Ryokan x Digital Art x Sauna - Monthly Project Design December Issue

Picture: Forbes

I'm Taishi, and I'm interested in saunas and digital art! (A middle-aged man with big ambitions | 👉Self-introduction)

I wrote before that I love hot springs and saunas.

I also wrote about how I've been curious about digital art and have been gathering information on it.

As someone who loves saunas and is interested in digital art, I read the Monthly Project Design December Issue that I read at the beginning of every month.

This time, there was an article about the story of Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel and Ryokan, which achieved a V-shaped recovery from the brink of bankruptcy, starting with saunas and digital art, so I'm taking notes on that input.

input! - What Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel did to achieve a V-shaped recovery

Monthly Project Design December Issue - Here are the points from the article that I want to remember:

The situation before the V-shaped recovery

• The current third-generation president, Yoshihisa Oharu, joined the family business in 2003 at the age of 28. The number of visitors to Mifuneyama Rakuen had dropped from its peak of 100,000 per year to 7,000. He became the Representative Director in 2007 at the age of 32.

• If he didn't stop the losses and rebuild the business to a profitable state within two and a half years, he would have no choice but to file for personal bankruptcy.

Breaking away from dependence on travel agencies

• To preserve the one-of-a-kind garden of Mifuneyama Rakuen for the next generation, he started by maintaining the overgrown garden. He pitched to various media outlets himself. The number of visitors, which was around 800 during the autumn foliage season, grew to 100,000 before COVID-19. He built his own branding and shifted to a direct sales system via the company's website, without relying on travel companies or online travel agencies.

Digital Art - Collaboration with teamLab

• They hold digital art events that enhance the natural beauty of Mifuneyama, expanding the scale every year.

• With the cooperation of teamLab, the hotel lobby was also renovated into an interactive art space.

• Projecting a school of koi onto the surface of the garden pond. This was the world's first water surface projection.

Sauna - Complete renewal of the large public bath

• Based on his experience visiting Finland, a sauna superpower, where he realized that experiencing openness and silence in the great outdoors further enhances the healing effect, he developed the external environment for 'totonou' (achieving a state of deep relaxation) and designed the flow from the sauna to the cold water bath and the outdoor air bathing space.

• For example, after sweating in the sauna, there is a primitive experience of eating while sitting around a fireplace with complete strangers while naked. Humans return to their original state as part of nature.

• Won the Grand Prix for three consecutive years at "Saunachelin," the Michelin Guide of the sauna world.

Thoughts and Next Steps

A case study of a business that, over 20 years since joining the family business,polished and promoted its inherent charm, and by combining that charm with digital art and saunas, created a new type of hot spring resort.

As someone who aspires to start a new business, loves saunas, and is curious about digital art, I really wanted to visit Mifuneyama Rakuen. Added it to my bucket list so I don't forget.
"126. Blending into nature, digital art, and saunas at Mifuneyama Rakuen Hotel to get refreshed"

As I researched Mifuneyama Rakuen, I realized it is a super famous place for sauna enthusiasts.For someone like me who enjoyed visiting my regular home sauna, I feel like I caught a glimpse of a new way to enjoy saunas.I bought a book because I wanted to learn more about Japanese saunas.

I think the key to Mifuneyama Rakuen's V-shaped recovery was the third-generation president's attachment to Mifuneyama Rakuen, his strong desire to rebuild the management by polishing its charm, and the fact that he created a new experience based on that charm and passion through co-creation with external parties, which led to a major viral movement.

I believe there are many ryokans and hotels in Japan whose management is faltering due to a combination of factors, including the impact of COVID-19, declining domestic demand, and the aging of business owners.With the recent rise in inbound demand and the baton being passed to new management with fresh blood through business succession, it would be very interesting to see new experiences like those at Mifuneyama Rakuen emerge.

I will continue to think from that perspective as well. There must be common ground with the utilization of rural land.

(Reference) Monthly Project Design. It contains various information related to new businesses. I input this every month.

Continued
Story about the announcement of "Saunachelin 2023"