The situation
Fujisaki Town is where the Fuji apple was born. That was the town's one brand. It had no sustainability story, no visitor destination, and a former high school campus sitting idle, including a glass greenhouse and a fruit storage warehouse in good condition. The town wanted the site to earn its keep.
What AQUPONI did
In 2023, Fujisaki Town engaged AQUPONI to plan the site's future. AQUPONI authored the master plan: an aquaponics farm in the original greenhouse, a cafe in the renovated warehouse, and the business model connecting them. From 2024, AQUPONI advised the town through implementation under a formal advisory agreement, from budget approval to opening day. In 2025 the town contracted AQUPONI to supply and install the aquaponics system itself, and in 2026 AQUPONI produced the facility's official website.
Day to day, the farm and cafe are run by the town together with team.Step by step, a local non-profit disability-employment provider, under Japan's farm-welfare model. That is what makes Fujisaki the inclusive-employment case.
What's running today
Fujisaki Aquaponics Town opened in June 2026. The farm operates under AQUPONI's name: Aquponi Farm. Guided tours run every Saturday: a short lesson on how the cycle works, a walk through the farm, a harvest, then pizza topped with the herbs guests just picked. The cafe, a marche selling local goods, and a lawn park connect the site into one destination. The farm was never designed as a produce business. It is the reason people show up.
