KYOTO– Take off your shoes, cozy up on a tatami-floored room and drink in the iconic atmosphere of this ancient capital … with a cup of coffee at a new Japanese-style Starbucks.
The outlet, the first of its kind in Japan, is located along Nineizaka, a slope leading to the popular tourist destination of Kiyomizudera temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
A two-story wooden house of 270 square meters that was built more than 100 years ago and equipped with three tatami rooms is the new venue. It also provides ordinary table seats for nontraditionalists who don’t want to sit on the “floor,” and, of course, offers free Wi-Fi.
It’s difficult to miss the outlet as the traditional deep blue curtain hanging at the entrance features the Seattle chain’s not-quite-so-ancient mermaid logo.
Lines in front of the store are banned to give full consideration to the environment around the cafe.
Business hours are usually from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. but on the first day of June 30 it will open at 1 p.m.
Japan’s traditional city of Kyoto has a lot of things to offer, from beautiful view to historic sites. Now, it has one more things that will make you want to come to Kyoto: Starbucks coffee shop with tatami rooms.
Opened in the end of June 2017, this starbucks is built in a two-story Japanese home. The building is built more than 100 years ago and it is previously hosted traditional entertainers such as geisha. The shop is located near the famous tourist attraction, Kiyomizu temple and will face Ninenzaka, one of the popular streets near Kiyomizu with a lot of traditional shops.
In the second floor, there are three rooms with tatami that is traditionally used as a floor covering in Japanese homes. The customers will be asked to remove their shoes and sit on cushions. There are gardens in the front, back and center with tsukubai, or stone water basins.
The traditional architecture of this building will make you think that it is a usual building, but you will not be lost if you see the Starbucks logo.
Starbucks Coffee Japan will restrict visitor numbers during peak hours and not allow people to form lines in from of the shop to avoid disrupting the quite atmosphere in the area.
Source – Ji web