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All Japan Kyoto Starbucks Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya
Gastro Obscura

Starbucks Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya

This Kyoto Starbucks takes coffee drinkers back in time.

Kyoto, Japan

Added By
Anne Ewbank
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  Christopher Jue / Freelance Photographer
  Christopher Jue / Freelance Photographer
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  Kanesue
  CoolCrab / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Most Starbucks outlets worldwide (at 31,000 and counting) masquerade as homey neighborhood coffee shops, circa Seattle in the '90s, featuring earth tones and armchairs. But at the Kyoto Starbucks Coffee Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya, the decor takes an earlier era as inspiration, evoking the centuries when Japan's merchant class lived in wooden townhouses, known as machiya. Kyoto is famous for retaining the greatest number of Edo-era (1603–1868) machiya, which, after a long period of disfavor, are now appreciated for their elegant, comfortable designs.

In 2017, Starbucks opened a store on Ninenzaka, the historical road leading to the Kiyomizu-dera Temple, a massive tourist attraction. It's no surprise that the coffee giant would want to open there, as the sloped street itself is a draw, lined with handsome historical houses and shops.

To fit in, Starbucks set up shop in a two-story, 100-year-old machiya. Curtains at the entryway and lanterns on the exterior display the Starbucks mermaid, while inside next to the counter, an austere Japanese garden floods the insides with light. While the menu is fairly typical, customers can either sip at tables on the ground floor or ascend to the second, where elegant scrolls line the walls and tatami mats and cushions line the floors. Sitting on them requires removing one's shoes, an act that would probably be forbidden at any other Starbucks on Earth.

Related Tags

Coffee Shops Beautiful Fast Food

Know Before You Go

This Starbucks has subtle signage, so be careful not to walk right past it.

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Community Contributors

Added By

Anne Ewbank

Edited By

CoolCrab

  • CoolCrab

Published

January 14, 2020

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Sources
  • https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2017/stunning-starbucks-stores-around-the-world/
  • https://matcha-jp.com/en/4652
  • https://www.google.com/maps/place/Starbucks+Coffee+Kyoto+Ninenzaka+Yasaka+Chaya/@34.9982974,135.7806895,57m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m15!1m9!2m8!1sstarbucks!3m6!1sstarbucks!2sMasuyacho,+Higashiyama+Ward,+Kyoto,+605-0826,+Japan!3s0x600108d010b2ebe3:0xb550749830970e70!4m2!1d135.7814265!2d34.9985825!3m4!1s0x600108c576734771:0xe4825fbf3b1b9a79!8m2!3d34.9982954!4d135.7807953
Starbucks Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya
349 Masuyacho Kodaiji Minamimondori Shimokawara Higashi Iru
Higashiyama-ku
Kyoto, 605-0826
Japan
34.998301, 135.780801
Get Directions

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Photo of Kyoto

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