Operating a Recycling-oriented, Regional, Creative & Future-focused Business at the Foot of an Active Volcano

Overview

Based at the northern foot of Mt. Asama, located on the border between Gunma and Nagano prefectures in Japan, resides a company known as “Kitamoc,” which operates its business in line with nature. The company was founded in 1994 when the company’s representative, Makoto Fukushima, started a camping business by building five cabins and planting trees on desolate land at the foot of a volcano where mounds of dirt and volcanic ash had accumulated. After 30 years, the company is currently engaged in a diversified business that includes wood-burning stoves, firewood production and sales, sustainable forest management, beekeeping, and wood processing. All primary-to-tertiary industries are covered by in-house resources.

The reasoning behind this business, which is based on the Finnish philosophy of “LUOMU” (i.e., a way of life that follows nature), is found in the very existence of Mt. Asama—the true and absolute ruler of the region. As Mt. Asama is an active volcano that erupts once every 700 years, the next major eruption is predicted to occur around 2400. Even though they know that the business they have built would one day be destroyed by an eruption, they continue to question themselves and society regarding the relationship between humans and nature.

Successful outcomes

• The project is divided into regional resource utilization projects for primary and secondary industries and field projects for tertiary industries. Annual sales are approximately 700 million yen, with field project business accounting for 500 million yen.
• The number of employees is 60, and, including part-time workers, more than 100 people are employed annually.
• The circulatory business framework aimed at the local community was highly praised and won the Gold Award at Japan's Good Design Award 2021 ceremony.
• The distribution of wood products is around 2,000 m3 annually. Approximately 2,000 tons of this was produced as firewood. 1,000 tons is used at company-run campgrounds and corporate training facilities, while another 1,000 tons is sold directly to local residents in Karuizawa and other areas, as well as to pizzerias and a range of accommodation facilities.
• The number of guests staying at campground Sweet Grass each year exceeds 100,000.
• In developing the campground, the company designed and installed 52 cottages of 26 types, each costing approximately 15 million yen. This cost is recovered within one to two years of operation.
• In their beekeeping business, the company conducts beekeeping at different locations and achieved a harvest of 4 tons of honey in 2023.

A future that lies with nature

Keiichiro Tsuchiya, general manager of Kitamoc Co., Ltd., continues to ask himself: “What is the ideal relationship between humans and nature?” Modern economic society is often based on the premise that humans can control nature, but Mr. Tsuchiya questions this idea and tells us about the “LUOMU” philosophy.

The company’s business consists of operations that utilize local resources, such as campground management, construction and sales of wood-burning stoves and firewood, and sustainable forest management. The company is integrating these projects and developing them as a “Regional Future Creation Project.” However, while 30 years has passed since establishment, there were many difficulties in the way of achieving this business model.

Working in accordance with the mountain requires a time horizon of 60 to 100 years. However, in order to support the livelihoods of 60 employees and their families and to continue to enrich the local community, it was necessary to build an autonomous and sustainable industry that could generate profits even in a single year. Firstly, in order to make employment available year-round, the campsite, which was originally open only in the summer, changed its operation to year-round operation, and all lodging facilities were equipped with wood-burning stoves. By utilizing this experience, the business has expanded into selling wood stoves and high-quality firewood. By discovering the value of mountains not only in wood but also in flowers, the company began beekeeping and started selling raw honey, called “Momomitsu.”

However, this alone will not make the region prosperous. Mr. Tsuchiya points out that community revitalization is also important. He redefined the value of the camp business that the company had been conducting up until now as “a place where family bonds are regenerated” and also worked to create a new place to revitalize the energy of groups with similar purposes. In 2020, the company opened the corporate training facility “takiviva,” which provides an environment where people can sit around a bonfire, face the same direction as their colleagues, and have more-honest conversations.

The company is listening to the voice of nature and regenerating the environment and community at the same time. Even if there is a possibility that the business could disappear due to an eruption, the Kitamoc philosophy cultivated at the foot of Mt. Asama can be disseminated to other regions via the community of people who visit here and can serve as the basis for future regional creation.

Regional Future Creation Project

Kitamoc Co., Ltd.
https://kitamoc.com/

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