% Arabica is about my love for coffee, design, and seeing the world.
My story begins in Tokyo, Japan. Being raised by parents who were enthusiasts of a universal language called ‘’Esperanto”, we would travel abroad every summer to attend a “World Esperanto Congress” held in different countries. My father was the owner of a manufacturing and trading company, and together with his frequent business trips, they would take me overseas whenever possible – ultimately helping to inspire my love of multiculturalism, design, and architecture.
Through experiencing different cultures, seeing rich and poor people, happy and unhappy people, I started to wonder who I was, and asked myself what kind of life I wanted to live?
After my high school graduation, I moved to California for college. I settled into a snug apartment in Venice Beach and indulged myself in the unique fusion of beach hippie culture. It was during my college years that my love for coffee started. In 1990’s, Starbucks began to expand throughout the country, capturing me with their new coffee culture and serene atmosphere. I spent lots of my days at the Starbucks in Venice Beach, either talking with friends or studying.
Upon graduating from college, I started work for a trading company, which allowed me to travel overseas for business. A lot was learned from working closely with business owners around the world; I gained valuable insights as per their mindset towards work and life. And although most of them were very wealthy, I found that some were happy and others were not. This caused me to keep asking the same two questions:
Who am I?
What kind of life do I want to live?
I reflected on them over and over. Eventually, I found my answers.
・I want to live a simple and down-to-earth life.
・I only need the basics to be satisfied: food, clothing and a house.
・As my parents did for me, I also want to travel with my children and provide a higher standard of life for them.
And my last answer was coffee.
I truly need an amazing cup of coffee every day. This is why I founded
% Arabica.
So to create the best coffee possible, I borrowed money and bought a coffee farm in Hawaii. I also started trading green beans from around the world and became the sole-exporter of a Japanese roasting machine along with the distributor of one of the best espresso machines in the world. Then in September 2014, I opened the flagship store in the beautiful historic city of Kyoto, Japan.
Our dream is to grow % Arabica across unique lands and cultures of the world, so that we can “See the World Through Coffee.”
We only live once, so let’s explore the world we live in, set goals, and enjoy our time together over an amazing cup of coffee.
私はエスペラントという世界語の活動家である両親と、商社を経営する父親の元で世界を旅しながら育てられました。
今までに旅した国は120カ国を超えます。
世界の様々な国と文化、人々の生活、富と貧困、幸せな人と不幸せな人。そんな多種多様なものを見ながら
「自分って何者なのだろう？」
「どんな人生を送りたいのかな？」
そんなことをぼんやりと考える幼少期を過ごしました。
高校を卒業して、カリフォルニアに渡りました。毎晩、目の前に大きな夕日が落ちていくベニスビーチのアパートメントに住み、ビーチカルチャーとヒッピーカルチャーにどっぷりと浸かりました。
社会人になって貿易の仕事を始め、海外出張の連続。世界各国のビジネスオーナーの働き方や家庭生活を間近に見ながら、
「自分は何者か？どんな人生を送りたいのか？」
と変わらぬ自答自問を続けました。そんな中で、自分なりにたどり着いた目標
・地に足がついたシンプルな生活
・衣食住
・子供と世界を旅し、子供により高い土台を用意する
そんな生活を彩る日々のコーヒー
皆様に最高のコーヒーをお出しする為に、ハワイにコーヒー農園を購入し、生豆商社を始め、国産焙煎機の輸出元や、世界最高峰のエスプレッソマシンの代理店となり、メイド・イン・ジャパンのコーヒーブランドに相応しい、京都という土地でコーヒーロースターをオープン致しました。
我々の夢はこのブランドを京都から世界に展開することです。各国に拠点を作り、我々のコーヒーを提供すると共に、若いバリスタが見聞を増やし、人生の目標を設定する機会を作れればこれ以上の幸せはありません。
見聞を増やし、人生の目標を設定し、一度きりの人生を謳歌しよう。