Starbucks Japan is Opening Up the Most Epic Store in a 100-Year-Old Teahouse

Starbucks customers in Japan were able to get a taste of the Cherry Pie Frappuccino back in April, and now the company is opening a new store in a century-old teahouse in Kyoto.

The new store is set to open its doors on June 30 in a converted Japanese teahouse that was built more than 100 years ago, according to SoraNews24.

It’s located on Ninenzaka in Kyoto’s Higashiyama district, a street that leads up a long slope to the Kiyomizudera Temple and through the Neon no Michi cobblestone road.

The original building went out of business in 2005 before it was sold to a taxi and limousine service in Kyoto.

Starbucks kept the traditional teahouse style intact, but added a more modern design to the interior, with an illuminated bar counter and views of multiple gardens.

Instead of the usual signage and colors, a deep greenish-blue traditional noren with the Starbucks mermaid printed in black is displayed at the entrance, so that potential customers passing by know that it’s an actual Starbucks.

After ordering coffee, customers can visit the second floor, where shoes must be removed before sitting down on zabuton cushions made with crepe fabric beautifully placed on tatami reed floors.

If drinking coffee is not your thing, Starbucks Japan offers a plethora of green tea beverages and snacks, including the Matcha Purin, or Matcha Pudding, which was also introduced at the beginning of April.

The Toyama Prefecture branch, which won the 2008 Store Design Awards for its glass-walled design, was dubbed the world’s most beautiful Starbucks. But it might see some competition when it comes to being Instagramable.

Images via starbuck.co.jp

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