The Tokyo Roastery, opened in 2019 beside the Meguro River, is the fifth of Starbucks’ showcase roasteries and the one designed by Kengo Kuma, who wrapped four floors around a 17-meter copper cask covered in cherry-blossom motifs. Beans are roasted on site and travel through transparent pipes overhead; the floors hold a coffee bar, a tea bar, a cocktail bar and an Italian bakery, with terraces facing the trees.
Treat it as a building to visit rather than a chain to patronize. Go on a weekday afternoon, climb to the top for a coffee cocktail and the terrace view, and in late March accept the queue, because the roastery terrace above the cherry trees is one of the best seats on the river.
Tips
- Weekends and the sakura week have a virtual queue; scan the code outside and walk the river while you wait
- The second floor Teavana bar and the third floor cocktail bar are the quieter floors; the terrace faces the cherry trees
- The Princi bakery on the ground floor is the best value in the building