from Patrick McKenzie | by Patrick McKenzie

In a business which should obviously exist but isn’t exactly a coworking space or cafe, a tony section of Tokyo has a bookstore which rents tables on the second floor for about $15 an hour with free coffee/tea.

I think the job to be done is either a) you want leisure time in a tony section of Tokyo but any cafe here is booked 24/7 or b) you are between meetings and want a place to rest but *are not* working on a laptop.

(It’s priced to be prohibitive for someone sitting down for four hours to just grind out their afternoon.)

At the Tsutaya in Daikanyama above the Starbucks if anyone wants to check it out, incidentally.

Effectively this is creating value via market segmentation compared to the Starbucks on the bottom floor, which has not had a free seat at any hour day or night in all the years I’ve walked by during my time in Tokyo. Utilization of the “lounge” is about 10% right now.