| Coffee is both a relaxing drink and a beloved conversation enabler across the globe. And coffee is so universally available that merchants go to great lengths to build a mystique around their brands and cafés. Candor7 loves the coffee brand Volcanica. Wow, what a terrific name! "Volcanica" conjures up images of adventure: rugged mountain trails, the heat and steam of molten lava, and dark jungles where tribesmen harvest the beans and drink the bitter brew next to an open fire. Here in Japan, a Starbucks café coming to town is seen as a sign of urban sophistication — "Why, this must be a great neighborhood to live in!" Japan's apartments, which once had at least one room of tatami (straw mat) floors, are now giving way to full-western style "LDKs" (Living Dining Kitchen combo apartments) that are far more earthquake-safe and energy efficient. Likewise families are migrating from expensive, commuter-train supported cities like downtown Tokyo to densely packed suburbs of brand new, custom single-family homes — enabled by mostly hybrid and electric cars. Even Japan's manufacturing giants, Toyota and Panasonic, are building these modular homes in a crowded field of national builders. The Starbucks cafés I see here feature: rich wood interiors, stunning design, sporty sedans lined up outside the takeout window, and yuppie baristas wearing wireless headsets and terrific smiles. Who would have thought? Coffee is helping drive the Japanese to more American-style living :-) |