Starbucks will have 9 stores around Kichijoji Station after adding new locations in July and August. The number of seats and crowding at each store reveal the reality of this ultra-concentrated rollout and the factors behind it.
There are 9 Starbucks stores around Kichijoji Station. With 2 new stores opening in July and August 2026, the area has become a fiercely competitive Starbucks market. Multiple store formats are concentrated in the center of the neighborhood, including the SHARE LOUNGE Kirarina Keio Kichijoji 9F store and the Tea & Cafe Kirarina Keio Kichijoji 3F store. The total number of seats is reported to be 255, including 55 Starbucks seats.
Other stores, including the Starbucks Atre Kichijoji store in front of Kichijoji Station and a store at Atre that has introduced My Fruit Frappuccino, have also been recorded as full, with customers waiting in line. The stores are concentrated mainly in commercial facilities directly connected to or located close to the station, attracting a diverse range of customers, including women, families and office workers.
The writer, who visited all 9 stores, observed that the stores were not competing to take customers from one another. Rather, nearly all of them were close to full. Some new stores are attached to banks, while others cater to international visitors, suggesting that the concentrated rollout may be helping retain customers within the area.
Starbucks has 2,116 stores across Japan as of the end of March 2026, with an average of approximately 45 stores per prefecture. The objective of an “ultra-dominant strategy” like the one in Kichijoji is analyzed as building close ties with the local community and retaining customers within the area.