Daikai Bunko

Daikai Bunko (本と暮らしのあるところ だいかい文庫) is a private library, independent bookstore and café located on the Daikai-dori shopping street in front of Toyooka Station in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It opened on 5 December 2020 and is operated by the general incorporated association Care to Kurashi no Henshusha (ケアと暮らしの編集社), whose representative director is Yoichi Morimoto, a physician. The venue combines a share-style private library using the "hitohako bookshelf owner" (一箱本棚オーナー) system, a small new-book bookstore, and a café, and it also functions as a consultation space for health, welfare and loneliness. The project grew out of a mobile coffee stall called "Mobile de Kenko Café" (モバイルｄｅ健康カフェ), started around 2016 by medical professionals centred on Morimoto, who was then a resident at the public Toyooka Hospital. The stall was a way to reach people who would not come to hospitals on their own. The fixed venue in a vacant shop on Daikai-dori was funded partly by a crowdfunding campaign that raised about 2.9 million yen over roughly two months. At opening it was staffed by Morimoto and one physical therapist and opened only two weekday evenings and Saturday afternoons; by 2022 it was open more than five days a week, though irregularly. The library uses the nationwide "Mintosho" (みんとしょ) model of one-box bookshelves, in which individuals rent a shelf and lend their own recommended books. At opening there were about 60 shelf compartments, expanded to about 80 by 2023, with roughly 80 shelf owners. Borrowing is free after an initial registration fee, and the lending system uses the service "Libraize" via LINE or Facebook accounts. The bookstore side sells new books selected by staff, mainly humanities titles focused on community building and care, as well as art-related books. The café serves coffee, herbal tea, apple juice and beer, with discounts for students and shelf owners. A distinctive feature is its role as a place for casual consultation. On Saturday afternoons, medical and welfare professionals offer free consultations about health and one's place in the community, and staff include nurses and certified mental-health care workers. The venue is noted as an example of "social prescribing," addressing loneliness and isolation as social determinants of health. It also runs "Minna no Daikai University" (みんなのだいかい大学), a citizens' university where anyone can teach a course for a 500-yen participation fee, and a paid consultation service (1,000 yen per session) with medical and welfare professionals, including online options. Other ways to engage include volunteering as a shop attendant and supporting through monthly donations from 1,000 yen as a "Care Kura Mate." Daikai Bunko has received recognition including the 2021 Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award for Community Development Merit, the 2022 Hyogo Prefecture Governor's Award in the "Human-scale Community Development Award" as YATAI CAFE TOYOOKA, and a 2022 Good Design Award (jurors' selection). It was featured on NHK's "Ohayou Nippon" in June 2023 under the title "A library opened by a doctor: a base for social prescribing." The official website notes that operations resumed from July 2026, and current opening hours are Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 13:00 to 18:00.

