Nagiso Town
Hiroshi Kumagai

“Recently, Nagisomachi has become interesting and seems to be getting fun.”
Some rate of such reputation heard frequently these days was undoubtedly brought by the result of this person's work.
Hiroshi Kumagai started a business in Nagisomachi after devising a global strategy and exerting himself to the business on a worldwide level in his 20s during his tenure at a major IT company.
He has already run three guesthouses and brings new perspective to the town while casting the thoughts into shape one after another.

We will polish and inherit the story of the land.

If getting off in front of Nagiso Station, everyone will surely notice the place. Light beige curtain on a brand-new solid wood wall. If you can see someone chatting on the terrace facing the road, there is no reason not to stop at here by anymore.
This is a cafe and guesthouse named “MOUNTAinn Nagiso”. This place where was a “town tobacco shop” that had been vacant for over 10 years was renovated by the staff of folklore companies including Hiroshi Kumagai and opened in September 2020.
What is interesting is not only the appearance of the shop. Inside the shop, old materials and tools are artfully arranged and incorporated into the display, and attractive arrangements are studded. Most of them are made by realizing of an idea of Hiroshi, “who was a complete amateur”, by DIY. Many ideas for using old tools that I couldn't think of even if I often saw them makes us want to explore them carefully.
“This also became to a pretty good space.”
He said so and invited us into another terrace next to the gallery space. When standing in the place right behind the house, the flow of the Kiso River and the scenery of the mountains spread out and it is powerful. What an exciting space creating!
It was in 2015 that Hiroshi, who was born in Miyazaki Prefecture and worked for an IT company in Tokyo after graduating from university, moved to Nagiso with his wife, Rie. “When I joined the firm, I felt hope for the Internet and wanted to do business with the world,” says Hiroshi. Why did he decide to live in this place, which he had no connection with?
“I tried almost everything I wanted to do at the firm. After experiencing of training in India, I was assigned to the Global Division as I wanted. It was an exciting work environment that handles projects worth 100 billion yen. However, suddenly it occurred to me that, ‘Who is this for?’ “
Rather than using my ingenuity for shareholders who I never seen before, I want to acquire the power to finance our food, clothing and housing, with nature and my family. After leaving a large organization, what I can do may be limited, but I still wanted to do it. The thought was strongly lodged in my mind, including my experience in the disaster area where I went as a volunteer, after the Great East Japan Earthquake.
“Maybe I longed for to be told, ‘thank you.’”
It was a casual word, but it was probably more than enough motive for Hiroshi.
Hiroshi's success since then will soon be known in various places. The first guesthouse “Yui-an”, which was renovated by himself and opened from an old private house built over 200 years ago on the concept of “Satoyama Gurashi-no-Osusowake (delivering a share of the life in Satoyama)”, has become a popular inn that won the highest level in the area in the review evaluation of the online reservation site. The following “Kashiwaya” was undertaken as an area revitalization planning for a post town that depopulation has advanced, and the spacious space for whole house rental is popular with families (*). Hiroshi carefully refined the scenery of the old folk house, which was thought to have no choice but to be destroyed, and the Hatago (inn), which had been sleeping for more than 100 years, and revived it in a form suitable for the times.
The next development is the production and sale of original crafts that make the best use of the nature and materials surround us. For those who advocate “DIY the future! (Let's make the future with our own hands)”, it also includes the desire to continue to deliver “Satoyama Gurashi-no-Ossusowake” while a value being in our immediate surroundings as in the accommodation industry.
*Kashiwaya is currently closed due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection.

Interviewed in October, 2020
Writer : Mikiko Tamaki / Photographer : Kenta Sasaki