Sweets Cafés

The country's first café opened in Tokyo in the late Meiji era. It was modeled after a salon in Paris, France. Today, the term "café" or Kissaten (coffee shop) is used to describe any place where you can have beverages and light meals. At a typical café, coffee and tea as well as such food as pancakes are served while some also serve alcohol. Cafés are used as venues to hold business talks or have a nice chat with friends. Today in Japan, not only will you find Japanese coffee shop chains but also many of those from overseas such as Starbucks.
Moreover, there are cafés called "Fukugo Cafés" where services other than eating and drinking are offered. Such examples are "internet cafés" where you can use the internet and "Manga-kissa" where many types of Mangas are found. In many cases, such Fukugo Cafés are membership-based.
Wagashi are Japanese traditional sweets. Just like Japanese tea, they were introduced from China. Wagashi are considered to be savored with Japanese tea and have developed not only in terms of how they taste but also how beautiful they appear. In the Edo era, the Wagashi technique greatly developed as Kyoto-based "Kyo-gashi" and Edo-based (present-day Tokyo) "Kami-gashi" competed against each other.
Wagashi are characteristic of expressing the seasons. For example, summer Wagashi are made with Kuzu to make them look refreshingly cool and translucent. There is a type of Wagashi called Kogei-gashi that are made to appear especially detailed. Using edible Wagashi ingredients, some of them express the world of Kachofugetsu (aestheticism of creating and valuing beautiful nature and scenery). Today, you can enjoy tasting Wagashi at Wagashi stores and Japanese-style cafés called Kanmidokoro.
Yogashi (literally, "western confectionery") is a term used to describe sweets that have been introduced from western countries. They, too, are extremely popular in Japan. The ones especially loved are Italian and French sweets. You will also find many patisseries in Japan. Moreover, Yogashi featuring Japanese ingredients such as green tea and Azuki beans are also very popular.