The no-smoking policy of Starbucks also displeased many. As a result many competitors took advantage and included an elaborate food menu with coffee and had separate smoking areas. Other challenges that Japan presented to Starbucks were high rent and cost of labor. The land rent rate in Tokyo was more than double that of Seattle. Moreover, Starbucks
did not have a roasting facility in Japan; it had to ship coffee from its roasting facility in Kent.