Recently, Tokigawa Town in Saitama Prefecture has been gaining popularity as an outdoor town, and the Tokigawa Outdoor Fes, which was held last year and was a huge success, will be held in Tokigawa on September 27th and 28th, 2025!
From the previous pattern.
So, on this occasion, we would like to take this opportunity to feature Tokigawa, bringing you its outdoor side and the town's atmosphere.
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A must-visit place in Tokigawa!
Speaking of Tokigawa Town, I get the impression that there are many tofu shops there, probably because the water is so clean, and I think the most popular one is Watanabe Tofu Shop.
If you expand your search to the old-fashioned, simple but delicious Onda Tofu Shop, or to the neighboring town of Ikoshi, you'll find Fujiya, which specializes in dessert-style tofu, and Soybean Workshop Miya, which is particular about its ingredients.It's a truly comprehensive selection, and you'll definitely have a hard time deciding where to go to buy your tofu.
There are also plenty of direct sales outlets, including the Ono Specialty Products Sales Center shown in the picture, as well as Fureai no Sato Tamagawa and the Joinery Hall, so you can purchase local specialties and goods.
There are also several hot springs and super public baths where you can relax, and Tokigawa Shikisaikan is a complex where you can eat, drink, and purchase goods.
AVANT-GARDE from Jikoji Temple!
While sightseeing is certainly a great option, there are also many attractive mountains for hiking and mountain climbing.
This is Jikoji Temple with its impressive long staircase.
This is a temple with a long history, where a fire-walking ceremony is held every May. On the mountainside where Jikoji Temple is located, there is the base of the outdoor brand that we will visit first.
The location is one level below Jikoji Temple, and is home to Tokigawa outdoor brand AVANT-GARDE (hereafter referred to as Avant-Garde). Please note, however, that this is just an office and does not directly sell products.
To briefly explain what kind of brand Avant-Garde is, they don't specialize in products in the outdoor field, but rather have a worldview that sees the outdoors as a lifestyle. So, they focus on what you need when you're in nature. So, in this issue of Tokigawa Special, we'll be visiting places related to the Tokigawa Outdoor Festival!
Now, let's go inside the office. Avant-garde products are displayed throughout the space, but one that caught my eye was this flat bar mesh bonfire stand, a unique bonfire stand made from thin but strong flat bars made from SUS304 stainless steel. It's also stylish enough to look like interior décor.
When disassembled it becomes compact like this, but it weighs a reasonable 1kg and is highly portable, making it perfect for touring and camping.
He also recommended the STLISH GEAR MASTER BAG, which boasts peg storage on all four sides of the bag. He said it has ample storage space and can fit all your camping gear. The fabric is also padded, so it's great for protecting items you want to protect from impacts, like a camera case.
"The Avant-Garde bag is introduced to us by the company's representative, Mr. Wang, who has a lovely smile. We asked him why he is developing an outdoor brand in Tokikawa and what Avant-Garde is.
-When was Avant-Garde founded?-
I started in February 2023 and am now entering my third year. After graduating from university, I got a job at a regular company, then changed jobs to an outdoor equipment company. There were many good things about that experience, but as a product planner, I found it difficult to come up with the products I wanted, so I thought, why not just start my own company and come up with products that match my own ideas? That's how it all began.
Originally, I wasn't involved in the outdoors as a hobby, but I got involved in it through my previous job. However, I've always loved nature. Even before camping or mountain climbing, I loved being in nature, to escape the busyness of work, and spending time surrounded by that environment. I think it's probably in my DNA to love nature, and I feel anxious without it (laughs).
-What made you decide to settle in Tokigawa?
The first place I visited was the neighboring town of Igoe (we also have an office in Igoe), I think it was where the pottery kiln was located. After visiting there a few times, I realized that it was close to Tokyo, yet had amazing nature. I looked around a lot before moving here, and I think that this place was the best choice because it allowed me to be in nature while also having easy access to information from Tokyo.
-Please tell us about Avant-Garde products-
Since I plan them myself, I put a lot of effort into all of my products, and I love them, but recently the chairs I've been focusing on have been popular. My fire pit, which is assembled entirely from flat bars, has also been well-received. The concept is that not only can you enjoy the fire, but the assembly process is also fun, like a puzzle, so I hope that when using it with your family, you will think of it as a game. I'm currently planning various new products, so please look forward to them!
-Finally, a word for outdoor festivals!-
We had a stall there last time!
Unfortunately, we will not be able to set up a booth at this year's Tokigawa Festival due to a conflict with another exhibition (tears). However, we would like to contribute to the excitement of the festival, so we will be offering prizes in the raffle that will be held at the venue.
I'm really looking forward to what Avant-Garde will do in the future; they're definitely one to watch!
AVANT-GARDE
Official website : http://avantgardeoutdoor.com
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avantgardeoutdoor/
HOMIES COFFEE from GRID!
Our next stop was down the mountain to GRID, an outdoor shop located in the town of Tokigawa.
Before heading to the shop, I was drawn in by the aroma of roasted coffee at HOMIES COFFEE (hereafter referred to as Homies Coffee), a coffee stand located on the same premises, and headed in (lol). I think many people who like the outdoors are also coffee lovers, so I'm sure they'll understand this feeling.
After doing so, we slipped into the newly opened eat-in space! By the way, this space seems to be remodeled quite frequently, so it's fun to enjoy the different layouts from time to time.
Furthermore, the coffee beans and grinding method change depending on the time of day, so the battle of indecision begins even before you order coffee, and it's all indecision based on the assumption that it will all be delicious. Can't something be done about this? (wry smile)
In the end, I ended up leaving it all up to the staff (laughs).
