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Starbucks appears to be big on cafés set in prestigious Tokyo-area parks. The Seattle-born coffee empire already operates locations in spots like Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and Ueno Park, and now Yokohama has welcomed a green-space ‘Sutaba’ of its own.
Opened on August 10, Starbucks Coffee Yokohama Umi-no-Koen is housed inside a registered cultural property in Marine Park – just a 30-minute train ride south of the city centre, near Hakkeijima Sea Paradise.
Originally constructed during the Meiji era (1868-1912), the former No.1 building of the Nagahama Quarantine Station served as an inspection and holding facility for first-class passengers arriving in Japan by sea. In more recent times, it had been used as a quarantine museum, exhibiting valuable historical artefacts and lab equipment, before eventually being relocated to its current site in March 2025.
The facility has ties to medical scientist Hideyo Noguchi, who you may recognise from the old ¥1,000 banknote. In 1899, he worked in Nagahama as an assistant medical officer and made an important contribution by detecting a plague bacillus aboard the America Maru, a passenger ship that had docked at the port.
Former break rooms, dining halls, sunrooms and detention rooms have all been incorporated to become one airy café space, preserving and making use of many of the building’s original fittings, including wallpaper dating from the Taisho era (1912-1926). Warm bentwood chairs and softly glowing lamps create a retro atmosphere, allowing visitors to appreciate the passage of time and the history and character of the building.
On the other hand, the Starbucks also features modern design elements that pay homage to local history, such as ropes and sails that evoke seafaring, along with art themed around the café chain’s hometown of Seattle. The space thus seeks to blend the coffee culture of Seattle with the history of Yokohama as a port city.
The adjacent rooms, meanwhile, now house the ‘History and Attractions Promotion Space’, a small museum explaining the history and cultural value of the former quarantine station, which is widely considered to be one of the first Western-style accommodation buildings in all of Japan.
Take a trip down south to Yokohama’s Kanazawa district this summer to experience a slice of modern Japanese history – and sip your favourite Starbucks drink while you’re at it.
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