104：Chronology of Japan’s coffee history

It is said that coffee arrived in Japan around the year 1700, from Dutch traders operating in Dejima, Nagasaki.

Records show that Japanese people of the day felt coffee was bitter and unpleasant, and it failed to take hold in Japan until the end of national isolation.

Coffee started to spread throughout Japan in the Meiji period, together with a yearning for Western culture.

Since the opening of Japan’s first kissaten (Japanese-style coffee house) in 1888, Japan's coffee consumption has seen remarkable growth.

Despite a temporary halt during WWII, Japan has now evolved into one of the top coffee-consuming markets in the world.