Homies Coffee currently has a staff that changes daily, so the taste varies slightly depending on the brewer. Apparently, each staff member has their own fan base thanks to the different flavors, and today, Asuka, who is usually in charge on Mondays and Fridays, was in the stands.
There are Homies stickers, which are apparently common at coffee stands in the US.
The time it takes for your coffee to be ready is also blissful. I wonder why, but perhaps it's the atmosphere of the place, or perhaps it's a feeling you can't get at a chain store. Is it the difference between waiting eagerly and being made to wait?
Discover how this coffee is made, and next month there will also be an event celebrating Trangia's 100th anniversary (!) in collaboration with GRID, so be sure to check that out too!
For more information, please visit the official website: https://www.iwatani-primus.co.jp/products/trangia/index.html
And the iced coffee is ready! This time I chose a dark roast Brazilian coffee. I hate to say it, but coffee is already delicious when someone else brews it for you. The shop's unique flavor comes through, and the synergistic effect makes it even more delicious.
Furthermore, the product lineup includes coffee beans themselves and
The stand also serves cascara syrup, also known as coffee cherry syrup. Cascara is made from dried coffee pulp and is delicious when mixed with soda.
T-shirts with the brand logo are also available for purchase, and can be purchased from the store's online shop.
This photo was taken in the cooler season, and shows the owner Ryo standing in his original stand. Let's ask him a few questions.
-Please tell us how HOMIES COFFEE got started-
Actually, it started almost at the same time as GRID was being built (more details in the GRID section!). I came up with the idea while I was making GRID, although up until then I hadn't really worked in the coffee business and I'd just loved coffee as a hobby. We opened at the same time as GRID in October 2022, so this will mark our third year (coincidentally the same as Avant-Garde!). The place where the outdoor stand used to be is a warehouse, or should I say just a plain white box (lol). It seems like it used to be a storage room for equipment shops that had previously occupied the space, so I first cleared it out by myself, and then with the help of some friends to make it what it is today; I think the renovation took about three months.
At the time, I was still working as an office worker, so I went to the cafe in my spare time to complete the project. At first, the lineup consisted of coffee and stickers. When they made the logo for my shop, I loved it so much that I immediately ordered stickers as well.
From there, I started making apparel, and at first I did it using hand-rubbed silkscreen printing, but it was unexpectedly well-received and I received more orders than I expected (lol). After much deliberation, I decided to properly order from a vendor in the second year, which is how it is now. Even after moving to this format, it has been well-received, and the product I'm releasing now is my second series!
I love coffee, so when I go to coffee shops overseas, many of them are filled with merchandise from that shop. They even have stickers, so I always end up buying them because I love them (laughs). It's not like I have to collect them as a souvenir of my trip, but I like collecting them.
So when I decided to open a coffee shop myself, coffee was important, but I also wanted to create original goods for the shop.
-An ever-expanding lineup-
When we first opened, we had four types of coffee, and we rotated them for about a year. We also had coffee cherry soda from the beginning; it was something we wanted to do from the beginning, and we make it using things that would have been thrown away, so we're environmentally conscious, and that's something we want to keep in mind when running a coffee shop. I feel like it's becoming more popular in other places recently, because it's delicious and good for you.
It depends on the season and what's available, but there are plenty of options available, and on some days you might even find Basque cheesecake!
-You can buy Homies coffee beans at 7-Eleven!?-
I hadn't expected this at all, but the owner is a really interesting guy who really supports his hometown, and he asked me if I wanted to stock Homies' beans. Even Seven-Eleven sells coffee beans in their coffee shops (laughs).
To begin with, it's a unique Seven-Eleven store with a local section, and just having coffee beans there has attracted a lot of interest, which I'm grateful for. Nowadays, we have more staff and are open more days, but before that, I was only open on weekends and I was pretty much running it alone, so I was only open when I was there. So, it's a big deal for customers who come on a closed day to be able to buy beans at 7-Eleven, and I'm still really grateful for that.
At the 7-Eleven Tokigawa Machidanaka store, you can find Homies in the local specialties section.
-Aim for 100 people!?-
Now, thanks to everyone's help, we have six staff members, including myself. I say this jokingly, but my goal is to have 100 staff members, and I always want to work with people who are willing to work with me. I hope that people who sympathize with the shop will pass the coffee test (laughs). Seriously, I'm not looking for perfection, but the taste of coffee changes to some extent depending on who makes it, and I think that in a normal shop, the taste will be consistent, but I think it's interesting that coffee can change depending on the person.
Today's coffee was brewed by XX-chan, so I think it's good that it tastes different from last time. You could say that we're intentionally putting out our own individuality, and we want our customers to enjoy that difference. Thanks to that, we're grateful that customers have followed each of our staff members. In any case, it's not unusual for a shop of this size to be run by just one person, so I think it's interesting and unusual that we have such a large staff.
-New food menu-
We'll be starting a food menu soon! We have Basque cheesecake as a dessert, but that's still in the sweets category, so we want to compete as a lunch menu. With our current format, the number of customers tends to decrease at lunchtime, so we want to respond to the voices of people who say, "I wish I could eat here," and aim for something between a coffee stand and a cafe. I think that will attract even more customers than now, and we plan to launch in September!
-Finally, a word about the Tokigawa Outdoor Festival!-
We'll do our best to make this a relaxing coffee spot while having fun!
Following on from our previous festival stall, we will be setting up a stall again this time!
HOMIES COFFEE
・275-1 Bessho, Tokigawa-cho, Hiki-gun, Saitama Prefecture
・Parking available
・Business days: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/homies_coffee2022/
Online shop https://homiescoffee.theshop.jp/
What did you think of this first installment of our Tokigawa special feature? Both brands and stores are worth keeping an eye on. In our next installment, we'll start by taking a look at GRID, an outdoor shop located on the same premises as Homies, so please stay tuned!
Yans
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