[Open House Group Co., Ltd.] “Ruins Regeneration Marche” will be held in Minakami Onsen Town, Gunma, September 22nd to 23rd.
*Open House Group Co., Ltd.*
Press release: September 6, 2024
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“Ruins Regeneration Marche” will be held in Gunma Minakami Onsen Town from September 22nd to 23rd
*Visit the hot spring town and discover the future of Minami. This year, the third year, the number of venues has expanded to four* Open House Group Co., Ltd. (Headquarters Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo,
Representative Director and President)
Masaaki Arai (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) is proceeding based on the “Industry-Government-Academia-Financial Comprehensive Collaboration Agreement” concluded in September 2021 with Minakami Town (Gunma Prefecture), Gunma Bank, and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Engineering. As part of the Minakami Onsen Town Revitalization Project, we will be holding an “Ruins Regeneration Marche” on September 22nd (Sunday) and 23rd (Monday holiday), 2024, at four locations in Minakami Onsen Town. i will let you know. “Ruins Regeneration Marche” will be held for the third time, following in 2022 and 2023.
*Left: This year’s flyer, Right: Scenes from last year’s “Ruins Regeneration Marche”
“Ruins Revitalization Marche” is an event that started in 2022 in Minakami Onsen, a town at the headwaters of the Tone River, and is held while digging up the charm of abandoned buildings.
Our unique feature is to find charming places that are hidden in the city, and work with local people to make minimal changes to the venue so that you can enjoy the unique and tasteful atmosphere of the venue. This year, the third time, the venue will be expanded to four locations in the Minakami Onsen town.
Led by students from the University of Tokyo graduate school who are involved in the revitalization of hot spring towns, local residents, restaurant owners, and staff from long-established inns are working together to dismantle interiors, remove debris, and create new spaces. On the day of the event, approximately 36 stores, the largest ever, are scheduled to open from within and outside Minakami Town. You can enjoy Minakami’s food, drinks, experiences, and crafts while touring the diverse spaces of the hot spring town.
“Ruins Revitalization Marche” as a social experiment for the revitalization of a hot spring town, proposed by a graduate student at the University of Tokyo
Minakami Onsen, which flourished as the “inner parlor of the Kanto region” during the period of high economic growth and the bubble period, has seen a significant decline in the number of guests staying at large facilities since demand has shifted to individual travel. Abandonment of hotels and inns has become a problem.
However, in recent years, there have been moves to revitalize the hot spring town, such as the regeneration of vacant stores through urban renovation and the opening of new design hotels. In addition, based on the “Industry-Government-Academia-Financial Comprehensive
Collaboration Agreement,” the Company, Minakami Town, Gunma Bank, and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Engineering will purchase the former Ichiyotei, a large-scale inn located in the center of the hot spring town. We are working on a revitalization project (*1) in collaboration with four parties.
This project has been participating in community development since 2021, researching and proposing future visions for hot spring towns. We have devised a concept to revitalize the hot spring town from “5 Hiroba”. On the other hand, the University of Tokyo graduate students proposed the “Ruins Regeneration Marche” as an open space for people to question and think together about the future of hot spring towns by conducting temporary experiments on the use of spaces that actually exist in the city.
The first event was held in October 2022 at the former Higaki Dormitory (the employee dormitory of the Higaki Hotel, the predecessor of Ichiyotei), which remained in the innermost part of the hot spring town, and approximately 1,300 people attended. The second event last year was held at the Old Ichiyotei Energy Center and Old Higaki Dormitory, located in the middle of the hot spring town facing the Tone River, and approximately 3,000 people visited over two days. The Minakami Onsen Town Revitalization Project will be held in 2024 as the first step towards creating Hiroba, which will become the next tourist base.
*1: Minakami Town will hold a public call to select businesses that will utilize the former Ichiyotei facility, which will serve as a base for the revitalization of the hot spring town, as a tourist facility for lodging, dining, etc., and will renovate the former Ichiyotei from 2026 onwards. We aim to start operations after doing so. Our group donated a total of 380 million yen to Minakami Town in 2022 and 2023 as a corporate hometown tax. This donation is being used for Minakami Town’s efforts to generate a new flow of people to the town, such as the Minakami Onsen Town Revitalization Project.
4 unique venues that connect the “character” of Minakami Onsen Town This year, students from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Urban Design Laboratory and local residents collaborated to hold many meetings and events.
We selected four venues while conducting field work. We named them “Kouen,” “Hashizume,” “Machikado,” and “Urarogi,” and decided to reconsider the four elements that Minakami Onsen Town should cherish going forward.
“Kouen” is a mini-market that utilizes a warehouse building that once operated as a hotel laundry factory.
Hashizume will have counter seats overlooking Mt. Tanigawa and the Tone River. At Machikado, an ice cream shop loved by the locals will be turned into a cafe gallery, and at Uraroji, a former Higaki dormitory will be transformed into an entire atelier with the theme of manufacturing in harmony with nature.
