Michihiko Sasaki is the CEO of Minami Sanriku Winery, in the town of Minami Sanriku in Miyagi Prefecture. 10 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami that left the town in ruins, the team at Minami Sanriku Winery are using wine as a way to give life back to the place and…
Together, These People Have Renovated an Entire Japanese Village
Akira Yamaguchi is one of the founding members of TEAM Clapton. This construction group does design, renovation, and builds event spaces. Their specialization: their construction sites are open to everybody who wants to help, beginners included. Last year, TEAM Clapton was involved in renovating a small traditional village, transforming it into a small lodging complex…
Can Anarchy Save Japanese Communities?
Ko Hayakawa is an associate professor of cultural anthropology and a researcher at Osaka International University. He currently mainly studies community development, an important topic for Japan, which must face new challenges as its population slowly disappears. This year, Professor Hayakawa published a book introducing his idea of “anarchic community development.” As I was very…
How a Salaryman Found Meaning in a Japanese Village
I met Ryuji Nakayama for the first time in 2019. At the time, he was working on how to attract foreign visitors to his village of Kamiyama and what content to show them. I was helping in the project, which has led me to spend a few days on the field, with Mr. Nakayama as…
This Entire Japanese Town Turned Itself into a Hotel to Improve the Local Community
Before starting to work at SEKAI HOTEL in September 2019, Yuki had many experiences in the accommodation and social venture industries. She used to work for Hoshino Resorts, Japan’s most famous ryokan [traditional inns] and luxury hotels group. There, Yuki worked on how to give life back to ryokan that were in deficit. Later, she left Japan…
Three Days in Kamiyama, Tokushima: A Rural Revitalization Success Story
Ryuji Nakayama is a man on a mission. After toiling away for 21 years as one of Japan’s salarymen, Nakayama-san found himself captivated by the alluring countryside lifestyle of Kamiyama, a rural village in Tokushima Prefecture on the island of Shikoku. His sojourns to Kamiyama made such an impact that he decided to pack up…