Changing Characteristics of Hoyo-jo in Yamanakako Village, Yamanashi Prefecture

Abstract

 The purpose of this study is to clarify changes in the management characteristics of Hoyo-jo and local conditions related to their decline in Yamanakako Village on the foothills of Mt. Fuji, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. A Hoyo-jo in Japanese means a lodging facility owned by companies or governmental bodies that provide resort accommodations for their employees. After World War II, many Japanese companies and their health insurance unions established Hoyo-jo in order to improve the benefits provided to employees. In Yamanakako Village, large corporations and government agencies had built about 1,000 Hoyo-jos by the early 1990s. The Hoyo-jo are divided into two types based on their management features: Kashi-ryo and Chokuei-ryo. A Kashi-ryo is rented from local residents. A Chokuei-ryo is directly managed by corporate or governmental owners. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, some companies and their health insurance unions decided to discontinue Hoyo-jo without consulting their local managers. Since the abolition of Hoyo-jo, there have been distinctive changes in the patterns of the households in terms of their management. Most households that formerly managed Kashi-ryo continue to live in the building because they own the land and buildings. In contrast, in most cases of former Chokuei-ryo, the land and buildings are unused. Hoyo-jo played an important role in the development of tourism during the decades of the 1960s to the 1990s. Therefore Yamanakako Village will have to re-examine the role of Hoyo-jo for the sustainable development of tourism.