Walden Woods Kyoto

Located in a quiet residential area between Kyoto and Gion station is the stylish ‘Walden Woods Kyoto’, Kyoto’s and maybe even Japan’s ‘whitest’ café.

The building Walden Woods is located in was built in the Taisho era (between 1912 ~ 1926) and was renovated in 2017 to what is currently Walden Woods. Walden Wood’s concept is based on the book Walden (Life in the woods) by Henry Thoreau, “a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings”.

Walden Woods is a spacious two-floor café with a white camouflage like pattern that stretches out over the entire façade. The entrance consists of glass sliding doors with drawings of forest animals, that can be slid open completely when the weather is good giving a panoramic view over the entire interior from the outside. The ground floor has a large counter where you can make your order, two white shelves with Walden Woods brand goods and has a small bench to sit down. The walls throughout the café consist of wafer boards that are painted white. On the right side of the café are stairs decorated with lanterns leading to the second floor.

The second floor of Walden Woods has an interesting and unique interior. Instead of tables, people can sit on wooden steps placed against the wall facing the center of the room, decorated with a row of lanterns on top. Standing in the center of the room is a single ‘white tree’, like the tree that can be found in Gondor, the fictional kingdom from Lord of the Rings. The lamps and all the tableware are 70 year old antiques imported from France.

The menu has a wide selection of coffees, chai and tea options as well as some soft drinks. For drip coffee they have a variety of blends including their own Walden and Walden wolf blends. They also sell delicious canele that go extremely well with the coffee.

Due to the unique interior design and it’s aesthetic feel, Walden Woods is an extremely popular café for instagrammers and tourists so we recommend visiting early.

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Early morning cafes in Kyoto