Salon de thé François

Salon de thé François is recognizable by the soft glow of its gaslamp-style sign and a French-inspired exterior that stands out along the Takase River. Established in nineteen thirty-four by the labor activist Shoichi Tatsuno, this café was designed to be a sanctuary for free conversation and art during a period of increasing social tension. Tatsuno named the shop after the painter Jean-François Millet, whose work often celebrated the lives of ordinary people.