Beware of bears!? A must-visit in Kyoto: an old townhouse turned forest-themed café

Photos & Text /Kavanagh

Ever since I read this article by netizen izzy, I’ve been eager to visit cafemarbleN. But because the café is located quite far from where I live, I kept putting it off until this year when I finally found the time to go. I remember that day was particularly beautiful weather, and we walked from Gion to cafemarbleN, passing through streets lined with traditional houses... everything felt so serene and peaceful.

Although I had checked the business hours in advance, I was still anxious along the way, worried that this quirky Kyoto café might have an unexpected day off. So when I finally reached the entrance of cafemarbleN and saw the signboard glowing... I felt a huge wave of relief.

The wooden sign at the entrance displays a simple menu and business hours.

Cafemarble is a café operated by a design company, and everything from the signage, icons, typography to the color scheme is filled with unconventional design flair.

The long wooden board painted blue is one of the two things that left the deepest impression on me about cafemarble (the other being the bear illustration on the café’s wall~).

As soon as you step inside, you’ll see cafemarble’s most iconic bear-themed illustration on the right-hand wall.

The illustration of a bear sitting and drinking coffee (?) is absolutely adorable. I’ve often seen this image in magazines, but seeing the real thing in person was such an emotional moment—it felt comparable to seeing the Mona Lisa smile in France for the first time.

We were the first guests of the evening that day, so we could take photos freely without disturbing other diners.

Having visited many Kyoto cafés converted from traditional townhouses, cafemarble has one of the most spacious interiors. Each seating area features different chairs, allowing guests to choose their favorite spot.

There’s also a small traditional Japanese garden at the back.

After taking a quick look around, we started ordering. The menu also features cute bear illustrations.

The menu offers a wide variety of choices.

That day we came for dinner. My friend ordered the curry (800 yen?). The curry was packed with ground meat and lentils, and the ingredients were well-cooked and flavorful—quite tasty, though the portion of rice might be a bit small for guys.

The curry came with a salad that had a lot of shredded carrots.

I ordered the beef sandwich, which also came with a generous amount of shredded carrots—very eye-catching indeed. Cafemarble is truly a very healthy café. In addition to the beef sandwich and salad, they also served half an egg.

The sandwich contained beef, lettuce, cheese, and mayonnaise—it was pretty delicious.

The tomato soup that came with the meal had a rich tomato flavor and tasted really good.

After finishing the main course, I browsed the menu again. The daily-changing cake looked quite appealing, so I decided to give it a try.

A pound cake (butter cake) topped with a large scoop of ice cream, drizzled with sweet sauce... definitely a calorie bomb. Though it was quite sweet, it was genuinely delicious.

【Cafemarble N瞎馑隆考br /> Business Hours: Monday to Saturday 11:30–22:00 (last order 21:30). Sunday 11:30–20:00 (last order 19:30)
Closed on Wednesdays.
Access: Take the Kyoto City Bus to “Shijo-Karasuma” Station and walk for ten minutes.
Address: 78, N瞎馑峦ǜ卟侄?毳胛髑邦?, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture