Roger OngOn the way to the interview, I was surprised to see so many shops with closed shutters in the city. Even for a weekday, the sight is often reserved for distant rural areas. But that impression was reversed nearing the location of “Waiwai!! Container 2”. While the streets remained quiet, there are shops and cafes that are modern, maintained and opened.
Since the inception of the Waiwai!! Container 2 in 2012, it has attracted tens of thousands of visitors. It is one of the most successful revitalization projects in Saga City, so much so that it won a Good Design Award for its innovative community development.
Yet, it is only a piece to the big picture of Saga’s revitalization plan. To understand why the project is successful and persists till today, we spoke to the director Tetsuya Izu from Humanite Saga to unravel the revitalization puzzle.
Firstly, what is the Waiwai!! Container 2?
Waiwai!! Container 2 is a gathering hub where various containers rest on a patch of grass in the middle of the city. These containers are converted into various spaces for different functions for citizens, like reading and events.
Waiwai is an onomatopoeia, which means bustle. It also represents the aspirations of Saga City: to bring the bustle back and revitalize the city. And as the name suggests, there was a first version of the container facility.
The form Waiwai!! Container 1 took was a library, and it was a success in attracting people. To further increase the activities of the visitors, management changed hands, and the resources were made available to create Waiwai!! Container 2.
Izu gave me a tour of the place. “Today, Waiwai!! Container 2 offers four different spaces. The first is the library, a remnant of what Waiwai!! Container 1, shrunk from the original six containers to today’s two. Feedback from the residents revealed they wanted a space for communication, now materialized as a spacious Community Container. The third space is the Challenger Container, available for anyone interested to rent.”
But why containers? The use of containers is more than just a novelty. And the answer is closely linked to discovering the resources Saga city possesses. Surprisingly, it’s not the abandoned shophouses themselves.
The problem of Saga City’s increase in abandoned shophouses
As shared at the beginning, one of the problems Saga City has to solve is the high abandonment rate of shops. For more than 30 years, the central town’s shop abandonment rate has sustained above 15%. It peaked at 22.93% in 1995, which meant that one in every five shops had its shutters closed and unmaintained.
One might think that a decreasing population might be the cause. On the contrary, looking at the central town’s growth, there was a steady population increase since 2000.
Housing began to boom to accommodate more people who were commuting to the nearby Fukuoka City for work. A traveling distance that takes about 30 minutes is available by both train and car. Compared to Fukuoka City’s bustle, Saga City’s central town offered a quieter lifestyle, which proved to be the more attractive option. Eventually, the town saw an increase in population.
A survey on street activity revealed the key problem
“However, when we looked at the central town’s economy, there is stagnancy,” Izu pointed out. “The activity in the town is not increasing together with the increase of the population. This is contradictory as spending within the town should increase too. Yet, in the town’s census, it is not so.
“When we relooked at how well-connected the city is with roads, we see how the ease of transport presents a problem: residents can easily travel away from the city for entertainment or shopping. There was little street activity (like walking or cycling) in the central town.”
Till a decade ago, the city’s strategy has been to draw activity to the area. It is actually located in a very high traffic area. To the west, the road connects Saga University with the national highway, while the east connects with Fukuoka and Kumamoto Prefectures.
And that offers a different challenge. Four malls were built between 2002 and 2007 along the outskirts of the central town. With the convenience of commuting, residents started spending time and money away from the town. The increase in shop abandonment rates coincided along with the malls’ openings.
So, increasing street activity is a key in Saga City’s central town revitalization.
The three-step revitalization plan, and the resources Saga City already possesses
Saga City had a three-step revitalization plan: to continue increasing Saga’s population, to increase the number of visitors, and to increase the street activity within the town.
The first attempts at building malls didn’t pan out as hoped. “The convenience [of malls] meant that residents could drive to the parking, walk the connected bridge, enjoy the mall, and finally leave without exploring the surrounding areas,” Izu reflected.
Events were held to draw people into desired areas too. Unfortunately, while attendee numbers can appease politicians, there was little spending in the shops. Furthermore, there was no follow-up action to get repeat visitors. Events alone were not sustainable.
Street activity remained at a stalemate. Another solution was required. One that created something valuable, sustainable, unique to Saga City, and didn’t depend on tourism.
