Chiba Prefecture has a long history of exploration by new arrivals. A neighbor of Tokyo, it also has a warm, mild climate and a rich natural landscape. It remains popular with those moving home or looking for a second house. Adaptable and diverse Chiba designs solve problems through local knowledge and communication skills. From a daycare service that's also a community space to a community that's centered on bamboo, local residents are actively engaged in shaping where they live. Join us on a hunt for Chiba's welcoming and open designs.
Today, we're visiting Chiba prefecture, to the east of Tokyo.
We're "design hunting," looking for unique designs from around Japan.
Chiba is a large region with both cities and diverse natural landscapes.
One of Chiba's cities is home to a "fascinating" community-building program spearheaded by young people who've moved here.
- What a lovely place!
- Thank you.
I loved the idea of creating
new value from old items.
While Andy explores Chiba's streets, I'm in the countryside to investigate a unique "bamboo" craft.
- Got it!
- You pick it up fast.
I'm super focused!
Lots of people and lots of smiles - why "is" everyone moving to Chiba?
The town of Yachiyo in Chiba's northwest has thrived as a "commuter" town for Tokyo workers since the 1970s.
I'm visiting a daytime care center that opened in 2022 to cater to the town's growing elderly population.
Ahh, look at that.
This is a long, long facility here.
How do we get in?
With a little stream here.
Wow. This is beautiful.
Yes, it is the engawa, as it's called.
So engawa is a typical style of architecture in the Japanese housings.
It's pretty because it's used as a corridor, but at the same time it's also a living space,
and, um, and that's exactly what the concept seems to be of this facility here.
It's a space that I grew up in when I was a small kid.
A 76-meter long "engawa" verandah stretches out beneath the deep eaves.
This care facility was designed by Chiba-born architect Yamazaki Kentaro.
His work includes educational and social care services such as hospices, clinics, and kindergartens.
This center was a joint project with Ishii Hidekazu, who runs a number of social service centers around Chiba.
Yamazaki-san!
- Welcome!
- Thank you for having us today.
- Thanks for coming.
- It's amazing.
This is a daytime care center.
It's for folks with dementia or disabilities.
A space for social care.
The plot of land is very long and narrow.
So I thought an engawa would be perfect.
- It felt right?
- Exactly.
- Nostalgic.
- Right.
- It reminds me of my grandma's home.
- Really?
I'd go round the back and take off
my shoes sitting on the engawa.
It's an entrance, right?
Yes, you can get in anywhere.
It feels natural.
An engawa is an invitation to sit.
Locals and kids can all
wander into the facility from there.
- You have children coming in?
- From outside, yes.
We chose to make that possible.
Just as Yamazaki hoped, local kids and families use the engawa to visit the center.
They plan to open a café soon.
And a cozy new library nook for kids.
He wants the center to become a "public" space.
Visitors can also enter rooms where elderly users are relaxing.
The staff's children often help out at afternoon tea.
It's a space filled with laughter.
It's all about community.
I imagined all kinds of people
sharing the same landscape.
An ordinary center wouldn't
work in this space.
It had to be somewhere that drew people in.
Good morning.
- We get to chat as we go!
- We do!
You get to know the regulars.
A bathtub?
That's right, yes.
It faces outward.
It's for care center users.
We made this section wide.
It's right by the garden
and the goat pen.
So kids working in the garden
can wash here too.
After getting all muddy.
The vegetable patch began as an experiment.
Now the kids who work in it can clean their feet off in the tub.
It makes sense to ensure
both groups can use it.
Instead of restricting access.
Just like the engawa.
It promotes natural, organic
connections and relationships.
Exactly.
- Ishii-san?
- Hi.
- Hello!
- Hi.
- Thanks for coming!
- Thanks for your time.
Daycare center owner Ishii has worked in nursing services for twenty years.
It's like this every day?
I see so many people arriving.
They're just getting on with
whatever they want. The goats?
Someone built the hut for us.
It's great that folks get involved.
That leads to new projects
and stronger communication.
Social relationships are the heart
of what makes us human, I think.
That got a lot harder in
the early days of the pandemic.
It drove home just how important
it is to forge relationships.
Kentaro and I agree that we need
to encourage those encounters.
Find ways to encourage them
develop naturally, you know?
Here they come.
What's going on here?
We're off to clean the pond.
Clean it?
We're grabbing the tools.
- The pond?
- Further down.
I see, good luck!
- Haru-san built the hut.
- Hello, is that right?
I did. They said,
'We want goats. Can you build a hut?'
I see.
- In three days.
- A quick job.
- Wow, three days?
- Yes.
Impressive.
Oh, everyone's working!
Everyone's involved, so the kids
feel free to wander in and out.
If they build part of it,
they feel they have a stake.
They might see an elderly person
in a wheelchair.
They get to see what dementia
and aging is actually like.
Hi, do you need a hand?
It got bent.
