Flower store Connect opens in Kagoshima, managed by home nursing company
The staff of the flower store Connect welcoming customers
The flower store Connect opened on March 21 near Kagoshima High School.
Kagoshima-based company Yusukeikai manages the business. Aya Ishimure, a certified nurse at the company that provides home nursing services, is the manager. Yusuke Ochi, the president, decided to open the store to realize Ishimure’s dream of becoming a florist, and at the same time, “to provide a place for people with disabilities to work.” The company plans to recruit people with disabilities as a Type B Continuous Employment Support Office.
The store opened on the remodeled first floor of the company building and parking lot. Potted flowers and seedlings line in front of the store, and more than 20 varieties of cut flowers, including roses and tulips, are arranged near the entrance. In the back of the store, a wall of ornamental plants and hanging greenery is on display. The store focuses on staghorn fern (Platycerium bifurcatum), with some hanging from the ceiling and others on the walls. Moss balls and succulents are also available.
Arrangements start at 1,000 yen, and bouquets are available for about 500 yen, “so that even children can come and buy them.” Ishimure plans to offer mobile flower sales in the future as she has seen many people give up decorating Buddhist altars due to poor access to flowers because of their limited mobility.
Ishimure said, with a smile, “We want to create a homey atmosphere where people can talk to us comfortably.”
Opening hours: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.