Japanese Starbucks that’s also an art gallery hosts exhibition by painters from Tokyo’s top art school
Starbucks Cafe & Art Gallery Yanaka Gotenzaka in the historic Yanaka district offers more than espresso—its sleek interior doubles as a rotating exhibition space, a rarity among the city’s countless coffee shops. The venue’s latest show is a partnership with Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan’s premier art academy, and showcases eight emerging painters from the university’s Oil Painting 6th Laboratory.
Titled GABE6‒Drawing as Practice, the exhibition frames drawing as a daily creative ritual. Visitors can wander among works that reveal each artist’s personal inquiry and experimental approach, all without an extra ticket price beyond a coffee purchase.
Running through October 12, the show coincides with the university’s annual Geidai campus festival, making a day‑trip to both the gallery and the campus a seamless cultural outing. Open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., the space invites regular coffee patrons to linger and discover new visual narratives in a familiar setting.