- I can't.
- I'll do it.
Thank you.
A daytime care center with a long engawa.
It feels like such a "warm," "connected" community.
Chiba's warm climate makes it a "perfect" home for bamboo.
But if left unmanaged, these thickets can lead to landslides.
Locals of Kisarazu in the southwest have begun harvesting bamboo for everyday use.
Hi, hello. I'm Shaula.
Welcome! I'm Tazaki.
It's so lively!
Yes, it's our annual
New Moon festival.
- A festival?
- That's right.
I spotted this as I came in.
What's the Boso Bamboo Club?
I started it 4 or 5 years ago.
This area is called Boso
and we work with bamboo.
I wanted to make bamboo
a foundational part of our lives.
The club has more than 20 core members from around Chiba.
Members learn various bamboo crafts, taking part in classes, developing new products, and even earning a living.
- I see baskets and bowls.
- Yes.
But my eye was drawn to
this item in particular.
An airline baggage tag!
You flew with it?
It went in the hold.
People rarely fly with bamboo bags!
Very true! So I showed it off
at baggage claim.
And it wasn't damaged at all?
- It's super tough.
- Wow! Made by hand?
Oh yes. All of this is.
Chiba has a lot of bamboo
compared to nearby areas.
Really?
I moved here from Tokyo for work.
I had various jobs.
Driving through, I saw bamboo everywhere.
I'm sure you did too.
I did!
But nobody was using it.
Such a waste!
I considered ways to use it.
We've lost a lot of traditional skills.
But there's a bamboo craft school
in Beppu, Oita Prefecture.
I studied there for a year.
Then I returned and started the club.
That's real dedication
to the material, isn't it?
It's available for free.
I'll never run out of it.
I owe bamboo a great deal!
That's so interesting.
You must make all kinds of things
from bamboo, not just baskets.
I'll try anything.
A bamboo ocarina.
How cute!
Right? Listen to this.
See?
Look at your face!
What a lovely sound.
Isn't it pretty?
- Different sizes?
- Based on the size of the bamboo.
I see.
Bamboo grows so fast that cutting it
is actually a necessity.
But what a waste to just burn it!
I totally agree.
But I use it because it's here.
I wouldn't import or transport it.
You use what's at hand.
That's the key, yes.
We all craft with it, I teach
with it. It's always available.
You make what you need.
Yes, people make coffee dripper cups!
Amazing!
Club members even designed this lampshade.
It's lit here with an LED bulb.
I'm gonna have a go at weaving one myself.
Four should point straight up.
Yes.
Fold two on the left inside.
Weave them under here then out here.
- Like this?
- That's it, yes!
Then from the front to the back.
Can you see?
Here?
Now these. Same idea.
They go in here?
Now after that, tighten up
the whole thing.
Tighten...
Excellent.
I'm super focused!
Running at full capacity.
Total focus!
I like it.
See these two?
Follow them to this pentagon.
Follow to the pentagon.
This one?
Not that direction.
The other way.
- I get it.
- That's it.
- Here!
- You learn fast!
It's great mental exercise.
It really is.
From here, to here?
Yes!
You handle it well.
Mine shows its ends!
- It got a bit twisted.
- It did, yeah.
This is really fun.
Working with your hands
is really satisfying.
It's healing, I think.
Almost relaxing.
Relaxing, yes, I totally agree.
Today, the group is off to harvest bamboo in the mountains.
The abundant bamboo has eaten into a broadleaf forest, creating a landslide risk.
The group only cuts overgrown bamboo from local mountains rather than buying it elsewhere.
And they take it home themselves.
Shinoda has been part of the group for four and a half years.
Today she's a craft teacher.
What drew you to this?
From the start, Tazaki-san said
this should provide us with work.
He taught us until we were ready
to take our turn teaching.
I started out teaching
the little that I knew.
Now I have the opportunity
to make that a proper job.
- There's still more to learn?
- Always.
Another 5, 10 years?
I want to be doing this till I'm old!
There's bamboo everywhere.
People are happy to have us cut it.
Part of the appeal is that
it becomes a virtuous cycle.
After learning how to work with bamboo, the club members head to other prefectures to hold classes.
New clubs are even being formed.
These bamboo-forged bonds are leading to innovative ways to use the material.
Sharing techniques allows us to
earn money and make new friends.
They're more than friends.
They're colleagues, comrades in arms.
You all work with bamboo, but
the heart of it is human connection.
- Bamboo brought us together.
- It links you.
We're all in the same bamboo boat.
Forging a bamboo community
sounds pretty comical.
People once formed communities because
they needed to grow rice.
Communities arise naturally
through the way we live our lives.
All of us chose bamboo. It's no
surprise we've stuck together.
From the outside, people see it as
an intentional community. A design.
I see.
Surrounded by bamboo, playing bamboo
instruments, and burning it.
- Right.
- Together with the new moon.
The new moon marks a celebration of bamboo.
