1st Starbucks Greener Stores in Japan - Wadakura Fountain Park

The first Starbucks Greener Stores in Japan, Imperial Palace Outer Garden(皇居外苑) Wadakura Fountain Park. Although the name is too long and difficult, the Imperial Palace Outer Garden refers to the outer garden, which is open to the outside even in the "Imperial Palace", the residence of the Japanese king.

As the name suggests, it is located where you can see the fountain right away.

Outside, there is also a beautiful terrace seat that would be nice to sit on on a sunny day.

Here's what the inside looks like :)

It is a structure where you place an order at the place with the Starbucks logo on the right and receive a drink at the counter on the left.

As mentioned earlier, this is the first 'Green Store' in Japan.

Green Store is a store created to deploy a framework jointly developed by Starbucks and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to reduce environmental impacts such as carbon dioxide emissions, water use and waste reduction. You can easily think of it as a nature-friendly store :)

There are already more than 2300 stores in the United States and Canada, but the first store opened in Japan last summer.

Source: https://stories.starbucks.co.jp/ja/stories/2021/wadakura/

Since this place is a Green Store, a new approach is being taken that considers the environment.

First, you must use your personal tumbler for takeout (22 yen discount for in-store drinks / 21 yen discount for takeout). When I went in April of this year, disposable cups were not available at all, so everyone used reusable cups or personal tumblers.

Second, when drinking in the store, it is only served in a mug or glass, and only a tall size is available.

Third, they sell reusable cups, which you can purchase for 110 yen, compared to 180 yen at other stores. Also, there is a special 'Rental Cup' where you can get a 21 yen discount if you order this cup. After use, you can return it to 10 specific stores in Marunouchi, including this store, without washing it.

We used this cup because we drank at the store :)

There are two menus, which are limited to the store. One is Wasanbong Almond Milk Frappuccino/660 yen, and the other is Wasanbong Moose Foam Almond Milk Crate. It is 550 yen.

The menu in the photo is Wasanbong Mousse Foam Almond Milk Crate :)

Wasanbong (和三盆) is a type of sugar produced in a specific region of Japan (eastern Shiko-ku), and is a high-quality sugar often used in Japanese confectionery. It was as sweet as wasanbong, but I added caramel sauce to make it sweeter, and it was very delicious..🥹

There are a lot of interiors using strings like that in the store, but when I looked on the official website, they said that they were made by recycling fishing nets that were supposed to be discarded. In addition, the interior is designed to fit the purpose of the store and fit the space well, such as making lighting using glass taken from discarded fluorescent lamps and recycling the art used last summer.

In addition to this, food sold with the aim of reducing food that has expired can be replaced with a screen instead of being displayed in a case, or more than 90% of water can be circulated in collaboration with 'WOTA', which develops an autonomous distributed water circulation system. We are considering the environment in various ways, such as installing a faucet that can be used.

There are parts that I like because it is a store with such a good purpose, but above all, the store is very pretty :)

It is also very nice that it is located 10-15 minutes on foot from Tokyo Station, and that you can enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee while looking at the greenery if the weather is nice. Also, there is a space right next to the store where you can relax without using Starbucks.

If you live in Tokyo, or if your trip will be released soon, we recommend you to visit on a sunny day..💚