Motocracy, a free paper introducing the Asahikawa area, won the Grand Prize at the Japan Regional Information Contents Award 2020, an event that recognizes outstanding town magazines and free papers submitted from all over the country.

They genuinely love their hometown, and in turn, are loved by the locals. We spoke with the creators of Motocracy, a local media outlet deeply rooted in its community.

“Motocracy vol. 4,” winner of the Grand Prize at the Japan Regional Information Contents Award 2020.
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The Creators of “Motocracy”

“Motocracy” is produced by the Tourism Planning Division of Asahikawa Tsuun Co., Ltd., located in Higashikawa, a town next to Asahikawa City.
Motocracy is a local media outlet that primarily introduces tourism information for areas accessible on a day trip from Asahikawa Station. It's astonishing that just three people handle everything from research, production, and distribution of the free paper to creating and updating the website, and even organizing events and tours.

From left: Momo Kono, Manae Ogawa, and Kazuhiro Hayashi

The Birth of “Motocracy”

Mr. Hayashi coined the term “Motocracy” in 2015.
The name embodies the desire to introduce “the lives of local people (jimoto-gurashi) and hidden gems that even locals don't know about (toudai moto kurashi, a proverb meaning 'it's darkest under the lighthouse').”

When introducing local experiences and shops, the Motocracy style is to focus not just on the “what” but also on the “who.”
That's why their tour plans don't just end with an online sale; the staff go to the locations themselves and personally guide the customers.

During these tours, they were almost always asked questions about the town, like:
“Which restaurants are good?” or “What kind of souvenirs are there? What do you recommend?”

“We would give direct recommendations to the customers we were guiding. Sometimes we'd even have lunch with them or go to a souvenir shop together and say, 'This cheese is great!'
However, the number of customers we could directly interact with as Motocracy was limited, so the idea came up that it would be great to have something we could offer to answer these common questions.”

Around the same time, they began managing the shuttle bus service to a ski resort. They noticed there was no information inside the bus, like the in-flight magazines you find on airplanes.
“We thought if there was something in the overhead rack, people going to the ski resort would definitely pick it up. Maybe it could even have some advertising potential. That's what sparked the idea.”

With the thought, 'Let's create something to introduce the region to our customers,' the free paper that would go on to win the grand prize was launched two winters ago.

Motocracy vol. 1, published in the winter of 2018

A Commitment to “Keeping it Real”

What are the most important things and principles you adhere to when creating Motocracy?

Momo Kono

“My principle in creating Motocracy is 'not to embellish.'
Honestly, I think it's easy to raise expectations for a region with carefully chosen words.
But we want to convey the shopkeepers, the community, the flavors, and the experiences as they truly are. So we are conscious of 'neither adding nor subtracting.'
We are committed to conveying things truthfully, so that when readers visit a place, what they find, experience, and taste is exactly what they read about. Photos can also be easily enhanced, but we try to capture them in their natural colors as much as possible.

Manae Ogawa

“Since our target audience is women, we draw inspiration from Scandinavian design for a 'simple and cute' aesthetic. Adding illustrations is another key point, as it enhances the cuteness and approachability.
What worked out well in terms of design is that all three of us have almost the same taste. That's why we are so particular about our design.”

Kazuhiro Hayashi

“I value 'not telling lies.' We don't write about things we don't believe in or don't know about.
For example, when creating a promotional video, we don't feature things you can't actually experience, see, or people you can't meet when you visit the area.
That's why Motocracy shoots even on bad weather days, we don't use models, and we don't use drone footage.

I have a strong conviction in conveying what I've personally experienced in my own words. Because of this, our customers' experiences may exceed their expectations, but they will never fall below them. Without those happy encounters and discoveries, people won't come back again and again.
Repeat visitors come back for the 'people.' No matter how delicious the food, how beautiful the scenery, or how wonderful the design, if there are no 'people' there, you won't build a fanbase. Based on my own experience as a tour guide, I've adopted the same style for our publication.”

Motocracy, which started from a “tourist's perspective,” is now read more by locals than tourists after two years.
I felt that their attitude of conveying their love for their hometown in their own words has spread throughout the community, steadily increasing the number of Motocracy fans within the region.