Starbucks’ cool new Japan Geography tumblers will take you on a trip around the country

https://ift.tt/2KwsKgk Casey Baseel

Local sites and foods of five prefectures proudly displayed on mugs, bottles.

Japan has accepted Starbucks with open arms, to the point that the chain’s coffeehouses are now a common part of the urban landscape. Things are now coming full circle, with the sights of Japan serving as the motifs for Starbucks’ Japan Geography series of drinking vessels.

Each member of the lineup highlights a different part of the country, saluting local culture and traditions. Five new designs have just gone on sale, starting with Nara, which features the prefecture’s temples, Great Buddha statue, and tame deer which are considered messengers of the Shinto gods.

Many overseas visitors may not be familiar with Tochigi Prefecture by name, but its mountains are where you’ll find the town of Nikko and its gorgeous shrines, as well as the famous “see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil” monkeys. More recently, Tochigi’s capital Utsunomiya has earned a reputation for making the tastiest gyoza (pot stickers) in Japan, so the Tochigi cup also shows a couple digging into plates of the delicious dumplings.

Moving on to Gifu, Starbucks resists the temptation to cash in on the landlocked prefecture’s connection to anime smash hit Your Name, and instead goes with a scene of cormorant fishing on the Nagara River, in which the fast-swimming birds catch fish for their human handlers in a centuries-old tradition.

Two prefecture on the southwestern island of Kyushu also join the Japan Geography Series: Nagasaki, which gives a nod to its international heritage with depictions of a Chinese-style dragon dance and western-inspired architecture from the 19th century…

…and Oita, which boasts the hot spring resorts of Beppu and Yufuin and so fills its design with steamy onsen baths.

Tumblers are on sale now, priced at 1,800 yen (US$17), as are tumblers, which just a little ore at 2,000 yen. At the top of the line are the 4,200-yen stainless steel bottles which are scheduled to go on sale May 14, except for the Nagasaki bottle which for some reason won’t be available until late July. The designs will be offered in limited quantities outside their prefectures, but the most certain way to get them is to travel to their respective parts of the country while seeing Japan’s real-world geography too.

Source: Starbucks via Entabe
Top image: Starbucks
Insert images: Starbucks (1, 2, 3, 4, 5)