Yamamoto

What Yamamoto does

Yamamoto Co., Ltd. (有限会社ヤマモト), operating under the trade name Tateshina Free Farm (たてしな自由農園), is a privately held farm-direct agricultural retailer headquartered in Chino City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Founded in July 2000 with 45 producer suppliers and incorporated in 2002, the company aggregates produce from approximately 300 local farmers in the Yatsugatake-Tateshina highland region — one of Japan's premier highland vegetable production areas — and sells it through two retail stores (Chino Store on Venus Line, opened 2016; Haramura Store on Yatsugatake Eco-Line, opened 2007 and expanded 2023), two integrated café-restaurant-bakeries (808 Café and 808 Kitchen & Table), and an online shop (tateshina-shop.com) that ships gift sets and specialty items nationwide via Yamato Transport and Sagawa Express. The assortment covers seasonal vegetables, Shinshu fruits, rare traditional and exotic Western vegetables, locally processed goods, Shinshu wines, and freshly baked bread.

The business operates four revenue streams: direct in-store produce sales, online retail of gift sets and specialty items (unit pricing 2,980-7,980 JPY), café/restaurant foodservice (mains 980-1,600 JPY), and in-house bakery. There is no proprietary technology platform; pricing is unit-based and consumer-facing; customer acquisition relies on physical-store footfall plus organic social (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook) and word-of-mouth. The customer base is overwhelmingly retail — local and regional households in Nagano, tourists visiting the Yatsugatake-Tateshina highland resort area, and nationwide online gift purchasers during seasonal gifting windows (ochugen, oseibo). No B2B or enterprise segments are disclosed.

The company is led by Representative Director Yamamoto Atsushi (山本 敦史), has approximately 80 employees including part-time staff, registered capital of 6.5 million JPY, and has grown organically through a series of store openings and renovations without external venture or private equity capital. No certifications, patents, regulatory actions, or material partnerships beyond a minor select-shop arrangement with specialty vendor Karatsuya (典據屋) are disclosed.

Name

Yamamoto

Legal name

有限会社ヤマモト

Website

https://tateshinafree.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Yamamoto Co., Ltd., operating as Tateshina Free Farm (たてしな自由農園), is a Nagano Prefecture farm-direct retailer aggregating produce from 300+ local farmers across two stores, two café-bakeries, and a nationwide e-commerce gift and specialty shop.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Farm-Direct Produce Retail

NAICS

Fruit and Vegetable Retailers (44523)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Farmers’ Markets & Farm Stands (Fresh Food) (CRAHAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organic Produce & Farm Market Retail (CRAHAEAD), Farmstead & Local Artisan Food Markets (Retail Shops) (CRAHAGAO)

Keywords

• Farm-direct produce
• Highland vegetables
• Fresh produce retail
• Cafe and bakery
• Online produce delivery

Headquarters

HQ city

Chino

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Produce Sales: Physical retail stores selling fresh produce directly to consumers. Main revenue stream from produce, fruits, and agricultural products sold at Chino Store and Haramura Store.
2. Cafe and Restaurant: Foodservice revenue from 808 Kitchen & Table (cafe restaurant and bakery) and 808 Cafe serving dishes made with fresh local ingredients, freshly baked bread, and seasonal menus.
3. Online Shopping: E-commerce platform selling local agricultural products, gift sets (seasonal fruits, produce), and specialty items delivered nationwide to customers across Japan.
4. Bakery and Sweets: Bakery products including freshly baked bread, pastries, and sweets made with local ingredients sold at in-store bakery shops and cafe locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Yamamoto, operating as Tateshina Free Farm (たてしな自由農園), runs farm-direct retail of seasonal vegetables, fruits, and Shinshu specialty products sourced from 300+ local producers in the Tateshina-Yatsugatake highland region of Nagano Prefecture. The company sells through two produce stores (Chino Store, Haramura Store), two cafe/restaurant-bakery concepts (808 Kitchen & Table, 808 Café), a nationwide e-commerce shop, and seasonal gift sets (ochugen/oseibo). It is a privately held, founder-named yūgen kaisha (有限会社) limited company established in July 2000.

