Over 100 factory programmes set across Hiroshima and Okayama this November

From 4 to 22 November, the Setouchi Factory View 2026 will invite the public to visit 48 manufacturing businesses across Hiroshima and Okayama prefectures. These businesses will open their facilities to everyone over 19 days, and will feature more than 100 distinct programmes, allowing visitors to experience regional craftsmanship firsthand through factory tours, artisan workshops, and direct dialogue with makers.

The event has grown from 28 companies in two areas in 2025 to 48 enterprises across 12 municipalities in 2026. The locations include Fukuyama, Fuchu, Hiroshima, and Kasaoka. Participating manufacturers comes from industries, spanning woodworking, metal machining, denim and textile manufacturing, brewing, brushmaking, Buddhist altar construction, footwear, and signage. Approximately 20 percent of the 48 participating companies are enterprises in business for more than a century.

The schedule comprises 46 factory tours, 29 practical workshops, 27 product exhibitions, and 13 special events including community markets and panel discussions. Specific programmes include traditional calligraphy brushmaking with artisans at Bunkodo in Kumano, denim sewing and bag assembly at Nihon Delivery Service in Fukuyama, straw hat tailoring at Ishida Seibo in Kasaoka, and hanging scroll mounting demonstrations at Bijutsu Hyoso Kiseido in Hiroshima.

To open the 19-day period on 4 November, simultaneous symposiums will take place in Fukuyama and Hiroshima featuring seasoned open-factory organisers Kazuya Saito of Dots and Lines Inc. from Niigata Prefecture and Kotaro Kunimoto of Shikki Kunimoto from Toyama Prefecture, examining strategies to engage domestic and global audiences on a year-round basis.

Setouchi Factory View seeks to overcome the temporary nature of municipal festivals by anchoring industrial tourism permanently within the region. The event series was launched originally in 2019, and works toward making factories a landscape that everyone in this region aspires to, just like the sea and mountains. The model combines open workshops with educational seminars, student internships, and continuous regional travel. Furthermore, participating manufacturers observe that what is ordinary to their daily work can inspire visitors, altering internal perceptions of their trade.

The project has received national commendation, being cited in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s national open factory report and securing a corporate award at an event organised by the Kansai Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry.