A Gardening Shop Plus Cafe in the Mountains of Japan - Gardenista
Photography by Yoko Inoue for Gardenista. A garden shop deep in the forest, in the mountains of Okayama at the southern end of Japan’s main island of Honshu, is next to owner and designer Makoto Kawai’s workshops. Far from the crowds of Tokyo, Nap sells home goods along with gardening accessories. Stones collected from a nearby river secure the shade above the cafe’s outdoor deck. With holes drilled at a local factory, the rocks were strung together to form weights to keep the awning in place. Colorful gardening boots and gardening boot removers are for sale. Watering cans and English gardening baskets on display. A selection of goods for the home and garden; the denim aprons are made by Nap. The cafe and store interior which, given the rural location, are only open on weekends and holidays. (It’s a common Japanese custom to provide a container for bags, so they don’t get dirty if placed on the floor.) The entrance to the cafe and shop, with stone steps collected by Mr. Kawai from the river nearby. Mr. Kawai has created a small village of sorts, with his workshops and cafe set up in the middle of a forest in Okayama. Nap workers from the nearby sewing factory take a lunch break on the deck.