Book Cafe élever

Book cafe élever is located inside a famous piece of architecture designed by Kazuyo Sejima, a member of the group of architects known as SANAA. The appeal of the building includes curves, light, and empty spaces. Featuring books and coffee, the cafe is, as it bills itself, “a little library with coffee.” The atmosphere of élever is always different whenever you visit. In the morning, rays of fresh sunlight stream in. Spend your afternoon here surrounded by books while gazing at a blue sky through an expansive window. At night, the window is like a frame that shows the light beyond as if it’s a painting. 

Taku Horiuchi, the owner of the cafe, operates another business as a hairstylist. To enrich the local community, he established the book cafe two years ago. Most of the books are donated and span genres. Élever means “to raise” in French. “People will raise this cafe up, including the collection of books,” he says. “And through that, they will be able to raise the quality of their time spent here, too.” This is a space where you can casually spend your time as you wish. Note that the usage fee for the book cafe is ¥600 (one order also required).