Japanese cafe owner posts handwritten letter in Korean thanking visitors who came first after COVID-19

A cafe owner in a small Japanese city has gone viral after posting a handwritten letter in Korean thanking Korean tourists for being the first customers to visit after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The post, titled "A note on the wall of a restroom at a cafe in a small Japanese city," spread across social media and online communities Thursday.

Photos showed a handwritten letter in Korean affixed to a wall inside a cafe in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture.

Written in unsteady script, the letter said the owner had struggled with a lack of customers immediately after opening the cafe due to the pandemic. "But the first people to visit after COVID-19 were Korean," the owner wrote.

"Many Korean visitors have continued to come to our cafe since then and have shown us so much love," the letter continued. "I am truly grateful for all the support from Korean visitors and will work even harder. I love all the Korean visitors who come to see us."

As Korean tourists increasingly venture beyond major Japanese cities into smaller towns, Matsuyama has emerged as a popular destination. The cafe in particular has built a reputation among Korean visitors as a couple-run spot that opens early and is well suited for breakfast.

One user who said they had visited wrote that the owner's warmth had spread by word of mouth, making the cafe a stop on many Matsuyama itineraries. "I wouldn't call it an absolute must, but it's a decent place for bread and coffee in the morning — worth a visit if the timing and route work out," the user wrote.

Another user recommended it, noting a Google rating of 4.8 and opening hours from 7:30 a.m. "It's the perfect cafe for Korean travelers who like to get moving early," the user wrote.

Meanwhile, about 8.26 million Korean nationals visited Japan from January through September this year, a 21.6 percent increase from the same period last year and a record high, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Koreans accounted for 26.9 percent of the roughly 30.73 million foreign visitors to Japan during the same period.

Korean visitors spent a combined 293.8 billion yen ($1.86 billion) in Japan from July through September, up 45.8 percent from a year earlier. Per-capita spending over the period was estimated at 113,959 yen.