Creating spaces that bring vitality to the local community by building connections between people

​Fukanuma Sea Square opened in October 2023 in the Fukanuma (Arahama) district, located on the coast of Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, an area still devastated by the earthquake.
In this project, we built connections with local residents and businesses by holding a pre-event before the facility opened. Many people who had made connections at the pre-event attended the facility's opening event, creating a lively atmosphere.

In this article, we present a conversation between Tochiyama and Koseki from STUDIO 080, who were involved in managing the pre-event and opening event, and Ito and Kikuchi from the student group CARAV@N (hereinafter referred to as CARAV@N), and our company's Kajimura, on the theme of "creating a space where everyone can make it their own."

[STUDIO 080]
Located in Kudatake, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, this is one of the largest shared offices in the Tohoku region, renovated from a newspaper printing factory. It offers a variety of spaces to meet the diverse working styles of workers, including individual desks, private offices, and a 12m-high lounge. It also manages the student group CARAV@N.

Tsuyoshi Tochiyama (center left in photo)
Kazuya Koseki (center right in the photo)

[Student group CARAV@N]
A group of student creators working on solving problems in Miyagi. They foster a network between local companies and students through volunteer activities such as "White Beach," which cleans up the ocean in Miyagi.

Takumi Ito (front left in photo)
Yuri Kikuchi (front right in the photo)

[NOMURA Co., Ltd.]
Naomi Kajimura (back left in photo)
Creative Headquarters, Planning and Production Center, Planning Department 2, Room 5
Yuhi Ito (far right in the photo)
nomlog Editorial Department

*Facilitator and content planner: Naomi Kajimura (Planning and Producing Center)
*Text: Yuhi Ito (nomlog Editorial Department)
*Photography: Emiko Nagata (Pro Photo Sendai)

Seaside inclusive park concept

Kajimura
First, I would like to briefly look back on Fukunuma's project.
The Fukanuma area was once home to about 800 households, where people lived partly as farmers and partly as fishermen, and was the only popular swimming beach in Sendai City. However, it was damaged by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake, and as a result, people were banned from living there or staying overnight.
In order to create a place where people can spend time in an area where no one lives at all, it was very important to build relationships with the local people.

The scene of "Yo (Yu) Ikko" gave me a hint for building relationships. In the past, the residents of the Fukanuma area had strong connections with each other, and it was common to see "Yo (Yu) Ikko" scenes of neighbors and relatives cooperating with each other if something happened.
This idea led to the seaside "inclusive park" concept.

When I first visited this area in 2021, various individual-scale activities were being carried out to restore the former bustle to the deep swamp that had been transformed by the tsunami. Activities originally carried out by individuals, such as the "HOPE FOR project," which sends eco-balloons filled with flower seeds (balloons that decompose naturally in sunlight and turn into soil) into the sky over the disaster area, have gradually spread and a circle of people is gradually forming.

On the other hand, there are many companies and organizations in Sendai who want to do something for this area, but don't know what to do. As an opportunity for these people to easily participate, we proposed several events and ways to get involved with the theme of "creating color and sound" in a town that had lost everything.
This project included a "pre-event" to create opportunities for interaction with local businesses and organizations, followed by an "opening event" as the culmination of this.
Nearly 100 companies and organizations from around Sendai cooperated with the event, but I think it was all thanks to STUDIO 080 that we were able to gather so many people. I'm really grateful.

Tochiyama
It was really great to have so many people involved.

Kajimura
That's right.
In particular, as a pre-event, we went to the summer festival in the Arai district and made windmills. It was impressive to see how much fun the participants had making the windmills, despite the scorching sun.

In the end, we collected about 700 windmills, and I think it's wonderful to think that there were people involved in all 700 windmills.
I would like to create a scene like this again.

Tochiyama
I would definitely like to make it again.

Related article: Realizing a symbiotic society through welfare and art --NOMURA Co., Ltd. 's challenge "Inclusion & Art"

A conduit that connects us to the local community

Kajimura
This project was the first time I came to Sendai, so initially I had no connections with companies in the Sendai area. However, thanks to STUDIO 080, which is based in the transportation company Maruyama Transportation Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Maruyama Transportation) and has strong ties with local companies, we were able to penetrate the local area and build connections while working on our project.

CARAV@N was also in charge of managing each event, from the pre-event to the opening event. They were involved in everything from reaching out to local businesses and organizations to actually running the events.

I had heard that they were a student group, so I thought they would need a lot of support in directing the event, but in the end they didn't need any support, and they managed most of the event, including the progression. I was happy to see that students were capable of doing this much, and I felt that they were very reliable.

