Next time you’re bumming around the touristy Teramachi shopping arcade in central Kyoto, look for a narrow white awning sandwiched between a lingerie shop and a real estate agency near the intersection of Teramachi and Shijo-dori. This is Otafuku Cafe (御多福珈琲).

Head downstairs and you’ll find a snug basement coffeehouse done up in dark wood paneling and boudoir-ish red velvet, its anachronistic vibe driven home with billows of cigarette smoke and soft, polite conversation. It’s all very Twin Peaks. Don’t be shy, though. Step right up to congenial owner Noda-san, a slow-drip star who has devoted more than a decade to perfecting his pour-over technique. The customers he knows by name are testament to just how tight his following is. This is why writers have devoted entire books to examining Japan’s coffee culture.

B1F Corona Bldg., 609 Teiannomae-cho, Teramachi Shijo-saguru, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan; +075-256-6788.