The Common Ground Between Katyusha and Onigiri: How a USJ Alumnus Takes on 'Satoyama Experience Marketing' to Win in Rural Areas (Part 4)
Chapter 4: Concrete Staging and the Moment of Success
*This article is a chronicle of the challenge (Part 4) taken on by a 50-year-old who left a position responsible for merchandise and food business at USJ to dive into a side job at a 'Michi-no-Eki' (roadside station), where they created the big hit 'Nose-musubi'.
Chapter 3: The Core of Marketing Theory ↓
[Introduction: The Blind Spot of Rice Business]
The concept of 'freshly made onigiri' as an experience-based consumption was decided.
In fact, even before that, the roadside station had been 'polishing rice on the spot and selling it,' and there was an atmosphere on-site that 'the approach to rice had already been exhausted.' However,selling 'raw rice (a product)'and selling the'experience of eating it freshly made (an experience)'on the spot are businesses in completely different dimensions.
[Selecting the Main Battlefield: Speaking with Data, Not Intuition]
So, where and how should we sell it?
What caught my eye was a small prefabricated hut selling soft-serve ice cream located facing the entrance of the roadside station. It was a location that had been evaluated by on-site staff as 'an excellent sales floor that sells well.'
However, as a producer, I sought objective'data'rather than intuition.
When I analyzed the sales data in detail, a surprising fact emerged.
While there were indeed moments when it sold well,the fluctuations in sales depending on the season and time were extremely severe.
Summer and daytime on sunny days: Explosive sales
Winter, evening, and rainy days: Sales drop sharply
As long as we were handling 'cold sweets' like soft-serve ice cream, that was a natural result.
'Let's transform this into an 'Onigiri House' that can earn money all-around, regardless of the season or time.'
I concluded that this would be the best main battlefield for me to show visible results as a producer and to skyrocket the average customer spend at the roadside station.
There were concerns that 'guests might flow away from the restaurant, causing the average customer spend to drop,' but I had no hesitation. I was convinced that if we captured the demand of people who left because they couldn't wait in line,the average customer spend for the entire roadside station would ultimately increase.
[Theme Park-Style Visual Staging Strategy]
From there, I spent time thinking so hard I forgot to eat and sleep, designing the 'presentation' of the store. It was a staging strategy cultivated at USJ to fix the guest's gaze and move their emotions. What I was particularly particular about was the staging of a thorough'LIVE feel'.
Refreshing the exterior: To eliminate the cheapness of the prefab, we luxuriously used local brand wood, 'Nose timber'
Open kitchen: We intentionally designed the counter to be low, allowing steam to rise and directly showing the hands of the craftsman making the onigiri
The sense of immersion that 'it is being made for me right now' serves the same role as the excitement of waiting in line at a theme park.
Furthermore, we reinforced the visual storytelling.
Placement of the Nose-musubi tapestry that is visible at a glance even from the parking lot
Large photos of the producers' smiling faces prominently displayed on the counter side
The sun-tanned smiles of the rice farmers evoke an overwhelming sense of 'reassurance' and 'Satoyama atmosphere.' We also carefully selected 5 to 6 menu items to ensure clarity, completing a single, perfect worldview of Satoyama.
As a result, 'SNS posts' featuring photos of rice balls purchased in front of this shop surged, leading to a powerful motivation for many guests to visit.
【The Decision to Dare to Abandon 'Salmon'】
And then, the most important part: the selection of 'ingredients'.
According to business theory, offering popular rice ball ingredients like 'salmon' or 'salmon roe' might be the safest bet. However, after thinking it through with the local staff, I dared to exclude them entirely.
What I insisted on was thorough 'Nose-produced side dishes'.
Handmade miso made by Nose artisans
Green chili peppers grown in the land of Nose
We designed an experience where guests who went out of their way to travel an hour to Nose could be moved the moment they took a bite, thinking, 'This is the true taste of Nose'.
【Regional Pride Infused into the Logo】
Finally, the team began developing the 'logo' and 'catchphrase' that would breathe life into this project.
We designed a logo mark that features beautiful rice ears shaped into a rice ball—simple, yet capable of conveying a story.
Furthermore, I put deep thought into the 'typeface' (font) of the characters. I adopted a font that mimics the unique, powerful handwriting used in the scripts (Gidayu-bushi original texts) of 'Nose Ningyo Joruri', a traditional performing art of Nose Town and a nationally designated Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property.
Store Name: 'Omusubi House'
Catchphrase: 'Nose-musubi'
Message: 'I want to tie a knot with you and Nose'
When these elements came together, the simple prefab hut transformed into a 'regional information hub' that carries the culture and pride of Nose Town.
[The 'La France Pear Banner' of Ideals vs. Reality]
The concept for 'Omusubi House' seemed perfect. However, there was fierce pushback from the staff on the ground.
'It is outrageous to pull the soft-serve ice cream that is currently selling well.'
I wanted to create a sophisticated theme park-style worldview, while the staff wanted to protect immediate sales. I stopped forcing my ideals, listened to their voices, and chose a gritty compromise: 'selling rice balls and soft-serve ice cream together.'
Next to the beautiful prefab made of Nose timber, a fluorescent 'La France' banner fluttered in the wind. Honestly, by theme park standards, this was a 'collapse of the worldview' and a failure.
However, strangely, I didn't feel bad about it. Rather, when I saw that scene of gritty compromise, a strange sense of exhilaration washed over me, thinking, 'Ah, I am no longer in a sophisticated theme park, but have finally reached the starting line of a living, local site.'
This was the true fun of 'local marketing' that doesn't go by the manual.
On the opening day, the result was a 40-minute long line for rice balls.
What we provided was not just a lunch box to fill stomachs. It was a switch for an 'experience (koto-shohi) to assimilate with the beautiful nature of Nose.' The aim hit the mark perfectly. In no time at all, an unbelievably long line had formed in front of the prefab hut.
Because the place was so crowded, even drawing in customers who came to buy soft-serve ice cream, six months later, the staff on the ground proposed this themselves:
'Why don't we separate the shop and make this independent?'
Thus was born the 'Nose-musubi Chaya.' The moment the staff started moving on their own, the roadside station became a true theme park.
[Summary of Episode 4: The Birth of the Third Pillar]
A place has been created that condenses the essence of how to present a clear regional theme and encourage people to experience it. The result is a great success.
This was the moment that a 'third iconic regional location or product' was born, following 'agricultural products' that fluctuate by season and time of day, and 'restaurants' with limited seating.third iconic regional location or product was born.
As for the Nose Musubi Chaya, we created specialties such as smoothies made from local agricultural products and 'Shishi-man' (wild boar buns), transforming the entire entrance area into a theme park-like space where you can truly feel the essence of Nose.
I have compiled this into a magazine, so please check it out.
(Continued in Part 5)