Never Assume!

or

Starbucks in Japan.

From the series, "Japan, or an American Retiree's Extreme Vacation."

Before I begin, a little "food for thought." (My generation—and whose voice-over is speaking these words to you? Yefim Kopelyan, from "Seventeen Moments of Spring." May they rest in peace. I apologize if I've made you sad; this is a cheerful story.)

Information: Founded in 1971, Starbucks is the world's largest chain of coffee shops. Starbucks has expanded significantly since its founding. According to the company's latest data, it has over 40,000 coffee shops in 87 countries. The largest number of coffee shops are in the U.S. and China. While the exact number may fluctuate, the latest data indicates there are over 1,900 Starbucks cafes in Japan.

Whenever I plan a trip, I share my plans with friends and relatives, and almost every time I hear: "Just don't go to McDonald's while you're there..." (McDonald's is just an example, as it's the most common, but it could also be Starbucks!)

If you came from a country where there's a Starbucks on every corner and people go there just to chat over a cup of coffee, or to sit on their laptops with a cup of coffee, or just to sit... would you, after flying to Japan, to the other side of the world, on an eleven-hour flight, on a thirteen-day cruise, with your liner docked in Osaka, after adventures in the Japanese subway where, I remind you, they don't speak English, after a high-speed train from Osaka to Kyoto...

Would you go to Starbucks in Kyoto?!!

I'm afraid you would say, "No, of course not, under no circumstances."

And you wouldn't go.

And you'd make a big mistake.

A big mistake.

A long, long time ago, Katharine Hepburn (one of my favorite actresses), starring opposite the equally beloved Spencer Tracy (yes, yes, last century! But name me actors who are their equals—you'd only need the fingers of one hand!)... Do watch their films if you can find them; I envy you if you're a fan of old Hollywood movies and haven't seen them yet!

(Oh, what a convoluted sentence. My thoughts have led me astray, but don't think I've forgotten what I'm talking about; my head—for now!—is still working.)

So, once upon a time, Hepburn's character in the film The Office Desk (the film was released the year I was born...

My head is working again... in the wrong direction?! Smile, I'll get back to the point. We're just talking, after all!)

...Hepburn's character said the phrase "Never assume," which in the simplest translation means "don't suppose," but in the film and in life, it means "don't be presumptuous, don't think superficially, think first"... never assume!

So, when traveling, you should make "Never assume!" your motto. I'll prove it to you now.

"Never assume!"

(Sorry for the English phrase, but it's due to the multiple meanings of the translation, not out of laziness or a desire to "show off my education.")

"Never assume" that you should go where the crowd goes. Listen to other people's opinions, but "never assume" that someone else's opinion is the pinnacle of human wisdom. (The same goes for your own!) Never be afraid to ask questions; "never assume" that you know everything. It's better to sacrifice your reputation as a wise person than to sacrifice your desire to learn something new (or remember something long forgotten).

And "never assume"—never assume that you don't need to visit a Starbucks in Japan!

And now, as always, in order.

Yokohama, we arrived the day before, with a few hours before boarding the cruise ship, so we were walking around... What did we see and what surprised us on our very first walk?

Starbucks!

There's the familiar logo in the second-floor window!

In Osaka, we were returning after visiting a palace (which I should write about later), walking down a modern street with high-rises, no shade, terrible heat, but the heat wasn't as bad as the humidity.

On the ground floors were small shops with hieroglyphs, hieroglyphs...

Suddenly, that green mermaid again! We were as happy to see her as an old friend, but we didn't go in... It wasn't far to the subway, so it didn't seem wise to stop.

The following photos are from Busan, South Korea, where we also ended up with the cruise, for just one day, actually.

We're going to ride the cable car in Busan. What's right next to the entrance to the cable car?

You guessed it! Starbucks.

And here are some pictures taken in Tokyo.

The cities are similar, and the cafes with the familiar logo are recognizable. If I hadn't written that this is Osaka, this is Tokyo, and this is Busan, you might have thought I hadn't traveled at all, but had just walked around Los Angeles.

So, why visit Starbucks in Japan?!

Remember: "Never assume!"

