Urban Farm DB
← Back to cases

Kumamoto City Family Gardens

Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan · Operator: 熊本市(指定制度)/各農園主

Overview

A Kumamoto City scheme designating qualifying citizen farms as 'Family Gardens,' places to enjoy soil and deepen appreciation of food and farming. Gardens are spread across the city's five wards, and residents without farmland can join on a rolling basis.

Citizen participation

Kumamoto residents without farmland grow vegetables and flowers at 'Family Gardens' designated by the city under set conditions, becoming familiar with soil and deepening their appreciation of food and farming through the joy of harvest. Each garden owner accepts applications on a rolling basis.

Operating model

A scheme in which Kumamoto City designates qualifying citizen farms meeting food-education and participation criteria as 'Family Gardens.' Each garden is run by its owner while the city handles the scheme and outreach, a public-private model.

Impact

It spreads food-education citizen farms across every ward, providing an entry point for residents without farmland to take part in growing food.

Land tenure

Lease

City-designated gardens whose owners lease plots to residents

Crops

  • vegetables
  • flowers

Scale

市内の中央・東・西・南・北の各区に分散する複数の指定農園(花立、桜木、小島、近見ほか)

Sources(2)

Related cases

Community garden
2009

Seseragi Community Garden (Machi no Namagomi Ikashi-tai)

JPHino, Japan

A community garden in Hino City, Tokyo, started by citizens who believe 'kitchen waste is a treasure.' It collects and composts the kitchen waste of around 200 households and grows vegetables and flowers pesticide-free as a food-cycle garden. Naomi Shimpo studied its management and governance in detail in her 2021 and 2024 papers.

CompostOrganic cycleFood loss+4

acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com+3

Community garden
1996

Nerima Ward Agricultural Experience Farms

JPNerima, Tokyo, Japan

Nerima created Japan's first agricultural experience farm in 1996 and is a pioneer of urban agriculture. The 'Nerima model', in which farmers act as instructors for residents, has spread nationwide, with over a dozen farms still operating in the ward. It is a leading model for using urban farmland as a place of learning and community exchange.

Food educationCommunityElderly

city.nerima.tokyo.jp+1

Community garden

Setagaya Fureai (Contact) Farms and Family Allotments

JPSetagaya, Tokyo, Japan

Setagaya provides a range of official ways for residents to engage with urban farming: Family Allotments (~10 sqm fully equipped plots), harvest and planting experiences at Fureai farms, a JA farmers market for 'Setagaya-sodachi' produce, and a map of about 110 farm stands.

Food educationCommunityElderly

city.setagaya.lg.jp+1

Community garden
1965

Nagoya Agricultural Center 'dela Farm' Citizen Garden

JPNagoya, Japan

The Nagoya Agricultural Center (nicknamed 'dela Farm'), an agricultural park opened in 1965 and fully renovated in 2024, serves as a hub where residents deepen their understanding of farming through hands-on growing at its Citizen Garden and other municipal farms across the city.

Food educationCommunityElderly

city.nagoya.jp+1

Kumamoto City Family Gardens — Urban Farm DB