![]() Menu items are basically the same, so a tourist can just say, “triple grande hot soy latte,” for example, and staff will understand. Photo: Gianpiero Mendiniįor travelers, Starbucks is ideal because Japanese language proficiency isn’t required to order, and it’s a familiar sight from home. In Japan, Starbucks is popular for high school students, as well as salarymen. Starbucks’ prices hit the sweet spot between these two: affordable for those on a budget (their specialty drinks may actually be a bit cheaper than other countries), and not too low-cost for folks wanting something that feels a bit classy. The Japanese public tends to be wary of things that are too cheap, but also wants a good value for money. This universality is reflected in Starbucks’ price point, as well, which adds to their appeal. Starbucks Was a Place for EveryoneĪ quick stroll through a Starbucks in Japan reveals people from all walks of life: couples on dates, colleagues with laptops discussing business dealings, remote workers locked in place for hours on end, travelers staring at locals and checking directions on their phones, folks stopping for 10 minutes to jack into wi-fi on the way to the train station, students with scattered papers, pens, and most likely (let’s be honest) frappuccino in short, people from all walks of life engaged in any kind of personal or professional business at any time of day. ![]() As recently as July 2020, Starbucks has opened its fifth deaf-language store in the world, in Kunitachi, Tokyo. The truth is, Starbucks has always been a progressive, inclusive company, and Japan has taken notice. ![]() Other US names, such as McDonald’s, had already infiltrated Japan, and come to represent forward-facing social motion. Contrastingly, Starbucks was newer, hipper, and as an added bonus, it came from the United States. Starbucks was also completely smoke-free from the get-go, which proved a nice contrast to the smokey, musty atmosphere of kissaten, which even to this day are associated with older people and an older way of life. Starbucks sourced their beans from across the world, demanded a higher standard, and labeled their beans and brews according to the region (Verona, Guatemala, Columbia Ethiopia), which helped them appeal to coffee aficionados and everyday coffee drinkers alike. The products were consistent across locations, much like any chain establishment, and the quality was, in general, of a higher caliber than local kissaten. Starbucks was a mega-corporate chain that - due to some clever décor and image branding - felt like a personal, hometown coffee shop. Starbucks coffee shops are now a common sight in Japanese cities, here is Kagurazaka, Tokyo. These Showa-era institutions used to saturate Tokyo, and bit by bit were phased out as “ second wave” coffee shops spread through the global market: chains such as Starbucks, Tully’s, Costa (in the UK), and Dunkin’ Donuts (in the US). Essentially, kissaten are like tea houses, but for coffee. That is: simple and small coffee shops with quaint, wooden interiors and streamlined menus mostly consisting of basic, black coffee. The kissaten reigned in the days leading up to, and following, World War II. But when Starbucks launched in Japan, these things were completely novel. Nowadays, it’s easy to take certain aspects of Starbucks for granted: customizable orders, different drink sizes, different selections of milk, specialty drinks sold aside from regular, brewed coffee, and so forth. When Starbucks opened in Japan, it was the first coffee shop of its type in the country. So, what is it about Starbucks that’s so appealing to Japan? Starbucks Was the First Coffee Shop of its Kind in Japan This kind of growth simply wouldn’t happen without some real, powerful reason driving the connection between Starbucks and the Japanese public. In 2015, they stopped being a publicly-traded company, and have therefore stopped disclosing their financial records to the public, but it’s safe to assume that there’s no stopping Starbucks at any point in the near future. Since then, they’ve marched onward an assertive, confident expansion plan that has created 100 new stores a year. In 2013, they earned ¥125,666,000,000 (over $1.2 billion USD at the time of writing), and this was with 600 fewer stores in the country. Numbers don’t tell everything, but the rapid growth of Starbucks in Japan does explain a lot. ![]() There are over 1,600 Starbucks stores in Japan since it first appeared in Ginza in 1996. ![]()
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