New Tokyo Roastery: Top 10 things to know

In the heart of one of Japan’s most popular travel destinations, the Starbucks Reserve™ Roastery Tokyo is a tribute to Japan’s deep cultural appreciation of craft and innovation.

Throughout the four floors there is much to discover in this immersive coffee experience, so we’ve pulled the top 10 things to look for to pique your curiosity.

1. A river runs through it

Located in the hip Nakameguro neighborhood known for its art, food and design, the Tokyo Roastery will become a must-see destination for visitors to Japan. The area is most famous for its bright cherry blossoms along the Meguro River, which snakes through the neighborhood, attracting more than 3 million visitors during just the two weeks while the flowers are in bloom.

2. Seeing the light

Designed in collaboration with renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, Tokyo is the first Roastery to feature light-tone woods, with materials sourced from sustainable Japanese forests. The Roastery’s design philosophy is one of connection – it brings together indoor and outdoor spaces in one seamless experience. Glass walls on two faces and all floors of the Roastery create a continued connection to the four seasons of the Meguro River. The Roastery is the most recent design collaboration between Kuma and Starbucks, after other Starbucks stores in Japan and around the globe.

3. Mad about merch

Here you’ll find a curated collection of unique merchandise, including exclusive collaborations with some of Japan’s finest designers and artists such as a 100-year-old Japanese sweets maker, a tableware series designed by Kengo Kuma, painted Daruma lucky charms from Gunma Prefecture, and a Tokyo Roastery-branded cake set from Japan’s oldest castella bakery, established in 1624.

4. A modern take on tea

Inspired by the important role that tea plays in Japanese culture, the Roastery is home to the world’s largest Teavana tea retail experience, featuring dozens of innovative tea beverages and desserts, as well as three premium Japanese green teas sourced from local tea farms. Partners offer a whimsical tea experience that blends tradition with innovation in beverages like the Golden-Sky Black Tea Latte sweetened with honey, turmeric and milk, before being topped with turmeric cotton candy.

5. Coffee, coffee, coffee

From the moment customers enter the Roastery’s doors, they are immersed in an elevated coffee experience. From Whiskey Barrel-Aged Cold Brew, to the Melrose Tokyo –, innovation is given a global stage where partners highlight the nuanced flavor profiles of Starbucks Reserve coffees in beverages found exclusively at the Tokyo Roastery in Japan. Continuing upstairs, the creativity continues with coffee mixology at the Arriviamo bar.

6. Sparking conversation

The Roastery introduces the AMU Inspiration Lounge, a dedicated space for discussions on meaningful topics to be held over a cup of coffee. Amu, or “knit together” in Japanese, aims to bring together the change-makers and creative thinkers across Japan and the globe to spark new ideas.

7. A hill of beans

The Tokyo Roastery is a fully operational coffee roaster that will roast more than 680,000 kilograms (almost 750 tons) of coffee per year for the Japanese market, approximately 31 60-kilogram burlap bags every day, to be packaged on-site. The Japan-exclusive Tokyo Roast blend will be roasted at the Roastery and made available at all Starbucks stores in Japan.

8. Dancing cherry blossoms

The cask in Tokyo is the largest among all Starbucks Roasteries, spanning all four floors. Made using the traditional copper beating technique of tsubame-tsuiki, each person involved in the building of this Roastery had the opportunity to be part of the process, hammering a piece of the copper to create the traditional pattern and texture. The 55-foot cask, the vessel where coffee beans rest and de-gas after roasting, is adorned with hundreds of hand-crafted, copper cherry blossoms. They begin at the base on the lower floors, then gradually extend outward to float in the air at the top of the Roastery —an homage to the cherry blossoms that make the Nakameguro neighborhood famous around the world.

9. From Italy with love

This is the first Princi bakery in Japan, featuring freshly baked Italian fare including two mini panettone flavors unique to Tokyo: lemon, inspired by the flavors of Italy; and “sakura,” inspired by the flavors of Japan. Visitors to the Tokyo Roastery can take home these mini delights in a specially designed gift set to share with loved ones or enjoy at home.

10. Don’t forget to look up

In the true spirit of Japanese design, each element of the store blends form and function. A visit to the Roastery is not complete without a look at the origami ceiling tiles, with its beautiful artistic design and remarkable acoustics.