◼️ Mirai convenience stores, and our “challenge”

The Kito district (formerly Kito Village) is located on the prefectural border between Tokushima and Kochi prefectures, and is a "marginal village" with a population of about 1,000 and a majority of the population aged 65 and over.

This village spreads widely from east to west, and it is a vast area that takes more than 30 minutes by car to move from one end of the village to the other.  

Mirai convenience stores were built in the westernmost part of this vast village, in an area called "Kitakawa Village" with a resident population of only about 200 people.

There are no shops in the Kitagawa village, and it takes about an hour by car to reach the nearest supermarket.

So-called "shopping refugees" were born. Mirai convenience stores aim to improve the shopping environment for local people, and at the same time

From the idea that children born and raised in this area will be able to come into contact with diverse lives and sensibilities and be stimulated for the future.

It was named "Mirai Convenience Store" and was born in April 2020. A new facility called a convenience store was built in this remote area.

We will reborn a place that was just a path into a "place to visit", connect all the visitors and the area, and spin the future of Kito.

This future convenience store initiative addresses the issues faced by rural areas such as depopulation and aging.

It is one of the big "challenge" as a wood head project.

  The KITO DESIGN HOLDINGS and the Kito Project have not stopped taking on challenges such as future convenience stores in the Kito area.

We will continue our activities to create the future with the aim of becoming a "miracle village where everyone can smile."

◼️ About the architectural design of future convenience stores

The Kito district, where the future convenience store is located, was designed with the concept of "the most beautiful convenience store in the world," including Mt. Tsurugi, which boasts the second highest altitude in western Japan.

Surrounded by mountains over 1,000m above sea level, it is also known as "Tibet in Shikoku" because of its natural richness.

In addition, there are many virgin forests of Yuzu, and it is also the first place in Japan to succeed in grafting Yuzu and spread Yuzu cultivation nationwide.

The high quality of the special product "Kito Yuzu" is highly evaluated in Japan and overseas.

This "coexistence with nature" of Kito is one of the design themes of future convenience stores.

The Y-shaped truss structure, which is the axis of the design, was designed in the image of the Yuzu field, which is a specialty of the wooden head.

It was painted in bright yellow. The entire wall facing the road is covered with glass, and outside the store,

By laying well-drained wood chips made of domestic pine wood material that can be enjoyed over time,

It is designed so that you can feel the sense of unity with the beautiful nature of the rainy wooden head from inside the store.

The design also reflects the perspective of the children. The display shelves in the store are for children and local elderly people.

It is designed to be lower than a general convenience store so that the product can be easily picked up, which creates a space with a sense of liberation.

In the back of the store, there is a cafe space where you can experience the original menu of "Kito Yuzu", and various picture books for children.

Designed as an area where you can enjoy beautiful images of the wooden head, it has become an icon of the wooden head as well as being loved by local residents and tourists as a place for people to easily gather and interact.