“Machi to Coffee” opened in January 2022, a 7-minute walk from Yobitsugi Station on the Nagoya Railway Nagoya Honsen.

After 18 years of being a favorite haunt, "Hideaway Gallery En" was closed and opened in a new form.

This time, we spoke with the representative, Kotaro Hattori, about the background and thoughts behind the establishment of "Machi to Coffee."

What is "Machi to Coffee"?

The storefront has a blue color on the whitewashed walls. The large windows facing the street blur the line between the store and the outside. You can also see cute coffee drippers of various shapes and colors lined up.

The first floor has a counter with four seats, a table with shoes removed, and a tatami room.

Inside the store is a dark red coffee roaster (back left) and a collection of books on coffee. The wood in the center of the tables is real.

The ceiling is high, and you can spend a relaxing time while feeling the breeze from outside the window.

Delicious meal

Machi to Coffee Set meal with 3 (or 4) kinds of side dishes, salad, main dish, rice and miso soup. It is a set meal with coffee jelly for after-meal enjoyment. Available from 11:00 to 14:00.

Since it was just lunch time, I ordered a set meal.

As much as possible, vegetables are prepared with no pesticides, fertilizers, or organic fertilizers. Each side dish has a different seasoning, so your mouth will be filled with happiness after each bite of white rice.

The generous serving of rice was gone in no time!

Rice made by producers in Aisai City.

Sweets and coffee

Front: "Mochi Mochi Banana Bake" ¥200 (tax included). 3 kinds in total: tsubuan (sweet bean paste), soymilk custard, and sausage. The tsubu-an and soymilk custard are handmade at the store.

Speaking of fun after a meal, desserts!

At Machi to Coffee, you can enjoy grilled bananas. Apparently, Mr. Hattori himself used to go there every week to eat this banana grill.

The scene of elementary school students buying and eating them as snacks and mothers stopping by to buy them with their children at "Papilika" in Kawana (now a sister store) made a strong impression on him, and he decided to sell them, saying, "I want to bring that kind of scene to Yobitsugi as well!"

Tsubuan has a salty taste and is moderately sweet.

The soy milk custard has a natural sweetness and a refreshing aftertaste.

“Machi toCoffee Blend” ¥500 (tax included) A blend of 3 types of dark roasted coffee.

One sip and you will be surprised at the taste that you would not expect from a deep-roasted blend. It is a cup that overturns the notion that deep roast equals bitterness. According to Mr. Hattori, the taste comes from the roasting process that brings out the sweetness and richness.

Recommended for those who are wondering which coffee to make.

You can have a leisurely conversation in the store, or you can take it out and enjoy it at home. Feel free to enjoy it in a way that suits you.

Café as urban development

Before launching "Machi to Coffee," Mr. Hattori operated a cafe called "Hideaway Gallery En." The previous store, located just a stone's throw from the current location, was a cafe that was loved by regulars and neighbors for 18 years.

Utilizing a 70-year-old private house (when it was first established in 2003), the restaurant serves homemade lunches, coffee, sweets, and other items popular at the current "Machi to Coffee" restaurant, as well as events such as private exhibitions and recitals as a rental space.

It was during this time that Mr. Hattori's life's work of "urban development," which he had been involved in since that time, became the starting point for the project to launch "Machi to Coffee" with the idea of "opening a cafe in a more open place that is not a hideaway".

Representative Kotaro Hattori

From “Machi to Coffee” official Instagram

-I heard that you used crowdfunding to launch "Machi to Coffee." Why?

Mr. Hattori: "Even before my child was born, I had been involved in urban development activities for about 13 years.

In the beginning, we approached people in the community and gathered 5 or 6 members in their 30s to 70s. Now, about 10 people play a central role in our activities. For example, we publish a newspaper once a season, organize events such as walks around the town, and plan and manage marche two or three times a year.

From the official Instagram of “Machi to Coffee” The “Sando Night Market” held at Tomibe Shrine in August 2021

I started the town-building activities with a desire to revive the shopping district in Yobitsugi, where I was born and raised, but things did not go smoothly and I felt that my activities had reached an impasse.

I started crowdfunding because I felt it was too selfish to do it on my own, and that I needed to raise awareness of my activities while involving the people of the city."

A shrine along the old Tokaido.

