Can I really do a job that only I can do in my hometown?

Born and raised in Kitami, Nakanishi left his hometown after graduating from high school. He became a national civil servant assigned to the Ministry of Defense and moved to Chiba Prefecture.

"I had a desire to leave my hometown, so I hoped for a job with nationwide transfers and became a national civil servant. I was in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and my main work was administrative tasks like purchasing necessary goods, inventory management, and delivery."

Nakanishi (center) during his time at the Ministry of Defense

The work itself was enjoyable, but he felt that even if he got a good position and worked until retirement, someone else would be sitting at his desk running the organization the very next day. The thought, "Am I a replaceable being?" strengthened his desire to do a job that only he could do.

"But I still didn't know what I could do. I wanted to go back to my hometown, but I didn't even know what the situation in Kitami was like, what kind of shops there were, or what jobs were available. Many of my local friends who had also come to the Kanto region said they wanted to go back eventually, but there was no information to help them decide what to do when they returned."

Thinking, "This is not good, I have to be the one to share information," Nakanishi quit his civil servant job of five years and made a U-turn in 2012.

Learning the ropes of production and launching a local media outlet

After returning to his hometown, the first place he knocked on the door of was a design company. "Even though I wanted to share information about my hometown, at that time I didn't even know about the design tool Illustrator," Nakanishi laughs.

'KITAMI CITY' T-shirt designed by Nakanishi during his time at the design company

He handled a variety of tasks from sales to production, and in just under two years, he experienced the entire process of how printed materials are made. After that, he went independent, starting a business in advertising planning and editing, and also self-published a little press. Wanting it to convey the creator's generation, he titled it "1988," his birth year.

"With the tagline 'Making Doto more exciting and richer through creativity,' I covered things around me and interviewed interesting people I met after returning, turning them into articles. At first, I aimed for a monthly publication, but I hit the limit of doing it alone. From the fourth issue, I switched to a bimonthly pace and ended up releasing eight issues in a year (laughs). I set the release dates myself, and to meet them, I sometimes pulled all-nighters for about four days. My work is still busy now, but I can get through it because of that experience."

In 2017, he became a director of the General Incorporated Association Okhotsk Terroir and also served as the editor-in-chief of the free paper "HARU," which primarily introduces the food of Okhotsk.

Coincidentally, that was a time of a boom in independent local media. There were people in the Tokachi and Kushiro areas who were active with similar aspirations as Nakanishi, and they gradually became friends as they occasionally met.

Meeting like-minded companions and making a fresh start

"It was around that time that, in the course of conversation, we decided to hold the 'Doto Invitation Grand Strategy' in 2018. The plan was to invite five guests who had seen various local examples from all over the country to Doto and plan a trip to make them fall in love with the area. With five guests, I couldn't handle it alone. So, I reached out to those who were doing similar initiatives in various parts of Doto, raised money through crowdfunding, and finally made it happen."

It was an innovative project where crowdfunding support was divided into three areas—Tokachi, Kushiro, and Okhotsk—and the region that collected the most money would host a tour and talk event for the guests. It was a success and received a great response, and after the 'Doto Invitation Grand Strategy' ended, Nakanishi and his team started getting invited to events in various places.

The Okhotsk area raised the most money. A 3-day, 2-night tour and event were held.

"We were showing up at various places as 'the people from the Doto Invitation Grand Strategy,' but that was just a project name; we didn't have a name for ourselves. So, we decided to create our own banner, and the board members at the time established a corporation."

The name is the General Incorporated Association .doto (Dot Doto). It embodies the meaning of connecting the people (dots) living in the eastern part of vast Hokkaido. The first thing they discussed after its establishment was, "What can we do?"

Members of the General Incorporated Association .doto. Nakanishi is in the center.

"We talked about wanting to create something that could serve as our business card. We realized once again that our greatest strength is our connections with people and the information we have. Since our members live in the Tokachi, Kushiro, and Okhotsk areas respectively, we thought that if we brought it all together, we could create something amazing. That's how the idea of 'let's make a guidebook' came about."

And so began the production of ".doto." They divided into teams for the Okhotsk, Kushiro, and Tokachi areas, assigned members to each, and set out to "create something we think is awesome." That was the only rule at the beginning.

