Did you know there is an event where you can receive valuable coupons for dining and shopping, allowing you to support recovery efforts in a fun and easy way?
As a recovery support event for the heavy rain disaster in July 2018, a stamp rally event called "Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally" using the free smartphone app "Porkun" was held from March 15 to June 16, 2019.
During the event period, not only can you get valuable coupons, but by collecting stamps from five or more participating stores, you can also win local specialty products and luxurious prizes in a lottery.
This is an event where you can enjoy a great deal even during Golden Week or a short outing on holidays.
In the latter part of the article, we interviewed the organizing company, "People Software Co., Ltd.", to hear about their recommended tour routes and their thoughts on planning recovery support events as a local company.
Please be sure to read through to the end of the article.
What is the 2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally?
The "2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally" is an event where you can visit 21 stores, including restaurants and shops in Mabi, Yakage, and Soja, and collect five or more stamps to win local specialty products and luxurious prizes in a lottery.
Coupons for discounts and other offers will also be issued at 16 stores.
Stamps can be collected by downloading the free smartphone app "Porkun" and actually visiting the stores to operate the app.
Let's connect the stores that have been able to resume operations to regional recovery
This event was planned by "People Software Co., Ltd.", headquartered in Kurashiki City, with this thought in mind.
Participating stores in the 2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally
The "2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally" features a wide range of stores, from restaurants to shops and convenience stores.
The participating stores are as follows.
- Wohl Wollen
- Henkotsu Udon Mabi Branch
- Sanuki Udon Kawahara
- Taro's Shop
- Seven-Eleven Mabi-cho Yatada Store
- FamilyMart Mabi-cho Yatada Store
- Seven-Eleven Mabi-cho Ozaki Store
- Shokukobo Tsuo
- Handmade Udon Iori
- Watermill Village Fruitopia
- Bicchuya Choeimon Restaurant Yura
- Yakage Hojo Akatsuki no Kura
- Yakage Machiya Exchange Center
- Yakageya INN & SUITES
- Mushroom
- Connecting Cafe [Sen]
- Freshly Baked Bread Specialty Store Ippondou Okayama Soja Store
- Bakery Tonguu
- Cafe Konon
- Marumi Koji Main Store
- Oni Bikkuri Manju Main Store
This includes 21 stores, including those that have resumed operations after being affected by the disaster in Mabi, Yakage, and Soja.
Specialty products and prizes available in the 2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally
In the "2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally," by downloading the free smartphone app "Porkun" and collecting stamps from five or more participating stores, you can win specialty products and luxurious prizes from Mabi, Yakage, Soja, and more in a lottery.
▼Prize A (can apply with 10 stamps)▼
| Prize | Number of Winners |
|---|---|
| Chiyagyu Beef Roast | 3 people |
▼Prize B (can apply with 5 stamps)▼
| Prize | Number of Winners |
|---|---|
| Yakageya Bamboo Kaiseki Course Pair Meal Voucher | 1 group |
| Samakuru Okayama Red Roof Olive Oil Variety Set | 1 person |
| KAMOI KAKOSHI CO., LTD. Masking Tape Set | 3 people |
| Usagiya Sharbo X (Ballpoint Pen) | 3 people |
| Marumi Koji Main Store Miracle Miso Miracle Amazake Set | 3 people |
| Theori Co., Ltd. HOLLOW Single Flower Vase | 5 people |
| Yakage Machiya Exchange Center Yakappy Goods Set | 10 people |
| Brazilian Park Washuzan Highland Free Passport (Pair) | 10 groups |
The event period is from March 15 to June 16, 2019, with the application deadline on June 23.
Since the period is set long, you can take your time to visit.
Please be sure to visit more than five places and try to win prizes.
Next, we spoke with three members in charge of Porkun at "People Software Co., Ltd." about the motivation for the Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally and recommended tour routes.
Interview with three members of People Software Co., Ltd.
From left, we spoke with Miyuki Yamahata, Takahiro Ikeda (Executive Director), and Hiroaki Yamamoto (Sales Division Manager) from People Software Co., Ltd. (hereafter referred to as People).
The motivation for holding the Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally
Please tell us about the background of holding the Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally.
Ikeda
For 37 years, People has been working as an IT company, selling technical skills in Okayama, but when the heavy rain disaster occurred in July 2018, we felt powerless because we couldn't contribute through our systems even during a disaster.
After the heavy rain, as something we could do, we first donated 1 million yen to Kurashiki City as disaster relief funds.
However, even though we are a Kurashiki company, I kept thinking whether it was enough to just end with a donation of 1 million yen, something that any company could do.
If we were going to spend 1 million yen anyway, I wanted to create something that could generate an economic effect of 2 million or 3 million yen.
So, I thought we should involve not just ourselves but also other companies to hold a recovery support event, and decided to hold the 2nd Tour Rally.
I am truly grateful to the 14 companies and organizations that supported and endorsed this initiative. I want to do my best to carry out this event.
By the way, the first event had a wider scope and was partially funded by subsidies, but this time it is solely organized by People.
Please tell us the reason for choosing the spring season.
Ikeda
I commute through Mabi, so I have been feeling day by day that stores are gradually reopening and the lights in the town are starting to come on.
