Are you a participant in society or a stakeholder?
What I learned through my work

Hello. This is Fujiwara from the production department.

This time, I would like to talk about how my feelings and my antennae for society have changed as I have learned about the activities of various people through my work at Monosus.

Monosus is a company that has many ties to the local community, such as Google's " Innovation Tohoku ," which the Production Department is involved in, Kamiyama Monosus Academy , and the FOOD HUB PROJECT . For me, who lives in Tokyo, these things give me the opportunity to feel closer to "society" and think about how I relate to it.

I have always been interested in rural life for the slow-life reasons of "being able to do what I like at my own pace in an open space." However, this way of thinking is missing the "way of being involved in society" that is important for an active life. What first made me realize this was the appearance and thinking of the people active in Innovation Tohoku.

Don't leave it to others. Make town development your own.

Innovation Tohoku is a project that began in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake five years ago. It is a matching platform that connects people in various regions who are trying to take on new challenges with people who share their aspirations and want to cooperate.

The town of Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture was the location of the " Field Hack ONAGAWA " event that Uehara introduced the other day. Although the town suffered devastating damage from the earthquake and tsunami, forcing many people to leave, it has made progress in its recovery and created a new streetscape.
With its symbolic station building designed to resemble a black-tailed gull spreading its wings and the tenant-type shopping street Seapalpia Onagawa overlooking the sea, this is a wonderful town where friends can gather and chat in various places throughout the compact streets.

The sea is right in front of Onagawa Station. Surrounding it are a plaza, co-working space, and the shopping street Seapalpia Onagawa, creating a relaxed atmosphere. Onagawa Station is also unique in that it is adjacent to the Onagawa Onsen Yupoppo.

A major factor in the creation of this streetscape seems to be that the townspeople themselves have been involved in its development. Rather than following a plan put forward by the government, they created their own plan for town development and have proceeded with discussions with the government based on that plan. They have welcomed people who wanted to start new businesses and involved them in the town development. And they have boldly entrusted town development to the current younger generation, who will be responsible for the results of their current efforts in 10 to 20 years' time.

It was very inspiring to see that they were trying to improve the town they live in and the community they are involved in with their own hands, rather than leaving it to others. It made me realize that society is on the same level as our daily lives, spreading out around where we stand, and that we can be involved at any time.
At Field Hack ONAGAWA, participants were able to experience the process of using their own skills to create prototypes that would draw out the potential of the local area, and I realized that there are ways of engaging with society that make use of each participant's skills, which are different from contract work.

At Field Hack ONAGAWA, people with a variety of skills, including engineers, designers, and project managers, came together in teams to carry out fieldwork to explore the potential of Onagawa and create prototypes.

I want more people to know about the comfort of connecting regions and people.

I felt the same way not only in Onagawa Town, but also in Kuroiso, Nasushiobara City, which I visited recently. The reason I visited Kuroiso was to personally attend an event called "From Fukushima to Kuroiso," which was held through the connections between the Fukushima merchants' association LIFEKU (who are also the project owner of Innovation Tohoku) and the shops in Kuroiso.

At first glance, Kuroiso appears to be an ordinary rural town, but when you actually walk around the town, you will find a number of lovely shops, including general stores with a relaxed atmosphere, cafes, antique furniture stores, and guest houses, and the entire town has a comfortable atmosphere.

It is said that a cafe called " 1988 CAFE SHOZO " created this streetscape, and I was surprised to learn that the passion of one shop and its owner can create the atmosphere of the entire town. On the day of the event, many people with connections from all over the country, including Kyushu and Tokyo, had gathered, and although I found it strange to be having tea and chatting with vendors in a place like Kuroiso, I felt a sense of comfort in the borderless connections.

"From Fukushima to Kuroiso" was made possible through connections with the LIFEKU executive committee members, who are themselves Fukushima merchants, and small businesses in Kuroiso and other areas. The beloved organic restaurant "Hitoto" in Kichijoji is scheduled to relocate and open in Fukushima this summer.

On the day, Kuroiso was lined with stylish shops and bustling with people from all over the country, from families to individuals.

I want these connections to spread to more people, so I'm thinking about what I can do. Starting tomorrow, the day I write this article, I will be going to Kamiyama Town, Tokushima Prefecture to participate in WoodLuck #4 . What kind of scenery will unfold in this town that is working to create a system for local circulation? What kind of connections will emerge? I'm looking forward to it!