Background of Building a New Factory in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Since our establishment as a confectionery store in Kamakura, we have done business in a way that stays close to our community. Thanks to their support, 2024 marks 130 years since our founding, for which we will unendingly be grateful to this place in Kamakura.

Hygiene standards for food production facilities have tightened over the years, and our aging factory in the Ofuna area of Kamakura City had more and more noticeable hygiene issues each year. In order to ensure we provide our customers with products that are both safe and delicious, we needed to make drastic improvements, including in the working environment.

We therefore decided to build a new factory in Kamakura, to ensure more thorough hygienic control and a more comfortable environment for our employees. Feeling the air of Kamakura and seeing the changing scenery, we infuse the spirit of the four seasons into our products. We believe that our essential value is to create products that are in harmony with the land around us.

As a long-established company that has been making Japanese sweets, we had a variety of thoughts when building the new factory, and is an expression of our gratitude to Kamakura and our determination to move forward together with Kamakura, where the company and I were born and raised.

Background and Benefits of Utilizing Select Kanagawa NEXT

It was a turning point for us when a bank with which we had a relationship told us about Select Kanagawa NEXT. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for new factory construction temporarily appeared to be dead in the water. We were forced to close for a long period, and sales dropped to almost zero around that time. Nevertheless, to protect the livelihood of our employees, we continued to pay their full salaries. Rising material costs also drove up prices, and we were forced to consider borrowing from banks and taking out loans, which had been avoided up to that point. This was when the low interest financing support option in Select Kanagawa NEXT really helped us out with low-interest, long-term loans.

Select Kanagawa NEXT was available to us then partly because we fell under the category of a regional development industry, a category that, specifically and solely for the Yokosuka/Miura area and western area of the prefecture, has an expanded scope to include food product manufacturing and other industries. Even amid the challenges posed by the pandemic, the subsidies and loans provided to us by Select Kanagawa NEXT allowed us to build our new factory.

As for the application procedure, we had to prepare several required documents such as financial statements and tax certificates, which was confusing due to our unfamiliarity with these processes. However, thanks to the friendly support of the prefecture’s staff, we were able to smoothly advance through the procedures.

To ensure thorough hygiene management, the new factory is divided into three zones, with clear separation of raw materials from arrival to shipment. We are very pleased with the clean and comfortable break area, which seems to have boosted employees’ motivation to work.

Benefits from the Factory's Location

The location of the new factory brought great advantages for our employees. It is conveniently located within walking distance from the station, which has reduced the burden of commuting. The peace of mind of being able to walk to work from the station appears to be a significant one for our employees, as bus commuting can sometimes make it difficult to read the time.

In addition, the factory is located on the site of a former Shiseido factory, which has now been transformed into condominiums and our factory. Therefore, although the factory is located close to a residential area, we have maintained a good relationship with the surrounding residents. The Japanese confectionery factory has been favorably received by condominium residents because it produces little noises and odors, and we do not operate the factory at night.

The construction of the plant has even further strengthened ties with the local community. The factory has evolved into an open and welcoming presence in the community, collaborating with the local police department to conduct special fraud prevention campaigns and offering its premises for fire department training. Another happy development is that we are now creating new value in the form of contributions to the local community.

Thoughts on Future Business

Although our company has been in business for 130 years, we are not content to rest on our past achievements, but continue our pursuit to create even more delicious confections. Although people say that Hato Sable is a cookie that is well-known and polished to perfection, we feel there is still room for greater heights in taste. Japanese confections are an art without limit, and we would like to continue to steadily seek the endless deliciousness they offer.

Tradition is nothing more than a series of innovations over time. We must have the courage to change what needs to be changed, while at the same time firmly safeguarding what must be safeguarded. Like the trunk of a tree, the essence is unchanging and protected, while the branches and leaves adapt dynamically according to the times. So too do we believe that the trunk must not be allowed to die for new leaves to sprout. For example, the recipe for Hato Sable is entirely unchanged for over a century, but we are always seeking better ingredients to enrich these cookies. In the development of jonamagashi, or intricately designed fresh confections, the person in charge of production and I discuss as many as 100 prototypes each month, and I, as the owner of the store, use my keenly discerning eye to select six varieties for store display. In the development of new products, we place great importance on the traditional Japanese calendar and on the subtle expression of the changing seasons. Our ultimate goal is to please our customers. We want to continue to be a company that brings smiles to the faces of all people, including those who craft our products. It is our belief that this desire will lead to smiles and joy for people living, working, and visiting Kamakura, as well as for the city as a whole, and that it would be wonderful if we could contribute to the local community in this and many more ways.