OIJ #20: STARBUCKS RESERVE ROASTERY
Wow! Only in Japan (OIJ) that you can find the world’s biggest Starbucks! It’s all over the news and people are just talking about it. One of my friends posted on her Facebook Timeline that she was in a long queue and took hours before she can enter the coffee shop then locate a place where she can sit with her friend. It’s even raining then.
My Singaporean friend wrote that we’ll visit this place once she comes to Japan.
I admit I learned to drink coffee because of Starbucks.
I don’t really drink coffee nor tea but part of the deal with my students, they pay for my Starbucks drinks as we use the place for our English lessons.
Great to have visited Starbucks in Shinjuku, Tokorozawa, Kunitachi, Tachikawa, etc. and all my drinks and snacks plus fare & lesson fees were paid by my students. It’s not really a treat to drink Starbucks but part of the lesson fee.
I’ve got lots of memories inside Starbucks. Three of my students preferred to meet at Starbucks in Tokorozawa. One of them is an old retired businessman. As we entered the place, everyone seemed to freeze and their eyes were on us. When I started to chat with my senior student and opened our textbook, the Caucasians who were dominating the place were getting my attention as if teasing, “Welcome to our English Classroom with free Starbucks.” I guess they’re thinking I was dating an old man as a brown-skinned English teacher was not common then.
How can I forget my state-hopping trip around the US of A with my niece in 2003! For every airport we landed, we found Starbucks and we can’t help but taste their various offers.
Let’s see when I can finally visit the world’s biggest Starbucks! With cherry blossoms soon in full bloom, I read that the Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Tokyo has a beautiful view deck. Great to also see, touch and feel its architectural design which is like a prelude to Japan’s national stadium (construction still in progress) because they have the same architect! Hats off to Architect Kengo Kuma! Japan made history again because of this famous coffee shop that opened in Nakameguro, Tokyo on February 28, 2019. This will definitely be a great attraction during the Tokyo Olympics 2020!
