Sunday, October 11, 2026 : Lunch in 1904, Dessert by Candlelight
© 安岡喜晴 (JoyShine)
Today, on a clear autumn day, my wife and I went to the Former Main Building of the Kyoto Prefectural Office.
It's a Renaissance-style Western building, built in 1904, and it's still in use today as offices for the prefectural government.
It still looks the way it did when it was completed, and it's the oldest government office building in Japan that is still in use.
The cream-colored walls and gray roof stood out beautifully against the blue sky.
After that, we went into the cafe in the southeast corner of the first floor.
A wooden sign hung at the entrance, and the cafe's name included the year the building was completed, written in kanji numerals.
It's run by a long-established Kyoto coffee shop.
While we waited, we took a walk around the building.
Straight ahead was a grand staircase with marble banisters.
Light streamed in through the big windows, and beyond them we could see the green of the trees.
Inside, the cafe was a classic-looking room, with a red carpet and white walls.
The chairs and tables were ones once used in this building and in the former governor's residence.
On the table was a small call bell.
Artwork hung on the walls.
There was a painting of a dog with butterfly wings on its back, holding a tulip in its mouth, and another of white flowers blooming on golden clouds.
Branches of cotton were arranged in a green vase.
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First, we ordered curry.
After the meal, we had coffee and relaxed there until around 5 PM.
After that, we went west along Demizu Street and then north along Jofukuji Street, and there was a cafe in the middle of a residential area.
By the time we got there, the sun was starting to set, and the light spilling out of the windows looked warm.
Inside, it was dimly lit with candles and had a calm atmosphere.
We ordered drinks and cheesecake.
Both the amber-colored drink and the clear soda were topped with mint leaves.
The cheesecake came with plenty of fruit, like bananas and grapes.
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On the way home, we stopped by a hamburger shop inside a supermarket at the intersection of Horikawa Street and Marutamachi Street.
Curry and coffee in a Meiji-era Western building, then a break at dusk in a cafe lit by candles.
It was a relaxing day.