This small family café for “serious” coffee aficionados opened in October 2012. Since 2017, they’ve been using beans from Fuglen, and before that, they used beans from Weekenders, where the owner-barista, Yu Nakashima, often visited as a customer before opening his own place. He liked the atmosphere and concept at Weekenders, but particularly the business model, where a husband and wife each work in the same establishment, albeit with their own specializations.

Since Akatsuki opened, Nakashima has been in charge of coffee, while his wife handles the pastries. This led to unexpected results: at one point, demand for pies surpassed the demand for coffee, and their advanced Synesso espresso machine became simply unnecessary. As a result, seven years after the café’s opening, Nakashima switched to a Linea Mini and passed the Synesso on to Style Coffee, which opened that same year.

For espresso, Nakashima only uses single origin beans, but with a slightly darker roast than for drip coffee. The reason is the high fat content of Japanese milk commonly used in the industry; Nakashima believes it’s better suited for a darker roast, as lighter roasts require more expensive milk, which would drive up the cost of the coffee.

Although many coffee shops in Japan position themselves as a second place for work, laptops are not allowed in Akatsuki. While this may seem a bit Luddite, Nakashima insists that a computer detracts from enjoying the taste of coffee, much like cigarettes would. A café for “serious” coffee lovers, as promised.