Historical materials of the Minakami Onsen town that have been researched and excavated by the University of Tokyo graduate students and others, as well as panels proposing future visions for the hot spring town, will also be displayed at various locations.
Numerous store openings based on the concept of food, experiences, and manufacturing that you will encounter in Minami in the future The number of store owners is increasing year by year, and this year there are approximately 36 stores. Coffee made from the blessings of the Tone River headwaters, craft beer brewed in a hot spring town, and locally produced holy basil
In addition to tea and other products, Iyoshi Cola, which is available nationwide, is a flavored water drink made from Minakami water and cypress.
We are planning to open a store with a new product that is a blend of eater (only on the 22nd). You can enjoy many unique flavors, such as dumplings made with local brand rice and Thai food made with local vegetables.
There will also be eco-friendly craft products and programs, sales of upcycled and plastic-free miscellaneous goods, a weaving experience using haggis and waste yarn, and a cyanotype workshop where you can create blueprints using sunlight. In addition, there will be booths where people who have just moved to Japan or are considering moving will sell their special items, both to challenge themselves and to gather information.
* Ruins Regeneration Marche 2024 Event Overview *
Date: Sunday, September 22, 2024, Monday, September 23, 2024 Time: September 22nd = 10:30-19:30, September 23rd = 10:30-16:30 venue:
“Kouen”: Around Chureito Park (623-1 Yubara, Minakami Town)
“Hashizume”: Yubarabashi/former Soumi Hotel ruins (662 Yubara, Minakami Town) “Machikado”: Old Ore (665 Yubara, Minakami Town)
“Urarogi”: Former Higaki Dormitory (641-1 Yubara, Minakami Town) Sponsor: Ruins Regeneration Marche Executive Committee / Minakami Town / Gunma Bank, Ltd. / Open House Group, Inc. / University of Tokyo Graduate School of Urban Design Laboratory
Cooperation: Yubara District / Gunma Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. / Cainz Co., Ltd.
*Events will be held in light rain. In the event of inclement weather, the event may be reduced or canceled.
*If you are coming by car, please use the tourist center parking lot or hot spring town parking lot.
Contact information for this event: University of Tokyo Graduate School of Urban Design Laboratory
MAIL: minakami@ud.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp
*Minakami Ruins Revitalization Project*
Website: https://minakami-haikyo-saisei.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haisai_minakami/
About Open House Group Co., Ltd.’s regional co-creation business In order to leave a prosperous Japan to the next generation, the Open House Group aims to discuss the social issues facing Japan, such as “population decline, declining birthrate and aging population,” “population concentration in cities and decline in rural areas,” “aging social infrastructure,” We advocate “local co-creation” as one of the solutions to “long-term economic stagnation” and “low labor productivity,” and aim to realize a sustainable society by working hand in hand with various stakeholders. . Compared to urban centers, where there is a cycle of towns, people, and jobs, where funds can be collected and houses sold, this cycle is weaker in rural areas. The Open House Group believes that solving regional issues and restoring circulation is necessary to solving Japan’s issues. Build towns, create a flow of people, and create jobs. We aim to spread this type of urban development throughout Japan, steadily create favorable locations throughout Japan, and through regional co-creation, aim to realize a sustainable society where motivated people can play an active role.
*Current main initiatives*: OPEN HOUSE ARENA
OTA, Minakami Town Development Project (Minakami Onsen Town
Revitalization, Ruins Revitalization Marche, Minakami Hodaigi Ski/Campground), Kiryu Minami High School Site Utilization Project, Gunma Crane Thunders, Open House Forest Project
Regional co-creation project: https://kyoso.openhouse-group.co.jp/
*About Open House Group Co., Ltd.*
From January 2022, Open House Co., Ltd. and related companies have transitioned to a holding company structure with Open House Group Co., Ltd. as the pure holding company. The group’s business revolves around the detached house business, condominium business, income real estate business, and real estate business in the United States, as well as various services related to housing and daily life.In terms of regions, in addition to the Tokyo metropolitan area where it was founded, the Nagoya area, We have expanded to the Kansai and Fukuoka areas, and in recent years have also been focusing on regional co-creation activities and environmental conservation activities. In the detached house business, which has been our main business since our founding in 1997, we have an integrated manufacturing and sales system that covers everything from land purchasing to construction and sales, and provide homes in convenient locations at affordable prices. We have been working on initiatives that are unique to the group, such as locations that are close to work and home, which are required by the increasing number of dual-income households, and plans that meet new needs amid diversifying work styles. Our group will continue to strive to provide housing that more customers can choose from.
Open House Group Co., Ltd. Website: https://openhouse-group.co.jp/ Open House Co., Ltd. Website: https://oh.openhouse-group.com/
* – Company Profile -*
Trade name Open House Group Co., Ltd.
Head office location 2-7-2 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-7020 JP Tower 20th floor (general reception) / 21st floor
Founded September 1997
Representative Representative Director and President Masaaki Arai Capital: 20,131,480,000 yen
Number of employees (consolidated) 5,828 (as of the end of March 2024)