Kurokawa Onsen Farm Co., Ltd.

Kurokawa Onsen is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Kumamoto. " Au Pan & Coffee " is the flagship store of " Au Kurokawa, " a "regional food hub" centered around eight restaurants in Kurokawa Onsen. It is a small 19-tsubo (65.2 m2) shop that sells bread made with local ingredients, roasted coffee, natural wine, and other items. We offer "the usual bread" made with ingredients grown in the area around Kurokawa Onsen, and "the usual coffee" that goes well with bread.

Monosus and the Food Hub Project utilized their experience in running a bakery in Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture, which has continued to work closely with local residents, to consider what a bakery in Kurokawa Onsenkyo could do, and provided comprehensive support for the launch, from creating the space and directing the design to hiring and training staff and setting up store operations.

Hot spring resorts across Japan are bustling again as the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end and the number of inbound tourists is expected to exceed that of 2019. However, inns and other accommodation facilities are facing major issues, such as labor shortages and irregular work schedules.

The same issues are faced in Kurokawa Onsenkyo, a tourist destination in Kumamoto with 30 inns. That's where Au Kurokawa, centered around eight restaurants, began. Increasing the number of restaurants in the hot spring town, offering dinner and breakfast to inn guests, and encouraging the separation of lodging and eating should lead to the elimination of issues unique to inns. Increasing the number of restaurants of various types should create more options and fun for customers to eat in the hot spring town. They approached us with a request to create a bakery as the flagship store, and Monosus and the Food Hub Project became involved.

At Kamapan & Store in Kamiyama-cho, Tokushima, which is run by the Food Hub Project, they make bread for local people to eat using local ingredients and have been thinking about what can be done with bread. What can we do by bringing what we have practiced so far to Kurokawa Onsenkyo? This was the first challenge for the Food Hub Project to produce a bakery.

The project began by having the people involved in the operation, planning, and design of the store look at the scenery of Kamiyama, where the Food Hub Project has been active. They talked while looking at the site where bread is made using local ingredients, and had them check out the actual equipment being used, and shared an image of the store they would be building together.

Creating a menu and recipes from scratch was not realistic in terms of both money and schedule, so this time we decided to reflect the bread-making methods and operations we had accumulated at Kamapan & Store in the new store, and aim to gradually transform the store into one that is unique to Kurokawa Onsen.

After our discussions in Kamiyama, we moved to Kurokawa Onsen to conduct research, where we met a variety of people, including a cheese farmer, someone practicing no-till farming, a lumber mill that handles local cedar, and a ceramic artist.

After our discussions in Kamiyama, we moved to Kurokawa Onsen to conduct research, where we met a variety of people, including a cheese farmer, someone practicing no-till farming, a lumber mill that handles local cedar, and a ceramic artist.

As we worked on various things in parallel, such as the business plan, the store's interior design, the selection of equipment, and the design of paper bags, the key point was the Kamiyama training of the members we hired. We could have gathered experienced people and craftsmen, but that would not have addressed the issue of the local labor shortage. The members we gathered had almost no experience in bread making. Until they were able to work in the new store, they stayed in Kamiyama for two weeks to one month, and thoroughly shared how to make bread at Kamapan & Store.

Not only did they learn how to make bread, but they also spent time building up opportunities to communicate, which helped them to build a good team and made it possible for them to get started smoothly after moving to the new store in Kurokawa Onsen. Furthermore, by sharing the ideas behind Kamapan & Store in detail, we hope that in the future they will be able to operate their stores independently more quickly.

After test baking and a pre-opening, Au Pan & Coffee will hold its grand opening on September 30, 2024. The store staff are happy to welcome not only tourists, but also people working at the inn and locals who visit.

The breads on display at the store are made using Jersey milk, a familiar product to the people of Kurokawa Onsenkyo, as well as donuts, sweet bean buns made with red bean paste in collaboration with a local Japanese confectionery studio, and loaves made with seasonal vegetables. These are breads made with the local people of Kumamoto. Through our encounter with the members who will be working at the store, we have created a store where you can also enjoy delicious drip coffee and cafe au lait.

This is just the start of the store's creation. What kind of relationships can they build with the local people by making bread here? From now on, members of the Food Hub Project will continue to support the operation of the store.

＜Operated by＞ Kurokawa Shoji, RETEN ＜Produced by＞ Food Hub Project , Monosus ＜Designed by＞ giraffe Associates ＜Interior design＞ ASTER ＜Designed by＞ OVAL ＜Concept design＞ Fukunaga Azusa ＜Photography＞ Maeda Mototsugu. ＜Exterior design＞ Nishikido Kazunori ＜Advice＞ Ito Soken ＜Lighting design, production＞ Anai Woodworks ＜Ceramics logo production＞ Kitagawa Mugihiko