Daikai Bunko's origins lie in the work of Yoichi Morimoto, a physician from Yabu City, Hyogo Prefecture. In 2014, while still a medical student and young doctor, Morimoto and fellow medical students conducted fieldwork and a "community diagnosis" in Toyooka City to identify local health issues. They found that some residents would endure poor health rather than call an ambulance. Based on this analysis, they organised a health class focused on how to live healthily rather than on treating illness after onset, but only one citizen attended, a setback that convinced Morimoto that conventional approaches could not reach people who did not voluntarily come to medical institutions or who had no interest in health. In 2016, while Morimoto was a resident at the public Toyooka Hospital, he and other medical professionals started a mobile coffee stall café called "Mobile de Kenko Café" (モバイルｄｅ健康カフェ). Inspired by a similar initiative by family physicians in Tokyo, they collaborated with nurses, care workers and local government staff to serve coffee once or twice a month and chat with residents, creating situations where health topics could naturally arise. This led to successes such as a high school student who had been withdrawn due to illness reconnecting with community welfare council staff and music contacts, increasing his outings and reintegrating into society. The stall also collaborated with cinemas and art projects, bridging care for people before they reached medical or welfare institutions. Seeking a fixed place to realise health creation for the whole community, the group rented a vacant shop on Daikai-dori, Toyooka's main street, and opened Daikai Bunko on 5 December 2020. The opening costs were covered by a crowdfunding campaign that raised about 2.9 million yen over roughly two months, used for renovation and rent. People met through the stall and the building owner cooperated in renovation and operation. At opening, the venue opened only two weekday evenings and Saturday afternoons, with Morimoto and one physical therapist as staff, offering care consultations. By 2022, it was open more than five days a week, though irregularly, with Morimoto and a certified mental-health care worker offering consultations once a week. The library adopted the nationwide "Mintosho" one-box bookshelf owner system. At opening there were about 60 shelf compartments on the front wall; by 2023 this had expanded to about 80, with about 80 shelf owners including medical workers, government employees, cinema staff, painting class organisers, guesthouse operators and regional revitalisation volunteers. About 20 volunteers took turns as shop attendants. The bookstore side sells staff-selected new books, mainly humanities titles on community building and care, and art books. The café serves coffee, herbal tea, apple juice and beer, with discounts for students and shelf owners. Beyond books, Daikai Bunko runs a free consultation room on Saturday afternoons where medical and welfare professionals offer advice on health and one's place in the community, sometimes connecting people to public health centres, community welfare councils or comprehensive support centres. It has helped people with depression or students who dropped out of university to regain social connections, sometimes through volunteering as shop attendants, and has connected unemployed people to Hello Work or welfare councils. It also runs "Minna no Daikai University," a citizens' university where anyone can teach a course with support from staff, and offers paid consultations (1,000 yen per session) with medical and welfare professionals, including online. Supporters can join as "Care Kura Mate" with monthly donations from 1,000 yen. The venue has received several awards: the 2021 Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award for Community Development Merit; the 2022 Hyogo Prefecture Governor's Award in the "Human-scale Community Development Award" as YATAI CAFE TOYOOKA; and a 2022 Good Design Award (jurors' selection). It was featured on NHK's "Ohayou Nippon" on 25 June 2023. The official website notes that operations resumed from July 2026, with current opening hours of Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 13:00 to 18:00.

• Yoichi Morimoto and fellow medical students conduct fieldwork and a community diagnosis in Toyooka City.

• Mobile coffee stall 'Mobile de Kenko Café' begins as the predecessor project.

• Daikai Bunko opens on Daikai-dori, Toyooka, with about 60 one-box bookshelf compartments.

• Receives the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Award for Community Development Merit.

• Receives the Hyogo Prefecture Governor's Award in the Human-scale Community Development Award as YATAI CAFE TOYOOKA, and a Good Design Award (jurors' selection).

• Bookshelf compartments expand to about 80; about 80 shelf owners and about 20 volunteer shop attendants.

• Featured on NHK News Ohayou Nippon as a base for social prescribing.

• Operations resume according to the official website.

A community-oriented private library, bookstore and café that serves as a base for social prescribing and everyday care in Toyooka.

• One-box bookshelf owner system (一箱本棚オーナー制度)

  Individuals rent a shelf for 2,400 yen per month and lend their recommended books; about 80 shelves by 2023.

• Library lending

  Free borrowing after initial registration fee; two books for two weeks; uses Libraize via LINE or Facebook.

• New book sales

  Staff-selected new books, mainly humanities on community building and care, and art books.

• Café menu

  Coffee, herbal tea, apple juice, beer; discounts for students and shelf owners.

• Consultation services

  Free Saturday afternoon consultations with medical and welfare professionals; paid consultations at 1,000 yen per session including online.

• Minna no Daikai University

  Citizens' university where anyone can teach a course for a 500-yen participation fee.

1. 1本と暮らしのあるところ だいかい文庫｜トップページdaikai-bunko.com
2. 2Daikai Bunko - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3本と暮らしのあるところ だいかい文庫 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org