Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo, Floor by Floor

Hello! It's Yoko, a food blogger.

Is everyone having a fun Golden Week?

This year I didn't go anywhere for Golden Week and am just relaxing in Tokyo (´ω｀)

And on this, the last day of the Heisei era... I finally went!

To Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo!!
(STARBUCKS RESERVE ROASTERY TOKYO) The English somehow feels cooler than the katakana.

Ever since it opened on February 28, I'd heard that thousands of people were waiting every day and the waits were brutal, so I had no desire to go at all...

Twitter always looks like this.

Finally got into Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo after a 2-hour wait‼️

I ordered a Nitro Cold Brew Coffee, Tall, ¥800

They showed me the roasters on the 1st and 3rd floors and the packing on the 4th floor, and the staff explained many things. Thank you to the staff for spending time on an old guy's questions‼️ pic.twitter.com/1RvYtssHoH

— Gurekichi (@japangrayson) February 28, 2019

I kept putting it off, but I finally went.

So, for anyone wondering
"What kind of Starbucks is Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo, anyway?"
"How many hours do you have to wait to get in?"
I've put it all together for you!

If you just want the menu and not the overview, head over to this post!

What Is Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo?

First, for anyone who doesn't quite get why Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo is such a big deal,

or how it differs from a regular Starbucks, here's a quick overview.

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo, which opened in Nakameguro on February 28, 2019,

is a premium version of Starbucks with an attached roasting facility, the first in Japan and the fifth in the world!

The first Starbucks Reserve Roastery opened in Seattle in 2014, followed by Shanghai in 2017 and Milan and New York in 2018.

And this time, Nakameguro in Tokyo was chosen as number five.

A Chicago opening is planned this year too, but according to Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson,

they plan to open 6 to 10 Starbucks Reserve Roasteries first, see how it goes, and then consider expanding to about 30.

It's undoubtedly a rare kind of Starbucks, which is why it's getting attention around the world.

Highlights

Here are the officially announced highlights of Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo.

Design by Architect Kengo Kuma

Kuma's architecture is characterized by designs using the technique of Japanese wooden construction, which combines many wooden pillars,

and he has worked on many stores, such as Sunny Hills, the Taiwanese pineapple cake shop in Minami-Aoyama.

This is his second collaboration with Starbucks. Before Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo, he designed the Starbucks Coffee Dazaifu Tenmangu Omotesando store in Fukuoka Prefecture.

The Best Coffee Experience in Japan!

You can fully experience coffee roasting and brewing from around the world with all five senses, and even chat with the master roasters.

Besides coffee, drinks include alcohol, and there are freshly baked foods and breads supervised by Rocco Princi, famous for his Italian cooking.

First, Get a Numbered Ticket

You need a numbered ticket to get in.

Get one at the ticket booth next to the shop. (Everyone needs their own ticket, so be careful.)

It uses Recruit's AirWAIT queue system. If you scan the QR code on your ticket, you can check by LINE or email how many groups are still ahead of you, so you don't need to stay on the spot while you wait.

How Long Is the Wait?

In my case, in the middle of Golden Week on April 30, 2019 (Tuesday, a holiday), it was about a 2-hour wait at 9:40 a.m.!

I'd heard that on a weekday morning right at opening you can get in with a wait of 15 minutes or so,

but I couldn't wake up... It was raining so I figured it wouldn't be that crowded, but I underestimated it...

How to Spend the Wait

Now, if you're thinking "There are still XX hours until my turn!" (sob),

crank up your expectations and savor the excitement a little longer, lol

The problem is where to wait once you've got your ticket.

The ticket booth only holds about 30 people at most, so waiting right there may be tough.

I recommend Freshness Burger Nakameguro (opens 8:00), across Yamate-dori and a bit back toward Nakameguro Station. It's a 4-minute walk.

There was a Ministop (convenience store) across the street, too.

If you'd rather go to a café,

Streamer coffee company nakameguro (opens 8:00)

or SIDEWALK STAND NAKAMEGURO (opens 9:00; note there are only a few seats)

are good choices.

I wanted a light breakfast, so I waited at Freshness. lol

I played with my phone and tapped LINE every now and then.

Hmm, after dropping to 34 groups it hardly goes down!! (sob)

And just as I let my guard down... my LINE went off.

Aaah! Is it canceled after a certain time passes!?

That would be terrible, so I hurried to the shop.

But there was another line there!

After waiting about 15 more minutes, I was finally called!

A security guard directed us, "Please move in a single line to the front of the shop!" and we headed to the entrance...

A staff member opened the door for us, and at last we were inside!

1st Floor: Starbucks Reserve

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo has four floors in all.

Walking in, it feels incredibly open and smells wonderfully of coffee!

The first floor has five corners.

There can be quite a line between ordering and paying, so if there's something you want to buy, watch your time.

- MAIN ROASTER
- MAIN BAR
- PRINCI BAKERY
- RETAIL AREA
- COFFEE SCOOPING BAR

MAIN ROASTER

Walk straight in from the entrance and you'll find a giant roaster!

