Featured in the Asahi Shimbun
It was featured in the Asahi Shimbun on Tuesday, January 1th.
—-Article excerpt——
Thinking of people with disabilities, like the hare, like the tortoise
As soon as you open the door, which is decorated with a rabbit and a boy logo, you are greeted by the fragrant aroma of home-roasted coffee, and the counter is lined with rabbit merchandise.
Located near Osaka Metro Showacho Station in Abeno Ward, Osaka City, where there are many retro row houses, is a cafe called "Usagi to Boku" (Rabbit and Me) located in a 90-year-old row house.
The house is run by Takakiyo Uwaguchi (44) and his wife Kanae (48). The wooden furniture, which they collected from antique shops, matches the atmosphere of the tenement house, creating a relaxed and quiet space that is different from the image of a busy rabbit. The couple aims to create "an imaginary grandma's house where everyone can relax."
The two were former colleagues at a facility for people with disabilities in Osaka Prefecture and married in 2003. After that, they worked at other facilities, but decided they wanted to do work that they could do together, so they opened a cafe in October 2.
Takakiyo studied welfare at university, and after graduating, he worked at a facility for people with intellectual and mental disabilities, as well as at Hello Work.
When he worked at a cafe that catered to people with mental disabilities, he discovered the appeal of freshly roasted, aromatic coffee.
The name of the shop, "Usagi" (Rabbit), was also suggested by Takakiyo. A colleague at work once had a pet rabbit, and he became fascinated by its friendly appearance.
The cafe lattes served at the cafe are decorated with intricate rabbit latte art drawn with steamed milk. "I want to make this my signature product," he said, and he practiced hard. It became a hot topic on social media and remains the most popular item. The biscuits served with the drinks are also rabbit-shaped.
The love for rabbits has drawn customers to the shop, and customers sometimes leave rabbit goods there. The shop is now filled with rabbits. However, Kanae laughs and says, "The name of the shop is easy to understand, but I'm not that interested in rabbits."
The store also sells baked goods made by facilities for people with disabilities, with the hope of changing the current situation where "people are making good products but have no place to sell them."
Workshops where people with disabilities make food generally pay close attention to hygienic conditions, and the food tastes comparable to that of specialty shops, but sales channels remain limited. "I hope I can be of some help so that objective evaluations can be made," says Takakiyo.
Although they have not yet succeeded in increasing the income of each individual person with a disability, the two hope that they can give the disabled people and their families a sense of being connected to society. Other coffee shops have also begun to share their vision and stock their products.
A female employee in her 40s at Ogari Workshop (Sumiyoshi Ward, Osaka City), which supplies coffee donuts and chiffon cakes, expressed her gratitude, saying, "They are understanding of people with disabilities, and they look after us warmly even when we go to make deliveries."
"While sales have been sluggish due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are grateful that our food is enjoyed by a wide range of customers and that we are receiving the same number of orders as before."
Both Takakiyo and Kanae describe themselves as "shy" people, and having never even hosted a home party at home, it was a constant challenge for them to interact with "first-time" customers at the bar.
The restaurant celebrated its 10th anniversary last October. While it may seem like the two have been moving forward like rabbits, they both agree that they would actually like to take things slowly, like turtles.
"We want to continue doing the same things and contribute to the community and society. We live in an age where people tend to feel exhausted, but we hope that people will come to the cafe without feeling stressed." (Suzuki Tomoyuki)
Usagi to Boku is located at 3-9-10 Hannan-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka. Open from 9:6 AM to 8:06 PM (regular hours will resume from the afternoon of the 7502th). 2155-XNUMX-XNUMX. The shop also sells baked goods from facilities for people with disabilities through its online shop on its website (https://usaboku-coffee.com/opens in a new window).
