Our first look inside Starbucks' newest Japan outlet, in a 100-year-old townhouse
This is like no other Starbucks you've been to.
The American coffee giant is opening its latest outlet on Friday, in a century-old Japanese townhouse, complete with tatami rooms and hanging scrolls.
The store is located in heritage-filled Kyoto, near the Kiyomizu Temple, one of 17 UNESCO World Heritage sites in the former capital of Japan.
The new store is the 27th Starbucks in Kyoto, adding to its 1,260 other stores in Japan alone.
Mashable understands that Starbucks is renting the two-storey building, which previously housed traditional entertainers like geisha.
The townhouse faces Ninenzaka, a popular street for tourists that is lined with traditional shops.
It's been designed entirely to retain its traditional Kyoto townhouse feel, with gardens in the front, back and center outfitted like a traditional Japanese garden, with tsukubai, or stone water basins.
The second floor will feature three tatami rooms, two of which are original to the building.
Customers will have to take off their shoes before entering the room, and they'll sit on Japanese traditional cushions covered with locally made silk.
The rooms will also feature hanging scrolls mounted on locally-made kimono fabric, with Starbucks-themed prints on them.
Starbucks also has a bench for people who might not want to or be able to sit on the floor, to enjoy the townhouse's ambience in comfort.
If you want to visit, there are a few things you should take note of: the company won't allow people to form lines in front of the store, and it will restrict the number of customers during peak hours, according to the Japan Times.
I am an intern with Mashable Asia, focusing on viral news, lifestyle news and feature news in the region.
