Nakahara Store — An Unmanned Community Market

Quietly tucked away just south of “Modern-ji,” a small unmanned market has opened its doors.

Around February 2020, we set up a self-service shop near Hanakuma Station, right between JR Kobe Station and Motomachi. It’s located on the first floor of an old concrete building that’s now over fifty years old — the same building that has recently become known as the much-talked-about “Nakahara Mansion.”

For a long time, I had been bothered by the dead space in the building. I kept thinking, “Someday I’ll do something interesting here.” With older properties, there’s always something that needs repairing or improving, and the to-do list never ends. If you only focus on the tasks in front of you, you’ll never get around to the things you truly want to try in your lifetime.

So I make a habit of writing down fun ideas in the Notes app on my iPhone, and from time to time I look back at them to rekindle my motivation. Eventually, the right moment arrived, and almost naturally the idea resurfaced:

“One day, I want to make use of this space in a way that residents will enjoy, that local people will find interesting, and that everyone involved will feel grateful to be part of.”

With that feeling in mind, I finally took the first step — and the idea became an unmanned marketplace.

The most important thing is that it’s fun for me, and that someone else might find it fun too.

And so, this unmanned display shelf was born.