Starbucks' mermaid (siren) logo is often seen in office districts, department stores, shopping malls, and roadside locations.
It seems to be just as common as McDonald's.
Starbucks is the largest coffee chain in Japan, with 2,000 stores.
It opened in the summer of 1996 near the Matsuya department store in Tokyo's Ginza district.
McDonald's also arrived in Japan in the summer of 1971, and its first store was also located in the Mitsukoshi department store in Ginza.
Is it a given that a trendy American chain would target a Ginza department store when entering Japan?
Unlike the mainstream coffee shops of the time, Starbucks offered a self-service system where customers ordered at a counter and a waiter would bring their order to their table.
The interior, with its wood-grain design based on white, gray, and brown, has a more modern feel than the traditional dark brown wooden furniture and pendant lamps of coffee shops.
There was also a lot of take-out, and the menu included innovative options such as cafe latte and cappuccino, which are espresso-based with milk, and was at the forefront of trends, with people drinking them while walking.
Comments