Masako Omi (Owner of HÏSOM / WATOWA) - Experiencing the Goodness of Life Through Mid-to-Long-Term Stays

I am from Gotsu City, the town next to Yunotsu. I lived in Tokyo for 15 years. Nine years ago, my husband was approached about taking over the Sainen-ji Temple in Yunotsu because there was no successor. My husband was born at a temple in Gotsu and would normally have taken that over, but we decided to take it on, thinking we could protect the Yunotsu temple as well, and returned via a J-turn.

After arriving, I wondered what to do, and the idea I came up with was a minpaku (private lodging). I first started a guesthouse called "Yururi" in Yunotsu. Yunotsu has the best quality hot spring water, so guests go to the Motoyu bath. When they do, the local ladies teach them how to enter the hot water. They might say things like, "You can't do it like that," and scrub your back with a scrubbing brush. For guests coming from urban areas, I think having that kind of experience is shocking.

In the past, as a port for shipping silver from the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, Kitamaebune ships also came in, so it was a town where various outsiders mingled. Even now, those elements remain at the core of the people who live here. I want people visiting from outside to have these experiences, but it's hard to encounter them unless they stay for two or three days. That's why I started a guesthouse as a cheap place where people could stay easily. The number of people staying for mid-to-long-term periods gradually increased. While saying there is "nothing here," everyone loves this place.

With the concept of "experiencing life rather than sightseeing," I decided to run an inn where people could stay for about a month, and next, I decided to create an inn called HÏSOM (*1). In the village of Hizo where I built HÏSOM, there are no vending machines, no shops, and no convenience stores. All there is, is a sky full of stars and silence. You can hear the sound of the waves, eat vegetables and fruits harvested in the garden, and the neighborhood ladies will pull up daikon radishes for you.

Mr. Usui, who lives two doors down from HÏSOM, is a fisherman who goes out for sea fishing, so he brings us fish when he catches them. If the timing is right, he will take you out for a cruise on his boat. It is a place where you can have experiences born from human interaction, not activities you pay for. It's hard for people staying only one night to taste that, but I think you can have a very attractive experience if you stay for a week.
There are people who have stayed at HÏSOM for about a month, experienced the goodness of life, and entered into the town, and it feels like people who are interested are following suit and coming in one after another.

When I came to Yunotsu myself, I thought, what a wonderful countryside this is. It is a countryside that stands out. It is said that Yunotsu is a land where you can live for three months even without money. It is a world of barter that is far removed from capitalism. In exchange for receiving something, you might go help out. I think being able to have that kind of interaction is a very human way of living. That is what I like about Yunotsu. I live every day feeling very excited. Here, the townscape, the back alleys, and the vacant houses all look like treasures.

However, for the people living here, those things are taken for granted, and all I heard were voices saying, "There is nothing here," or "It's absolutely impossible to do it in a place like this." Inns were also closing down one after another because there were no successors. But I came here thinking that wasn't the case. That is why we are where we are today. In the first place, while the people of Yunotsu say there is "nothing here," everyone loves this place. They teach guests from outside how to enter the hot spring, or say, "I made sashimi out of the fish I caught today, so I brought some," and they are, after all, showing off. I believe the people of this town are truly proud of their town.

Creating the Next Step Beyond "Sightseeing" and "Relocation"

I believe that a style where the entire town becomes an inn suits Yunotsu. If meals and hot springs are all completed within the inn, guests won't walk around outside, so there is no demand for restaurants, and they can't be established. If they stay for one night and only spend money at the inn, the economic effect on the region is thin. I hope that people who come from outside will spend money in various parts of the region, such as town shops, fishermen, and hot springs. Since guesthouses and inns for mid-to-long-term stays do not include meals, guests have to go out to eat or shop at the supermarket and cook for themselves. Going out into town requires dining. However, running a restaurant right away is a high hurdle.

So, I created a place called WATOWA (*2) that combines a guesthouse, a laundromat, and a shared kitchen. The shared kitchen at WATOWA is a limited-time pop-up style, and I created a system where chefs from all over the country can come with just their bodies and start operating immediately. By running a shop while living and staying in Yunotsu, there is no risk for the visiting chefs. The chefs who come are varied; some have their own shops in Tokyo, and others are from different regions. I ask people to come through introductions from others or by communicating via social media.
There are also people who, triggered by coming to WATOWA, decided to close their shops in Tokyo, start operating in Yunotsu, and begin a two-base lifestyle. Since chefs use ingredients from Yunotsu to cook, I think they are also expanding the possibilities of local ingredients, with the people of Yunotsu saying, "You use this ingredient like this?"

When you just jump in, I think the countryside is indeed difficult to enter. There are strict aspects, especially regarding credit issues such as trying to start a business or buying a house. Even if you ask to be given a vacant house, it is difficult to get outsiders to sell them to you. They are reluctant to sell for various reasons, such as "It's something my ancestors owned" or "It's a hassle to clean up the household goods inside."

That is why I thought there must be someone standing in between. The owners of vacant houses are people in town, so everyone knows each other. When I introduce someone who wants to live there, if I go around saying, "This child is truly a reliable person," I think it creates a one-cushion effect like, "Oh, an acquaintance of Ms. Omi's," making it easier to handle, and I want to provide as much cooperation as possible to those who come into this town from the outside. After all, there are still few people who create jobs, few players. It is important that the next step is not just tourism or relocation, but being able to earn money in this land. It is a big deal that there are people in Yunotsu who support those who come from outside and try to do something, even among the local people.