At Roopt, in addition to recruiting residents, we regularly hold events to introduce many people to the charm of share house living and Miyagi Prefecture. From these events, this time we will report on the "2nd Roopt MEET UP" held for three days from July 22nd (Fri) to July 24th (Sun), 2022!
The 1st Roopt MEET UP, held in April 2022, had many participants who were visiting Miyagi Prefecture for the first time, so our coordinators guided them to discover the charm of the town. However, this time, as many participants had ties to Miyagi Prefecture, the event was fitting for a "MEET UP" where everyone enjoyed the town from their own perspective and shared their experiences.
Please read through this report to find out how the participants enjoyed themselves.
To briefly explain the Roopt MEET UP, it is an event where participants "experience life in Miyagi's port towns while staying at various Roopt locations." Held in Shiogama City, Higashimatsushima City, and Ishinomaki City, where Roopt has bases as of August 2022, the event aims to introduce the charm of Roopt and Miyagi Prefecture through town walks and interactions. The 1st event was held in April 2022, and the 2nd in July of the same year.
Participants
A total of 5 people from Tokyo, Fukushima, and Sendai participated in the 2nd Roopt MEET UP. They were all meeting for the first time and seemed to have become close over the three days.
The 3-day MEET UP proceeded with the following schedule:
Day 1: July 22nd (Fri) 12:00 Orientation & Share House Tour @Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori 13:30 Lunch 14:30 Free Time 18:00 Check-in & Share House Tour @Roopt Higashimatsushima Shintome 19:00 Social Gathering @Roopt Higashimatsushima Shintome Day 2: July 23rd (Sat) 11:00 Relax & Lunch @Irodori no Oka 14:00 Ishinomaki Town Tour 16:00 Check-in & Guest House Tour @Roopt Ishinomaki Izumi-cho-OGAWA- 16:30 Free Time 19:00 Social Gathering @Roopt Ishinomaki Izumi-cho-OGAWA- Day 3: July 24th (Sun) 10:00 MEET UP Wrap-up @Roopt Ishinomaki Izumi-cho-OGAWA- 10:30 Departure & Free Time
As mentioned earlier, this MEET UP had a longer free time, allowing participants to enjoy the town and share house life in their own way.
Gathered at Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori, we completed a brief self-introduction and orientation, and then, as is customary for MEET UP (?), explained Roopt's renovations. The renovations incorporated many interesting ideas, and the participants seemed to listen to the explanation with great interest.
As we were getting hungry, we all went for lunch! At "Harema," a cafe created by renovating the former Ebiya Ryokan, a 140-year-old inn, we were able to communicate deeply while enjoying our meal.
We had planned a Shiogama town tour with the coordinator from this point, but it was suddenly canceled due to heavy rain, and we switched to free time. It was an interesting time, like a group activity even though it was free time, with everyone reporting their locations in the LINE group and even meeting by chance at their destinations.
By the way, the coordinator enjoyed a leisurely art appreciation at the Shiogama City Sugimura Jun Museum of Art.
After enjoying Shiogama, we moved from Hon-Shiogama Station to Tona Station on the JR Senseki Line and checked into Roopt Higashimatsushima Shintome, our accommodation for the first day. We gave a share house tour, similar to Roopt Shiogama Kaigan-dori, and everyone seemed surprised by its large size of 9LDK.
The first day concluded with a social gathering in the living room of Roopt Higashimatsushima Shintome.
As it was the first day, we played board games as an icebreaker, and it was a huge hit! Everyone forgot their age and innocently enjoyed the board games (lol). After the social gathering, everyone seemed to have opened up and continued talking until late at night even after the coordinator left.
Day 2 started quite leisurely.
Mitsuru Sato, a Makigumi intern, prepared breakfast, and everyone went for a walk or worked. Even though it was a MEET UP, it seemed like they were spending a normal holiday morning, which was reassuring for the coordinator.
The first destination on Day 2 was "Irodori no Oka" (opened in 2021), a multi-purpose facility operated by a medical corporation. It's a unique facility that combines clinics and nursing homes with cafes, restaurants, hot springs, and bedrock baths, offering all kinds of relaxation.
This MEET UP was all about "respecting freedom." As soon as we arrived, we split into hot spring and cafe groups, and then had lunch at our own pace, making for a relaxed two hours. Beer after a bath also looked delicious!
We moved from Tona Station to Ishinomaki Station on the JR Senseki Line, and the Ishinomaki town tour started right away! Ishinomaki's city center has interesting things and shops compactly gathered, making it a course where you can get a digest of Ishinomaki's charm.
We visited the following spots and shops:
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