Launched "Wanderlust Japan," a migration platform for | KAYAC

〜Information platform that connects "travel like living" to "living" &"working" in Japan〜

KAYAC Inc, provider of SMOUT, a web service. to promote migration and assimilation of long-term resident population in local communities, has launched "Wanderlust Japan," a web-based media platform for foreigners on July 4, 2024 (Thurs). This media will not only provide information on famous tourist spots, but also information on accommodations that offer a variety of local experiences and exchanges, as well as information for digital nomads looking for co-working spaces. With "travel like living" as the first step, the aim is to eventually contribute to increasing the number of migrants, including foreign residents joining the Japan Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers.
We will continue to observe the responses and plan to add more information from other parts of Japan that have endorsed our media.

(※) See "White Paper on Tourism in 2024" (Japan Tourism Agency, May 2024).　https://www.mlit.go.jp/policy/shingikai/content/001743038.pdf

『Wanderlust Japan』 webpage：https://wanderlust.smout.jp/

■Background of "Wanderlust Japan" Launch

SMOUT" has a lot of information on guesthouses and farmhouse stays where you can interact with local people and experience Japanese culture. Now that there has been a shift in values in the post-Corona era, we thought that not just the Japanese, the foreigners who visit Japan would also benefit from this.
In addition, there are three main reasons that encouraged the launch of "Wanderlust Japan".
・Increased recruitment of foreign nationals for regional development cooperation organizations：The government has announced that it will provide a special tax subsidy of up to 2 million yen to prefectures to support the networking between local government bodies and foreign nationals, and up to 1 million yen to cover the cost of supporting activities post recruitment.
・Changes in the Digital Nomad System by the Government：The government announced a new system to grant "Designated Activities" status of residence in February 2024. The new system will allow foreigners to stay in Japan for 6 months if they meet certain conditions, such as an annual income of 10 million yen or more.
・Problem of over-tourism：Due to the weakening yen, it was estimated that the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan would reach a record high in March 2024, surpassing the number before the pandemic. (※1).

Against this backdrop, we believe that the need for foreigners visiting Japan to spend time as if they were living in the region will increase. Therefore, we have created "Wanderlust Japan," a media that matches foreigners with local communities, by carefully selecting, editing, and translating into English the information for foreigners from among the local information published on SMOUT, and disseminating it in the form of web media. The media name "Wanderlust Japan means "a strong desire to travel around Japan”. We will provide information that stimulates travelers' desire to travel around Japan and experience the everyday life of Japan.
(※1) Source: "Number of foreign visitors to Japan (March 2024 estimate)" (JNTO) https://www.jnto.go.jp/news/press/20240417_monthly.html

■The concept of "Wanderlust Japan" is to “deeply get involved with a region yet to be discovered. onto another journey

The best part of visiting a region is the time spent talking with the locals, getting into their daily life scenerio. This media will provide information on how to experience the region "as it is".

Published information
・Co-working spaces and guesthouses where you can meet local people.
・Experience the local area in depth.　
・Information on places to work and live that are unique to Japan, etc.

【features】
・Information for those who want to experience Japan in depth and are not satisfied with the usual tourist attractions.
・If you find a project you like, you can contact the local people directly.
・Information for digital nomads looking for a place to stay and work.
・All information is written by local people living in the area.
・You can also search for information by looking at the profiles of people in the area where the information is posted.

◎ Introduction of Listings

▼ Kotohira Town, Kagawa Prefecture

Co-living space「Kotori Coworking & Hostel KOTOHIRA」
・What about Kotohira Town, Kagawa Prefecture?
Kagawa Prefecture faces the Seto Inland Sea and has a mild climate, making it an easy place to live. Kotohira City has flourished as the town in front of Konpira Shrine, known affectionately as "Konpira-san," and is one of Kagawa Prefecture's most popular tourist destinations, steeped in history and culture.

Listing Details
「With the concept of "making Kotohira City a mecca for digital nomads," Kotohira Bus Co., Ltd. will operate "Kotori Coworking & Hostel KOTOHIRA," Shikoku's first co-living facility that combines coworking and lodging functions to enable medium- to long-term stays, at the end of February 2024. By providing mid- to long-term stays, the facility is expected to bring about interaction with local people and benefit the local economy, as well as create a place where a diverse range of people can mingle and create new innovations and create a population of local fans and repeaters.

▼ Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture

Experience the facilities & coworking at the registered tangible cultural property 「苔香居」
・What about Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture?
The Nishiyama area of Kyoto has a calm atmosphere even though it is located along the Hankyu Arashiyama Line, which terminates at the popular tourist destination of Arashiyama. The number of family households is also increasing. You can fully enjoy the "quiet Kyoto" that has become difficult to savor due to over-tourism in recent years.

