Gin and Natsuho are creating a place in Kotohira where art, coffee, and everyday conversations meet. Their project, Hakobune, is a coffee shop as well as a creative base for locals, travelers, and...
Kotohira Stories
Shinji san in Kotohira: The Heart Behind Hemp Heart
Shinji san is the kind of person who makes you slow down and feel looked after.At Hemp Heart, known as Magokoro in Japanese, he cooks with purpose, talks about hemp with calm conviction, and greets...
Jun Omi in Kotohira: The Story Behind Koto Vegas
Jun Omi, known to many as “Mr. Beer,” is one of the people quietly reshaping Kotohira today.Through his project Koto Vegas, he is transforming vacant shops and overlooked streets into places where...
Keita Kitayama: Bamboo, Community and Regenerative Tourism in Kotohira
In Kotohira and the surrounding towns, innovation does not always come from new projects or new places. Keita Kitayama often starts from the opposite direction: looking differently at what already...
Ryutaro Ike: A Living Tradition in Kotohira
In Kotohira, history is not only written in stone steps and shrine buildings.It also lives in everyday gestures, in family roles passed down quietly, and in objects meant to be shared. Ryutaro Ike,...
Taijiro Kusunoki: Building a Kotohira People Want to Stay In
For generations, Kotohira has been a destination people visit once in their lifetime. A place of faith, history, and ritual: climbed, admired, and often left behind the same day. But...