Our liner was in Osaka for two days—a great opportunity to go to Kyoto. Kyoto is the former capital of Japan, the main residence of the emperors from 794 to 1868, for over a thousand years. Kyoto was less damaged than other cities during World War II. Most cities lose their character over time, but some are lucky, preserving neighborhoods or streets, sometimes just individual old houses standing alone among new buildings, pleasing our eyes with their uniqueness.

In Kyoto, we walked along two streets with similar charming names: Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka. All around were shops, shops...

I've mentioned the heat many times, but I can't help but repeat it now. (And the heat will run through all my stories...)

It was so hot we simply had to rest, to rest in the cool. It would have been nice to sit down, too; we had been walking for several hours... You could cool down a little in the shops and recover, but you couldn't sit.

And suddenly, Meire saw: "Starbucks!"

Salvation!

I never expected to see an American cafe on an old street in Kyoto.

And I never expected to see a Starbucks like this.

It was charming!

They even changed the color of the logo—they muted and toned down the color so the logo wouldn't stand out and wouldn't disrupt the street's color harmony.

We go inside.

The usual selection—it's the recognizable Starbucks.

Repetition and familiarity are not always a bad thing.

In the heat, we didn't want to drink coffee. Not even cold coffee.

Trying something unusual (in this heat?, so far from home?, so far from our temporary home—the cruise ship?) seemed risky.

Would you have wanted to?

This Starbucks in Kyoto offered, in addition to the usual menu, Matcha tea latte, Matcha frappuccino blended cream, Matcha Cake... Matcha is a specially prepared green tea where you don't drink water steeped in leaves, but rather a tea infusion with specially prepared leaves ground into a powder. Matcha has a bright green color. In that Starbucks, even the Belgian waffles were green (although a pleasantly appetizing shade).

On trips, you have to be sensible, so we limited ourselves to a mango and passion fruit drink.

It's a touristy place, and there were a lot of people. As you remember, the cafe is located on an old street in an old (100-year-old!) house, so you can't expect huge open spaces; that's the whole charm...

Somewhere there are rooms with chairs and small tables...

...and somewhere, tatami mats with cushions.

An old, creaky wooden staircase leads to the second floor.

The view from the window of the rooftops—a view that would never get old.

Minimalism...

...and charm.

This minimalism and charm were in everything: in the small courtyard with a traditional lantern...

...in the black—and yet colorful—hieroglyphs on the simple lanterns...

(Guys, is there a Japanese translator among you? My curiosity is killing me!)

No, since we were here, we had to sit, wait for a spot to open up in one of the rooms with tatami mats, and enjoy the peace, the cool air, and the cold drink...

We took off our shoes and put on our socks... (Thank you, whoever on the internet warned us to bring socks if we didn't want to walk barefoot in such situations.)

We didn't stay there for very long.

But there was something special about the atmosphere, about simply sitting on the tatami... (or rather, on a cushion, as they ask you not to sit directly on the tatami—the woven reed floors.)

Oh, I'm sorry if I'm ruining the perfect picture. That Starbucks had the only... I'm looking for the words... "dirty"? "unkempt"?... toilet we encountered in Japan. And by "unkempt" toilet, I don't mean uncleaned or not scrubbed. It was like all our toilets. I found the right word: primitive!! The kind you and I have at home. Not the kind you find in the rest of Japan. Next to the toilet was a regular trash can for everything that doesn't get flushed. The toilet only had one function! And one lever to flush the water! The space was tiny, the sink was a child's size, the latch was from the last century... (After the pleasure of visiting such places elsewhere, in Japan, of course... Well, you get it. Now I even walk into my bathroom at home with a deep sense of disappointment!)

(Did you smile at my "grumbling," my "fussiness"? Or did you take it seriously?)

But nothing could ruin our mood!!

It's interesting. That day, we walked along old streets, we were in the ancient capital of Japan(!), and the first thing that comes to mind is that Starbucks, the tatami, and the three of us sitting with our legs crossed around a low table, sipping cold juice...

Never assume!

P.S.

The Global Grandma

Friday, November 14, 2025

Never Assume! or Starbucks in Japan.

Never Assume!

or

Starbucks in Japan.

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