Ichibatake (Nada Central Market)
Kobe, Japan · Operator: いちばたけ（神戸市職員ら有志メンバー）
Overview
A community garden that revived a vacant lot along the passageway of Kobe's roughly century-old Nada Central Market using handmade planters and lighting, turning land left derelict for over 20 years into organic rental plots and a lively market space.
Citizen participation
People can take part on two levels: the fan-club-style 'Ichibatake Farmers' and the plot-rental 'Challenge Farmers'. Beginning with planter-making and soil-hauling workshops, it draws participants not only from the neighborhood but from across the wider area.
Operating model
A volunteer project launched by Kobe city employees (in architecture and agriculture) and a community-development specialist concerned with vacant-land issues and shopping-street revitalization near Suidosuji. From its third year it introduced plot rentals, aiming for an easygoing, sustainable operation.
Impact
Turned a long-abandoned market lot into a point of community involvement, revitalizing the market and shopping street and drawing new foot traffic, and has been featured as a leading example on greenz.jp.
Land tenure
Run on a vacant lot leased along the Nada Central Market passageway, used on an interim basis as a community garden.
Crops
- vegetables
Scale
創立約100年の灘中央市場の通路沿いにあった空き地を活用したコミュニティ農園
In the media（2）
Web articles and features that cover this case.
Sources（2）
This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.
Related cases
MyFarm Experience Farms
JPKyoto, Japan
Founded in 2007 by Kazuma Nishitsuji, MyFarm rehabilitates abandoned farmland across Japan into accessible experience farms for city dwellers, under the philosophy of a 'grow-your-own, eat-your-own society'.
myfarm.co.jp+1
Green Park TOGOSHI by grow
JPShinagawa, Tokyo, Japan
Opened April 2026 on a former condo lot in Togoshi, Shinagawa. About 330㎡ split into farm and plaza uses Plantio grow’s shared cultivation and IoT support as a neighbourhood courtyard. Membership filled quickly; the project is building shop-street ties and a local gathering place.
greenpark.grow-agritainment.com+3
Prinzessinnengärten
DEBerlin, Germany
A mobile community garden reviving a vacant lot in Berlin-Kreuzberg. Its DIY container growing and composting made it a flagship example of reusing idle urban land through citizen participation.
prinzessinnengarten.net+2
Indonesia Berkebun (National Community Gardening Movement)
IDJakarta, Indonesia
Originated as 'Jakarta Berkebun' from an October 2010 Twitter call by architect Ridwan Kamil and collaborators. The first planting on 20 February 2011 drew about 150 people, and the movement spread to 14 cities within six months, becoming a national urban-farming community network.
id.wikipedia.org+1