Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya Starbucks Branch

Have you ever wonder how it feels to drink your morning coffee inside an antique house in Kyoto Japan?

We dropped by in Starbucks for our much needed caffeine fix one rainy day. The Starbucks branch in Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya was a 100-year-old traditional house converted into a coffee shop. Boy, was I bowled over by the uniqueness of this cafe. The creaking floors added warmth to this Centenarian building. We are all aware that the upkeep of an old building is a great challenge because it is both an art and a science.

The shop is located in Ninenzaka, a popular street that leads to the World Heritage-listed Kiyomizudera Temple. The unique features of this tatami-floored Starbucks Coffee store took ten years before it debuted on June 30, 2017.

The Starbucks project team wanted to create a "one-of-a-kind shop that conveys the culture and history of Kyoto more than ever before."

However, it wasn't an easy feat. Finding the perfect place was more complicated than expected since most traditional Japanese buildings are small and cannot fit a colossal coffee shop. Moreover, reforming an old building was going to be a challenge.

Even after a building was selected, turning it into a shop while complying with regulations wasn't easy. The Kyoto Ninenzaka Yasaka Chaya shop was only completed with cooperation from local governments.