The whole idea behind Neko Koneko, located on Liliha Street, started during a trip to Japan, according to Erin Yonamine, who owns the business with her husband, Jaron Hanus.
“We were sitting at a cat café, having coffee together, and started talking about creating a cozy, Tokyo-meets-Hawaii café,” she says. “We got home from that trip and mapped out a concept, having both a Japanese kei truck and a storefront. Even though we aren’t a cat café, we wanted to keep the ‘cat’ in the name to remember that trip.”
The business’s name derives from the Japanese words for cat (neko) and kitten (koneko). It officially opened in October 2021, and is influenced by the Japanese kissaten, or coffee and tea shop.
“It’s inspired by our love for travel, coffee and Japanese heritage, specifically the nostalgic feel and intentional design of Japanese kissa-culture,” Yonamine says. “Our vision was to create a space that feels like a warm, cozy living room; a place where people can connect, feel taken care of, and want to hang out and stay a little longer.”
The café’s décor and design were intentionally created by the husband-and-wife team. Customers’ experiences when visiting the café were vital, according to Yonamine.
“We wanted a perfect blend of retro and modern Japanese influences,” she says. “We were intentional about everything, from the lighting to the curated music playlists, books, plants, textures and art by local artists. We have a lot of trinkets in the shop, and nothing in the shop is random. Everything is purposefully chosen to evoke a specific feeling; a lot of the things in the shop are things we’ve collected from all of our trips.”
The cold brew coffee shop is known for its 16-ounce bottled drinks, which customers often pre-order for pick-up.
“We make all of the bottled drinks in-house daily and restock throughout the day, as we sell out,” Yonamine says. “We also have Japanese teas and kid-friendly selections.”
Signature bottled cold brews include Kuro ($8) — a black, unsweetened cold brew — Chairo ($9), a brown lightly sweetened cold berw, and Shiro ($9), a white chocolate cold brew.
“The Chairo is a bolder coffee profile; people like it because they feel like it’s a little stronger,” Yonamine says. “It’s just lightly sweetened and not overpowering. Our Shiro is going to be one of the sweeter cold brews on the menu.”
Other bottled options range from kinako, or roasted soybean ($9.50) and mocha ($9) to lychee rose ($9.50) and caramel macnut ($9.50). The latter is made with cold brew, macadamia milk, caramel, Ghirardelli chocolate and macnut syrup.
Other beverages include matcha or hojicha lattes ($9.50 each), ume iced tea ($9), s’mores iced hot chocolate ($9.50) and strawberry milk “Ichigo” ($9).
“Everyone has their favorites,” Yonamine says. “Now, during summer, the ume iced tea is really popular.”
The café also has a traditional menu with in-store drinks that come in 12- or 16-ounce cups. Some of the most popular beverages include the blueberry matcha latte (12 ounces $6.50, 16 ounces $7.50) and kinako milk (12 ounces $6.25, 16 ounces $7.50). The latter is a nutty blend of oat milk, kinako (roasted soybean flour), cane sugar and honey. The blueberry matcha latte features a blueberry lemon cream top.
Matcha and hojicha lattes are made with Uji matcha and hojicha from Kyoto, according to Yonamine.
“For the matchas, my favorite is going to be either the blueberry matcha or yuzu sparkling matcha,” she says. “Our kinako milk also has the option to add cold brew (for 25 cents). It’s super popular; we also have it as a bottle. Because it sells out often, we can do it in-store.”
As the business’s five-year anniversary comes up this fall, Yonamine says their biggest focus is how to grow and build their team.
“Because of our backgrounds, I’ve spent 15 years teaching, and Jaron has years of experience mentoring through his other businesses,” Yonamine says. “Personal development is a huge part of our culture. We enjoy training our team on things that go beyond just making coffee, focusing more on how we can challenge ourselves to be better humans every day.”
Yonamine explains that she and Hanus have been intentional about bringing on people who share their vision for the business.
“For us, it’s not just about teaching them how to make our drinks; it’s about mentoring them and growing together,” she says. “Neko Koneko’s mission is to craft thoughtful drinks and experiences that bring people together, and it starts with a team that makes you feel supported and gives you that sense of belonging.”
While the café doesn’t have a designated parking lot, metered street parking is available.
CONTACT
Neko Koneko
1658 Liliha St. Honolulu
nekokonekocafe.com
Instagram: @nekokoneko.cafe
Open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays to Thursdays, closed on Fridays
For the latest news of Hawai‘i, sign up here for our free Daily Edition newsletter.
Kelli Shiroma Braiotta can be reached at kelli@alohastatedaily.com.