People make offerings of bamboo crafts, and play bamboo instruments.
- Thank you, bamboo!
- Thank you!
- Here's to another year!
- Another year!
The pleasure of working with your hands - bamboo is a central part of life here.
My last stop is Matsudo, a popular spot only 40 minutes from central Tokyo.
However, it also has a lot of older, vacant buildings.
I'm here to visit a local real estate firm that's taken a unique approach to community building.
Omusubi real estate.
- Hello.
- Hi!
- I'm Andy.
- I'm Tonozuka Kengo.
- I was drawn to your sign.
- Thank you.
Omusubi is the Japanese word
for 'rice ball', isn't it?
Yes, our realtor firm grows rice.
We rent rice paddies and farm them
with tenants, landlords and locals.
The name comes from our desire
to create a local community.
That's fascinating.
It began as a hobby
before I started the firm.
I farmed rice, and got to know
a couple who then got married.
They loved the work, and asked me
to find a place to move.
That fun process inspired this whole idea.
That's how it began.
It's a great place
to start building a community.
That's truly unique.
Born and raised in Matsudo, Tonozuka launched the firm hoping to revitalize his beloved hometown.
His office is in this apartment block.
Tonozuka says that the building has had a positive effect on the community.
The curved design feels very 70s.
Along with the red-brick sides.
- It's pretty fancy.
- I think so, yes.
It's owned by Akagi-san,
a local man who ran a supermarket.
After closing the business
he began renting out the space.
A used bookstore.
Yes, he was looking for tenants that
building residents would welcome.
He left it open for a while.
When the bookstore approached us,
residents were delighted.
That led them to choose
this location for the store.
Tonozuka gets on well with owner Akagi, and now manages the rental agreements for Akagi Heights.
At first, the units were
rented cheap as DIY projects.
I took on three units and
people played around with them.
But there was so much variation
in the finish of the projects.
The owner's son said he'd handle
the remaining renovations.
Akagi Yoshihiro took up the challenge of a full renovation, working under the direction of a carpenter.
It came out okay, I think!
Maybe I have a knack for this work?
I considered layouts as I worked.
Most units are for couples or folks living
alone so it had to suit their lives.
The younger Akagi made over several of the building's units.
They're now very popular with renters.
Time for a tour!
The Kanedas moved to Chiba after tying the knot.
I love the blue-green walls.
A great match for the furniture.
The bedroom's the same.
I love seeing it when I wake up.
Akagi Heights has lots of community events.
Like mochi rice cake pounding.
Or they might ask folks to come
decorate a Christmas tree.
It feels very warm and human.
Cozy but not nosy.
It's reassuring to know
we can rely on our neighbors.
A big fan of this approach, Tonozuka wants to extend that spirit to the larger community.
A bagel store.
With the old barber sign.
They've sold out!
They're popular.
A former barbershop and now vacant building.
Tonozuka offered it below market rates to private businesses,
on the condition that the tenant did their own repairs and renovations.
The new tenants - a couple who had run a bagel shop in Tokyo - fixed up the building.
Next door is a vintage clothing store run by Kaneda Miyu from Akagi Heights.
Looking to open a store, it was Tonozuka's suggestion of this location that prompted the move to Matsudo.
- How lovely!
- Thank you.
It's mainly US and European
fashion from the 80s and 90s.
- You did the interior yourself?
- Yes.
- I'm starting to get regulars.
- Local folks?
Yes, mainly from Matsudo.
Tonozuka has helped more than 40 young people start their own businesses here in Matsudo.
A restaurant on the first floor of Akagi Heights also has a connection to the realtor.
Hi, nice to meet you.
We serve a lot of regional and
home cooking. Lots of vegetables.
Your produce comes from Chiba?
- I grew it myself, actually.
- Oh wow.
Oba is a former salesman for a Tokyo firm.
He opened a farm-to-table restaurant, in part to spend more time with his children.
He renovated this former showroom himself, making everything from the tables to the tiles.
How do you know one another?
Were you friends before?
Us two?
He was our baseball captain in
junior high when I was a rookie.
You're older?
We didn't realize at first.
- School was a while ago.
- You'd think I'd remember him!
Your former captain!
But what a great story.
I knew he'd click with Akagi-san.
Akagi-san is amazing.
Really helped me out here.
- Your customers are local?
- Mostly. Lots of regulars.
I'd love to come for a meal.
Thank you.
I feel that Chiba is
a place for experimentation.
People are connecting, open to
whatever the future holds.
Just forging relationships
to see what happens. Experimental.
I think human connection will
always lead to better things.
Some things we hesitate to tackle alone.
But if one person takes a chance,
it inspires others to do the same.
I love that there's no leader.
We help and inspire one another.
There are clues to the future in that.
A new road map for society.
That would be ideal, wouldn't it?
Oh, definitely.
- Thank you for your time today.
- Thank you very much.