Blue Bottle Coffee will be opening a cafe in a traditional old building in Kyoto on March 23rd. This will be the company’s 8th store in Japan and their first store outside of Tokyo.

The cafe is located in the Nanzenji district and is 400 meters west of Nanzen-ji Temple.  A 100-year old town house is currently in the final stages of being renovated into a 452 sqm (4,860 sq.ft) cafe with 44 seats, a shop selling original items, and a courtyard space.

It forms part of the Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Store’s Kyoto Machiya Project. Daimaru was also behind the 100 million Yen restoration of a historic machiya alongside Gion’s Hanamikoji Street that is now the Hublot boutique. Kyoto has a well-regarded coffee culture with many local and out-of-town roasters opening up trendy cafes in restored machiya-type residences.

The Californian coffee roaster’s first foray in Japan was a 540 sqm flagship store that opened in the hipster district of Kiyosumi in Tokyo in 2015. Customers queued for as long as four hours for a cup when the store opened. The company has since opened a further six stores in Tokyo.

Location

64 Nanzenji Kusagawacho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto

Source: Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores Press Release, February 28, 2018.

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