Disliking my hometown, I longed for the big city.

Born and raised in Kushiro City, Ms. Nazuka moved to Hakodate for university after graduating from high school.

"I was the classic type who disliked their hometown and yearned for the city (laughs). I went to Future University Hakodate to study design, which was what I wanted to learn. I liked Hakodate, and it felt just right."

photo by kazuma saki

After graduating, she found a job at a company in Tokyo, where she worked as a designer on social infrastructure systems and new business promotions. In her third year, just as she was getting the hang of her job, she hit a wall. 'Maybe I'm not cut out for this,' she thought, and a desire to do something different began to bubble up inside her.

That's when she launched the civic group "Kusuro."

"At the time, new regional projects were starting up all over Japan. I used to browse them during my lunch breaks at work, but no matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find any projects for Kushiro. I felt frustrated, thinking, 'Kushiro is as uncool as ever...' But around that time, I went back home for an off-season visit and told a high school friend about it. They said, 'If there aren't any, why don't we just start one ourselves?' So, I thought, 'Let's do it!' and started it with that friend."

Bringing more humor to Kushiro! Image courtesy of Kusuro

For two years after launching Kusuro, Ms. Nazuka lived a life of traveling back and forth between Kushiro and Tokyo once a month. However, a turning point came in her sixth year at the company, as she was about to turn 30.

"I was debating whether to continue with my corporate job or start something new. At the same time, I felt that by only returning once a month, I was becoming like a 'visitor' to Kushiro and wasn't fully committed to the community. I'd often heard that Kushiro lacked young people, and I figured I could be more useful to the town if I returned at 30 rather than 35. So, I quit my job and made a U-turn from Tokyo back to Kushiro."

photo by kazuma saki

Increasing the number of people who choose to live in Kushiro because they want to.

The civic group was formed in 2014 not out of a grand ambition for urban development or regional revitalization, but from a desire to share stories about the town and have fun in their own way. The name "Kusuro" is a playful portmanteau of "Kushiro" and the Japanese onomatopoeia for a chuckle, "kusutto," reflecting their mission to find the fun in their town with humor, puns, and high spirits. So, what kind of activities did Kusuro engage in?

"First, we created a website and started interviewing fascinating people in Kushiro, sharing their stories with people outside the region. At the same time, we held workshops for local residents on the theme of community building."

The 2nd Kusuro Workshop held in 2014. Image courtesy of Kusuro

The workshops provided a space for sharing ideas and challenges, with themes like 'What kind of Kushiro do you want to create?', 'How do you welcome visitors to Kushiro?', and 'What would be the worst version of Kushiro?'.

At the time, Ms. Nazuka had been away from Kushiro for nearly 10 years, and the workshops helped her catch up on the town's current situation. She learned about interesting people and their activities, as well as those who had moved to the area. While rediscovering the charm and fascinating people of Kushiro, she also learned that new residents often chose Tokachi over Kushiro, and that many people were living in Kushiro reluctantly due to job transfers.

"Since then, my goal has been to increase the number of people who choose to live in Kushiro because they genuinely want to. I believe that choosing a town ultimately comes down to 'chemistry between people.' Kushiro often has a gloomy image due to its frequent summer fog and declining station area. Through Kusuro's activities, I hope we can be a reason for people to think, 'Wow, there are people doing such fun things here!' or 'I'd like to live there if people like that are around.'"

Kusuro members sporting the original "946 Cap" and "9464649 T-shirt." Image courtesy of Kusuro

Kusuro's activities, which began with interviewing and profiling interesting local figures and holding workshops, have now expanded. They now create and sell original merchandise that combines "Kushiro's character" with "Kusuro's humor."

For example, the Kusuro's Playful Keychain series was born from the desire to create a fun and quirky souvenir for Kushiro. The rubber keychains feature various things that Kushiro is proud of.

Playful Keychain "Muryoju." Image courtesy of Chihiro Nazuka

One of the keychains, "Muryoju," features a little-known specialty from Kushiro's long-established soba restaurant, Chikuroen Azumaya Sohonten. It's an incredibly delicious original dish of cold soba noodles tossed with sesame oil and topped with nori seaweed, green onions, and an egg yolk.

Chikuroen Azumaya Sohonten's "Muryoju Soba." Image courtesy of Chihiro Nazuka

"Surprisingly, there are many things that even locals don't know about. I sometimes teach classes at schools, and when I ask, quite a few kids say they've never tried Muryoju. People often ask me, 'What other unique Kushiro foods are there?' so I hope this can be a way for them to learn. I'm currently researching other long-standing but lesser-known food cultures in Kushiro, just like Muryoju! I'm planning to compile it into a book this fall."

Be sure to check out the Kusuro website. It's incredibly fun and is sure to brighten your day.

Creating a gateway for travelers and a place for longer stays.

Two years after starting Kusuro, Ms. Nazuka made the U-turn from Tokyo to Kushiro as she approached her 30th birthday. After returning, she continued her work with Kusuro while also working as a freelance designer.

About six months later, driven by a desire to do something she could only do by being based in Kushiro, she opened "Guesthouse Kokekokko."

