Out of 1,200 Starbucks locations in Japan, 850 are closing or shortening their hours, causing some unintended consequences.
As a massive, international brand, it's no surprise that Starbucks has a dedicated fanbase in Japan. The Japanese locations of the coffee shop chain are especially popular, even among travelers, for their frequent limited-edition drinks and unusual flavors.
With the coronavirus outbreak causing Japan's Prime Minister Abe to call a state of emergency in seven Japanese prefectures, Starbucks decided to take action. Like restaurants and other facilities where people spend time close together, in danger of infecting one another, Starbucks looked into limiting access. After testing out the idea during one March weekend, Starbucks Japan announced that for 850 locations, they'd be either shortening hours or temporarily closing altogether.
スタバが今日から休みということで、昨晩、多くのスタバに行列が。並んでいる人、なんで休業するか、意味わかってるのかな?笑 pic.twitter.com/Pt3BNWlUJD
— 医カス (@iiiikasu) April 9, 2020
As is clear from just one look at this tweet from user @iiiikasu, this decision from Starbucks was a problem for some of Tokyo's coffee lovers. The tweet explains "Since Starbucks is closed starting today, last night there was this long line. Do the people lining up even understand the point of Starbucks closing? lol"
Indeed, completely ignoring the reasoning behind Starbucks' closures and shortened hours, dozens of people lined up, ignoring social distancing and getting up close and personal with each other, just for one last fix of Starbucks. Of course, Japanese Twitter had plenty to say on the matter, commenting things like:
"This might just become their last drink ever."
"Since Starbucks is closing and we won't be able to go there for a while, one last drink is tempting. Yeah, I get it. But with things the way they are, let's try not to defeat the purpose."
"When did Japan get like this?"
"Do people really want Starbucks that bad? For 500 yen I'd rather buy a bento lunch."
"Speaking of which, everyone's lining up to buy what exactly?" "Right! Is there really anything you can only get at Starbucks? ^_^;"
In the end, we can only hope that (out of sheer luck) those lining up avoided infection. It's a confusing time for the average person, but for now, let's at least try to stay 2 meters away from others.
PROFILE
Hello, my name is Won! I mainly write about my experiences that I had in Japan.
COMMENT
FEATURED MEDIA
VIEW MOREAsakusa's Sanja Matsuri, one of the biggest festivals in all of Tokyo, is almost here! Make sure you check out the festival route so you don't miss all the festivities this May. #asakusa #sanjafestival #sanjamatsuri #asakusashrine #sensoji #sensojitemple #japanesefestival #shintoshrine #japaneseculture #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #asakusasightseeing #matsuri #japantrip #japantravel #springinjapan #tokyotravel #japankuru #산자마츠리 #아사쿠사 #일본마츠리 #일본여행 #일본5월
Odaiba's DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is home to the famous real-size 20m-tall Unicorn Gundam, and the popular shopping center has even more Gundam on the inside! Check out the Gundam Base Tokyo on the 7th floor for shelves upon shelves of Gunpla, and the Gundam Base Tokyo Annex on the 2nd floor for cool anime merchandise. Both shops have tons of limited-edition items! #pr #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #PR #divercity #divercitytokyoplaza #tokyoshopping #gundam #unicorngundam #gundambasetokyo #anime #otaku #gunpla #japankuru #오다이바 #다이바시티도쿄 #오다이바건담 #건담 #일본건담 #건프라 #건담베이스도쿄
Evangelion, in miniature!? Tokyo's SMALL WORLDS Miniature Museum is actually a must-see for anime lovers, thanks to the tiny Evangelion Hangar and Tokyo-III... plus a whole universe of other scenes both real and fictional. #smallworlds #smallworldstokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japantrip #japantravel #에반게리온 #스몰월드 #에반겔리온 #スモールワールズ #오다이바 #아리아케
Have you sat down for a snack at Sumida Aquarium yet? This aquarium next to Tokyo Skytree is known for its penguins and garden eels, but we can't get enough of their cute snacks! There are lots of good seats around the aquarium, too, so it almost feels like one big cafe. 🐧 • Find out more at Japankuru.com! (Link in bio.) • #japankuru #sumidaaquarium #skytree #tokyoskytree #solamachi #sumida #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #aquarium #japanesesweets #themecafe #すみだ水族館 #Japan #日本 #일본 #Japon #ญี่ปุ่น #Japão #япония #japantravel #日本旅行 #日本旅遊 #japan_of_insta #japantrip #traveljapan #japan🇯🇵 #igerstokyo #explorejapan
For anime fans, the Evangelion areas at Small Worlds Miniature Museum are a must see! The tiny miniature people in the Evangelion Hangar look like ants beneath the moving Unit-01, Unit-00, and Unit-02! And over in Tokyo-III, characters like Shinji, Rei, and Katsuragi live life on a miniature scale. #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #ariake #smallworlds #miniaturemuseum #smallworldstokyo #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japankuru #스몰월드 #에반게리온 #오다이바 #오다이바관광 #오다이바스몰월드 #미니어쳐