Okazaki City in Aichi Prefecture is famous nationwide as a town of miso. 8830miso (Hachi Hachi Sanmaru Miso) has recently become the talk of the town for its "fashionable miso soup" that looks like a coffee. They have stalls at various events and regularly open a stall every Sunday at "Camping Office osoto," a shared office and coworking space in Okazaki City.

I interviewed Mr. Amano, the president of 8830miso, about the concept of "8830miso," the story behind its birth, and its future prospects.

What is "8830miso"?

"8830miso" was launched with the concept of "transmitting the taste and fun of miso from Okazaki. The name comes from rice (88) and miso (30). The Miso Soup Stand is a place to introduce the techniques and flavors that have been cultivated over the years to today's young people, so that it can be enjoyed as the taste of mothers of Okazaki City, Japan, and the world.

At the Miso Soup Stand, we propose two types of miso, "Maruya" and "Kakukyu"', which are the historic Hatcho miso shops in Okazaki City. You can also taste and compare miso.

Initially, the desire was to create a bustling shopping district.

Megumi Amano, representative of "8830miso". I asked her about the story from the birth secret story to development.

-Please tell us how you came to create 8830miso.

Ms. Amano: “I was born in Yokohama and moved to Okazaki when I got married. I married into a boutique in the shopping district that has been around since 1903. In front of the shopping district is Kagota Park. It was a park with memories from long ago.

My mother-in-law used to say, "In the past, it used to be a bustling shopping street, and it was a pedestrian zone, with many people walking. I wondered if it would be possible to restore the liveliness of the area by integrating not only the shops, but also the entire shopping district and the park in front of it. "

-So the initial motivation was that you wanted to bring back the vibrancy to shopping streets and parks.

Mr. Amano: "People come to stores and shopping streets, and people who come to stores go to their favorite parks. When I was searching for what I could do for this purpose, about 15 years ago, there was a national initiative to propose and implement a plan to revitalize central city districts, which are in decline throughout Japan. I heard about it from a group of friends who were thinking about community development, applied to be a member of the study committee, and submitted an essay. I was finally able to become a member of the study committee.

When I looked at the plans of Okazaki City, I learned that Kagoda Park, which is located in front of the shopping street, plans to renovate the soil and make it an all-weather ground. When I thought that the soil would disappear, I became so sad that I could not breathe. ”

Kagoda Park more than 10 years ago

Ms. Amano: "In fact, Kagota Park has always had problems with dust and poor drainage. We wondered what would be the best alternative to eliminating the soil, and suggested that the entire area be turfed, which had been done before in Japan. However, we were told that turf would require a lot of maintenance and upkeep. So, we discussed how to manage and maintain the lawn, proposing that it be turfed because the citizens would manage and care for it.

So I asked a handmade artist friend of mine for advice, and he suggested, 'how about holding a handmade market in Kagota Park and setting aside a portion of the proceeds from each stall to help raise funds for the Lawn Foundation?' It would be a good way to make the park more lively. We decided and started the project because it would be a great way to attract people to the park! "

-You planned a market for the purpose of maintaining and managing the lawn.

Ms. Amano: "Since we had never held a handmade market in Kagota Park before, we were worried that customers would come to a place like this. But we called on 30 stores we knew and held our first event on Mother's Day about 13 years ago. More than 1,000 people came on the day of the event, and it was very crowded. People around us said, "Please do it again!" We were very happy to hear people around us say, "We haven't had a crowd like this for a long time.

After that, it was held on the same Mother's Day the following year to make it easier to announce. The number of stalls increased to 30, 80, and 150, and in the third year, the number of visitors exceeded 8,000. ”

Kagoda Park renewed this year

Ms. Amano: “In recognition of the bustle of the park, the prefecture budgeted money to cultivate the ground so that grass could be planted, and work has begun to lay grass on 1/5th of the entire park. Kagoda Park aims to become a privately operated park.”

Creating new “something” to maintain the park

-What did you do after that?

Ms. Amano: "Two or three years after we started planting lawns, a company called Machizukuri Okazaki Co., Ltd. was established in Okazaki with the aim of revitalizing the town. The owners of the shopping district gathered at the company's "Town Delusion Conference" to present what they wanted to do in the future.

I made an announcement that I wanted to serve Miso Soup in Kagota Park. I knew that other parks were using a portion of the proceeds from cafes and other sales to generate administrative costs for the park. But when I thought, "There are plenty of cafes out there, so I wanted to create one with more character," that's when I came up with the idea for the Miso Soup Café."

Mr. Amano: “I immediately searched the internet and found someone who runs a miso soup cafe in Tokyo. I got it and immediately went to Tokyo.

Those people were a team 'New Year's Eve' that spreads miso soup to the world in Tokyo. When I drank miso soup for the first time, I was very moved by the healing of my mind and body. When I told them, 'I want many people to experience this excitement,' and 'I want to open a miso soup stand in Okazaki for the lawn in my town,' they kindly agreed, and '8830miso' was born."