Spoon & Tamago - japanese art, design and culture

Donuts are having a moment in Japan right now. In a land that’s been dominated by Mister Donuts for as long as I can remember, the country is suddenly seeing a numerous artisnal donut shops, both domestic and from abroad, pop up in major cities. The most recent is Koe Donuts, which opened in Kyoto in March.

Koe Donuts is located right by Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu-kyoto Line. And with an emphasis on organic, natural and local, you’ll find a scrumptious line-up of donuts that are decadent but also brimming with the original flavors of their simple ingredients: flour, milk, eggs, sugar and of course cooking oil. The milk and eggs are sourced locally and the flour is made in-house each morning in their “powder factory” which can be observed through the glass-separated open kitchen.

And with an emphasis on design, the shop brings together the architectural talents of Kengo Kuma, the artistic direction of Shun Kawakami and the illustration work of Yu Nagaba. For the interior, Kengo Kumo sourced local bamboo to create over 550 traditional bamboo-woven baskets that create a warm dome within the space and balance the minimal concrete walls.

Koe Donuts is open daily from 8AM – 10PM. Here’s the exact location in Google Maps.

Operated by Stripe International, Koe Donuts is the latest venture under the Koe brand, which includes the Koe Hotel that opened last year in Tokyo. Meaning “voice” in Japanese, the Koe brand is meant to create a link between Japanese culture – fashion, urban design and food – and project that voice into the world in various forms.