・Listing Details
「苔香居」which can be used for coworking and other purposes, is a registered tangible cultural property in Kyoto. You can experience one month of co-living there. The 「苔香居」is a residence that has been passed down from generation to generation for about 400 years, and is managed by the Yamaguchi family. The share house offers private rooms with beds and bedding.

▼ Nanbu Town, Aomori Prefecture

Experience developed rural life around farmhouses.
・What about Nanbu Town, Aomori Prefecture
Nanbu Town, Aomori Prefecture, was one of the first areas in Japan to introduce green tourism and was one of the first areas in Japan to offer farmer's lodging. The town has hot spring facilities with comprehensive leisure facilities, campgrounds set in the middle of nature, and facilities for direct sales of agricultural products and local specialties, attracting many tourists.

・Listing Details
Nanbu Town focuses on agricultural tourism such as farmer's lodging where visitors can stay at farmhouses and experience farming and daily life, fruit picking where visitors can pick fruits of the four seasons and interact with farmers. Visitors can choose from public housing operated by the town office, farmer's homestays, and leisure facilities with hot springs, according to their purpose, budget, and length of stay.

▼ Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture

Co-living space「The Pier | Goto Nagasak」
・What about Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture?
Goto City consists of 11 inhabited islands and 52 uninhabited islands located 100 km west of Nagasaki City and is blessed with beautiful sea and rich nature. The area is rich in cultural and historical assets, including the assets that comprise the "Nagasaki and Amakusa Region Heritage Related to Submerged Christians" registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

・Listing Details
You can experience island life while working remotely. The Pier | Goto Nagasaki" is a co-living space consisting of six private rooms with semi-double beds, centrally located in downtown Goto. The pier-like interior was designed by an architectural firm from Nagasaki, independent from Kengo Kuma's office. You can also enjoy fishing with the locals.

▼ Aisho Town, Shiga Prefecture

Community Housing「Sekaico」
・What about Aisho Town, Shiga Prefecture?
Aisho Town is in the Koto region, upstream from the river flowing into Lake Biwa. The town is also characterized by the crafts that showcase the unique skills of handcrafts, such as "Omi Kamifu" and other hemp fabrics and "Aichigawa Binzaiku Temari" (handmade crafts).

・Listing Details
Sekaico is a hands-on community house where you can learn Japanese and interact with other residents. The owner's desire to make Sekaico a place where residents of the neighborhood can easily interact with people from foreign countries has led to the proactive holding of cross-cultural exchange events. Visitors can learn about their own culture from the locals or improve their Japanese language skills.

▼ Kimobetsu Town, Hokkaido

Climbing and woodworking in an area known only to those in the know!
・What about Kimobetsu Town, Hokkaido?
Kimobetsu Town is adjacent to the south side of Sapporo City, and nearby are world-famous ski resorts such as Niseko and Rusutsu, and hot spring resorts such as Lake Toya. 80% of the town's area is surrounded by forests.

・Listing Details
Starting from the community café, visitors can enjoy activities in nature. Mt. Shiribetsu, at an elevation of approximately 1107 meters, can be climbed to the summit in about two hours, making it a popular destination for many climbers. Although it does not stand out much as a rural town next to Niseko, in recent years an increasing number of tourists and residents have been traveling from Niseko to Kimobetsu to learn more about the deeper local culture.

■ About SMOUT, a networking service. to promote migration and assimilation of long-term resident population in local communities.

SMOUT is a web service that matches people who are interested in immigrating and want to connect with the local community with people in the area.
The key to deciding on an area to be involved in and where to settle is not only the support of the government or the location. We believe that "connections with people" is the most important factor that will encourage people to move to a new area.
SMOUT is a digital platform that connects local people with those who want to get involved in the community.

Since its launch in June 2018, the service has grown to 959 municipalities and over 58,000 registered general users (as of July 2024).

“SMOUT Migration Awards” - a ranking of popular migration areas of interest and zest!

The "SMOUT Migration Awards" are also held to determine the most popular migration areas of the year by tallying the number of "interested" votes from users for projects in each area. The awards are announced twice a year, once in the first half of the year and once in general.
(Latest) "Migration Award 2023" KAYAC official page:
https://www.kayac.com/news/2024/04/rc_smoutaward2023

Overview of KAYAC Inc.

With our strengths in out-of-the-box thinking, planning, and technology, we provide users with new experiences that combine the latest technology and ideas, such as game applications, advertisements, website making, community currency, and promotion of migration & assimilation of long-term resident population in local communities. The company has a unique personnel system and management that makes the most of diversity under the management philosophy of "boosting the number of creators”.

Established　　：21st January 2005
CEO　：MD Daisuke Yanagisawa Masanori Kaihata Tomoki Kuba
Address 　：11-8 Onarimachi, Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture
Nature of Business ：Content business implementing interesting Japanese characteristics.
URL　 　：https://www.kayac.com/