kissaten

Japanese Cafe: 喫茶店 (kissaten)

kissaten


【 喫茶店 (kissaten) 】cafe, coffee shop

The term comes from 茶を喫する (ちゃをきっする cha wo kissuru), a place to drink tea. 喫する (kissuru) means to drink, eat, smoke. Today we associate 喫茶店 (kissaten) with an old-fashioned cafe and カフェ (cafe) with a modern cafe, but 喫茶店 and カフェ had different cultures at different times.