Craft Design Incubation & Rural Revitalization
Experiential travel concept
Metropolitan Japan receives 59% of the country's total in-bound visitors each year. Meanwhile, rural towns continue seeing steep population and economic decline, and with that the loss of their centuries-old heritage of traditional crafts and architecture. UNESCO and Japan Heritage designations have become desperate attempts to build resilience through tourism development. Cookie-cutter tourism strategies may create short-term financial benefits but long-term negative effects. Riding the growth in the experiential travel industry, we connect Global Creators to Japan Makers to activate rural craft towns, providing a platform to rethink object design, production and consumption.
Date of Launch
2018
Development Time
13 - 24 months
Target Regions
Asia, Australia / Oceania, Europe, North America
Target Groups
Consumer / User, Specific sub-group: Cultural Traveler, Creatives (Designers), Design Academics, Culture Researcher