house boat club
Experience the work of an ashes scattering coordinator who cares about the feelings of people who “want to return to the sea in their final moments” Internship implementation report released
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House Boat Club Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Koto-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Masato Akabane, hereinafter referred to as the “Company”), which develops end-of-life services that support “those departing and those seeing off” with a focus on scattering ashes at sea, will be established in September 2024. We held an internship as an ashes scattering coordinator from September 6th to September 12th, and we have published the details on our website. (URL:
https://blueoceanceremony.jp/9455/
■Providing an opportunity to engage in a new form of funeral service, “marine scattering”
Marine scattering is a funeral method in which cremated remains are turned into powder and scattered into the sea from the sky or from a ship. We support people who have concerns about the wishes of the deceased, such as “I want to return to nature after I die” or “I want to sleep in the sea I loved”, or who are unable to bury or have a grave due to various reasons. Since our founding in 2007, we have been assisting in the scattering of ashes at sea all over the country. Our company has carried out a total of over 5,500 marine ashes scattering cases, and the number of consultations is increasing year by year. As a result, we have realized that the requests from families and individuals who wish to scatter ashes in the future are becoming more diverse, and we are working to enhance our services in a variety of ways, such as increasing the number of departure points and plan variations. I did.
We expect demand for marine ashes scattering, which allows people to remember the deceased anywhere without the need for a successor, to continue to grow in the future, as the number of people living alone and the declining birthrate is growing. At that time, we would like to let the younger generation know about the work of a scattering coordinator who works closely with customers in order to realize marine scattering in the form that each customer desires, so we are holding our first internship for the position of scattering
coordinator. I have decided to do so.
■Internship implementation report
The internship was a 6-day program. We will write a report about the program contents and the students who participated.
[Day 1]
Orientation was held to deepen understanding of the business. Watch videos and photos to get a sense of how “ocean scattering” is done, which you have never seen in person. Afterwards, we visited the ashes room to see the process of pulverizing ashes. We will learn step by step from the preparation stage of marine ashes scattering.
[2nd day]
Immediately, I experienced my first experience on board the ashes scattering cruise departing from Tokyo (Kachidoki). At the
pre-departure briefing, we thoroughly check the weather, sea conditions, customer information, etc. with the captain and senior coordinators. After moving onto the ship, we will clean it up, set the table, and prepare to welcome guests. As the time for departure approaches, preparations for the ocean scattering ceremony are being completed by carefully arranging the flowers that decorate the sea surface.
As he witnessed his first ocean scattering ceremony, he realized that each customer has a story and how important it is to be attentive to each customer’s different feelings. The tension quickly increases as I wonder what will happen in the remaining days.
[Day 3] The main point of this day was boarding the ship departing from Yokohama. This is not an ashes scattering cruise, but rather a cruise where you and your family can “experience” marine ashes scattering in advance in order to consider scattering ashes in the future. Even though we were struggling in a different port and ship than the day before, we were able to experience support for the ceremony.
[Day 4]
Early in the morning, I will go to Shonan/Hayama and board a ship to scatter the ashes. Although the ship was sailing under the “proxy ashes scattering plan” without passengers on board, many families had gathered at the port to at least watch the ship depart. Each group is guided to say goodbye to the deceased, and the ship departs with the ashes on board. You will be nervous as you will be responsible for sending the deceased out to sea on behalf of the family. On that day, I learned from a senior coordinator that they were adjusting the angle of view and timing so that you could see the scattering of ashes in photos at a later date, and that day I realized that there were some hidden tricks.
[Day 5]
Boarding the Tokyo Divergent Bones Cruise again for the first time. My goal during the internship is to be in charge of the ashes scattering ceremony by the final day. While reflecting on the words of customers and senior coordinators I have worked with, I practice over and over again with a progress script in hand.
[Day 6]
It’s finally the last day of my internship, and my debut in charge of the ashes scattering ceremony is approaching.
Once you arrive at the offshore point, the opening ceremony will be held to scatter the ashes in the ocean. While following the lines from the script, each word conveys the feelings of the audience in front of them. We moved to the rear deck and guided each person through the scattering of the ashes. Those who have finished scattering the ashes will move to the second floor, and once everyone has gathered, the final ceremony will begin. Pick up the bell provided on the ship and ring it slowly 10 times at the same pace. Tensions reach a climax as the entire family listens to the sound of the bell and offers a moment of silence for the deceased. After ringing the bell for the 10th time, the boat circled around the place where the ashes were scattered and bowed, bringing the ceremony to a successful conclusion. After scattering the ashes, I was relieved to see the refreshed expressions on the customers’ faces. We were able to deliver a once-in-a-lifetime ceremony to our customers.
After completing the 6-day program, they present what they learned to senior employees, and the entire process concludes. Although it was a short period of time, we were able to interact with a variety of families who were involved in scattering ashes at sea, and we were able to experience the diversity of ways to support our customers. We must draw out the customer’s thoughts, ensure that those thoughts are passed on between coordinators, and deliver the ceremony with confidence and dignity. I hope that this experience that I have learned from our customers will be of use in my future endeavors. ■Cooperating school
Kyoto Notre Dame University
career center
1, Shimogamo Minami Nonogamicho, Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture https://www.notredame.ac.jp/
■Inquiries regarding internships
House Boat Club Co., Ltd. Management Department
https://hbclub.co.jp/recruit/
Person in charge: Hatayama
■Representative comment
We have recently conducted our first internship with a marine ashes scattering coordinator. Last year, I had the opportunity to speak at Kyoto Notre Dame University’s special job-hunting lecture on the theme of “Job-hunting x End-of-Life Hunting: Thinking about the future from services related to life ending.” There were many motivated students who participated, and we decided to take this event even further and offer a hands-on internship this time, as we would like them to learn more deeply about occupations in the end-of-life care field next time. As a result, this 6-day program allowed us to experience all of the marine ashes scattering services, and in the end, we were able to serve as master of ceremonies for the ceremony, which is an important part of our customer service. In addition to the work experience, the participants also raised marketing analysis from a customer’s perspective and presented their results on the final day. Although the content was difficult to master in a short internship period, the students who participated were highly motivated and were able to complete the schedule, and the results were excellent.
I think that “end of life” is still far away for the younger generation, but I would be happy if this article could be used as an opportunity to think about “life” and “life” through work. When choosing a future job, we hope that more and more talented people who care about our customers will join our industry, and we plan to continue to actively engage in these types of efforts.
House Boat Club Co., Ltd. Representative Director and President Masato Akabane ■Company overview
House Boat Club Co., Ltd.
With the vision of “Aiming for a society that values connections with loved ones,” we run the ocean scattering business “Blue Ocean Ceremony”, the farewell party production business “Story,” and the travel service that provides memorable experiences. We offer four services: “En no Tabi” and “Grave Relocation & Tomb Jima-kun,” which supports reburials and graves. “Remembering” does not mean mourning, but rather, we work every day to provide opportunities for end-of-life and funeral services in which people can reconnect with their loved ones and be filled with gratitude and warm feelings. [Established] February 15, 2007
[Representative] Representative Director and President Masato Akabane [Address] 3F Lead Sea Sumiyoshi Building, 1-16-13 Sumiyoshi, Koto-ku, Tokyo [Employees] 23 people (as of September 2024)
[Business details]
[1] Planning and operation of ceremonies using steamships and various cruises [2] End-of-life support and consultation services
[3] Planning and management of various events related to life ending [4] Travel industry based on the Travel Agency Act
[URL] https://hbclub.co.jp/