If you regularly stop for a Machi Cafe coffee, this could save you a ton of money!

In many countries, stopping for coffee at a convenience store is usually out of desperation–like you’re on a road trip in the middle of nowhere and desperately need a caffeine boost to keep you going until you get to a populated area with a Starbucks. But not so in Japan. Convenience store coffee is actually pretty good in Japan because, for every brewed-in-store coffee order, fancy machines make it fresh with freshly ground beans.

A popular option is convenience store chain Lawson’s Machi Cafe corner, where the fresh-grinding and brewing machines are located on their own little counter and the staff wear aprons to replicate that neighborhood coffee shop feel. Their coffee is pretty cheap, too, compared to coffeehouse chains, at only 110 yen (US$0.84) per small cup.

And now that price is going to become even cheaper with a special monthly subscription–at least for Lawson customers in Aichi Prefecture. Between April 16 and July 31, customers can take advantage of Machi Cafe Prime, a monthly subscription service that costs 1,500 yen and includes one small hot or iced coffee, valued at 110 yen each, per day for 30 days. If you’re a daily visitor to Machi Cafe, that saves you about 1,800 yen per month, more than the cost of the subscription itself!

Plus, if you want to drink something fancier than a regular drip coffee, like a Caramel Macchiato (230 yen) or a Cafe Latte (180 yen), you only have to pay the difference in price (for example, 120 yen for a Macchiato or 70 yen for the Latte), so this plan applies to Machi Cafe’s entire drink menu.

The service is starting in Aichi first as a test to see if it meets the needs of Lawson customers, as part of the company’s efforts to help combat inflation, and if it’s successful, Lawson is considering expanding it to the rest of Japan. For now, though, all 620 Lawson stores in Aichi prefecture will be initiating the service on April 16, though you can already pre-purchase your subscription now through June 25.

There’s a little bit of a delay between the purchase and the start of the subscription, however. If you purchase between the 11th and the 25th of the month, your free daily coffee starts on the first of the next month, but if you sign up between the 25th of one month and the 10th of the next month, it will start on the 16th of that month. The last day for any subscription is July 31.

Once you’re enrolled, you’ll get one free coffee coupon a day for 30 days, each of which will expire at the end of the day. You’ll need to download the Lawson app and connect it to a Ponta Card or a D-Card to be able to use the coupons, so that’s something to keep in mind.

If you’re a regular coffee drinker in Aichi Prefecture, consider trying out Machi Cafe Prime! It sounds like a great deal, and it seems like if enough people buy into it, it’ll be extended to other parts of the country–and then we’ll all get to have cheap coffee on the regular.

Source: Lawson
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