the retro coffee shop craze, Namba suggested that "it would be fun to incorporate coffee shop tours into people's daily life, and not just as a passing phase. There are many little-known coffee shops, and I hope people will find their personal favorites."
© KYODO
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