Owning a business allows for few true days off. It’s understandable, then, that independent shops close on national holidays—especially today, Keirō no Hi, Respect for the Aged Day, when many of Japan’s small eateries and stores are run by people well past retirement age.

The same holds for kissaten. My planned stop in Higashi Ueno was closed, so I came to Coffee Shop Galant, an old-school kissa across the intersection in the main part of Ueno. The room is wide and theatrical, featuring faux red brick and marble, burgundy vinyl banquettes, and electric candle chandeliers and candelabras throughout.

A queue formed at the door; the patrons were primarily young, well-dressed Japanese individuals, mostly in groups or pairs. It should be possible to draw some of these retro seekers away from guidebook favourites and toward the city’s many equally nostalgic but overlooked kissa. Among that crowd, I wonder if young entrepreneurs might recognise the real business opportunity in taking over these cafés from ageing owners, as Galant’s brisk trade makes clear.