*Student group CARAV@N

Tochiyama
As a result of this event, some children have decided to stay in their local area and with this organization.
For example, there are some kids who are not affiliated with a company and work as freelancers while still being involved in CARAV@N activities, and there are also kids who are members of both the Regional Revitalization Volunteer Team and CARAV@N...it's really amazing.

Kajimura
That's amazing...
In order to keep this facility running in a sustainable manner, I simply planned to "design a way to involve local companies and organizations (people, things, money, information)" in creating the space, and to have students take the lead in planning and running it as a hub. However, I was surprised at how it ended up moving the students' hearts.

Shared office advice center

Kajimura
Today we are speaking at STUDIO 080, a co-working space renovated from a former printing factory. Before our conversation, I had the opportunity to take a look around the space, and it was bustling with people from local businesses.

Tochiyama
thank you.
It has been about five years since we opened in 2019, and we have been able to operate the shared office while building connections with a variety of local companies.

*STUDIO 080 interior

Kajimura
What was the idea behind starting this shared office in the first place?

Tochiyama
This shared office started from the desire to create a hub for local companies to continue their business. To achieve this, we thought it was essential to have exchanges between them and young people, so we recruited student interns to help run the shared office that Maruyama Transportation had been running.
Koseki-kun was the first intern at that time.

Ozeki
That's right. When I was a fourth-year university student, I participated as one of the first interns at STUDIO 080. After that, CARAV@N was formed with the members who had gathered as interns.

Kajimura
How did a group of student interns evolve into the organization CARAV@N?

Ozeki
Originally, STUDIO 080's internships were long-term internships, which were rare in Miyagi, and because of this novelty, there were many opportunities for local companies that came to the shared office to find them interesting. This created an environment that naturally fostered connections between students and local companies.
As the students' interactions with local companies deepened, they realized that they had many concerns, and they began to feel like they wanted to help local companies with their concerns as much as possible.
This led to the scope of our activities expanding from running a shared office to solving problems for local businesses, and the long-term student internship was reborn as an organization called CARAV@N.

The "White Beach" activity, which we are currently carrying out in cooperation with local businesses, originally started as a way to solve problems.
At that time, we started the beach cleanup after a tire company approached us and said, "Tires that were washed out to sea from containers during the earthquake disaster have corroded and are now on the beach, so we want to collect them." At first, the beach cleanup was done by students alone, but local companies were also involved, and it has now expanded into an activity called "White Beach."

*White Beach

CARAV@N is a "slightly unusual organization that goes beyond operating a shared office, contributing to the local community by responding to the concerns of businesses in Miyagi and the Tohoku region."

Kajimura
I see, it’s a bit of an unusual group (laughs).

The spread of the CARAV@N community

Kajimura
How long has CARAV@N been going on for?

Ozeki
We started the beach cleanup in 2021, so this will be our third year.
At the time, the members were mostly students, but now some of our members are working adults who support student activities at CARAV@N on the side. What was originally a student group is gradually expanding into a community that includes alumni.

Tochiyama
Thanks to the expansion of the community, many students with a strong desire to contribute to their local community are now participating in CARAV@N.
It was Koseki-kun who first created the link with local companies, expanded the scope of our activities, and brought more students into the community. Thank you so much.

Challenging and exciting

Kajimura
Considering that CARAV@N's activities have been able to continue successfully, it's a big deal that Koseki-san has stayed on. It's a miracle.

Tochiyama
I wonder why they're still here... (laughs)
After all, he is a very interesting and talented person, and even turned down a job offer from a major company when he was looking for a job, to choose us. In return, we can trust him and entrust him with responsible work.

Ozeki
It's really, really rewarding!
When I interned at STUDIO 080, I felt an excitement that I couldn't experience anywhere else, and that excitement is what drew me to it, which is why I'm still here today.

Kajimura
I see. What was it about it that excited you?

Ozeki
I felt excited to be in an environment where I could be part of a big cog in the wheel.
During my job hunting season, I looked not only in Tohoku but also in Kanto, and of course the companies and people working there were all very glamorous, but I felt a strong sense of working as a small cog in a company.

Tochiyama
No, your comments are really wonderful. Perhaps you prepared a script?

The possibilities of creating a space begin with building relationships

Kajimura
Next, I would like to hear your thoughts about the activities at Fukanuma Sea Plaza.
Mr. Ito, I believe you have been involved since the pre-event windmill construction. What was it like actually doing it?

Ito
When I saw the smiling faces of children with their parents making windmills at the Arai Summer Festival, I realized that what I was doing was not wrong, and I was really happy when they said "thank you."
Some people came to the opening event because of the windmill making, so I'm glad we were able to create that opportunity.
After this event, I came to like CARAV@N's activities even more.

