Work while taking a hot spring! ? Charm of work application August 5th 17:32

With the spread of the new coronavirus, if you can avoid the so-called 3 dense, a new travel style is drawing attention. That is "working". In July, the government announced a policy to promote diffusion by multiplying "work" representing work and "vacation" meaning vacation. Do you rest while you work? I interviewed the site to tackle what it was like. (Yosuke Kawada, reporter at Sendai Broadcasting Station)

While listening to the murmuring of the river...

Zao town in the southern part of Miyagi prefecture. Overlooking the Zao Mountains, this town also has one of the prefecture's most famous hot springs, Togarita Onsen, and is home to over 1200 villas.

The villa here is now rented out for worms. I was shown one of them.

A spacious living room with a natural hot spring flowing from the source. Of course, the internet is also available. You can work by telework, and when you get tired, you can change your mind at the hot springs. Such a space was spreading.

Family bond deepened

I talked to someone who actually experienced work applications. This is Ryotaro Sakurai who lives in Sendai.

I manage a company that conducts customer service training and promotion, but at the end of March when the new coronavirus infection spreads, I changed the work style of the company to telework.

Originally interested in work applications, Sakurai decided to take this opportunity to spend his time working at Zao. Mr. Sakurai has a wife and two children, but the school was temporarily closed at that time, so the entire family spent 5 nights and 6 days in the villa.

Mr. Sakurai
"I started working from the day I arrived, but I felt that it was the best to be able to work while listening to the murmuring of the river, surrounded by a green forest."

While Mr. Sakurai was working, his wife and children enjoyed sightseeing at nearby farms.

When I had lunch and other meals, I went back to the villa and spent the whole family there. Mr. Sakurai says that the appeal of worcation is that you can separate work and leisure at your own timing.

Mr. Sakurai
"I was very satisfied because I was able to work at my own timing and spend time with my family. I can say for sure that the bond between families has been deepened by worcation."

Companies also pay attention to warnings

Companies are finding business opportunities in the appeal of such wording.

Yasuhiro Ueyama, President of Sendai City's “Battle Warrior” company, which operates private lodging reservation sites that use villas, believes that demand for villas in densely populated regions will increase in the future.

President Ueyama
“The appeal of work applications is that they can work while feeling the nature. I am convinced that work styles like work applications will take root to some extent in the future.”

Measures to have you use in peace

However, when many people use the villa, I am worried that hygiene measures are in order. Therefore, Mr. Kamiyama's company thoroughly disinfects the villa.

First of all, I created a document that summarizes the points of disinfection such as where the virus is likely to attach to the room, such as the door knob and TV remote control. I hand it over to the staff to thoroughly disinfect it.

The villa that has been sterilized according to the set procedure displays the icon "Measured" on the reservation site to appeal that it is a sanitary facility.

President Ueyama
"I have to thoroughly disinfect the places that I usually touch, even where I do not clean. It takes time and effort, but it is important to do it firmly."

It is said that the number of reservations has increased since the end of May when the emergency declaration was lifted due to the success of these measures.

Returning the effect of work to the surrounding area

Zao-machi is one hour by car from Sendai and two hours by bullet train from Tokyo, which is also an advantage. In order to make the most of this advantage, Mr. Ueyama established a local company and office in front of the Shiraishi Zao Station on the Tohoku Shinkansen.

Since many vacationers stay for a long time, they have more opportunities to use the nearby tourist facilities. In this area, in addition to Shiroishi Castle in Shiroishi, there is a facility where you can come in contact with more than 100 foxes and a national park rich in nature.

Mr. Ueyama is trying to reduce the effect of worcation by collaborating with local companies and letting guests who use the villa visit tourist attractions.

President Ueyama
"Zao has great transportation and has a high potential. I want to make the sightseeing in Miyagi more exciting by making you aware of the attractions around Zao during a long stay."

Worcation spread all over the country

Expectations for work applications are increasing all over the country. The Ministry of the Environment encourages people to work in the natural environment where the risk of infection is low due to the spread of the new corona, and places such as national and national monuments and hot springs are cited as places to do so.

Furthermore, Nagano and Wakayama prefectures have established councils for the spread of worcation in collaboration with other local governments, and competition between regions is likely to become more active in the future.

The style is unfamiliar to many people, such as spending leisure time while working, but the new Corona has forced us to rethink the way we work. That's why it's worth trying out the wording.

I would like to look forward to the extent to which the word applications that will lead to the revitalization of local areas will expand.

Sendai Broadcaster reporter
Yosuke Kawada
Joined in 2010 Going through
Nagasaki and Miyazaki stations in charge of economics in Miyagi, where he was born