2022 Volume 41 Issue 3 Pages 105-114
This study considers the development of Albergo Diffuso (hereinafter referred to as AD) in Yakage, Oda District, Okayama Prefecture. AD is an attempt to revitalize an entire area by utilizing vacant houses scattered throughout a town as an integrated hotel. This approach has attracted attention as a method of regional revitalization in an era of population decline. In Japan, Yakage is the first town to be certified as an AD town. This study shows that activities were not initially performed with AD in mind; on the contrary, these activities created the opportunity for AD. A practitioner initially created persons involved in this business under the name of “the whole town as a hotel” while unraveling traditional relationships in the area. Subsequently, practices accumulated by each person managing resources created the conditions for AD. The redefinition of the business as “AD” created a major change in the perceptions of attractions of the area and of the area itself, and is priming further possibilities. This study traces the process leading to AD certification in Yakage and considers some implications of this process.