"I wanted to change people's impression of Kushiro and introduce the interesting people I've met here to visitors. To achieve that, I wanted to create a guesthouse, which serves as a gateway for travelers and a place for longer stays. As for the name 'Kokekokko' (the Japanese sound for a rooster's crow), we brainstormed various options, and this one stuck because it's unforgettable and represents the start of a new day and a new guesthouse."

The living room at Guesthouse Kokekokko. Image courtesy of Chihiro Nazuka

Guesthouse Kokekokko is located in Akan Town, Kushiro City. She chose this location for its town scale, nature, and welcoming environment.

"I wanted to try something new in a small community. While searching for a town near Kushiro with Hokkaido-like nature and a good climate, I came across Akan. When I told the locals I was introduced to, 'I want to open a guesthouse,' every single one of them said, 'I don't really know what a guesthouse is, but we'd be happy if you did something in Akan.' That was the deciding factor—I felt I could make it work in this town."

Guesthouse Kokekokko. Image courtesy of Chihiro Nazuka

Guesthouse Kokekokko was reportedly the first new business to open in Akan Town in over a decade. Now, five years since its opening, new changes are beginning to happen in the town.

"I'm not sure if it's because of the diverse guests who come to stay, but six new shops have opened in Akan Town over the past five years. It makes me happy to think that I might have inspired others who want to start something.
Also, it feels like the townspeople have become guides. They'll show unfamiliar faces around, and when we had many international guests, shop owners in the area studied English to be able to handle basic communication. It was wonderful to see the town become more and more welcoming."

photo by kazuma saki

If you're staying at Guesthouse Kokekokko, don't worry if you haven't planned your next day. Ms. Nazuka can suggest recommended spots and scenic routes. Be sure to ask her!

What I can't do alone, I can achieve with these friends.

Driven by a sense of purpose and challenges, Ms. Nazuka had been working on her "Kusuro" and "Guesthouse Kokekokko" projects in Kushiro. After a few years as a freelancer, with Kusuro's activities winding down, she began to feel the limits of what she could accomplish alone. In 2018, another turning point arrived.

"I knew there were young people in Kitami and Tokachi who also ran local media like Kusuro, so I went to meet them and hear their stories. It turned out they had similar concerns and challenges. We started talking about doing something together. I joined in simply because it sounded fun."

The project that came out of this was the "Great Doto Attraction Mission," where members running local media in the Eastern Hokkaido region presented the area's little-known but compelling attractions to a panel of judges who had traveled across Japan looking at various local initiatives.

"This project, brought together by people with completely different areas of expertise, grew in ways I couldn't have imagined and yielded great results. It was then that I saw the potential of working on projects with people of different types. When this group of friends formed the 'general incorporated association Dot Doto' and decided to create the unofficial guidebook '.doto' (Crowdfunding Page / note), I joined them, hopeful that with these people, I could do new things I couldn't do on my own."

The crowdfunding campaign in 2019 raised over 330% of its goal, and in 2020, the unofficial guidebook ".doto" was completed. The book led to an increase in people traveling through Eastern Hokkaido with it in hand, and some even moved to the region because of it, making a significant impact on the area.

Within Dot Doto, Ms. Nazuka is in charge of design and direction, and sometimes she's the photographer. The association has expanded its activities to include planning and production, information dissemination, and operating a job information media outlet, all rooted in Eastern Hokkaido. We asked her what Dot Doto values most.

"Through projects like '.doto,' we realized there's a large latent pool of people who want to get involved with Eastern Hokkaido. So, in every project, we're always thinking about how to create opportunities for them to connect with us. We make it a point to involve more people by commissioning work to photographers and designers from Eastern Hokkaido or Hokkaido, and by actively using hashtags in Twitter campaigns."

Image courtesy of Chihiro Nazuka

Kushiro is like a 'childhood friend who's perfect for marriage but lacks that certain spark.'

Ms. Nazuka, who was desperate to leave Kushiro in her high school days, chose to return before turning 30 and now energetically engages in activities to make Kushiro and Eastern Hokkaido more interesting. How has her impression of the town of Kushiro changed?

"Hmm, I've always had this feeling that I can't abandon it. But if you ask me if I really love it, it's not the kind of love where I think 'this is the best town ever, it's perfect'…"

かしこの元カレとこれからの話。クスろ解散の話が出てから、このメンバーでやる理由について、とても問われた気がする。
ちなみに私にとっては「結婚するには最適だけどいまいち決め手に欠ける幼馴染」

クスろと私の元カレ｜kashiko sudo @nomore_more_｜note（ノート） https://t.co/rWgSWd4KuN

— 名塚ちひろ | クスろとドット道東とコケコッコー (@nazoo815) February 1, 2019

"To put it in terms of people, it's like a 'childhood friend who's perfect for marriage but lacks that certain spark' (laughs). They're probably a good person, we have similar interests when we talk, and I'd likely be happy if we got married. But they're a bit unrefined and uncool, and I find myself wondering, 'Is this really the one for me?'... That's the feeling. But because they're my childhood friend, I can't abandon them, and I'm always concerned about them. That's the kind of presence Kushiro is to me."
It seems certain that Ms. Nazuka will continue to engage with Kushiro in interesting ways, never abandoning it. Be sure to keep an eye on her activities.