ecoma coffee

Soka City, Saitama Prefecture — Known as a commuter town since the post-war Japanese economic miracle, several shopping districts have flourished in this city, including the Soka Station environs. As the years went by, however, the city’s population declined and the number of vacant houses and shops increased. Once called a “bedroom suburb,” Soka City was concerned about the situation and launched the “Soka Renovation Town Development Initiative” in 2016. The “Renovation School” is one of the pillars of this project, aimed at creating a new industry and revitalize the city by using idle and underutilized real estate. Junpei Abe, originally from Tokyo, participated in this school and opened ecoma coffee in 2018, as if he had been groomed to do so. Moving to a place to which he...