Aoi Rihatsukan / Kobo Momo

Aoi Rihatsukan (literally "Blue Barber Shop"), also known as the former Kobayashi Barber Shop, is a Taisho-era wood-and-masonry hybrid building in Shimabara, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Completed in 1923 (Taisho 12), it originally served as a barber shop and is now operated by Kobo Momo as a retro cafe, gallery and rental space. The building is registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property of Japan (registered July 1, 2003). The ground floor houses the cafe "Kobo Momo," which retains the three-panel mirror stand and chairs from its barber shop days. The cafe serves light meals such as meat sauce spaghetti, handmade sweets including rare cheesecake, shiawase pudding and kanzarashi, and also sells organic and specially cultivated food products by mail order, such as brown rice coffee and aged fermented black garlic. The second floor is used as a rental space for workshops, breathing sessions and other events. The building is located at 888-2 Uenomachi, Shimabara, Nagasaki, a five-minute walk from Shimabara Station on the Shimabara Railway, near Shimabara Castle and the Moritake shopping street. It is a well-known example of Taisho retro architecture in the region.

Aoi Rihatsukan was built in 1923 (Taisho 12) as a barber shop, originally known as the Kobayashi Barber Shop. The building is a wooden, two-story structure with a hipped roof covered in pantiles, featuring a hybrid style: the front portion is Western-style with painted clapboard siding, while the rear portion is Japanese-style. It has a frontage of 3 ken (about 5.9 m) and a depth of 4.5 ken (about 8.9 m), with a building area of 60 square meters. Over the decades the building deteriorated, and at one point demolition was discussed. However, through the wishes and efforts of many people, including those involved with the Moritake shopping street, the building was restored and revived. On July 1, 2003, it was registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property of Japan. Today the ground floor operates as the cafe "Kobo Momo," which retains the original three-panel mirror stand and chairs from its barber shop era. The cafe serves light meals and handmade sweets made primarily with organic and specially cultivated ingredients, and also sells selected food products by mail order. The second floor is used as a rental space for workshops, breathing sessions, and other community events. The building is located at 888-2 Uenomachi, Shimabara, Nagasaki, a five-minute walk from Shimabara Station, near Shimabara Castle and the Moritake shopping street.

• 2003

  Registered as a national Tangible Cultural Property of Japan on July 1.

• 1923

  Built as a barber shop (former Kobayashi Barber Shop).

• Restored and reopened as cafe Kobo Momo.

A Taisho-retro cafe and cultural space housed in a registered tangible cultural property, offering organic and health-conscious food in Shimabara.

• Meat sauce spaghetti

  Homemade meat sauce with domestic beef and pork, served with salad and drink set.

• Rare cheesecake

  Signature item flavored with low-pesticide lemons from Setoda.

• Shiawase pudding

  Pudding made with eggs from chickens fed post-harvest-free feed.

• Kanzarashi

  A Shimabara specialty sweet.

• Brown rice coffee

  Roasted brown rice powder from Ukiha, Fukuoka; caffeine-free.

• Aged fermented black garlic

  From Suzuki Farm in Minamishimabara, Nagasaki.

1. 1青い理髪舘 工房モモ official websiterihatsukan-kobomomo.com
2. 2青い理髪舘 - Wikipedia (Japanese)ja.wikipedia.org
3. 3Blue Barber Shop - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4心身をほっこり癒す 玄米コーヒーrihatsukan-kobomomo.com
5. 5自然の恵みそのまんま 鈴木ファームの熟成発酵黒にんにくrihatsukan-kobomomo.com