Take the Kintetsu Nagoya Line from Nagoya Station, get off at Kogane Station, just two stops away, and walk 500m. As you walk through the residential area, you will come across Jika Cafe Yamada, where you can feel at home. Opened in 2016, it is popular with customers who make the effort to visit the cafe, despite being located in a residential area a little outside the city. Chika Cafe Yamada is run by Yuko Chikazawa, a mother of two who works as an architect during the week and a cafe owner on weekends. She told us with a smile that she has a lot of fun every day.

From the outside, it looks small and cute, but once you step inside, you'll find a courtyard filled with sunlight, and the sense of security and comfort that comes with being at home, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, has now evolved into a shared cafe shared by over 10 stores, creating a rich daily life woven together with human connections.

The beginning of my family cafe, Yamada

Owner Chikazawa-san has worked in the construction industry since graduating from university. When her husband's grandfather's house became vacant, she was looking for ways to utilize it, and using her experience as an architect, she designed a store and opened Yamada Family Cafe on an experimental basis in 2016. Chikazawa-san is originally from Kochi Prefecture, and was raised by a fisherman father and a farmer mother, and grew up eating almost no processed foods, so she created a menu themed around the food of Kochi, recreating the meals she ate at home.

A space that has evolved as a "home café" through faith

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Jika Cafe Yamada has also evolved into a new form. Chikazawa says that even in the midst of all this, there hasn't been a single day that a customer didn't come to Jika Cafe Yamada. He continued that this experience has given him confidence that "someone will definitely come." Now that he can "trust people" more than before, he is able to try new things and expand. Currently, with the three main stores as its base, the cafe is shared by a total of more than 10 stores, including collaborations. It has established a new style.

A menu where people who are good at what they do can enjoy the moment

From Saturday to Monday, Mikan Shokudo, a restaurant started by the former head chef of Jikka Cafe Yamada, serves lunch from 11am to 3pm. R Cafe, started by former staff of Jikka Cafe Yamada, is open from 12pm to 5pm from Tuesday to Friday. It serves healthy sweets that do not contain wheat or animal products. In addition, British Bar Lazward, which serves British pub food, is open from 6pm to 10:30pm on Saturday nights.

Although restaurants require an initial investment, sharing makes it easier for new people who want to open new restaurants to try, and allows them to operate in a way that makes use of each person's area of expertise. The interior is also regularly updated, and Chikazawa is in charge of coordinating it. Thanks to the shared cafe format, new customers visit through various connections, and new encounters are made.

Chikazawa also lectures at universities, drawing on his experiences at Jika Cafe Yamada. He said that while online connections have developed rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic, he has come to realise that real connections are still important. "Jika Cafe Yamada provides a place to foster those real connections. There's a word for it: 'survive,' but at Jika Cafe Yamada we value the style of 'let's all join hands and do this together,'" Chikazawa said with a smile.

This cafe, which naturally exists as part of the sharing economy, is run with the aim of providing plenty of reasons to come and opportunities for people to connect. Yamada's Cafe is the ideal place, with a warm and welcoming atmosphere, and food that satisfies both body and soul.

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Store name: Jikka Cafe Yamada

Address: 3-33 Fukagawa-cho, Nakamura-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, 453-0805

Access: 7 minutes walk from Kogane Station on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line

instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jikka.cafe.yamada/

*For details on business hours and holidays, please check the link above.