Unearthing resources that Saga City already possessed
Enters Hiroshi Nishimura, Work Visions Co. Ltd., founder of the Waiwai!! Containers. Born in Saga prefecture, Nishimura was spurred on to tackle the problem when a resident called him to share his worry about Saga City. The abandonment of shophouses was slowly changing the image of the central town area. Food establishments were turning towards the night crowd, and the town was beginning to be less attractive to raise families. A different community needs to gather.
However, Nishimura knew that creating a community requires more than just building another attraction. While locations like malls attract spending, there is little value that significantly impacts the residents. Money attracts money, but it is people who attract people.
So instead of looking for the next financial investment into real estate, Nishimura searched for local resources that Saga had. As it turns out, it’s the vacant lots that were available around the town. Instead of abandoning these lots, or the more tragic conversion into parking lots, the aim turned towards finding a way to use them. Thus the experiment, Waiwai!! Container 1, materialized.
The beginnings of and lessons from the revitalization experiment, Waiwai!! Container 1
Together with Humanite Saga, Waiwai!! Container 1 launched in June 2011. It began an experiment first, since they didn’t know how well the idea would work.
It was originally located at the center of four key areas that drew people, including two malls, Tamaya Saga and S-platz. The area within the four locations had high strategic potential, especially since the site was within walking distance of all four. It would become vital in increasing the street activity needed for the town’s revitalization.
The vacant lot was also paved with grass, which provided a contrasting and welcomed positive image. Furthermore, instead of building permanent structures, portable containers were brought in. Containers meant that they could be reorganized for different needs. Costs were successfully reduced too.
As mentioned, the Waiwai!! Container 1 was a library. It housed about 100 magazines, over 30 manga series and 100 picture books. Six containers lined up to provide a warm vibe where residents could gather, sit, and read, while the more active children could play outside on the large grass patch.
Uncovering the needs of the residents through the revitalization experiment
The experiment worked with great success. It had attracted over 15,000 visitors within eight months. However, the goal did not end there. What was important was the residents’ feedback. It revealed that the residents wanted more.
“For example, we received feedback that even though it was a place for gathering, there was no place to mingle,” Izu shared thoughtfully. “While the library perfectly served those who wanted to read, residents wanted a corner where they can chat with one another. Of course, other feedback includes activities and workshops.”
So the idea for a place of gathering worked. Waiwai!! Container 1 became the model where a community can form naturally. It just needed tweaking to its contents. Thus, Waiwai!! Container 2 was set up in the following year. The new location was the street entrance where the covered shopping arcade used to be, near the event square 656 Square. The perfect balance achieved, an ideal location picked. Waiwai!! Container 2 would continue serving its citizens for another eight years, where it continues to strive today.
Businesses that joined the bandwagon of town revitalization
But that is not the end of the story. Having a thriving place for a community to build is but the first step to town revitalization.
With Waiwai!! Container 2 acting as the core, people start gathering around the site. That meant that businesses would return to the area, and indeed it has. Walking along the old arcade path from the community containers, we see new food and beverage establishments, an outlet for the local SAGAN Tosu soccer team, and fashion shops for the young. COTOCO215, which uses the same container concept, also appeared as a comfy co-working place for remote workers in the city.
This is the often talked about Onion Strategy of Waiwai!! Container 2. First, there must be a strong center, of which Waiwai!! Container 2 plays the role of. Then by layers, like onions, people and businesses will start building around that center, expanding the region’s value as it grows.
Waiwai!! Container 2 is the model for town revitalization
If you visit the area, you will find a smooth, beige-colored path that runs through the shopping arcade and beyond. It is called the Nagasaki Road, which existed since the Edo period. The road connected Kokura in Fukuoka to Nagasaki, and the Saga Castle used to be located on the south side. With the Nagasaki Road, came trade and bustle, and with it, culture and wealth.
Today, organizations like Humanite Saga and Work Visions are empowering residents to increase the activity in Saga City. This time, however, instead of depending on external influences like those Nagasaki Road brought, residents are rediscovering local resources and discovering new values within Saga.
And we see those new values emerging from Waiwai!! Container 2. Residents with skills voluntarily offering to share with or to serve the local community. Plenty of children-focused workshops to focus on the children’s future. And groups with different needs are gathering, like the youth and the remote workers.
There is no overnight solution to revitalization. But Waiwai!! Container 2 has shown us: through slow and consistent effort and leveraging local resources, we can create a virtuous cycle to revitalize regions or towns.
[Reference] Saga City Central Town Revitalization Basic Plan