Once a lively shopping district, it is now lined with houses and quiet, especially during the day.

Mr. Hattori: "From the beginning of 'Hideaway Gallery En', we often talked about what we wanted to do with our customers.

A major shopping center has been built in my neighborhood, fewer people walk the streets than before, a store I know has turned into a parking lot, and I feel a sense of crisis that the vitality of the area I cherish is being lost.

When we first started crowdfunding, there were times when we wondered if we would be able to raise the full amount, but we were able to achieve our goal within the time frame we had planned.

Many people participated in the support, such as regular customers of 'Hideaway Gallery En' and artists who used the event space.

The crowdfunding returns dared to be in the form of a crisp and unshapely form for a price.

It was semi-experimental, but the fact that the people who supported us were attracted to something invisible and were willing to support a café in a place other than their own confirmed to me that the direction we were aiming for was not wrong."

-What are the benefits of urban development and regional revitalization?

Mr. Hattori: "Having acquaintances in the community is very important, and I think it is something we must leave behind for our children's generation.

For example, having an adult person who knows someone in the city you live in is a good security measure, and it means you are not alone or lonely.

The more reassurance that sprouts from such human connections, the larger the community, and the more it grows, the more it leads to the creation of other communities that are derived from it.

I want to create a place where people can connect with each other so that I can revive the sense of living with the community that I felt when I was a child and pass it on to our children's generation.

From the official Instagram of “Machi to Coffee” The newly built shopping district

The current state of the shopping district. The number of tenants has increased and it has become lively.

-What specifically will you achieve by launching a new cafe as "Machi to Coffee"?

Mr. Hattori:"It's difficult to create as many shops as in a shopping district. That's why we decided to incorporate the elements that are typical of a shopping district into 'Machi to Coffee.'

In addition to the elements of coffee, snacks (baked bananas), and side dishes that connect the town and people, we decided to create a 'small shopping street within the store.'

Each wooden box about 40 cm square will be used as a site for a small shopping street, and it will be provided as a place where you can freely use the inside to do various things. And even if these boxes are piled up and small, it becomes a big shopping street.”

Mr. Hattori brewing coffee while chatting with customers.

-What did you do before you opened Hideaway Gallery En? Please tell us if you have any experiences that lead to thinking about urban development.

Mr. Hattori:"From the beginning, I was thinking of starting my own business. After graduating from university, I worked at a coffee roasting shop for a year and opened 'Hideaway Gallery En.'

Since my family was self-employed, I naturally felt that I should earn my own money. ”

-You came from the architecture department. Why did you choose coffee?

Mr. Hattori: "In 1999, when I was in college, I had the opportunity to go to Europe for training, and the espresso I drank in Italy at that time was so delicious that it was a shocking experience.

I've always liked coffee and drank it often, but because of the training, after graduating, I had to choose between architecture and coffee.

In the end, I chose coffee, but I sometimes feel that what I learned when I was in the architecture department is useful in urban planning.

For example, if you study architecture, you also have time to study urban planning and communities. Buildings stand in the middle of the city, so I feel that they are connected to the present where I think about what the region should be like and the people who live there. ”

-Tell us about a moment when you are happy at work.

Mr. Hattori: "Yes. When the customer said that the coffee was delicious.

The other time is when customers get to know each other without even knowing it. The style of going up without shoes seems to have the effect of bringing people closer together.

Also, when I'm standing by the store window, an elementary school student waves my hand and says, 'Master!' It is also a scene that makes you realize that the store is open to the outside. ”

About the future

-What do you want to do in the future?

Mr. Hattori: "To liven up the town, to get people to drink coffee, and to revive the shopping district in the future.

There are many vacant stores in the Yobitsugi shopping district, but they are not rented out as tenants. We want more people to know about the town-building activities we are engaged in, and by connecting people with each other, we hope to make the town more lively."

In listening to Mr. Hattori's talk, I came into contact with his thoughts on the "state of the community," and it made me think about my own city. 
I felt that if there were people in my town that I could talk to in a friendly manner, or if there was a deli where I could casually drop by, my daily life would be even more precious than it is now.

We can't wait to see how regional revitalization activities develop through "Machi to Coffee." Even if it's not my hometown, I feel like I want to visit Yobitsugi regularly because there are people, things, and things I want to meet.

Mr. Hattori, thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule.