Making the Free-Price Community 'TanoBa Shokudo' a Social Infrastructure to Prevent Unwanted Loneliness Nationwide #AprilDream
TanoBa LLC is working to combat social isolation by expanding 'TanoBa Shokudo,' a community dining space that uses a free-price model to foster human connections. With locations in Setagaya and Hayama, the company aims to establish these dining tables as a form of social infrastructure across Japan.
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- 📰 Published: April 1, 2026 at 16:00
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We support 'April Dream,' an initiative that encourages people to share their dreams on April 1st. This press release represents the dream of TanoBa LLC.
In a society where days go by without speaking to anyone, TanoBa LLC (Headquarters: Nozawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Partner: Yoshitaka Miyamoto), which has the purpose of 'eliminating loneliness from the world,' aims to expand 'TanoBa Shokudo' nationwide. Unlike typical restaurants, these are free-price community dining halls that nurture human relationships through food.
'TanoBa Shokudo' began in Nozawa, Setagaya Ward, in October 2023 and will soon reach its 30th session. Additionally, in May 2026, the second location, 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo,' will open in Hayama Town, Kanagawa Prefecture. We aim to have three locations operating within the country by the end of the year, expanding spaces that create 'loose connections' in ways unique to each region.
*For more on 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo,' click here.
This is not merely an expansion of a food and beverage business. It is a challenge to implement a 'social mechanism to prevent unwanted loneliness' starting from small dining tables.
■ Our Dream: Making TanoBa Shokudo a 'Social Infrastructure'
Loneliness and isolation are no longer special problems; they have become 'daily risks' that can happen to anyone.
We aim to create a state where people can connect with others naturally before reaching that point.
For example:
- A place you can go even if you are alone
- A place where you can talk to someone just a little bit
- A place where you don't have to force yourself to build relationships
We want such places to exist within our cities.
Our dream is to spread TanoBa Shokudo across the country and cultivate 'shared dining assets' rooted in each community.
A place where everyone can engage naturally and without pressure. A place where you can go alone and connect with someone just a little bit.
We want to make such 'devices for loose connections' a standard part of society.
■ 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo' as the Implementation of a Dream
As a new step toward realizing this dream, 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo' will launch in Hayama Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, in May 2026.
At the Hayama location, we will develop a participatory community in a 'cooking class x dining hall' format that integrates the experiences of:
- Learning about food (Sharing)
- Cooking together (Co-creation)
- Sharing the same table (Co-eating)
We welcome chef Shinya Ogino, who holds the philosophy that 'a chef is an editor,' as the shop manager. He reads the background and stories of ingredients and reconstructs them to suit the people gathered there.
Based on the idea of viewing cooking not as a mere product to be served, but as an 'editorial act' that re-weaves human relationships, we will cultivate a dining table unique to Hayama.
[Video] Greeting at the Hayama TanoBa Shokudo pre-opening event.
■ From 'Eating' to 'Engaging'—The Philosophy of Free Pricing
At TanoBa Shokudo, there are no set prices for the food.
After eating, participants decide the amount they wish to pay of their own volition.
This is not a payment for a service, but an expression of the will to 'keep this place alive for the future.'
There are no 'customers' at TanoBa Shokudo; everyone is a 'stakeholder' who builds this space together.
■ Revision of the TanoBa Shokudo Charter—A Common Language for Expansion
With the expansion of locations and the evolution of our activities, TanoBa Shokudo revised its charter in 2026.
In this charter, we define TanoBa Shokudo not as a restaurant, but as a space (a shared asset) nurtured by all participants, placing the values of 'sharing,' 'co-creation,' and 'co-eating' at the center.
Based on this common language, we aim for each region to cultivate its own TanoBa Shokudo within its own context.
■ Toward Three Locations This Year, and Nationwide
In addition to the current Nozawa (Setagaya) and Hayama locations, we plan to launch a third location in Japan within the 2026 fiscal year.
In the future, we will build a network where small dining halls are scattered across the country, each loosely connected to the others.
These will exist in daily life as 'places where you can talk to someone a little,' 'places where you can engage without pressure,' and 'places you can drop by when you feel lonely.'
