LE LABO KYOTO MACHIYA — Local services in Kyoto

The place is wonderful just to be in because of the traditional Japanese architecture but the process to get in is kind of annoying. Since there are a lot of tourists like us wanting to go in, they want to give each customer proper attention and so it won’t get messy & noisy inside, you will have to line up outside. The ask you while in the queue if you are here for the cafe or the perfumery. If you want the cafe most likely they’ll let you right in (the cafe and shop have same entrance but the cafe is in the back) and you can drink inside but not much seating. The garden and ambience tho are worth it. If you want to check their store then you’ll have to wait for a while. Most of the ppl are queueing for the perfumes, and mostly for the Kyoto exclusive scent OSMANTHUS 19. It gets sold out quickly. While you’re queueing they’ll come and tell you what size has sold out. It comes in 100ml, 50ml, & 15ml. The 100ml sold out in the first half hour after the store opened. Each person is allowed to buy 2 bottles of the OSMANTHUS 19, but for other items there is no limit. As they make the perfumes fresh you should know that it could take up to 3 hours for your perfumes to get ready so make sure you go to the store early and not leave it to the end of your stay. We paid after 11am and the waiting was more than 2 hours. They let you scan a barcode so you know when your items are...

I came into the boutique, greeted by a sales assistant (SA). When I told the SA I’d like to check out the cafe area first, buy drinks then look at Le Labo products later, she responded that visitors are expected to buy products first then allowed to proceed to cafe area.

When I expressed my concern that this should not be how brands push sales, she then corrected that I can buy drinks (without buying Le Labo products) but only for take-away; I will not be allowed to sit down at the cafe area. But I double checked with a couple of visitors who were sitting down at that time, enjoying their drinks, actually they did not make any Le Labo purchase beforehand. Camera footage can show that around 6pm of 23 July, I talked to a couple of visitors who were sitting down. Why is there such inconsistent treatment?

At some point when I was proceeding to the cafe area, the SA tried to suggest that I go outside to queue again. Queue for what?

If Le Labo Kyoto boutique has specific requirement regarding purchase and enjoyment of cafe area, such requirement must be clearly communicated to visitors before they decide to enter...

Wanted to get something from Le Labo before my trip but procrastinated and decided not to get it in fear that it might not arrive in time. During the middle of my trip, I was running low of the cologne I brought and searched around what was available in Kyoto. To my surprise they had a very unique Le Labo store/coffee shop right near my hotel. I got there shortly after they opened and there were a half dozen folks waiting in line to go in. There was a very friendly employee that kept coming in and out to check in on all the customers in line to explain how the system worked. It was about a half hour wait and I was in. I sampled many different scents and even got to customize my own label on the product. They literally make the scent there and they tell you to come back an hr and a half later to pick it up. While I waited I ordered a matcha latte inside their shop and then walked around Kawaramachi to do some more shopping. Very happy with my purchase and experience. The staff were very nice and knowledgeable of all their products. They even packaged a sampler, which was...