A runner’s guide to Kyoto, Japan 🇯🇵
Masahiro Kaneko began WEEKENDERS COFFEE before Kyoto had a specialty coffee scene, before specialty coffee was a thing really anywhere. Inspired at that time by the coffee scene abroad, WEEKENDERS opened a roastery in 2011.
On the phone several weeks ago discussing Filter, Masahiro said, “Mine will probably be about running.” Filter is the travel guide made by baristas who actually live there, intentionally subjective and driven by the person, and Masahiro’s guide is a treasure of yet-unknown trails and quiet moments in Kyoto.
Masahiro Kaneko founded WEEKENDERS COFFEE with his wife in 2005. Photos by Shungo Takeda
Filter: What do you like to do for fun around Kyoto?
I like running in the morning before work as feeling the clear morning air gives me a good start to the day.
The Kamogawa River is a great running course, especially in the morning. It's nice to notice that the position and time of the sunrise change slightly every day. For me, it is very important to take time to face myself as the plants and scenery around me are constantly changing.
Filter: If a good friend came to visit, where would you be sure to take them?
My favorite places are the Kamogawa River and the Higashiyama area around Kiyomizu Temple.
When you visit these places, you can feel the nature and atmosphere of being in Kyoto.
One of my recommended places to visit Kyoto is actually an incense shop where you can buy for personal use or as a gift. It is called Lisn.
As for restaurants, we recommend going to Owariya, one of Kyoto’s oldest shops serving good soba and soba mochi. Tatsumi is a good place if you would like to experience being in a local izakaya.
Filter: What do you like to do to escape the city? Are there any tips people should know before trying these?
Going to Fushimi Inari and Mt. Daimonji. It is best to go there early in the morning to avoid crowds.
Filter: What touristy things in Kyoto are worth the hype?
Filter: Where are your favorite quiet corners there?
I think Mt. Atago located northwest of Kyoto and Kibune River to the north are wonderful.
Of course, you can feel the spirit of craftsmanship in temples and shrines in Kyoto, but for these two areas, lush nature remains. You can also immerse yourself in what nature has to offer when you take your time exploring these places.
Filter: What's another coffee shop around there that you really admire, and what about them stands out to you?
The cafe called COYOTE The Ordinary Shop is doing a really good job in serving El Salvador coffee and really embodies the movement "from seed to cup.”
Filter: What makes Kyoto feel most like home to you? Why do you think that is?
More than half of my life has been spent in Kyoto. This city is a basin surrounded by mountains, that's why the summers are horribly hot and the winters are cold, but that in itself is endearing. Since Kyoto is a smaller city than Tokyo or Osaka, when I look up, I can see the vast blue sky. Also, you can go anywhere in this city with just one bicycle ride.
Additionally, from the moment we opened our coffee shop in Kyoto, people from all over the world came to drink coffee and buy beans which made us continue to do what we love. That is why for me, what is required also leads to the meaning of existence.
All these feelings summed up makes me feel like Kyoto is home.
Fushimi Inari.
Filter: How did you end up in the Kyoto coffee scene?
I was born in Fukushima, Japan and started my life in Kyoto in 1997 as a university student. We started WEEKENDERS COFFEE in 2005, but at that time, the terms barista and specialty coffee were not well known, and the coffee scene that we have today did not exist. Particularly in Kyoto, where traditional coffee shops and dark roast coffee were the norm, we had no choice but to grope our way to create our own coffee.
While experiencing American, London, and Nordic coffee, I became fascinated with light roasted coffee and began roasting the same.
Filter: Can you share about your role at WEEKENDERS?
My wife and I started in 2005. I started roasting coffee in 2011, and until now, I source the green beans from origin, roast them, and continue to serve coffee at the shop.
Filter: If you could move to any place in the world just for the coffee scene, where would you move, and what shop would be the biggest reason?
If I were to move, it would be to Huila, Colombia. I have been to this area several times for buying green beans. Since it has a unique micro-climate, it has the potential for great coffee.
Another place would be moving to Oslo, Norway, since Tim Wendelboe is there.
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WEEKENDERS COFFEE operates one cafe and one roastery in Kyoto, Japan.
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