".doto" is regional information seen through the lens of life in Doto

"When we were raising production costs through crowdfunding, one of the rewards we included was 'Help with production.' At first, I wondered if there would be any eccentric people who would not only give us money but also get involved in the production for free. When we launched, 50 people signed up. It made me happy to think that so many people had such a passionate feeling for Doto."

Including the creators who were already scheduled to be involved, the production team grew to nearly 100 people. Since what to create was left up to each person, Nakanishi, as the chief editor, says he waited with the thought, "I wonder what everyone will do."

"When I saw the submitted manuscripts, I thought, this is regional information seen through the lens of life in Doto. That's how the catchphrase 'Living, in Doto' was born. Because there were many creators, the projects and tones were all different, but the underlying theme was the same for everyone."

It might not feature famous shops or tourist spots, but we want to introduce only the truly good things from among the amazing people, beautiful places, and comfortable shops that we've seen through our own filters as people connected to Doto. The finished pages were overflowing with that sentiment.

Nakanishi himself had many experiences when living in the Kanto region where people would tilt their heads when he said, "I'm from Kitami." If he said, "I'm from Hokkaido," they would reply, "That's a nice place." Hokkaido is his home, but to say Hokkaido equals Kitami feels a bit different. Amidst this wavering identity, he wished he could confidently say, "My hometown is in the eastern part of Hokkaido..."

"I think there were probably a lot of people who felt the same way. When the guidebook came out, there were people who bought several copies individually to hand out. I think they probably used it as a business card, to introduce 'this is my hometown' or 'this is my favorite place.'"

"Ideals to achieve in Doto" received from many people

Then, two years after the guidebook was created, in September 2022, the second volume of ".doto," the Vision Book, was released. The highlight this time was asking those who supported the crowdfunding to share "the ideal you want to achieve in Doto." The grand project aimed to collect 1,000 of these ideals and publish them all in the magazine.

Just like the first guidebook, there are four different cover designs. It's hard to choose which one to buy.

"During the crowdfunding, even before we started making the book, many people sent us their ideals for Doto. Everyone wrote with such passion, and just reading them made me think, 'Ah, I'm so glad we planned this project.' I was moved, and it felt like we were the ones being encouraged."

The interesting thing about crowdfunding is that by the time the campaign ends, the recipients of the book as a reward are already decided. In the case of the Vision Book, the destination for 1,300 copies was determined before it was even made.

"To the people who shared their ideals for Doto, we create a book and give it back to them. I thought it was like an exchange of letters."

Cherishing relationships with people outside of Doto

Photo by Keisuke Harada

Nakanishi has been digging deep into his home region of Doto, discovering interesting things and sharing them. He says that people have actually been inspired by the media he's been involved with, leading some to make a U-turn from Tokyo to take over their family business, or choosing Doto as the field to realize their dreams.

.doto currently operates "Work in Doto," a job matching media site for people who want to work in Doto and employers looking for staff, leveraging their connections and information. At the same time, they are exploring ways to turn people who "live far away but want to be involved with Doto" into a 'relationship population.'

"There are many people who say Doto is their hometown but now live elsewhere, or have lived here before, or have visited many times on vacation. We've come this far thanks to the support of people who care about Doto from afar. How can we create a continuous relationship between them and Doto? We want to focus our efforts on that in the future."

Most of the population is experiencing a net outflow, but Nakanishi believes that if the number of people who can engage with Doto from the outside increases, it doesn't necessarily mean the population is decreasing.

"If people learn about the good things in their hometown that they hadn't seen before, or meet people they feel they could get along with, maybe they can do something together remotely. We hope .doto can be the catalyst for that."

Photo by Keisuke Harada

The things they feel are needed are born from their own challenges. "I feel like I'm now able to do the things I would have definitely wanted to be involved in 10 years ago," Nakanishi says.

By exploring Doto, which takes 5-6 hours to drive from end to end, with his own two feet and continuing to share only what he found interesting, he met companions and his activities became more vibrant. What topics will he use to capture people's interest next? We can't take our eyes off the initiatives of Nakanishi and .doto.