Starbucks targets souvenir market with new Hiroshima-themed product line up

Hiroshimima is one of 12 locations that feature in Starbucks’ Japan Geography Series of area-limited products, launched this week.

The product line up includes a stainless steel bottle (¥4200), tumblers (¥2000), ceramic mugs (¥1800) and Starbucks gift cards, all featuring local landmarks and imagery, as well as examples of Hiroshima-ben local dialect. All are on sale at, and only at, Hiroshima branches of Starbucks.

The products feature illustrations of Hiroshima’s trams, people eating okonomiyaki off a teppan, Miyajima’s deer, Caapu-joshi “Carp Girls” and an ample amount of maple leaves. Examples of local dialect, such as kinchai, tachimachi, jyakee and buchi are transcribed in roman alphabet. The Starbucks branding is of course there, but is not too overwhelming. Specially designed simple, but stylish plain cardboard packages are also available, making them excellent gifts for friends and family.

The other featured locations in the Japan Geography Series are Hokkaido, Sendai, Tokyo, Yokohama, Kanazawa, Nagano, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka and Okinawa.