Although some stores have decided to reopen despite the difficulties, I was worried about whether the management of the stores would be okay, as many people are still living in temporary housing or staying with relatives.
Because there are stores, residents can return, and because there are customers, the stores can sustain their operations, so I wanted to support the reopened stores.
That said, while the repair of the embankments is progressing rapidly, it is not yet complete, and the recovery levels of those affected vary, so I also thought it might be a bit early.
However, more than six months have passed since the disaster, and opportunities for media coverage and the number of volunteers have decreased, and it seems that the situation is starting to fade a bit. I thought it was important to let people know about the current situation and to have them come and experience it, so I decided to hold the event at this time.
Yamamoto
If it were for profit, we would consider attracting customers to specific stores, but this time we were thinking about recovery support and attracting customers to the area.
Recently, during a TV interview where the "Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally" was featured, a representative from one of the participating stores said something very encouraging.
"Rather than asking you to come to our store, we would be happy if you could just visit Mabi."
Everyone felt the same way, and I thought it was good that we planned this event.
I want to connect this feeling to "many people coming from outside the area, visiting multiple places within the area, and hopefully becoming repeat visitors."
I would be happy if they could actually visit and feel what the local situation is like, and since other stores not participating in this event are also working hard, I hope this can be an opportunity for people to visit overall, regardless of whether the event is happening or not.
Recommended tour routes for the 2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally
This time, since it is a "tour," please tell us if you have any recommended routes.
Ikeda
I will talk about a course that you can enjoy with your family and children.
First, eat udon at "Henkotsu Udon" in Mabi, then enjoy strawberry picking at "Watermill Village Fruitopia" in Yakage.
Near Fruitopia, there is the "Yakage Town Comprehensive Sports Park", so you can enjoy spring and play there.
Finally, I recommend buying vegetables at "Yakage-juku Open-Air Market Kirari" so you can prepare dinner before heading home.
Yamamoto
I recommend everything (laughs), but the route I actually visited recently was to buy bread at "Bakery Tonguu" in Soja and have a picnic at "Makibi Park."
You can feel the history at the "Makibi Memorial Hall" or see local specialties at "Takenoko Chaya," which is also interesting.
Finally, I recommend taking a break at a convenience store participating in the event before heading home (laughs).
Yamahata
In Soja, after visiting Marumi Koji Main Store, which held a recovery appreciation event in March, and the impactful "Oni Bikkuri Manju Main Store," I would suggest stopping by "Cafe Konon" and "Connecting Cafe -Sen-" in front of Soja Station.
I hope people will know that there are fun spots and hardworking spots even in the disaster-affected areas of Mabi, Yakage, and Soja and that they can enjoy themselves easily.
About the app "Porkun" used in the Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally
Has the number of app downloads or the usage of coupons changed through the tour rally?
Yamamoto
The number of app downloads achieved the planned target in one month instead of three months.
Since the start of the tour rally, the number of downloads for "Porkun" has been significantly higher than expected, and I am surprised by the response.
I think the difference from last year's first event is in the feelings involved.
It’s not just about providing systems or tools; I feel that the chain of feelings is leading to the response.
Ikeda
Coupons are distributed through the app, but some people may think of not using them intentionally as a form of disaster recovery support.
However, I think it would be great if they could connect to disaster recovery support by "buying a lot" or "coming again."
The usage of coupons is accumulated as performance data, which becomes valuable data for stores to manage better, and this also leads to disaster recovery support.
Oh, and please rest assured that the performance data cannot identify individuals (laughs).
Yamahata
As the person in charge of the tour rally this time, I strongly feel the desire to support recovery.
I think it’s amazing for those who can directly help by participating in disaster volunteer activities.
But I believe there are also people who want to do something even if they cannot help directly.
I feel happy thinking that "maybe we are providing a trigger for those people."
The app "Porkun" used in the Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally is not only for this event but can also be used in the future. What are your thoughts on future prospects?
Yamahata
Currently, the number of listed stores in Okayama Prefecture for "Porkun" has exceeded 400.
It can digitize store stamp cards, and even stores that do not have paper stamp cards can easily try it, so more stores are starting to adopt it.
There are many users in Okayama, and since there is a function for visit stamps, I would be happy if stores that have not yet adopted it could use it as well.
Ikeda
Users may download and use the app as a result of this event, but since it lists various stores in Kurashiki and Okayama, I hope they will also visit those stores.
People has entered its 37th term, but when we celebrate our 30th anniversary, I realized that "Have we done anything for our local area, Okayama and Kurashiki?" and the answer was not much.
As a part of People’s philosophy, we have decided to contribute to the local community in the future, and "Porkun" was born from that.
Honestly, when viewed as a "business," there are challenging aspects in terms of profitability.
However, many employees of People are from Okayama, so I hope we can all work together to nurture and promote "Porkun."
Conclusion
The "2nd Takahashi River Basin Tour Rally" is a new form of disaster recovery support that can be enjoyed while walking around the town.
Even those who cannot go to volunteer can easily support recovery.
The stamp rally, where you can enjoy delicious food, play, and possibly win luxurious local products and prizes, will be held until June 16, 2019.
Please visit Mabi, Yakage, and Soja during the Golden Week and the upcoming holidays.
First, download "Porkun" and see what stores are listed.
