At Roopt, we not only recruit residents, but we also hold events from time to time to let more people know about share house living and the charms of Miyagi Prefecture. This time, we'll be talking about the "2nd Roopt MEET UP," which was held for three days from July 22nd (Fri) to July 24th (Sun), 2022!
The first Roopt MEET UP, held in April 2022, had many participants who were visiting Miyagi Prefecture for the first time, so a coordinator guided them to help them discover the charms of the town. However, this time, many participants had ties to Miyagi Prefecture, so the event was more in line with the "MEET UP" spirit, allowing everyone to enjoy the town from their own perspective and share their experiences with each other.
Please read this report to find out how the participants enjoyed themselves.
To briefly explain Roopt MEET UP, it's an event where you can experience life in a port town in Miyagi Prefecture while staying at one of Roopt's locations. As of August 2022, the event takes place in Shiogama City, Higashimatsushima City, and Ishinomaki City, where Roopt has locations, and is held to let participants learn about the charms of Roopt and Miyagi Prefecture through walking tours and interactions. The first event was held in April 2022, and the second in July of the same year.
participants
Five people from Tokyo, Fukushima, and Sendai participated in the second Roopt MEET UP. Although they were all meeting for the first time, they seemed to get to know each other well over the three days.
The three-day meet-up proceeded according to the following schedule:
Day 1: Friday, July 22nd 12:00 Orientation & Share House Tour @Roopt Shiogama Kaigandori 13:30 Lunch 14:30 Free time 18:00 Check-in & Share House Tour @Roopt Higashimatsushima Shintomei 19:00 Social Gathering @Roopt Higashimatsushima Shintomei Day 2: Saturday, July 23rd 11:00 Relaxing & Lunch @Irodori no Oka 14:00 Ishinomaki Town Tour 16:00 Check-in & Guest House Tour @Roopt Ishinomaki Izumicho-OGAWA- 16:30 Free time 19:00 Social Gathering @Roopt Ishinomaki Izumicho-OGAWA- Day 3: Sunday, July 24th 10:00 MEET UP Summary @Roopt Ishinomaki Izumicho-OGAWA- 10:30 Dismissal & Free time
As mentioned earlier, this MEET UP included plenty of free time, allowing participants to enjoy the city and shared house life in their own way.
We gathered at Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori, went through a brief introduction and orientation, and then, as is customary at MEET UP events, we gave a detailed explanation of Roopt's renovations. The renovations incorporated many interesting and ingenious ideas, and the participants seemed to listen to the explanation with great interest.
As we were all getting hungry, we headed out for lunch! At "Harema," a cafe created by renovating the former Ebiya Ryokan, a 140-year-old inn, we were able to enjoy a meal and have a good chat.
We had planned a guided tour of Shiogama town by our coordinator, but it was suddenly canceled due to heavy rain, and we were left to explore on our own. We reported our locations to each other via the LINE group and even ran into some people by chance at our destinations, making it a fun time that felt like a group activity despite being free time.
Incidentally, the coordinator enjoyed leisurely viewing the artwork at the Sugimura Jun Museum of Art in Shiogama City.
After enjoying the town of Shiogama, we took the JR Senseki Line from Hon-Shiogama Station to Tōmei Station and checked into Roopt Higashi-Matsushima Shin-Tōmei, our accommodation for the first day. We gave them a tour of the shared house, just like we did at Roopt Shiogama Kaigandōri, and they seemed surprised by its size, with 9 bedrooms and a living room/dining room/kitchen (9LDK).
The first day concluded with a social gathering in the living room of Roopt Higashimatsushima Shin-Tomei.
Since it was the first day, we played a board game as an icebreaker, and it was a huge success! Everyone forgot their age and innocently enjoyed the board game (lol). After the get-together, everyone relaxed and seemed to continue chatting until late into the night even after the coordinator had left.
The second day started off quite leisurely.
Mitsuhiro Sato, nicknamed "Mittsu," an intern at Maki-gumi, prepared breakfast, and everyone went for walks and worked. Even though it was a meet-up, it felt like everyone was spending a normal weekend morning, which was reassuring for me as the coordinator.
Our first destination on the second day was "Irodori no Oka" (opened in 2021), a multi-purpose facility operated by a medical corporation. It's a unique facility that combines clinics, nursing care facilities, cafes, restaurants, hot springs, bedrock baths, and all kinds of relaxation amenities.
This meet-up was all about "respecting freedom." As soon as we arrived, we split into two groups: one going to the hot springs and the other to the cafe. After that, we had a relaxed two hours, each of us having lunch at our own pace. A beer after a bath sounds delicious!
We'll travel from Tōmei Station to Ishinomaki Station on the JR Senseki Line, and then our Ishinomaki city tour will begin! Ishinomaki's city center is compactly packed with interesting things and shops, making this a course that allows you to experience the charm of Ishinomaki in a condensed way.
I visited the following spots and shops.
FIND YOUR STAY
Please feel free to contact us for any inquiries regarding accommodation reservations, move-in consultations, viewing appointments, media inquiries, etc.
inquiry
