Masahiro Kaneko and his wife Ayumi started Weekenders Coffee as a cafe in Kyoto's Sakyo ward in 2005 before shifting focus mainly to roasting from 2011, making them early pioneers of the specialty movement in a city steeped in traditional kissaten culture. The Tominokoji cafe, opened in 2016 in a renovated ground floor machiya townhouse tucked behind a coin parking lot, operates a deliberate for here only policy with no takeaway cups, insisting that coffee be experienced in the moment and the space. A second location, Weekenders Coffee Roastery, opened in 2019 and operates exclusively on weekends, featuring a garden courtyard with trees and wind chimes that feels like a hidden retreat within the city. Kaneko roasts light to medium profiles that champion natural taste, producing a signature sweetness even from washed coffees with a tea like body and long finish that has made Weekenders arguably the most well known specialty roaster in Kyoto. The roastery regularly hosts cupping sessions attended by international visitors and industry professionals from the Osaka area, reinforcing Weekenders' role as both a destination and a gathering point for the broader Kansai specialty community.