We may not be able to eliminate loneliness itself. But we believe we can create 'opportunities to connect with someone.'
Changing the way society works, little by little, starting from the small unit of a shared, co-created, and co-eaten dining table. That is the future that we, TanoBa LLC, are envisioning.
In a society where days go by without speaking to anyone, TanoBa LLC (Headquarters: Nozawa, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Partner: Yoshitaka Miyamoto), which has the purpose of 'eliminating loneliness from the world,' aims to expand 'TanoBa Shokudo' nationwide. Unlike typical restaurants, these are free-price community dining halls that nurture human relationships through food.
'TanoBa Shokudo' began in Nozawa, Setagaya Ward, in October 2023 and will soon reach its 30th session. Additionally, in May 2026, the second location, 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo,' will open in Hayama Town, Kanagawa Prefecture. We aim to have three locations operating within the country by the end of the year, expanding spaces that create 'loose connections' in ways unique to each region.
*For more on 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo,' click here.
This is not merely an expansion of a food and beverage business. It is a challenge to implement a 'social mechanism to prevent unwanted loneliness' starting from small dining tables.
■ Our Dream: Making TanoBa Shokudo a 'Social Infrastructure'
Loneliness and isolation are no longer special problems; they have become 'daily risks' that can happen to anyone.
We aim to create a state where people can connect with others naturally before reaching that point.
For example:
- A place you can go even if you are alone
- A place where you can talk to someone just a little bit
- A place where you don't have to force yourself to build relationships
We want such places to exist within our cities.
Our dream is to spread TanoBa Shokudo across the country and cultivate 'shared dining assets' rooted in each community.
A place where everyone can engage naturally and without pressure. A place where you can go alone and connect with someone just a little bit.
We want to make such 'devices for loose connections' a standard part of society.
■ 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo' as the Implementation of a Dream
As a new step toward realizing this dream, 'Hayama TanoBa Shokudo' will launch in Hayama Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, in May 2026.
At the Hayama location, we will develop a participatory community in a 'cooking class x dining hall' format that integrates the experiences of:
- Learning about food (Sharing)
- Cooking together (Co-creation)
- Sharing the same table (Co-eating)
We welcome chef Shinya Ogino, who holds the philosophy that 'a chef is an editor,' as the shop manager. He reads the background and stories of ingredients and reconstructs them to suit the people gathered there.
Based on the idea of viewing cooking not as a mere product to be served, but as an 'editorial act' that re-weaves human relationships, we will cultivate a dining table unique to Hayama.
[Video] Greeting at the Hayama TanoBa Shokudo pre-opening event.
■ From 'Eating' to 'Engaging'—The Philosophy of Free Pricing
At TanoBa Shokudo, there are no set prices for the food.
After eating, participants decide the amount they wish to pay of their own volition.
This is not a payment for a service, but an expression of the will to 'keep this place alive for the future.'
There are no 'customers' at TanoBa Shokudo; everyone is a 'stakeholder' who builds this space together.
■ Revision of the TanoBa Shokudo Charter—A Common Language for Expansion
With the expansion of locations and the evolution of our activities, TanoBa Shokudo revised its charter in 2026.
In this charter, we define TanoBa Shokudo not as a restaurant, but as a space (a shared asset) nurtured by all participants, placing the values of 'sharing,' 'co-creation,' and 'co-eating' at the center.
Based on this common language, we aim for each region to cultivate its own TanoBa Shokudo within its own context.
■ Toward Three Locations This Year, and Nationwide
In addition to the current Nozawa (Setagaya) and Hayama locations, we plan to launch a third location in Japan within the 2026 fiscal year.
In the future, we will build a network where small dining halls are scattered across the country, each loosely connected to the others.
These will exist in daily life as 'places where you can talk to someone a little,' 'places where you can engage without pressure,' and 'places you can drop by when you feel lonely.'
We may not be able to eliminate loneliness itself. But we believe we can create 'opportunities to connect with someone.'
Changing the way society works, little by little, starting from the small unit of a shared, co-created, and co-eaten dining table. That is the future that we, TanoBa LLC, are envisioning.