Nara: Old School Building Turned into Fashionable Commercial Complex

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:32 JST, June 7, 2025&

SHIMOICHI, Nara — The building of a former school in Shimoichi, Nara Prefecture, has been turned into a fashionable commercial complex called Kito Forest Market Shimoichi.

Shimoichi is a town of forestry and agriculture, and the classrooms in the building have been converted into a vegetable and fruit market as well as shops selling woodwork and second-hand clothes. The former teachers’ office is now a restaurant serving wood-fired pizza and sweets.

The four-story building used to belong to the now-defunct Shimoichi Minami Ele-mentary School. Kito Forest Market was opened by apparel company Pal Co., the operator of various brands, such as 3Coins, which specializes in low-cost miscella-neous goods. The founder of Pal, Hidetaka Inoue, 89, is from Shimoichi.

When the facility opened in July, it instantly became popular, and nearby parking lots were filled with vehicles during weekends.

Flowers and potted plants, a specialty of the town, are sold at the entrance. At the first-floor market dealing in local farm products, visitors can find not only strawberries and vegetables, but also rows of original craft beer made using locally grown fruits and herbs. The pizzas and fresh pasta served in the restaurant are made using locally produced tomatoes, eggs and honey.

Classrooms on the second to fourth floors are now home to a woodcraft workshop and a 3Coins store, among others. The school gym is now a recreation area for children, with more than 2,000 books and a maze made using bales of wood cuttings.