DESTINATION STORE

FEATURE COLUMN NEWS

DESTINATION STORE｜File 002

#COLUMN #destination_store #LIFESTYLE

2022.11.04

HONEYEE.COM Style City Guide
File 002: NAKASAN SEIKA (Kanagawa Kawasaki)

In the age of intelligent information, mobile phones shows that we can go everywhere we want. Instead, how about taking your phone to those “must-go” places to experience it for yourself? HONEYEE.COM has launched DESTINATION STORE, a series of store introductions, to recommend destinations which are worth visiting.

The store introduced in File 002 is located in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, which is a street vegetable and fruit shop "NAKASAN SEIKA" cooked by a young owner.

Text Yukihisa Takei
Photo Li Bowen
Translation Zhuoqin Li

The owner of the vegetable and fruit shop who are not interested in streetwear is not a good planner

From event planner to store owner of family fruit and vegetable

Take the JR Nambu Line from Kawasaki for 5 stops to Mukaigawara Station. Indeed, if there are special arrangements, it is generally less likely to set foot in this area. However, I recently heard that there is a fruit and vegetable shop called “NAKASAN SEIKA”on this street that is a bit interesting, so I decided to go and find out.

When we visit, the owner, Yamada Kaito (25 years old) entertained us. Instead of using the title of "vegetable and fruit shop owner", it is better to say that he has the feeling of a clothing store Staff. Since he was a student, he has been active in the field of Club event planning, and in 2020, this restaurant that originated from his grandfather's fruit and vegetable shop was handed over to him.

"Originally, I didn't plan to take over this store. Affected by the epidemic in the past few years, almost all activities had to be stopped, so I thought about trying to see what I could do through this store. Although my father also told me that running a business a shop is very hard (laughs)."

"50 years of business history, brand new fruit and vegetable shop"

About 50 years ago, Yamada's grandfather opened this shop, mainly targeting local residents, providing store sales and delivery services. The story of the fruit and vegetable shop begins.

On the Instagram account of NAKASAN SEIKA, the words "50 years of business history, brand new fruit and vegetable shop" attracted attention. This small shop located on the corner of the shopping street is indeed completely different from the common vegetable and fruit shop that everyone imagines, but it is filled with a street atmosphere.

At the entrance of the store, the first thing that catches the eye is the name of the store, “NAKASAN SEIKA”, which was drawn by hand-painted artist Tana Ryota. Walking into the center of the store, seasonal fruits are placed on the industrial-style cement countertops, and the natural living atmosphere is comfortable. The so-called "Shopping Street Vegetable and Fruit Shop" has been transformed into a new look by Yamada's hand, adding a modern street feel.

In terms of the quality of fruit and vegetables procurement, NAKASAN SEIKA is not sloppy at all. Every day at three in the morning, Yamada will personally go to the market to purchase seasonal vegetables and fruits. Compared with the time when Club activities were planned, Yamada's working hours can be described as a 180-degree reversal.

"When talking about purchasing ingredients, our family has more than 50 years of experience. Since my grandfather's generation, we have been maintaining contacts and cooperation with suppliers in the market. Even though my own experience in this area may be relatively shallow, I can buy reliable ingredients."

NAKASAN SEIKA is open from 13:00 pm. On weekdays, most of the housewives and elderly people in this area come to visit and buy daily ingredients. On Friday and Saturday, there are more young customers in the store. They were attracted by the exclusive "Fruit Punch" of NAKASAN SEIKA, and came to visit the store specially.

"Fruit Punch" is the exclusive signboard of NAKASAN SEIKA. According to the season, the seasonal fruits are carefully selected for their own candied craftsmanship to absorb the unique flavors of the four seasons.

A collaboration with FRUIT OF THE LOOM

In addition to putting more efforts in the work of vegetables and fruit ingredients, Yamada also began to try to create an ingenious fruit and vegetable shop. Through his accumulated sense and social connections, he made communications between different fields. The collaboration (¥5,500) with brand FRUIT OF THE LOOM is one of them.

In addition, NAKASAN SEIKA is also continuing to update itself beyond the scale of a simple "vegetable and fruit shop". For example, Sneaker Shop atmos invited NAKASAN SEIKA to combine the NB Logo with citrus for a creative imprint design, and used as the signature Fruit Punch to provide customized coffee breaks for New Balance events, and so on.

"The so-called 'eight hundred house (Japanese term for vegetable and fruit shop)' has the same meaning as the 'eight hundred' of 'eight million no gods (Japanese proverb, referring to the gods of Japanese Shinto)'. In the past, it meant a wide variety of commodities and everything. So I was thinking that it would be good to make this store more diversified. But then again, although it is also developing into the field of activities that integrate with external parties, it is steadfast. It is also very important to do our own vegetables and fruits well. It can't be called a strategy, because no matter how innovative it is, it is impossible to forget it. First of all, it still needs to fit the atmosphere of this street and this place. Therefore, I want to keep going like this, stand in the store and work, and occasionally hold events like Popups.”