Yokohama backpackers accommodation, Japan

We have operated businesses to benefit local people and to activate the local economy, attracting more young people and improving the image of the Kotobuki district. Our business aims to transform the Kotobuki district from being dependent on social insurance into a productive district that can even contribute economically to the City of Yokohama. Through hostel users we intend to communicate our policy and projects for the revitalization of Kotobuki district all over the world.

The revenue from the hostel business will support an operation and activities of the non profitable organization called “Sanagitachi”, which supports the residents of hostelries and homeless people around this district. The NPO Sanagitachi Project provides clothing, medical care, food, work and housing with a view to encouraging the homeless and those who may become homeless to become self-supportive and independent. *Sanagitachi provides welfare, medical and daycare services to the homeless and those on social security.

The Sanagi Home: The Sanagi Home is a community centre where social workers are regularly stationed. It provides consultation about welfare and everyday life, clothing and daily commodities, mental support and job training, trains staff for the “Big Issue” and organises and carries out the Tree Planting Project.

Sanagi Kitchen: Sanagitachi also runs a community restaurant, which aims to nourish the needy with warm meals through the use of meal vouchers issued by the City of Yokohama. In a town with countless senior citizens living alone, the Sanagi Kitchen not only provides three warm meals a day but also prevents and treats lifestyle related diseases in cooperation with Paula’s Clinic. The restaurant also creates job-training for the residents.

Paula’s Clinic and the Custom Nursing Support Centre Kotobuki: Sanagitachi, under the cooperation with the Clinic and the Custom Nursing Support Centre, provides treatment for the homeless and those on social security in order to prevent lonely death and tuberculosis.

The aim is to revitalise Kotobukicho to be a place that creates value, even contributing to economically the City of Yokohama.We offer visitors tourist information for the surrounding area and various events in Yokohama. We update event information on our web page. Though the hostel has not yet developed a purchasing policy, the restaurant “Sagani Kitchen” utilises surplus ingredients from a convenience store and the vegetables which residents tend as part of the green project.

Recycling old buildings: There was barely any environmental impact because they utilized and refurbished interior of the old hostelries. Many hostel owners have tried reconstructing their buildings to attract those living on social security, something which has been main income of hostelries for a long time. However, thanks to best-practices by the hostel, they found it to be more efficient to recycle old hostelry buildings.

Green project: Though this district of Kotobuki used to be a place where industrial refuse and disused cars were brought from outside and dumped illegally, thanks to the organization’s unique project of laying many flower boxes on the side streets, these cases have been reduced over the past year. Taking care of flowers and plants is good job training and a social activity for local residents to help them to be ready to become independent. The town that was once just concrete buildings and streets is now turning green because of the ripple effect of this hostel project.

We are planning to use composted kitchen refuse for our green project. We are now promoting the green project with a view to insulating buildings in the district, so we will save a large amount of energy by retaining heat in winter and insulation in summer. We plan to use recycled soap made from used oils gathered from neighbouring restaurants. The stationery we use is all donated and we have barely purchased any stationary so far. Though we still use paper, it is all recycled or used paper.

80 percent of local people are living on social security. Jobs created from this hostel project, such as room maintenance, benefit local residents by giving them opportunities for job training. By getting involved in these activities, they have regained self-confidence to be independent and a few of them are not dependent on social security any more. Since there are many former carpenters and those with ample experience in civil engineering, the organization plans to give them as many opportunities as possible, such as, for example, making street furniture.

We give guests information about the places where they can experience traditional Japanese culture, like temples where they can try Zen mediation, the tea ceremony at the Sankei-en Garden, Kamakura, the Open-Air Fork House Museum and so on. We have written a guide to public transportation in English, and a booklet of Japanese conversation is placed in the front office. When communicating with guests, the hostel staff tries to include Japanese words, so that they can learn simple expressions. Since many local young people visit the hostel front office, both hostel guests and local visitors enjoy mingling each other there.