More unusual is the manga coffee shop. Manga (comic books) are part of Japan's cultural fabric. In the booksellers' quarter in Tokyo's Kanda Jinbo-cho district, there is a manga coffee shop called Tokyo Manga Tantei-dan. At last count, in November 2001, it had a collection of about 20,000 manga. The coffee is on the house—the amount on your bill depends on the length of time you spend there. It's OK to bring a ready-to-eat meal and have it there, with a manga in front of you, if you want. You can enjoy a pleasant time in your own way.

And then there are the over-the-counter coffee shops, which have experienced excellent growth. The pioneer of this style of outlet in Japan is a company called Doutor Coffee. It started operations in 1980 with just one outlet, listing prices at about half what the regular coffee shops were charging. Customers liked the price, and Doutor's fragrant coffees, too. The chain is concentrated in Tokyo and some neighboring prefectures, and had grown to 826 outlets by the end of November 2001.

An American coffee bar chain, Starbucks, came to Japan in 1996 and is well patronized, especially by the young crowd. It has developed its own niche, offering a fashionable atmosphere and many variations of espresso coffee.

Around the time over-the-counter coffee shops were expanding rapidly, other coffee shops were closing down, especially those under private management. According to a survey done by the Management and Coordination Agency, there were 94,251 coffeehouses in 1999, down from a highpoint of 154,630 in 1981.

Meanwhile, a new type of outlet called by the French-English name, "café," has recently become popular in cities. Cafés tend to reflect their owners' personal tastes in food, interior design and music. Customers come for the atmosphere. One such place is the Shichimencho Café in Tokyo's Minami-Aoyama district. The owner, Soma Chiemi, offers chairs, sofas and music that reflect her own tastes, and the meals are like home cooking—down-to-earth recipes that emphasize the ingredients. "I want to give my customers true comfort, in every sense of the word."

Coffee shops in Japan vary, and customers choose one type over another, depending on what they want to do there. But there's something that is common to all coffee shops, and that never changes—each one is an oasis of relaxation and comfort.