{"id":1812,"date":"2019-08-28T07:50:18","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T22:50:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xtech.mec.co.jp\/?p=1812"},"modified":"2021-05-12T19:53:43","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T10:53:43","slug":"%e8%a1%97%e3%81%a8%e4%ba%ba%e3%82%92%e7%b5%90%e3%81%b3%e3%81%a4%e3%81%91%e3%82%8b%e3%82%a4%e3%83%99%e3%83%b3%e3%83%88%e3%81%a5%e3%81%8f%e3%82%8a%e3%80%82%e7%86%b1%e7%8b%82%e3%82%84%e6%84%9f%e6%83%85","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xtech.mec.co.jp\/en\/articles\/1812","title":{"rendered":"Creating events that connect the district with the people. The future of \u201cMarunouchi,\u201d which creates attachment from enthusiasm and emotions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ha\u0101 odori odorunara<\/em> [If you will dance the Ha dance] maruku natte odore (yoiyoi)<\/em> [dance in a circle (yoi yoi)] odorya kokoro mo (soi)<\/em> [also your dance spirit (soi)] odorya kokoro mo marunouchi (sate)<\/em> [also your dance spirit, marunouchi (sate)]<\/p>\n

The long-lasting cold summer, which was rarely seen in recent years, is completely indifferent.<\/p>\n

The \u201cMarunouchi Ondo\u201d song starts along with Ohayashi (musical accompaniment) under the penetrating blue summer sky. At 6:00 pm., men, old and young, wearing gorgeous Yukata (light cotton kimonos worn in the summer) gather in front of the festival scaffold that was built with the Tokyo Station in the background, and the enthusiasm increases. The lively Ondo song sounds throughout the town, further enlivening the atmosphere of the festival.<\/p>\n

Children play in the Uchimizu (sprinkling of water) at the same time that the start of the festival is announced. A middle-aged man in a suit runs to buy festive food, like shaved ice and frankfurters, at a nearby stall. A seated gray-haired grandma leads the Ondo song with only her hands. Spectators who were watching far away gradually join the ring of Ondo, and a young woman wearing a Yukata, who was previously embarrassed, also gradually floats into the festival\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The Marunouchi Bon festival dance (Bon Odori) triggers unbelievable excitement in the office district on Fridays in 2019. What kind of impact does such an event have on the district? We talked to the creators of the \u201cHare\u201d stage in Marunouchi, the premier office district in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

INDEX<\/h2>\n

\u30fbThe past and present of Marunouchi, once said to be a \u201cdistrict for office workers.\u201d<\/a>
\n\u30fbMarunouchi causes enthusiasm beyond the company walls<\/a>
\n\u30fbFrom the 2019 Rugby World Cup into 2020<\/a>
\n\u30fbTakeaway<\/a><\/p>\n

The past and present of Marunouchi, once said to be a \u201cdistrict for office workers.\u201d<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

Marunouchi has two names: \u201cJapan\u2019s No. 1 business district\u201d and \u201cthe district of Monday to Friday\u201d (because there are many office workers, and it is crowded from Monday to Friday). Since the 1990s, various large-scale developments have been undertaken under the concept of the \u201creconstruction of Marunouchi.\u201d In addition to the creation of such \u201chard\u201d developments, since the opening of Marunouchi Building in 2002, \u201csoft\u201d activities have also added enrichment. The \u201cOtemachi, Marunouchi, and Yurakucho Summer Festival 2019,\u201d held at the end of July, is part of this.<\/p>\n

Seasonal events, such as classical music concerts in spring and the Bon Odori festival in summer, are held in Marunouchi. Since the enhancement of \u201csoft\u201d aspects, the area has changed to become somewhere to visit for reasons other than work, and there is an increasing number of visits from holidaymakers, including families with children, who enjoy shopping around Marunouchi and using the Skybus.<\/p>\n

Marunouchi has been transformed into a \u201cMonday to Sunday\u201d district, so that it can be enjoyed by workers and visitors together. Mr. Tanimura of the Brand Promotion Department of Mitsubishi Estate, which supports such changes in the district, is one of the brains behind the new Marunouchi. How does Mr. Tanimura feel about creating a lively scene?<\/p>\n


\nMasashi Tanimura
\nMasashi joined Mitsubishi Estate in 2008. He was responsible for IR in the Public Relations Department, worked in the building development section (Marunouchi and Kanda area, etc.), and then assumed his present position. He also worked concurrently at the Project Promotion Office for the 2019 Rugby World Cup<\/small><\/p>\n

Tanimura:<\/strong> \u201cA long time ago, Marunouchi had a strong image of \u2018a district specifically for offices.\u2019 As work styles change in the future, and as the number of telecommuting and remote workers increases, there will be fewer visits to offices for meetings. If you didn\u2019t need to commute to Marunouchi, would you \u2018still come?\u2019 A lot of people might say \u2018I\u2019m not coming.\u2019 I have a sense of crisis about this situation. That\u2019s why I believe we can contribute to the solution from the aspect of organizing events, even though we have limited ability.<\/p>\n

