Daily life of a “long-established candy store” working hard in the age of the Umaibo price hike

Umehara Milk Shop, Shiratori, Katsushika-ku

Most candy shops, like Mr. Uchiyama’s, are run by homeowners. However, at the Umehara Milk Shop in Katsushika Ward, Tokyo, the rent is a heavy burden. At the end of last year, the nearby factory, which had contributed to sales, moved to a new location, and the store’s owner, Fumii Umehara, 69, sighed.

Fumii Umehara, 69, the owner of the store, sighs, “We used to be able to manage the candy store because my husband was doing his best to deliver milk. But he passed away the year before last and the factory moved, so now it’s really tough.

The company was founded in 1974. It started as a milk delivery service, but eventually became a candy store as well. Before long, elderly people from the neighborhood began to gather at this hangout for children on their way home from school. The regulars call it an “oasis in the community.

I thought people would miss me if I closed the store when they came to visit. I have a volunteer spirit. I thought they would be happy to spend the day selling candy and having idle conversations.

Inagaki, Kazo, Saitama

While all candy stores are screaming, Inagaki in Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture, is crowded with parents and children every day. Standing at the front of the store is the young master, Atsushi Miyanaga (42), who just started the business in the first year of the 20th century. It all started about 10 years ago, when Mr. Miyanaga started running a childcare center for school children.

When I took the children on a field trip, I was shocked to find that some of them didn’t know how to shop. That’s when I created a pseudo candy store in the school child care center.

After that, he stepped down from running the school children’s daycare and embarked on a journey to visit candy stores all over Japan. To date, he has visited about 600 stores. What he saw were candy stores on the verge of extinction.

Someone has to do it with the intention of preserving them.

But the store owners we met told us, “You can’t do it because it’s not profitable.

“You can’t make money, so don’t do it.

As if to shake off such voices, he opened the store three months after completing his trip. The location was a property that he had purchased as a warehouse. It was a closed hair salon and stamp shop, which he transformed into a candy store by doing the interior work himself. He also collected old game machines. The store is only open on weekends, but word of mouth has spread and the number of customers has increased. Mr. Miyanaga emphasizes, “It’s definitely difficult to keep going.

Mr. Miyanaga emphasizes, “It is certainly difficult to continue, but depending on how you do it, you can create a place for children. What’s important is the personality of the store owner.

The number of candy shops that still retain the atmosphere of the Showa era will continue to disappear in the future. Will the appearance of young people like Mr. Miyanaga really be able to halt this trend?

Aoki-ya, Horifune, Kita-ku

Founded around 1955, Aoki-ya is an old-fashioned candy store located in a residential area about a 10-minute walk from JR Oji Station. It is open from 6 to 8 pm.

From the March 4, 2022 issue of FRIDAY