Starbucks is ubiquitous in Japan. There seems to be about ten in Shinjuku alone, and their ambitious plans to open more and more branches has seen them seeping into areas of cultural and historical importance, much to the ire of Japanese traditionalists.

But to Starbucks’ credit, great efforts have been made to try to seamlessly blend the coffee shops into whatever area they encroach on.

The branch that opened last year in Kawagoe’s historic Kanetsuki street is a good example of this. The area is known as the home of Saitama’s iconic ‘Toki no Kane’ bell tower. What could have been a glaring, consumerist eyesore in the middle of the traditional surroundings, the new Starbucks was built with an Edo period merchant house aesthetic, to keep in line with the Kawagoe charm.

Often they remodel an existing historic building to preserve the original landscape of the culturally important area. This Kyoto branch of the coffee shop giant was built inside a century old traditional house, complete with tatami mat rooms where you can enjoy your coffee sitting shoeless on the floor, in true Japanese style.

The latest addition to Starbucks Japan’s line of traditionalist coffee shops will be opening in Kyushu’s Mojiko station, a designated important cultural property. The branch itself will be inside a former waiting room for third class passengers in the Taisho era, so it is certainly where they would have drank their Starbucks while waiting for the train, if Starbucks had existed back then.

The station building, located in the city of Kitakyushu, was completed in 1914, the outer view shows an attractive neo-classical style. However, the station is even older than this, being the oldest one on the Kagoshima line which links the north of Kyushu with Hakata and Kagoshima.

It took Starbucks 6 years to fully restore all the original Taisho era features of the waiting room. The concept of the new store is ‘Storyteller’, allowing the local history to be experienced by their customers.

Touches such using the 'head mark' of trains, redesigned with the Starbucks logo, and using old rails to construct the walls and ceiling show their commitment to incorporating local history into the modern interior.

The new coffee shop will open from 10th March, which is perfect timing to pick up a Sakura flavour beverage for spring!