Kajimura
Mr. Kikuchi, have you been involved since the opening event?

Kikuchi
Yes, from the opening event.

Tochiyama
Kikuchi participated in the opening event as part of her work experience at CARAV@N, but she seemed to be inspired by each and every staff member there, and immediately after the event ended, she decided to join CARAV@N.

Kikuchi
Yes (laughs). On the way home on the second day of the event, I told Koseki-san, "I want to join CARAV@N!" I really admired my seniors and wanted to be like them.
At the time, it was just an instinct, but now I think I was drawn to the strong feelings of each of my seniors. I want to continue carrying on those feelings.

Kajimura
thank you.
What was most memorable about the opening event was that it was attended by people who originally lived in Fukunuma but had avoided visiting since the earthquake, as well as people who had no connection to Fukunuma in the first place.
I realized that a single windmill can lower the psychological barriers for people who have complicated feelings about the earthquake, and can also help people with no connection to the area to learn about it, connecting many different people to the area.
I think we were able to accomplish something truly amazing. It was all thanks to everyone's cooperation.

There is no distance between our feelings

Kajimura
I think that physical distance is one of the obstacles when you go into various regions, including Fukanuma, and build relationships. What do you think is important when getting involved in a region from a distant place and building relationships?

Tochiyama
I think it's about having feelings for the local community.
When there is someone with a strong desire, such as "I want to do this," "I want someone to help me," or "Let's do this together," I think that becomes the driving force that leads to a goal, and the people around them will empathize with that, which will strengthen the bond between them.

I think what we need to do as people who are involved in the local community is to show leadership and continue to convey that feeling without wavering. If we can do that, people, no matter how far away they are, will take what is happening in the local area as their own and work together with us.
I don't think distance matters when it comes to feelings.

Kajimura
While Mr. Tochiyama and his team are committed to the community as stakeholders, we often commit from a third-party perspective from Tokyo.
I think that the role expected of us is to be able to speak freely without being tied down, to see things from different perspectives, and to be irresponsible because we are third parties who know absolutely nothing about the area. If we can understand that role and create a space in collaboration with the local people, I think we can change the way towns are developed in the future.
I hope that one day my company will be able to do something like that.

Tochiyama
It seems like it could be a big success... (laughs) From our perspective, we have nothing but high hopes.
We are able to "never waver from our ideas," but when it comes to turning that idea into a concrete image that everyone can share, I think we need Kajimura and the others' cooperation.
Regardless of whether you are a party involved or a third party, as long as you can align your perspective, you can create something good no matter how far apart you are.

Even if we move away, we will work with the hashtag.

Ito (Nomura)
I imagine that in the future, you two students will have to leave the area you feel attached to for work or other reasons. In that case, how do you want to be involved with the area in the future?

Kikuchi
Through my activities with CARAV@N, my attachment to my hometown has deepened, and more than anything, I have come to want to spread the passion that I inherited from everyone at CARAV@N to more people.
Therefore, I would like to find a job in Miyagi Prefecture where I can have as many connections as possible with my local area and CARAV@N.

Ito
I also hope to continue being involved with CARAV@N.
However, I think it would also be an option to not just stick to Miyagi, but to liven up the local area or other regions as a traveling CARAV@N.
I was able to think this way because through this activity, I realized that there are many different ways to work in the world. Whether it's as a local revitalization volunteer or a civil servant, I realized that I can work with hashtags like #townbuilding and #localcontribution, so I would like to do whatever I want to do in the future.

A place where you can pursue various career paths

Tochiyama
I think the good thing about CARAV@N's activities is that they allow us to envision many different career paths.
If there is only one answer, it doesn't lead to much innovation, and it doesn't create a very attractive identity for the local area. On the other hand, I feel that the more career paths there are to choose from, the more lively the area will become.

Now, many different people, mainly alumni, are involved with CARAV@N, each with their own work style. For students, it has become a place where they can see how alumni work up close and explore their own career paths, and I think it has become a really interesting format.
I hope that such places will spread throughout the region and that local businesses will join in.

Kajimura
Local businesses too?

Tochiyama
Yes, local companies should really be closely connected to their local communities, but in reality I don't think they are able to do that.
This is probably because a distance has been created between them and students, and even though students are aware of the companies, they find it difficult to choose to work there.
By connecting local companies that join STUDIO 080 with students who have a passion for their hometown, we hope to create a place where both parties can map out better career paths.
I would be happy if this can serve as a catalyst for livening up the local area.

Kajimura
A place where local businesses, students, and other local residents can come together to imagine their careers and the future ahead, and get excited - perhaps that is one form of the "place" we are aiming for.
Thank you for your valuable time today.