Hamamatsuya Yamorisha CON Co., Ltd. Left: Ms. Yumiko Suzuki, middle: Ms. Junko Shimazu, right: Ms. Yuka Yoshida

Southern Cross shopping street located south of Hamamatsu Station. It used to be a symbolic shopping street south of the station, full of life and bustle with people coming and going, but in recent years it has been in a condition that could be called a typical shuttered street. Three people from Hamamatsuya Yamorisha CON Co., Ltd. are working to restore the area’s former vibrancy once again. They continue to create projects to enliven the station south area, including the popular marche “Hamamatsu Southern Cross Hoshinoichi” where local artists and creators all want to open stores. To find out the driving force behind these activities, we spoke to Ms. Yumiko Suzuki of Hamamatsuya Yamorisha CON Co., Ltd.

“Southern Cross Hoshinoichi'', which once gave up on holding

—What kind of event is “Southern Cross Hoshinoichi”?

This market is held on the second Sunday of every month at the Southern Cross Shopping District south of Hamamatsu Station. We gather exhibitors by scouting creators that we find appealing. We want this to be a market that conveys the charm of the region, so we are inviting mainly people who are based in Hamamatsu (or its surrounding areas) and people who share a passion for Hamamatsu to set up shop. Rather than creating a temporary bustle, I hope to increase the value of the Hamamatsu Station South area and make it a neighborhood that children can be proud of.

 

— I heard that “Southern Cross Hoshinoichi” started from “Renovation School.”

*”Renovation School” is a place where you can learn and practice urban development projects using vacant properties and spaces in the town.

Yes, that’s right, I participated in the “4th Renovation School @Hamamatsu” and targeted this property where I currently have an office. However, I felt that no matter what I put into this property in Southern Cross Shopping District, where foot traffic is sparse, people would not come to visit. So, by holding the “Southern Cross Star Market” once a month, we started with the idea of ​​raising the value of the entire street, turning it into a shopping district where people come and go, and then adding stores and businesses to it.

 

—Did you have any difficulties going from nothing to actually holding the Southern Cross Star Market?

Originally, I’m the type of person who doesn’t like standing in front of other people (lol). By the time Renovation School had finished, all the participants were enthusiastic, so if there was anything we could do to help, we’d do it. However, once “Renovation School” was over, everyone’s schedules didn’t match up, and for a number of reasons, no one was able to take any action.

 

—There is, after all, a big barrier between “learning” and “practicing”.

That’s right. Some of you have real jobs…

During this time, I had only been thinking about helping out, but something happened that made me think, “I might want to do this.” One day, all of a sudden (lol). From there, I decided to do it, invited two people from among the participants, and began preparations at a rapid pace.

 

—That’s sudden (lol)! What made you think, “I might want to do this?”

There is a shrine called “Ochobo Inari” in Gifu Prefecture, and a festival called “Tsukunami Festival” is held there at the end of every month, and I had a chance to go there. The festival is held locally at night, and it’s packed with people even at 9pm. Furthermore, the exhibitors and visitors seemed to be having a great time, and everyone was smiling and saying things like, “You didn’t come last month!” The scenery was so beautiful that I naturally wanted to do it in Hamamatsu as well.

Just that day, the bus heading to Gifu passed in front of Southern Cross Shopping Street. I looked at this property from inside the car and thought, “I didn’t do anything after all,” but on the bus on the way home, I couldn’t stop fantasizing about who I’d talk to and when I’d start doing it (lol). ). By the time the bus on the way home passed Southern Cross Shopping Street, I had decided, “I’ll do it!”

 

—That’s great decisiveness (lol)! From there, how did you go about organizing the event?

By the time I went to Gifu, about 6 months had passed since the “Renovation School.” After that, we held a test run of “Southern Cross Hoshinoichi vol.0” as a pre-event. Even after the end of the 0th session, everyone seemed to think it wouldn’t go well, and some said, “We can’t hold it every month,” but for some reason I thought, “We can do this!”. From there, I formed a company with two people who agreed with me and started holding the event.

 

—Why did you think, “I can do it!” at that point?

