Wataru Kumano converts disused Japanese factory into sweet shop
Japanese designer Wataru Kumano has transformed an old confectionary warehouse into a sweet shop that prepares and serves only one type of sugary treat (+ slideshow).
![Shibafune-Koide by Wataru Kumano](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/11/Shibafune-Koide-by-Wataru-Kumano_dezeen_936_2.jpg)
Located in Kanazawa, the shop is the second retail space for century-old Japanese confectioner Shibafune-Koide, and is situated within a building once used for manufacturing.
![Shibafune-Koide by Wataru Kumano](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/11/Shibafune-Koide-by-Wataru-Kumano_dezeen_sq3.jpg)
While the first store serves a wide range of sweet products, this new branch will only sell Monaka – a Japanese candy made of jam filling sandwiched between two thin crisp wafers.
"From the beginning, we decided to use the old factory space, because Shibafune-koide has a new factory in another place," said Kumano.
"We made a new facade on the old factory wall, and put a new box inside the space."
![Shibafune-Koide by Wataru Kumano](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/11/Shibafune-Koide-by-Wataru-Kumano_dezeen_936_5.jpg)
Kumano previously collaborated with British designer Jasper Morrison on the design of a self-assembly chair. For this project, he teamed up with graphic designer Hiromura Masaaki.
![Shibafune-Koide by Wataru Kumano](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/11/Shibafune-Koide-by-Wataru-Kumano_dezeen_936_6.jpg)
The designers opted for simple materials for the interior. Translucent polycarbonate sheets and plasterboard were used to create walls with varying opacity.
![Shibafune-Koide by Wataru Kumano](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/11/Shibafune-Koide-by-Wataru-Kumano_dezeen_936_7.jpg)
A kitchen and cash desk at the back of the space are visible through holes in a wooden wall. Here, customers can choose their flavour of Monaka and watch it being made by on-site patisserie chefs.
![Shibafune-Koide by Wataru Kumano](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/11/Shibafune-Koide-by-Wataru-Kumano_dezeen_936_9.jpg)
They can then sit down to eat at a series of custom-built wooden tables and stools.
![Shibafune-Koide by Wataru Kumano](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2015/11/Shibafune-Koide-by-Wataru-Kumano_dezeen_1568_1.jpg)
Architect Yuko Nagayama also recently designed a cafe-cum-sweet shop in Japan, which was designed to look like two separate buildings with a tree sandwiched in the middle.
Photography is by Sohei Oya.