In addition, if a range of people, other than workers, gather in the district for the purpose of an event, we believe that additional livelihoods will be born, leading to the activation of the district. Even people who don\u2019t have direct roots in Marunouchi, such as visitors, will learn new ways to enjoy Marunouchi through events, and if they can form an emotional memory that is strongly associated with the district, they will also come back to Marunouchi at some point. As represented by the \u2018Marunouchi Singing Contest,\u2019 which is one of the plans for the summer festival, we created an image of \u2018if you come here \u201csomething\u201d fun will happen,\u2019 and we want to deepen people\u2019s attachment to the district by increasing the amount of participatory content that personalizes the events in the district.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Mitsubishi Estate handles three axes of event management in Marunouchi. These are \u201cseasonal lively scenes,\u201d \u201ccultural deepening and lively scenes,\u201d and \u201cbusiness creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSeasonal lively scenes\u201d are social events where you can experience the changing of the seasons, starting with the summer festival, which is the scenario that was described at the beginning. Events where people can enjoy classical music are held during the beautiful green Golden Week, and art and food events are held in fall. In winter, there are Christmas illuminations, as well as the \u201cSanta Parade,\u201d where Marunouchi workers dress up as Santa and thank people for visiting Marunouchi.<\/p>\n

Some of these events include events that are unique to the \u201cJapan\u2019s No. 1 business district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tanimura:<\/strong> \u201cSometimes, \u2018business creation\u2019 is necessary when planning an event. Speaking of so-called business events, there are many, such as those held in a large exhibition hall, where a booth is set up for each participating company, but we went a little further and made it so that people could have fun while participating.<\/p>\n

Most recently, we hosted a \u2018business bar\u2019 in conjunction with NewsPics. It was planned based on the concept that businesspeople have conversations in bars they casually frequent, so it would be fun to talk openly while drinking alcohol. People like Mr. Takafumi Horie, a businessman, Naoki Inose, a former governor of Tokyo, and Mr. Yuji Maeda, the CEO of SHOWROOM, speak at a booth that looks like a bar, and the atmosphere of \u2018enjoying business discussions casually while drinking alcohol\u2019 is valued.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marunouchi causes enthusiasm beyond the company walls<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

There is an example of such an initiative having produced results, and deepening the connections of participants. This is a tug-of-war corporate competition that takes place once a year. The companies participating in the third competition this year made up around 100 teams, mainly from Marunouchi, compared to about 20 teams that participated the first time, which shows that the excitement is increasing. Participant questionnaires collected after the competition also showed a very high degree of satisfaction.<\/p>\n

Tanimura:<\/strong> \u201cA lot of Marunouchi workers are chic, but from the standpoint of organizing an event, this sense of shyness may lead to the impression of a lack of excitement, and there are times when one may feel that \u2018it is a waste of time.\u2019 That\u2019s why we developed content that can be enjoyed regardless of age, sex, or nationality, such as a tug of war. Everyone is very feverish in the support of the game, even those who are usually chic and shy, and when someone wins, they have a party-like celebration. After completing the heated game, one can see friendships forming between rival companies that previously were opponents.<\/p>\n

NTT Communications won the competition this year. The OB of a participating adult rugby team said in a victory speech, \u2018Let\u2019s exchange business cards if you are interested in rugby,\u2019 and many people exchanged business cards. It is not only about enthusiasm within the company, but also about new connections with other companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The excitement of the entire Marunouchi could not have been achieved by Mitsubishi Estate alone. Mitsubishi Estate coordinated and collaborated with the government authorities of Tokyo and Chiyoda Ward, among others, as well as other landowners, who worked together on the development plan of Marunouchi from the beginning. The fact that they communicated with each other for a long-time produced results.<\/p>\n

Tanimura:<\/strong> \u201cWe started working seriously on changing this district in the 1990s, but at that time, there was already a community in Marunouchi that had been targeted for reconstruction. I think that the aim of the people involved was set, and it was easy to move in a better direction because the base was in place. If there had not been the common \u2018thought\u2019 of \u2018wanting to make it an attractive district that represents Japan\u2019 among the players in this district, the Marunouchi reconstruction would not have proceeded smoothly.<\/p>\n

From the 2019 Rugby World Cup into 2020<\/h2>\n

<\/p>\n

This year, Mitsubishi Estate became the sponsor of a large-scale sports celebration. As an official sponsor of the Rugby World Cup, which is regarded as the world\u2019s third-largest sporting event, they hoped to use the power of sports to make Marunouchi even more exciting.<\/p>\n

Tanimura:<\/strong> \u201cWe hope the enthusiasm for sports will be brought here to Marunouchi, not to mention the big mission of making the Rugby World Cup a solid success. The benchmark was the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup. The excitement that happened at that time is still very memorable, but we want to surpass it. We think that the excitement of 2019 will continue into 2020. We would like to leave memories of enthusiasm, such as \u2018it\u2019s a sporting district!\u2019 and \u2018it seems like an interesting place to go,\u2019 and pass the baton to the next year as a member of \u2018Team Japan.\u2019<\/p>\n

We valued the idea that \u2018there is a district because there are people,\u2019 but we set \u2018the power to think about people, the power to think about the district\u2019 as our brand slogan. Our job is to change the flow of people and to satisfy people, and I feel it is more rewarding to be present at the moment when the emotions of \u2018people\u2019 change the district drastically. We value the energy of people and want to enrich Marunouchi with enthusiasm and a sense of vitality.<\/p>\n

\n

Takeaway<\/h2>\n

\u30fb\u201cMarunouchi\u201d is being transformed into a town where people can enjoy themselves, regardless of whether they are workers or visitors.
\n\u30fbIn order to revitalize the town, we are conscious of participatory content that can personalize the events of the district.
\n\u30fbBy carrying out a \u201ctug-of-war competition\u201d that old and young people can enjoy, not only is enthusiasm within the company born, but so too are new connections with other companies.
\n\u30fbWe want to leave memories of enthusiasm, such as \u201cit seems like an interesting place to visit.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Planning\uff1aYohei Azakami
\nDesk Checking\uff1aBrightLogg,inc.
\nEditing\uff1aGaku Suzuki
\nWriting\uff1aYuria Koizumi
\nPhotography\uff1aRyo Tsuchita<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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