It can reportedly roast 118 kg of beans.

Roasters who trained for nine months at the Roastery in Seattle manage the computer-controlled roasting machine.

Sometimes they hand customers freshly roasted coffee beans.

MAIN BAR

In the center of the store sits a big counter.

Freshly roasted coffee beans from the MAIN ROASTER are carried through pipes.

By the way, these pipes are named "Symphony Pipes" because the coffee beans make sound as they travel through them.

Another amazing thing is this coffee machine, the Clover.

It's characterized by a brewing method called the vacuum press, in which steeped coffee is pulled through all at once in a vacuum.

It uses a 70-micron metal filter, so it captures the coffee oils that a paper filter would absorb,

locking in the richness and aroma of the coffee and automatically making a concentrated cup. It's a hyper machine.

I planted myself in front of the Clover and stared at the filter moving up and down, and it looked futuristic and cool, lol

PRINCI BAKERY

Princi is an Italian bakery that opened in Milan in the 1980s, where you can eat breads and cornetti developed by its founder, Rocco Princi!

This is its first location in Japan, so don't miss it.

RETAIL AREA

A corner where you can buy goods like tumblers and mugs exclusive to Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo.

Rows of Tokyo-exclusive tumblers marked TYO are lined up.

Some cups are really shiny, lol

A canister (container) in a sake barrel design.

A limited collaboration with Fukusaya, a castella (sponge cake) shop I love that also has a store in Nakameguro.

Among the unusual items, there was even a kendama (cup-and-ball toy).

Limited Goods Are Sold Online

If you can't make it to Tokyo and at least want the limited goods or the coffee beans,

there are plenty of listings on resale sites like Mercari, so it's worth checking.

Since they're Nakameguro-exclusive goods, some have fairly high prices, so if you want to buy as cheaply as possible, check the going rate on a price-tracking site like Aucfan.

COFFEE SCOOPING BAR

The zone where you can buy coffee beans. Talk with the staff and choose beans to your liking!

2nd Floor: TEAVANA

This floor is for tea rather than coffee, and it has three corners.

- TEAVANA BAR
- TEA SCOOPING BAR
- RETAIL AREA

TEAVANA BAR

A counter where you can have delicious tea. The staff brew it carefully for you.

I wasn't in the mood for tea this time, so I skipped it.

TEA SCOOPING BAR

A corner for take-home tea. You can choose by smelling the leaves.

RETAIL AREA

There are cups and other goods here too.

On the landing leading up to the 2nd floor, there's an art piece with cups neatly set into the wall, which has become a bit of a photo spot, lol

3rd Floor: ARRIVIAMO BAR

This floor is divided into four corners.

- ARRIVIAMO BAR
- STARBUCKS RESERVE COLD BREW BAR
- MICRO ROASTER
- TERRACE

More art near the 3rd-floor stairs! A whole wall is lined with coffee bean brand cards.

It's very colorful, and I saw lots of women taking photos here too!

ARRIVIAMO BAR

A bar where you can enjoy alcohol like beer and cocktails.

Roasted coffee beans are delivered inside this counter too! There are even cocktails made with coffee.

STARBUCKS RESERVE COLD BREW BAR

A counter where you can have cold brew coffee. (I missed getting a photo.)

You can also order the cocktails from the Arriviamo Bar here.

MICRO ROASTER

A roaster about a third the size of the one on the 1st floor.

TERRACE

A terrace where, on a nice day, you can have a beer from lunchtime while looking out at the Meguro River.

Maybe because it was raining today, I was surprised that there were quite a lot of empty seats on the terrace.

I bet it will be packed every year during cherry blossom season... lol

4th Floor: AMU INSPIRATION / LOUNGE

A floor where events and workshops are held.

It's an atrium open down to the 1st floor, so you can look all the way down, which feels great.

You can see the coffee cask and the cherry blossom decorations up close.

The cask has a traditional Japanese hammered finish, and apparently everyone involved hammered it by hand. Amazing.

COFFEE PACK LINE

You can watch the coffee beans being bagged.

The bags traveling along the conveyor belt are pure factory! And you can drink coffee right in front of it, lol

I missed getting a photo, but this floor has terrace seating too.

All told, just looking around floors 1 to 4 easily takes over an hour, there's so much to see!

How to Get to Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo is an 11-minute walk from Nakameguro Station, along the Meguro River in Aobadai, Meguro-ku.

The site covers 1,200 sq m, a very large store, and there are lots of people crowding in front of the entrance, so you'll spot it right away as you walk along the river.

Between the wait of 2 hours and the time inside, I spent about 3 hours in the store.

I never thought I'd spend half a day at Starbucks, lol

Give yourself plenty of time to enjoy this luxurious Starbucks experience!

Starbucks Reserve Roastery Tokyo
2-19-23 Aobadai, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-0042
7:00-23:00 (irregular holidays)
03-6417-0202