Hello there! Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Kazuhito Fukuchi, President of Fukuchi-gumi, a construction company in Okinawa who graced our 2023 InnoPro Saturday Hackathon, we embarked on a visit to several companies in Okinawa. Many of the currently thriving businesses in the region have been around for about 70 years, mostly founded by young entrepreneurs after World War II who have managed to grow their ventures significantly. Interestingly, these companies are now at a critical phase of business succession, which presents its own set of challenges.
March 4th, Monday
Yugaf Holdings
We had the pleasure of hearing from Executive Vice President Akisu Uehara and Department Head Yasutaka Uehara. They introduced us to the concept of “Yugafu” (世果報), an Okinawan term meaning perpetual harvest. Yugafu Holdings, centered around their prominent construction business, has branched out into various sectors including the hotel industry. In 2023, their revenue soared to 29.7 billion yen, a robust 131% increase from the previous year.
In 2022, we visited the newly opened Yugafu Biz Tower in Urasoe City, a cutting-edge facility blending office spaces with a hotel. The office atmosphere is incredibly open, designed with worker comfort in mind—think everything from online meeting setups and tatami rooms to private spaces, not to mention emergency power supplies.
One of the coolest spots was their lab, decked out with 3D printers and drones. They use drones to photograph construction sites and 3D printers to create prototypes, speeding up the construction process. Inspired, I found myself pondering the idea of introducing a 3D printer drone into our own lab.
OTS – Okinawa Tourist
Okinawa Tourist also got its start after World War II, initially handling the visits of bereaved families from mainland Japan. We learned this from Hiroshi Tochino, the Executive Officer, and Takeshi Taira, the Department Head. The most striking takeaway was the notion that “the travel industry facilitates the flow of experiential consumption.” Rather than just booking hotel rooms, they procure slots for activities like snorkeling and sell them to visitors. This was quite enlightening for me, as I previously had a narrow view of travel agencies, mostly picturing them as just providers of budget tours and custom trips tailored to customer needs.
Additionally, the company is involved in the car rental business, including renting out Hyundai’s electric vehicles (EVs). The daily rental cost is about 20,000 yen, and you can drive it around for up to three days without needing a recharge—no need to refill the tank before returning, which is super convenient. Most of their customers are foreigners, especially from Taiwan. They are starting to implement AI-driven operations such as automated translation for reception duties and vehicle inspections at the time of return.
Their commitment to sustainability, like using solar power, left a particularly strong impression of their forward-thinking approach.
Higashi machi Builds
The Higashi-machi Building in Naha City was one of the challenges we tackled at last year’s InnoPro Saturday Hackathon. We had the opportunity to hear from President Fukuchi and Mr. Osamu Sato from Calorie, who was in charge of the building’s renewal project. Higashi-machi, once a bustling center for international trade during the Ryukyu Kingdom, now hosts a 40-year-old building originally full of snack bars. The students came up with plans to culturally reimagine the entire area with the Higashi-machi Building at its heart.
We visited the newly reopened Higachi-machi Building last September. The first through fourth floors still house snack bars, but the fifth floor has a doughnut shop called “HAVE A GOOD DAY” and the sixth floor has been transformed into a coworking space. The doughnut shop not only adds a sweet touch to the fifth floor but also ventures to the ground floor with a cart, quickly becoming the face of the building. Given the number of people in the area who struggle to find a good lunch spot, they’re even considering offering lunch boxes.
For this year’s InnoPro Saturday Hackathon, we’re thinking of inviting Fukuchi-gumi again to brainstorm future plans for the Higashi-machi Building.
HOT Okinawa Research Institute, Ltd.
Takehiro Shiraishi, President of Hotto Soken, returned to Okinawa to take over his family’s business after working in consulting in Tokyo, following his graduation from Keio SFC. Currently, he is actively involved in addressing local business challenges, offering innovative strategies for attracting customers and marketing.
One standout aspect of his approach is the emphasis on the importance of logical thinking. It was also fascinating to learn that a university student intern handles their HR, and that the company culture is very open, allowing for flexibility in appearance and work style. Shiraishi’s philosophy is progressive: as long as there is a shared vision, superficial differences don’t matter. This perspective likely contributes significantly to fostering a creative and inclusive workplace environment.
Trim Co.,Ltd.
We had the opportunity to speak with Executive Officer Takeshi Tamahana of Trim, who shared fascinating insights into their development of “Supersol” from recycled glass. Supersol is particularly interesting because of its ability to absorb water, which has practical applications in enhancing water resistance when mixed with soil, for example under street trees or at school and park grounds. This capability allows Supersol to store rainwater, potentially serving as emergency water reserves during disasters.
The absorbency of Supersol also lends itself to various other uses, such as coasters or mats for aroma oils, suggesting potential beyond its current civil engineering applications to direct consumer markets.
Our seminar, the Shimura Seminar, is also planning to propose some student-developed ideas that utilize Supersol. I was surprised to learn that glass is actually harder than iron! Additionally, the method of “inflating” the crushed glass to form Supersol, inspired by the developer’s experience working in a bakery, was a particularly interesting tidbit.
合同会社小村井オムライス 