Okeiko.com Okayama is a community that connects people with their region and aims to enrich their lives. In November 2023, it made a fresh start with the concept of “Revitalize the region and enrich people’s lives.”
It is run by Okimura Maiko, representative director of the general incorporated association moko’a, which has worked on regional revitalization projects throughout Okayama Prefecture, and Kobayashi Miki, vice representative director of the general incorporated association moko’a.
Many people in the region feel attached to their community but do not know where to start, or have skills but do not know how to put them to use.
Okeiko.com Okayama was reborn under Okimura’s leadership as a community that connects people with their region.
On Sunday, February 11, 2024, the new Okeiko.com Okayama held an event to share its vision: “Okeiko.com Okayama Launch Event: Tsunagerunja.”
Let’s hear from Okimura and Kobayashi, who have focused their work on the region, about the future regional society Okeiko.com Okayama hopes to create.
In November 2025, the community’s name was changed to “TUMUGU. Okayama.”
This article uses the name “Okeiko.com Okayama,” which was in use at the time of the interview.
The information presented here is as of the article’s publication in February 2024. Please note that it may differ from current information.
What is Okeiko.com Okayama?
What kind of community connects people with their region and aims to enrich their lives?
Here is an introduction to Okeiko.com Okayama.
Overview of Okeiko.com Okayama
Okeiko.com Okayama is a community whose motto is “Revitalize the region and enrich people’s lives.” It aims to advance projects that revitalize the region by bringing together people with diverse skills and having them work collaboratively.
People who want to do something for their region or put their skills to use come together and carry out activities that draw on their individual skills to enrich life in the community.
The community also takes on projects to address challenges that cannot be solved with one person’s skills alone, with members contributing their individual strengths.
Okeiko.com Okayama is a community where people who care about their region can thrive by making the most of their individuality.
The people behind Okeiko.com Okayama
Okeiko.com Okayama is run by Okimura Maiko and Kobayashi Miki, who have worked to revitalize communities in Okayama Prefecture.
Here is an introduction to the backgrounds of these two women, who have been deeply involved in community activities.
Okeiko.com Okayama operator Okimura Maiko
Okeiko.com Okayama is run by Okimura Maiko.
Okimura is the representative director of the general incorporated association moko’a, which works on community development led by local residents, mainly in southern Okayama Prefecture and southeastern Hiroshima Prefecture.
From 2016, she served for three years as a Community Revitalization Cooperator in Asakuchi City. From 2018, as an executive officer of NPO Minna no Shuraku Kenkyujo, she worked to address challenges facing communities and settlements throughout Okayama Prefecture.
Drawing on her experience in community development, she runs Okeiko.com Okayama, a project that connects people with their region.
Kobayashi Miki, Vice Representative Director of the General Incorporated Association moko’a
Kobayashi Miki is a “traveling photojournalist on a Cub.”
Kobayashi’s beloved motorcycle is the Super Cub, which has remained popular ever since Honda (Honda Motor Co., Ltd.) launched it in 1958. She shares photos on Instagram of the scenery she encounters on her travels with her bike.
She has more than 10,000 followers and, in addition to writing, provides social media management support and gives talks.
Kobayashi also served for three years from 2017 as a Community Revitalization Cooperator in Asakuchi City. She runs the general incorporated association moko’a together with Okimura.
At Okeiko.com Okayama, she supports Okimura’s work and also serves as an advisor on sharing information about community activities.
“Okeiko.com Okayama” and the “Okeiko.com Community”
The Okeiko.com Community was established in Hiroshima Prefecture in 2008 as an organization to support women starting businesses. It began with the aim of creating opportunities for women to start businesses, as their living circumstances can change significantly through marriage and childbirth.
Its activities later expanded to other prefectures, including Okayama and Oita.
Around spring 2023, the organization restructured itself under the concept “Doing as a team what you cannot do alone,” with the aim of expanding its support beyond women entrepreneurs to a wider range of people working independently.
At that time, Okimura realized that the team community’s strengths could connect people with diverse skills to their region and help enrich it, so she volunteered to run Okeiko.com Okayama.
As of January 2024, its activities had expanded beyond Hiroshima Prefecture to a total of six prefectures, including Fukushima and Mie.
Okeiko.com Okayama made a fresh start in November 2023, embracing the concept “Revitalize the region and enrich people’s lives.”
Activities and members of Okeiko.com Okayama
What you can do with Okeiko.com Okayama
Okeiko.com Okayama is a membership-based community.
After joining, members first have an individual meeting with Okimura to discuss how to move their projects forward.
After that, participants meet once a month for an online regular meeting to review the past month and set goals for the next one. They share their project progress and goals with other members.
Apart from the regular meetings, there are no assigned roles or tasks. A distinctive feature of Okeiko.com Okayama is that members can participate freely in ways that suit their individual strengths and projects.
Other services and activities available to members of Okeiko.com Okayama include:
- Publicizing events and individual projects on the website run by Okeiko.com
- Taking part in seminars held by Okeiko.com Okayama or the Okeiko.com Community (free or at a member rate)
- Consulting about challenges that arise while working on a project
- Launching new projects with other members
- Taking on corporate projects and other opportunities
Members can develop their projects independently and freely, while also expanding their connections with others. They can use the resources they need and move their projects forward at their own discretion.
You can join Okeiko.com Okayama for a monthly fee of 3,300 yen (tax included).
Members of Okeiko.com Okayama
The members who are active in Okeiko.com Okayama have a wide range of backgrounds and diverse skills.
They include fashion coordinators, restaurant owners, and people who work for companies while taking part in community activities on their days off. People with different lifestyles and ways of working are active in one community.
Members can consult the organizers and fellow members with extensive experience and a wide range of skills about questions that arise when pursuing community activities as a business, such as how to approach local issues or how to put their skills to use.
Even challenges that were difficult to tackle alone may have a solution when you draw on the strength of a team community.
Another distinctive feature of Okeiko.com Okayama is that people can join regardless of whether they have experience starting a business.
As of January 2024, 14 members were working to enrich life in their communities.
Okeiko.com Okayama Launch Event: Tsunagerunja
On Sunday, February 11, 2024, an event was held at Miharashi Plaza in Kita-Nagase Mirai Fureai General Park to share the vision of the renewed Okeiko.com Okayama.
The event was called “Okeiko.com Okayama Launch Event: Tsunagerunja.”
It consisted of three parts, divided into the following sessions:
| Session | Description |
|---|---|
| The New Okeiko.com Okayama | What Okeiko.com Okayama aims to achieve |
| Okeiko Organizers’ Talk Session | The Okeiko.com community and collaboration with Okeiko.com groups outside Okayama |
| A Big Networking Event Connecting People and Communities | A networking event for members to get to know one another and make connections |
The event aimed to reaffirm the vision of Okeiko.com Okayama as it embarked on a new chapter and help members deepen their understanding of one another.
Many people attended, including not only aspiring entrepreneurs but also representatives from businesses and government. The event marked a first step toward people involved in the region working together.
What circumstances led Okeiko.com Okayama to make this fresh start with a renewed sense of purpose?
We also asked Okimura and Kobayashi about their hopes for the future.
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