Mr. Akitoshi Nagano, Store’s Sales Manager, Yatsuhashi-an & Shishu Yakata

Interviewers/Authors: Fumiya Honda, Rieru Nomura

Yatsuhashi-an & Shishu Yakata (embroidery museum) is a store where you can experience making sweets such as Yatsuhashi, visit the Yatsuhashi factory, and have a meal. On the second floor, there is also the Kyo Shishu Museum where many precious embroideries can be seen. The store’s sales manager, Mr. Akitoshi Nagano, is originally from Kochi Prefecture and has been working here for about nine years. His main job is to sell to travel agencies, mainly for group tourists such as school excursions. With the Corona Disaster, he also has recently been focusing on attracting individual customers through the Internet.

―How did this store come to be opened in Ukyo Ward? 

Nagano: Originally, embroidery was our main business, and we were located near Horikawa-street, but we heard that the company moved here for a larger space.

―As you can see on the website, there are many experiences that you offer such as making yatsuhashi, tofu, and sweets. What made you start those experiences?

Nagano: The company is in a slightly inconvenient place, a little far from the main tourist areas, so we decided to offer these experiences after thinking about various ways to attract customers. 

―What kind of efforts are you making to attract customers?

Nagano: In sales to travel agencies, we are mainly engaged in efforts to propose off-season plans. Since Kyoto has not many places where sightseeing buses can park and eat, travel agencies planning group tours always have difficulty finding places to park their buses, so our store’s advantage is that we have a parking lot for large buses. On weekends, individual customers and families mainly come for the experience, so recently we have been trying to disseminate information through our website and official LINE account.

―You have prepared texts for foreigners for the experience, so do you have many foreign customers? 

Nagano: Not many. This is partly because it is far from the main tourist areas, but most foreign visitors come mainly on tours conducted by travel agencies. Since there are not many staff members who can speak English well, tour guides interpret for them. Most of our guests come from within Japan. The Corona disaster almost eliminated travel opportunities and stopped group tours, but now they come mainly on school trips, so I think it was a good thing that we did not specialize in inbound travel.

―What do you recommend at this store?

Nagano: Since Kyoto is famous for Yatsuhashi, the most popular activity is the handmade experience of making Unbaked Yatsuhashi. For groups, kneading and making Japanese sweets are especially popular. As for meals, for school excursion students, hearty hamburgers, spaghetti, fried chicken, pork cutlet, and other dishes that children would like are popular. For adult tours, menus with tofu are popular during the current season (fall and winter).                                                                                                                  

―Finally, do you have a message for readers?

Nagano: Although we recommend our experiences, we would also like to invite you to visit the embroidery museum on the second floor. There are many valuable works made by artisans of the time on display, and we would like to promote them more and more. Some visitors come just to see the embroidery. There are many embroideries that you have never seen before, so we would like you to come and see them as well.  

Interviewer’s Comments 

I found it very attractive that there are a wide variety of experiences that can be enjoyed by men and women of all ages. Also, I heard that embroidery was originally the main business of the store, and there are about 80 embroideries on display in the embroidery museum on the second floor. I was able to see them in person and found them to be so delicate and beautiful beyond what can be expressed in pictures or photographs. We recommend that you visit this store and look at the embroideries.

（Fumiya Honda）