Starbucks Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Tea House
The global coffee shop chain gets really innovative in Kyoto
Houses in an old two-story wooden house (pictured above) in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto, this branch of Starbucks is truly unique. The Starbucks logo on the shop front is very modest, engraved in a small wooden plate. Once inside, you only see the counter where you order a cup of coffee (or matcha green tea latte). You’ll then be told to walk ahead to the end of the narrow corridor for receiving your order:
This reminds me of the floor plan of 16th-century Japanese tea houses where guests would walk through a narrow passage between houses to reach the tea room with a little back garden where the host greets you. This style is still seen in many upmarket Japanese cuisine restaurants across Japan. But it is certainly unexpected for the worldwide coffee shop chain.
Once you receive the order in a room facing a little back garden in historical Japanese style, you can walk up the narrow wooden staircase. The upstair floor is littered with several small rooms where customers take off shoes to sit on the floor, the true Japanese style of relaxing at home:
From the room at the farthest end, you can see through the circular window that exposes the bamboo lath (a common feature of the historical tea house) the kimono-clad tourists walking up on the stone-paved slope towards Kiyomizu-dera Temple nearby.
When leaving the tea house, you’ll be greeted by a lighting installation made of Japanese rain chains (decorative rain gutters), hanging from the top floor to the ground floor:
The ubiquitous coffee chain could completely be out of place in a tourist-busy corner of the historical city of Japan. Offering a unique and playful space inspired by the authentic Japanese tradition, Starbucks manages to stay relevant among the tourists seeking out the memorable experiences.
No wonder this branch of Starbucks was chosen among Best 100 of Good Design Award 2018.
