Perspectives

In-Office Strawberry Cultivation System Brings Relaxation, Better Communication

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By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Photographer

16:48 JST, December 1, 2024

Some companies are now introducing a system that allows employees to grow and pick fresh strawberries at the office every day of the year.

Companies that adopt the system only need to refill it with water mixed with fertilizer and pollinate the strawberries using a brush about once every two days. Light, temperature, circulation of liquid fertilizer and other conditions are automatically controlled.

By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Photographer
The City Farming system requires little time or effort to maintain. Pollinating strawberries using a brush is one of a small number of important tasks.

The system, measuring 180 centimeters high, 180 centimeters wide and 70 centimeters deep, contains a total of about 60 strawberry plant seedlings, from which 10 to 15 strawberries can be picked every day.

This service was developed jointly by Nisshinbo Holdings Inc., of Chuo Ward, Tokyo, and Nippon Shuppan Hanbai Inc., often called Nippan, of Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. Nisshinbo Holdings was founded as a textile company and now operates facilities which produce a large amount of strawberries all year round, while Nippan is a leading wholesaler of books and a “space designer” for businesses such as book hotels and bookstores which charge entry fees. Okamura Corporation, a major Yokohama-based office furniture company that also possesses technology for manufacturing refrigerated showcases, produces cabinets for the systems. The service is called “City Farming,” and its catchphrase is “Bringing the richness of farming to your life.”

By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Photographer
Employees can eat strawberries harvested from the City Farming system starting at around noon every day.

The service reportedly facilitates communication between employees and makes them feel relaxed and refreshed, which helps increase overall employee satisfaction with the office environment.

Not only do the strawberries look nice, but people can also easily pick them and enjoy eating them. These are the reasons strawberries were chosen for the service.

By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Photographer
A City Farming system is installed at Ochanoba Workplace, an open working space shared by employees.

The service was fully launched in August. The system is available for purchase or lease and has been gradually adopted by institutions such as offices, facilities for elderly people and commercial complexes. Cost information is provided only on request.

As an in-house experiment and showpiece, Nippan has installed a City Farming system in Ochanoba Workplace, an open working space for all company employees. Every day, the workers in charge of the system tend to the strawberries, and all the employees can help themselves to strawberries picked that day starting around noon.

By Ryuzo Suzuki / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Photographer
An employee in charge of the City Farming system picks a strawberry with scissors.

A 24-year-old female employee in her second year with the company said, “Since the strawberries are living plants, I can really feel them genuinely changing every day. Even just looking at them isn’t boring. On top of that, they are always very delicious because we get to eat them fresh after they’re picked at the best possible time.” Employees excitedly exchange whispers with colleagues in other divisions about whether harvested strawberries are available at Ochanoba Workplace.

Nippan, which is in charge of operating and selling the City Farming service, aims to make the service a part of city planning and public space development, with the goal of having 1,500 units in use by 2026.