Product overview

たてしな自由農園 (Tateshina Jiyu Nouen) is a farm direct-sales business operated by Yamamoto, established in July 2000 in Nagano Prefecture's Tateshina Plateau. The company operates a network of retail stores (茅野店, 原村店), cafe restaurants (808 Kitchen & Table, 808 Café), an e-commerce online shop, and produces gift sets for seasonal occasions. With approximately 300 producer members supplying fresh highland vegetables, fruits, and processed products, the business connects local farmers directly with consumers through multiple sales channels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chino Store (茅野店) Farm-direct retail store along Venus Line in Chino City selling seasonal highland vegetables, Shinshu fruits, and processed agricultural products; positioned as a Shinshu antenna shop with the largest sales floor in the Kanto-Koshinetsu region.
• Haramura Store (原村店) Farm-direct retail store located on Yatsugatake Eco-Line in Hara Village, Japan's top celery production area, specializing in fresh local highland vegetables, broccoli, lettuce, and produce from Hara Village and the broader Suwa area.
• 808 Kitchen & Table Cafe restaurant and bakery adjacent to the Haramura Store, serving seasonal dishes using fresh local produce and freshly baked bread made with selected flour and Tateshina-Yatsugatake ingredients; includes a select shop offering Karatsuya ham/sausages and Shinshu wines.
• 808 Café Bakery and cafe at the Chino City location, featuring salads using fresh highland vegetables and freshly baked bread made with carefully selected flour and local Tateshina-Yatsugatake ingredients.
• Online Shop (公式オンラインショップ) Official e-commerce storefront delivering fresh local agricultural products and Shinshu specialty items nationwide across Japan; handles order fulfillment, packaging, and customer support with shipping via Yamato Transport and Sagawa Express (¥1,100 nationwide, ¥2,200 to Okinawa).
• Seasonal Gift Sets (産直ギフト) Pre-curated seasonal gift assortments for Japanese gifting occasions, including premium peach gift sets from Yamanashi Prefecture (¥4,500–7,980) and Yatsugatake sweet corn 10-packs (¥2,980), marketed primarily as ochugen (mid-year) and oseibo (year-end) gifts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ producer members shipping fresh products daily

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• 腸詰屋 (Karatsuya)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialty ham and sausage vendor with shop in Karuizawa, featured in the select shop at 808 Kitchen & Table. Provides high-quality specialty meat products alongside Tateshina Free Farm's agricultural offerings.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves15 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Roppongi Farmers Market (六本木ヒルズ マルシェ): Recurring farm-direct market hosted at Roppongi Hills, connecting regional Japanese producers with Tokyo consumers. Comparable curated farm-direct retail concept, though operating as a periodic market rather than permanent retail.
• Aoyama Farmers Market (青山ファーマーズマーケット): Tokyo-based recurring farm-direct market where regional producers sell directly to urban consumers. Comparable as a curated farm-to-consumer retail format, though operating as an urban weekend market rather than permanent stores.

Broad incumbents

• JA Group Farmer's Markets (JA全農 直売所): National agricultural cooperative operating thousands of farm-direct retail markets (直売所) across Japan. Directly comparable as the dominant farm-direct retail format in Japan, though it is a national cooperative network rather than a single operator.
• Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Stations / 道の駅): Government-registered roadside stations nationwide that combine local produce sales, food, and tourism. Closest direct competitor concept to Yamamoto's Venus Line / Yatsugatake Eco-Line store positioning, though operated as a public infrastructure program.
• Kaldi Coffee Farm (カルディコーヒーファーム): Specialty food retailer with nationwide store footprint and own e-commerce. Comparable as a multi-channel specialty food retailer in Japan, though focused on imported and curated packaged foods rather than fresh farm-direct produce.
• Seijo Ishii (成城石井): Upscale supermarket chain with strong private-label and imported/specialty assortment plus nationwide stores. Comparable premium-positioned multi-channel food retailer, though its supply model is wholesale rather than producer-direct.
• Queen's Isetan (クイーンズ伊勢丹): Premium supermarket chain emphasizing fresh, local, and curated assortments with strong produce offerings. Comparable as a higher-end fresh-focused food retailer in Japan, though embedded inside a larger department-store group.

Direct peers

• Kuze Fuku Shoten (久世福商店): Specialty Japanese food retailer combining physical stores, cafes, and online sales of curated local and regional foods. Closest comparable as a multi-channel Japanese specialty food brand with retail + foodservice + e-commerce under one roof.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/tateshina_free
• Facebookfacebook.com/tateshinafree
• Instagraminstagram.com/tateshina_jiyunouen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Yamamoto