I thought I could do it myself. I didn’t know if it would be a success or if a lot of people would come, but I thought if I took the initiative and held it every month like I did the 0th time. In fact, I didn’t understand why you thought it couldn’t be done. The last three people who remained were all people who thought they could do it on their own.

 

—The three people who could relate to Ms. Suzuki were the last ones left.

However, the three of them have different characters and what they want to do are completely different. When someone says, “I want to do this,” I’m like, “Hmm, just do it.” (laughs) But that’s about right, and we each have the same goal, so as long as it’s not too weird, we each do what we want. I also think that if we had only worked with similar people, there would have been conflicts and things might not have gone well.

Southern Cross Hoshinoichi vol.1

What is the vision of “Hamamatsuya Yamorisha CON”?

—What are the goals and visions that the three of you share?

This is also posted in our office, and this is our philosophy. “I want to change the city while making good money using the power of the private sector without relying on the government.” I’m not making any money though… (laughs).

*The thoughts of Hamamatsuya Morisha CON are also available on the homepage

「http://yamorishacon.mystrikingly.com」

 

— After all, the region will not prosper unless the private sector becomes self-reliant.

That’s right. Our efforts also involve people from the shopping district, so there are a lot of people involved. When we face the community, there are some people who are against it or are reluctant, but more and more people around us are starting to think about it as their own, with meetings being held to discuss things about the city that we hadn’t done before. I am. Although it is gradual, things are changing in a visible way.

—Ms. Suzuki’s main job is designing houses, but the fact that you participated in the “Renovation School” in a place other than your main job means that you were aware of the problem in the local area.

To be honest, there wasn’t the slightest bit. I also went to “Renovation School” at the invitation of a junior to me, without really understanding what it was about. I really hated it, to the point where I had a stomach ache the day before (lol). But now I’m glad I went. Back then, I thought that was fine, but now it’s definitely more fun.

 

—Oh, that’s right (lol)

So, when I meet people who only know me from about three years ago, they say, “Huh! Is Ms. Suzuki really that kind of person?” However, I still don’t mind being alone for about three days (lol).

 

—Do you have a vision for what you want to do with Southern Cross Shopping District in the future?

Although we hold events once a month, the shopping district itself is still not a place that many people visit. I think it will be difficult to achieve this unless there are more attractive and powerful restaurants. In fact, I would even like to choose the tenant that will move in (lol). The reason why people don’t come even though the location is south of the station is because there are no attractive shops or things to do. There are people who want to bring in tenants, so I’m trying to find a way to bridge the gap between them and the people in the shopping district.

 

—Looking at the people participating in Southern Cross Star City, it seems like a local community is forming here.

That’s right, we are currently holding a talk event called “10 People, 10 Colors” with the aim of revitalizing the south of the station and connecting people. It’s a small event held in my office, but we hold something like a “chat meeting” where you can listen directly to people who have interesting work styles and ask questions directly. Also, I started a station south local media called “Hoshi no News”. As of now, there are only about 20 articles posted, but we are running a corner where we ask the vendors at Southern Cross Hoshinoichi 50 questions and have them answer so we can learn more about them. . We also create articles by interviewing customers who have shopped, asking them to show us what they bought, and asking them, “Where is your favorite shop in the south of the station?”

 

—So you’re involved in a variety of other activities besides Southern Cross Hoshinoichi.

Even though they may seem like different activities, they are all connected. With “10 People, 10 Colors,” we also hope to find budding creators who have yet to open a store. This is also the case with the article “Hoshi no News”, where people who want to try something on their own but have given up thinking, “It’s just not possible…” are asked to listen to the stories of people who have already taken action. I would like to help people take a step towards the challenge by giving them the opportunity to do so.

 

—I see, you’re not only holding events, but also “town development” and “people development”! I look forward to seeing what Ms. Suzuki and his colleagues will create in the future. thank you very much.

We will gradually realize what we can do. thank you very much.

 

Vendors will be announced on Instagram and Facebook.

• instagram @southern.cross_hoshinoichi
• facebook Hamamatsu Southern Cross Hoshinoichi