On the second day, we will be working remotely on Ogijima Island. Although I am quite tired from volunteering yesterday, I am recharging my energy in this sunny weather. (It's much hotter than yesterday!) Due to the schedule, I will only be working remotely in the morning, but I will make the most of my time experiencing and reporting.

At Takamatsu Port, we met the mobile office car for the first time since the spring session. During the summer session, it was mainly used as a staff car at Uno Port. On this day, we traveled together on the ferry "Meon" to Ogijima for workcation.

The white, softly curved Takamatsu City Ogi Community Center really stands out. Its roof is inscribed with characters from eight different languages. It's wonderful that a public building itself is a work of art.

"At night, the spectacle of light being projected into the sky unfolds."
A translucent space that welcomes visitors to the island. Various characters are arranged on the roof, and their shadows are cast on the ground during the day. (Quoted from the official website)

On this day, a heatstroke alert was issued. The original plan was to work remotely for about an hour using the mobile office car, but it was too hot to stay there for that long, so we decided to shorten the time. Although it was only a short work remotely, the sea was very beautiful and it was a relaxing time.

I move on to the next coworking space, thinking that once the heat subsides a bit, it will be possible to work in such a pleasant place with the mobile office car.

I headed to the co-working space I had reserved in advance. When I opened the door, which resembled an old-style Japanese house, I found myself in a space lit up with impressive lighting.

There were meeting rooms that could be rented out and Japanese-style rooms that could be used for seminars and workshops, making it a very convenient place to work. On the day of the event, university students were renting out the Japanese-style rooms, and companies were having meetings in the free areas, and before lunchtime, there were a variety of people coming and going.

This facility was originally a 120-year-old post office building. It was scheduled to be demolished, but Mr. Fukui, the CEO of Kenohi Ltd., which operates the facility, renovated it in 2021 as a place where everyone can gather and work.
Fukui grew up on Ogijima. When he was running a design office in Osaka, he was asked to create a website for the community council of Ogijima, which led to him becoming involved with the island again. First, he worked hard to reopen the elementary school, and after the reopening was decided, he returned to Ogijima. Since then, he has been working hard to develop the island, from running a co-working space to addressing the problem of vacant houses.
I was told that the current population of Ogijima is about 170 people, of which about 90 are elderly and 50 are newcomers. The influx of young people has apparently helped revitalize the island.
Fukui-san is currently working with the local government to improve infrastructure and turn vacant houses into guest houses! We can't wait to see how Ogijima continues to evolve.

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A place for work and life on Ogijima, Kuwa-To-Hon
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The owner of Damonte & Co., where we had takeout for lunch, also moved to the island as a family. As the number of good shops increases, more people visit the island, creating a virtuous cycle that also revitalizes the island.

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Damonte & Co.
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At the end of our workcation, Ms.Kida, who is in charge of Ogijima, showed us around some of the recommended artworks that were introduced during the summer session.

And here is the piece I arrived at.

"A space where the world of imagination and the actual landscape come together"
A building designed by Shigeru Ban will be built in a place overlooking the calm waters of Setouchi. Oscar Oiwa will paint an image of Setouchi using the islands and sunsets of Setouchi as his canvas. (Quoted from the official website)

It was almost time for our return ferry. We were able to appreciate the art while working remotely on Ogijima, and we thoroughly enjoyed its charms! Due to time constraints, we were only able to view one piece of art, but there are many other pieces worth seeing. If you visit Ogijima, be sure to take your time to enjoy the art. We hope that this article has sparked at least a little interest in Ogijima.

So, what did you think of our report on the summer session?

This was our first experience with "volunteering (Koebi-tai) + workcation," so we were a bit worried at first about what to expect, but our honest impression after participating was that "it was really good to experience it!" Through the Koebi-tai, we were able to meet many wonderful people, and one of the benefits was that we were able to learn more about the Setouchi Triennale. There are many different types of volunteering, but I feel that the appeal is that meeting new people and local communities can have a positive impact on your everyday work and life.

During my workcation on Ogijima, I visited "Kuwa-To-Hon" and " Damonte & Co.", both of which are facilities and shops that I can wholeheartedly recommend. There aren't many co-working facilities on the islands of Setouchi, so if you're planning on doing a workcation in Setouchi, why not consider Ogijima as a candidate?
This time, the people who experienced volunteer workcation together were members of the same department. However, because we are based in different locations, we only get to meet in person once every few months. (We meet online quite often!) So the time we were able to spend together was a very precious opportunity. We all had new experiences and ate delicious local food together. It was also easier to talk about things other than work because we were in person!
As the number of different work styles (work places) options has increased, it is true that time-wise connections between people are decreasing. In this situation, I feel that workcation could become one way to build team relationships. As an "evolved" version of company trips, trying workcation on a regular basis (at the start of a new fiscal year, when a project is launched, etc.) with a team seems like a promising way to build new teams.

It was an experience during the summer session that allowed me to feel a variety of these things.

This will be the last report on the upcoming autumn session. We are currently preparing to share new discoveries and discoveries from the autumn project, so please look forward to it!

Dates:
Spring session: April 14 (Thursday) - May 18 (Wednesday) *Ended
Summer session: August 5 (Friday) - September 4 (Sunday) *Ended
Autumn session: Thursday, September 29th - Sunday, November 6th, 39 days

venue:

12 islands in the Seto Inland Sea + Takamatsu and Uno
Naoshima, Teshima, Megijima, Ogijima, Shodoshima, Oshima, Inujima, Shamijima (spring only) /
Main island (autumn only) / Takamijima (autumn only) / Awashima (autumn only) / Ibukijima (autumn only) / Around Takamatsu Port and Uno Port

Official website: https://setouchi-artfest.jp/

[Introducing] MOOW, the mobile office car

Although it is different from the specifications that will be loaned out to the Setouchi Triennale, the mobile office car MOOW, which was produced in collaboration with Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. in April, is scheduled to go on sale at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. dealerships within this fiscal year.

https://www.itoki.info/products/creativework/moow/