Fuglen Debuts Kyoto Coffee Bar with Paced Midcentury Modern Design

Fuglen opened its Kyoto coffee bar in December 2025 at 38-3 Shichiku Higashikurisucho, Kita Ward, on Kitayama Dori in the Shichiku neighborhood - a ten-minute walk from Daitoku-ji temple. The project is presented as a compact, street-facing coffee bar with a “Paced Midcentury Modern” aesthetic that the company says echoes the intimate scale of Fuglen’s original 1963 Oslo bar.

Fuglen frames the Kyoto shop as part of a careful, small-step expansion and a deeper engagement with Japanese cities where it now operates alongside locations in Tokyo and Fukuoka. Einar Kleppe Holthe, Fuglen founder and global director, said, “Fuglen has always developed by taking small, considered steps. Kyoto feels like a natural continuation of our journey, a place where time and quality are deeply respected. We look forward to seeing Fuglen Kyoto become a natural part of the neighborhood over time.”

The site occupies the former premises of a local Japanese confectionery shop that had a small factory in the back. Fuglen’s location page states, “Here, we took over the former site of a local Japanese confectionery shop that had a small factory in the back. With this coffee bar we want to offer a genuine Fuglen experience, in a space almost the same size as the original 1963 bar in Oslo.” Fuglen also thanked local partners Ami and Shin Mononobe, noting the couple had just acquired the building when discussions began; Ami is a jewellery designer and Shin runs a branding and design studio, and both maintain an office, atelier and jewelry shop in the same building as the coffee bar.

Design details center on a restrained Norwegian mid-century palette and material choices: a ribbed wooden bar, open shelving, low tables framing the coffee station, and warm lighting that Fuglen says is intended to respect the original structure’s character. Keiya Takahashi, Fuglen Japan CEO and director, said, “Kyoto has long been a great source of inspiration for us. We admire its centuries-old traditional cultures and values to protect old ways and incorporate them into modern life. We have always felt a strong synergy between Kyoto and our principles that celebrate history, heritage and craftsmanship.”

The street-facing layout includes transparent frontage, small table seating, bar counters and outdoor benches that reinforce the mid-century living room feel Fuglen describes. Operational hours are listed as open every day from 7:00 to 18:00, and the menu includes coffee, tea and pastries plus a small selection of beer and wine.

A LinkedIn post celebrating the opening added that the space was “furnished by Norwegian Icons,” a claim not otherwise confirmed in Fuglen’s location materials. Fuglen has signaled an intent to “connect and learn from Kyoto, drawing from the local culture” and to slowly build relationships with Kyoto craftspeople as it settles into the Shichiku neighborhood. The shop’s design and opening were featured in press coverage framing the project under the “Paced Midcentury Modern” description in mid-February 2026.