Interview with Executive Officer Gotou Hiromu
Enjaya LLC is dedicated to town development in Soja City in various forms.
We interviewed Executive Officer Gotou Hiromu.
This interview is based on the content from the initial interview conducted in December 2023.
Founded a business with the motto "Small connections lead to big town development"
I want to know the background of starting Enjaya.
Gotou
Enjaya was established in 2020.
It was founded by four people: myself, who work in regional revitalization, Sano from "Kono," which is involved in tourism, Adachi who was working on vacant house projects, and Maeda who is engaged in agricultural lodging.
Basically, everyone has side jobs.
Enjaya is involved in town development projects from both hard and soft aspects, such as utilizing idle real estate and planning events.
The activity concept is "Small connections lead to big town development."
We think of starting from small local aspects like "There is this place, but can we do something?" or "I want to do this," and by starting without spending much money and increasing those efforts, we can achieve big town development.
At the time of establishment, the second floor of a building in front of Soja Station had been vacant for a long time.
Compared to the past, the number of shops in front of Soja Station has decreased, and it has lost its vitality.
Therefore, we made it our initial theme to utilize this second floor and create an opportunity to bring vitality back to the area in front of Soja Station.
The goal is to create a flow of people that gathers and circulates.
This led to the creation of the railway gallery Cross Point.
The revitalization of the area in front of Soja Station and the connection with a railway photographer that led to the birth of Cross Point
Why was Cross Point established in front of the station?
Gotou
There was a renowned railway photographer named Fujiyama Kanji from Okayama City.
He had collected many railway goods, but unfortunately, he passed away.
After that, his family consulted Adachi from our company about what to do with the railway goods.
Adachi, who serves as the representative of Enjaya, was also running an antique shop.
Thus, the idea was born to utilize Fujiyama's railway relics and turn the vacant property on the second floor of the building in front of Soja Station into a railway-themed space.
Upon investigation, we found that the Okayama area is like a "holy land of railway vehicles" with more active National Rail vehicles than other areas.
With the location in front of the station, the holy land of National Rail, Okayama, and the wonderful railway relics from Fujiyama, it is indeed suitable for a railway-themed space.
Moreover, children love trains, and there are many adult railway fans as well.
Therefore, I believe there will be intergenerational exchanges.
We also predicted that customers from outside the region would visit, and we could promote exchanges between the local community and outsiders.
Thus, in July 2020, Cross Point was born as a railway-themed exchange facility.
Cross Point was renewed in February 2025 into a rental space with a railway diorama.
Involved in town development projects in Soja from both hard and soft aspects
I want to know about other activities as well.
Gotou
Enjaya conducts town development projects not only in hard aspects but also in soft aspects.
For example, planning and managing events.
Representative examples include "Guruguru Kofun Club" and "Kofun Mystery Tour," which utilize the characteristics of Soja, known for its many burial mounds.
Additionally, there are events such as marche and night picnics held irregularly at the birthplace of Sesshu.
On the hard side, there is a rental space called ADORIBA that opened in September 2022 inside Soja Station.
The station master's room of the Ibara Railway at Soja Station had been vacant for a long time.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, JR West Japan had rented it, but they stopped using it due to the pandemic, leaving it vacant again.
At that time, Enjaya was consulted about how to make good use of the station master's room.
Originally, Enjaya's work was about utilizing idle real estate for town development.
Thus, we came up with the idea to use the station master's room as a rental space.
By having various uses in the station master's room, we thought it could create an opportunity to bring vitality to the area in front of the station.
In reusing the station master's room, we collaborated with students from Okayama Prefectural University and asked them to design wooden benches and other items.
We wanted to create a slightly different atmosphere that had not existed at Soja Station before.
Additionally, ADORIBA has Wi-Fi and power outlets, so it can be used for small meetings, seminars, study sessions, and discussions.
Previously, cooking was not allowed, but we obtained permission for café operations, allowing us to set up a coffee stand.
Soja is a place where people naturally gather and collaborate when trying to do something
Please tell us about future challenges and things you want to try.
Gotou
One challenge in operations is, of course, financial.
When Cross Point was established, we raised funds through crowdfunding.
Thanks to that, we collected more than double the planned amount.
Additionally, Soja City has a "citizen proposal-type project," and we are applying for that as well.
If our proposal is adopted, we can receive subsidies.
In this way, we are always thinking about how to save funds effectively.
Another issue is the manpower.
However, Soja has many interesting people.
Therefore, when trying to do something, people naturally gather and collaborate.
This is very appreciated.
We also have students from Okayama Prefectural University help with events.
Another problem is that, as mentioned earlier, all members of Enjaya have their main jobs, so even though there are many things we want to do, we struggle with a lack of time.
So, we want to create a system that effectively utilizes time, manpower, and funds to continue doing what we want to do.
Railway gallery Cross Point located in the holy land of railway vehicles and the town development company Enjaya
Cross Point, located in front of Soja Station, known as the holy land of National Rail vehicles.
It is a place where both children and adults can enjoy if they have even a little interest in trains.
Please do visit.
Additionally, various events held by Enjaya, which is dedicated to town development in Soja, are all enjoyable.
How about visiting an event at Enjaya?
Cross Point was renewed in February 2025 into a rental space with a railway diorama.
Data on Enjaya LLC (Soja Cross Point)
Prices include tax
| Name | Enjaya LLC (Soja Cross Point) |
|---|---|
| Location | 1-2-1 Ekimae, Soja City, Okayama Prefecture (2nd floor) |
| Contact | 090-6419-1402 |
| Parking | None Please use the coin parking inside Soja Station |
| Opening Hours | 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM * Irregular business mainly on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (reservations required) For business days, please refer to the official website or official Instagram. |
| Closed | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, irregular holidays For business days, please refer to the official website or official Instagram. |
| Admission Fee (including tax) | [Private Use] 1 hour: 6,000 yen 2 hours: 10,000 yen 3 hours or more: 15,000 yen [Rental Layout] 1 hour: 800 yen/line * Reservation required |
| Payment Methods |
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| Reservations | Available Use is by reservation only |
| Smoking | Completely non-smoking |
| Restroom | Western-style toilet |
| Website | Town Development Company Enjaya |
