Inside Starbucks’ new Kyoto café set inside 100-year old Japanese townhouse

Is this their most beautiful store yet?

Rather than a Starbucks sign, the café has opted for deep green noren door curtains that bare the company logo (Getty Images)

A new Starbucks store has opened in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto and it might just be their most beautiful one yet.

The store, which opened on June 30, is located in Ninen-zaka, one of Kyoto’s many historically protected streets and set inside a renovated townhouse that was once used to host geisha.

While the building has undergone some renovation, the space retains traditional elements that mean it blends seamlessly into a city filled with traditional temples and shrines.

Despite renovation, the space retains traditional Japanese elements (Getty Images)

On the first floor, locally-made kimono silk scrolls adorn the walls, while a picturesque garden comes complete with stone water basins and sculptures.

Upstairs, three more rooms provide tatami mat seating on the floor, and per tradition, customers are asked remove their shoes and sit on cushions. It also includes a bench for those who unable to sit on the floor.

Outside, a picturesque garden comes complete with stone water basins and sculptures (Getty Images)

Outside, rather than a Starbucks sign to indicate its location, the café has opted for deep green noren door curtains that bear the company logo.

“Walking through the noren at the entrance and venturing inside, we want customers to experience a feeling of being inside a traditional Kyoto machiya wooden townhouse,” Takafumi Minaguchi, chief executive of Starbucks Coffee Japan, told CNN.

As per tradition, customers are asked remove their shoes and sit on cushions (Getty Images)

"As this store is in an area of great cultural significance, we feel a responsibility to be the stewards of the building’s traditional architecture and ensure that it remains an integral part of its historic neighbourhood for many years to come."