Otonari Labo: The only coworking office in Kyoto with childcare service

The rainy season in Japan may pose an inconvenience for many, but it gives the Kyoto townhouses a welcoming, rustic atmosphere. That is the feeling one gets as they walk into the pathway tucked between the row of traditional Kyoto machiya (wooden townhouses), leading to the entrance of coworking office, Otonari Labo.

However, Otonari Labo’s interior is far from aged. This newly renovated office has no lack of what any modern office offers. And what makes this place unique is its strong focus on family support. Otonari Labo offers nursery services so that parents can work with their children nearby. It also provides classes and training on aspects like child-raising, and even helping mothers return to the workforce.

We talked to Hisako Yoshino, the founder of Otonari Labo, to learn what makes Otonari Labo different from a standard coworking office, and how their services are filling the gaps in Japanese society.

What kind of place is Otonari Labo?

Otonari Labo is the only coworking space in Kyoto that provides nursery services. Its staff are experienced in child care, and will look after the children while parents work without distraction. Therefore, it’s a conducive space where parents do not find balancing work and child-raising to be a chore. In fact, this is where parents discover a work model where doing both can, and should, be a norm.

The facility is fully equipped with the necessary amenities, like a strong wifi connection, dedicated workspaces, printers, and a small pantry. On the second story, a cozy section is designated the nursery area, well-equipped with play mats, toys and books. Users must reserve a timeslot to use the facilities.

By the way, it is not a daycare center, where parents can drop their children off before going elsewhere. Otonari Labo is, first and foremost, a coworking office. Parents need to be in the same building as their children. This way, when the child needs the mother, for example, for her hugs or to be breastfed, the staff can bring the needs to her attention. The staff is parents’ assistants in child-raising.

Born to resolve a problem parents face

“It just happens I took over the current house from my parents. I was going to renovate the place, and the question became, ‘What can we use the space for?’ Kyoto had many coworking offices then, but there was no facility where we could bring our children to work. So I figured it would be a good idea to create such a place.”

Yoshino was looking for something that would allow her to contribute to society. A key driver was her empathy for mothers who had to juggle between work and children.

“For example, [an acquaintance] had to take maternity leave. When she came back to work, she had to go through the steps of finding a nursery, dropping her child off, take a ride to the office, work a few hours, and return in the same manner. Otonari Labo made things easier for her by taking most of the steps out of going to work.”

Till today, users include designers and freelance writers, who were also on maternity leave. They wanted to use the time to work on something or read a book, and Otonari Labo could look after their children while they concentrated on something else.

Otonari Labo is a strong ally in child-raising

Even though Otonari Labo’s core business is a coworking space, the child-raising support its staff provides parents is very strong.

Its experienced staff doesn’t only care for the children so that the parents can concentrate on their work or study. They also provide programs and classes for parents in each step of child-raising, covering topics between the child’s development from pregnancy to the second year. Classes include addressing child-raising and education concerns for their children, baby massaging lessons, and events that help bond parent and child.

Furthermore, Otonari Labo offers an advantage over remote working from home. Parents’ concentration is often divided when they have children at home, even if they are sleeping. However, as domestic help is scarce and a stigma looms over looking for such services, parents have to divide their attention, often not giving 100% to either side. Otonari Labo’s child care service resolves that.

Helping mother return to work through pinpoint advice

As mentioned, Otonari Labo goes beyond simply providing a coworking space. Yoshino pays a lot of attention to the coworking office’s users, in, of course, the children and their mothers, especially those who are looking forward to returning to work.

However, Japan’s support for mothers returning to work is weak. There seems to be a lack of understanding of the concerns and thus a lack of action. There are troublesome problems like long waiting lists for daycare, limited full employment availability, and stereotyping of social norms. These are on top of the disfavored pay compared due to gender, which still poses a hurdle for these mothers.

Otonari Labo, therefore, offers a “Return to Work Support Program,” which arranges a series of seminars targeting the concerns of mothers wishing to return to work. Experts are invited to talk about various related topics, sharing knowledge from career development to work insurance.

Furthermore, these seminars are held in small numbers, allowing participants to ask about their unique situation. They get pinpoint advice, saving time having to do further research on “so how do I apply what I learned.” It is a form of customized advice that we can empathize with and appreciate deeply.

A new workstyle for parents

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed weaknesses in many structural systems, including Japan’s incapability to adopt new work styles. Though still slow to adoption amidst the crisis, there is a call from its people for a work revolution.

Otonari Labo was not born from the need to adapt to the pandemic, but rather out of the need to address a flaw in Japan’s work system for mothers. As shared earlier, there are multiple barriers mothers have to face.

“When Japanese females take maternity leave, circumstances often force them to decide to dedicate themselves to work or quit to continue child-raising. It is one or the other, and a mix between the two is not an option.”

With Otonari Labo, mothers discover and experience a third option. They find out that when there is additional help to depend on, mothers can concentrate on their career with their child nearby. What would have been considered irregular is now a choice.

“We want mothers to discover a new, alternative lifestyle by making good use of Otonari Labo.”

Experience a new workstyle at Otonari Labo

Otonari Labo also sees users coming from neighboring prefectures, like Osaka, Kobe and Shiga Prefectures. Users feedback that it is a refreshing feeling to work near their children. Even half of the mothers who used Otonari Labo’s office and seminars have been able to return to work in full capacity.

In a country looking for a work revolution in this era, we are witnessing a group of users discovering a new work style – working beside their children with additional hands, like the nursery that Otonari Labo provides. Undoubtedly, Otonari Labo will continue to accumulate success stories of its users discovering the option to choose both family and work.