A relaxing place for the local community where everyone can enjoy themselves, even if they have a disabilit

Cafe Gallery Saezuri exterior

Tomomi Yano of Cafe Gallery Saezuri

Cafe Gallery Saezuri is located on a convenient corner, a three-minute walk from Fuda Station on the Keio Line. It is a place for local residents to relax, and is often used by people with disabilities, those with infants and young children, and the elderly. The entrance, which faces the intersection, is impressive with its terrace seating and green cafe awning, giving it the atmosphere of a Parisian street corner. The entrance to the cafe is flat and wide for ease of access for wheelchair users, walking stick users, and stroller users to enter, making it easy for everyone to visit. The cafe’s interior is spacious and easy to move around in, and is equipped with a wheelchair-accessible restroom with an emergency call button, custom-made tables and chairs, and various other features to ensure that anyone can use the cafe with peace of mind.

Cafe Gallery Saezuri is a cafe attached to NPO Habatakukai’s Mejiro Workshop as a place for activities to promote the independence and social participation of people with disabilities. Workshop members work at Cafe Gallery Saezuri together with the regular staff. We spoke with Tomomi Yano, a vocational instructor and pâtissier, about the cafe’s efforts to create a place where everyone can come together with peace of mind. Tomomi Yano initially helped with the making of cakes for the cafe as a pâtissier, and is now a staff member and vocational instructor at the workshop and cafe.

Cafe Gallery Saezuri’s attention to detail

Spacious wood deck terrace

Custom-made tables and chairs

Armrest with walking stick holder

The terrace, planted with seasonal flowers, is a spacious wooden deck, and the cafe awning provides shade from the sun and allows the terrace to be used even on days with light rain. The tables and chairs in the cafe were custom-made for Saezuri, with particular attention paid to the depth, height, and firmness of the seats. The table corners and chair backrests are designed to be heavy enough to be stable to hold on to for support when standing up. The chairs are large enough to relax in, and the armrests are on one side only, making them easy for people with hemiplegia or wheelchair users to get in and out of and move around in. There are two types of chairs: ones without a left armrest and ones without a right armrest, so that customers can easily get seated from either the right or left side. The height of the seat is also designed to be easy for wheelchair users to transfer to and from, something which is appreciated by the elderly and wheelchair users who frequent the cafe. The chair armrests have a special cutout designed to securely hold a walking stick, making it easy to access and preventing it from falling. This attention to detail helps create a sense of security and comfort.

Wheelchair-accessible restroom

Emergency call button in the wheelchair-accessible restroom

The cafe and the adjacent Mejiro Workshop have a shared restroom, accessible from both sides, and it is spacious enough for wheelchairs and strollers to enter directly. The entrance is level and barrier-free and features a sliding door, and the interior is both large and clean. Handrails and a chair are provided for convenience when placing belongings. There is also an emergency call button inside. The accessibility and size of restrooms are critical concerns for wheelchair users when out and about, and this restroom is designed for worry-free use.

Measures to facilitate smooth communication between customers and staff members with disabilities

Many of Saezuri’s staff members are either hearing-impaired or have a disability that makes remembering things difficult. To facilitate smooth communication between customers and staff members, even those with disabilities, a system is in place where customers fill out a form when ordering. Having customers fill out a form means the staff can easily understand orders, and at the same time, experience the joy and satisfaction of being able to serve customers, which leads to increased confidence. Staff members who were initially uncomfortable being in front of people are now actively interacting with customers and enjoying their work. Staff members with hearing impairments who wear a “I’m Deaf” badge on their chest, are very happy when they are greeted in sign language. With the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics on the horizon, you will sometimes see customers who are learning sign language with the staff interacting in sign language. We are delighted that the cafe can also be used as a place for learning. Furthermore, customers with hearing impairments appear to find great comfort and reassurance in being able to communicate in sign language.

Aiming to create a safe and enjoyable space together with people with disabilities

Memo pads and note paper sold at the cafe

Saezuri also sells handmade products, made by workshop members, in the cafe. Each and every item is made with great care, and the cafe offers a variety of one-of-a-kind cloth bags, pouches, Sashiko embroidered products, and other small accessories. The memo pads are original products, featuring a variety of unique illustrations drawn by workshop members. The “Yubimoji Memo Pad,” with a design featuring yubimoji (fingerspelling), a code that uses different handshapes to represent the 50 sounds of the Japanese syllabary, is especially popular, and represents Saezuri’s desire to create a safe and enjoyable space together with people with disabilities.