Why Coffee, Why Hayama

Why coffee? For me, it begins in New York in 1987.

While I was at NYU, I had my first truly memorable café latte at Caffè Dante on Greenwich Village. It was not just something to wake me up, but something to be savored. For the first time, I felt that coffee could be more than a drink — it could be an experience, shaped by aroma, temperature, and even the pause before the first sip.

Today, espresso and lattes feel completely familiar, but in Japan at that time, they were still far from everyday culture. That is why the experience stayed with me so strongly. It was the moment coffee became more than something to consume. It became something to appreciate with time, atmosphere, and attention.

Of course, I did not immediately think I would one day open a coffee shop. Life moved in other directions. I spent many years working as a photographer, traveling, and living a life shaped by motion. Motorcycles were an important part of that. By the age of thirty, I had ridden through all forty-seven prefectures of Japan, and I also took on the Dakar Rally. For me, motorcycles were never just a way to get around. They were a way of getting closer to the world — of feeling distance, weather, texture, and place more directly.

But knowing the joy of movement also teaches you the value of stopping. There are things you cannot see at speed, and certain feelings only return when you slow down. I think coffee has the power to create that kind of time.

After moving to Hayama, that feeling became even more natural. Hayama carries a rhythm that is very different from the city. The sea, the mountains, the wind, and the changing light are always close. Rather than pushing through the day, life here seems to move with the weather, the waves, and the air itself. Play and daily life exist side by side, and there is room to breathe without feeling that time is being lost. That sense of place is an important part of what FELICITY is.

Hayama is not only where we live. It is also a field for play and discovery. On the way to the sea, before heading into the hills, setting out on a motorcycle or bicycle, or coming back from a day outdoors — I wanted FELICITY to feel like a kind of gateway to that rhythm of Hayama.

The name FELICITY comes from kofuku — happiness — taken from Koufuku-Shokai, a well-known vintage motorcycle shop that once stood here. It is a small gesture of respect to the memory already rooted in this place, while also marking the beginning of something new.

What we hope to offer is coffee that creates a little space in everyday life. Inspired by the richness of espresso culture I first encountered in New York, and by the quiet care of the Japanese kissaten, we aim for a cup with depth, balance, and calm.

Coffee may not change a life in some dramatic way. But it can change the course of a day. It can reset your mind, deepen your breath, or create a moment to share with someone else. Sometimes, simply pausing for a moment lets you see things differently.

If FELICITY can become that kind of place within the air and rhythm of Hayama, then that would mean everything to us. And if each cup can lead, in its own way, to "a cup full of happiness," then all the better.

— Rowland Kirishima