Chef Owner Yossy Yoshida
The rainbow flag flies high and proud outside Colori Caffe, an Italian restaurant on Senbon-dori, one of Kyoto’s oldest streets. Unknown to most locals, the flag is a symbol of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) pride, and businesses that are queer-friendly. “International visitors to Kyoto sometimes drop in to ask me if this area is Kyoto’s gay village”, laughs Colori Caffe’s owner and chef, Kaori ‘Yossy’ Yoshida. “I like to think the rainbow flag makes it easy for everyone, queer or straight, to come inside and eat some pasta,” she says.
When 32 year old Yossy opened Colori (meaning ‘colours’ in Italian) five years ago, she says that she had the idea of making a queer-friendly café, but mainly wanted to concentrate on getting her business started. Though she has never been to Italy, or formally studied Italian cooking, Colori has gained a reputation for its extensive and innovative pasta menu, delicious salads, and good coffee. The café interior is smart and comfortable with large leafy plants. Mementos of New York, Yossy’s favourite city, nestle in corners, and soul music often plays in the background. In summer, the café’s long windows are opened out onto a side alleyway, making it an airy, European-style space.
"I like to think the rainbow flag makes it easy for everyone, queer or straight, to come inside and eat some pasta”
What makes Colori even more unique though, is that in the last year, it has become a hub for the lesbian community in Kyoto. This April marked the one year anniversary of “The L Night”, an event for lesbian and bi-sexual women in Kansai who enjoy watching the American TV drama series, “The L Word”. At the first event, more than 40 women crammed into Colori – which usually seats 16 – and enjoyed a buffet of Italian food, whilst images from the The L Word were projected onto the café walls.
Since then, Yossy and her friends have hosted five more successful L Night events. Yossy says that most party-goers find out about the event through Mixi, the social networking site. They are usually in their twenties and thirties and from all over Kansai. Nearly half are repeaters and many have been to every event. “Some come for romance or friendship. Others, especially those who aren’t ‘out’ yet need a place to go where they can be open about and feel comfortable with their sexuality,” Yossy explains. According to her, there is only one lesbian bar in Kyoto, which is difficult to find and rather ‘closed’. “Colori has windows, and I want foreign women in Japan to be able to come here easily,” she says.
Why is The L Word so popular in Japan? Yossy thinks that it particularly appeals to Japanese lesbians because it shows a fashionable and stylish world where women are strong and successful. “There’s nothing like it on Japanese TV, where the only sexual minorities you tend to see in dramas are transgender characters,” she says. Yossy herself has been inspired by the café which appears in the show called The Planet, an eatery and event space that is open and accepting of all sexualities.
Yossy is delighted that The L Night has been a success with the lesbian community. “What I’ve learned from doing The L Night events is there are so many different kinds of lesbians. They work in a variety of jobs and have different ideas and experiences, but they all appreciate having a place to meet and relax, “ she says.
More details at Colori Caffe’s website
