This Is a Commons,
Not a Hotel
Årc yakushima is a living practice ground for the Commons Economy.
We work to bring nature, art, and the everyday acts of living into society as shared commons, so that people can express themselves naturally. Staying here means becoming part of that circulation.
Express Yourself, Naturally.
When we are surrounded by beautiful nature, we return to a more natural self, free from the roles and pressures we carry.
We are often caught in roles, rushing, making ourselves look bigger or smaller than we are. Here, we set down the mode of the city for a while and simply become as we are. From that place, we express what naturally arises.
That expression becomes a kind of art, created by each person in their own way. We wanted to create a place for people living in cities to become natural expressers again. Årc began from that wish.
And Årc itself is also our art.
CORE PHILOSOPHY
WHY COMMONS ECONOMY
Some Things Are Lost
When Everything Is Left to the Market.
Tourism, housing, work, mobility, the natural environment, and local relationships. When all of these are left entirely to market logic, the beauty and richness of life and place can quietly disappear behind convenience and profit.
By building businesses around these things through the values of the commons, Årc seeks to strengthen sustainability and cultivate a society where it is easier for people to live naturally.
Co-Owner & Co-op
Operated Through a Co-op Model with Co-Owners
He designs and provides Transformative Trips®, journeys of learning and transformation. He has been working as an organizational development and human resource development consultant and professional coach for 19 years. In the past, he was a molecular biology researcher.
He will start the Årc project in 2021 as part of the Tokyo Yakushima Project.
Suguru Murakami
OD and HRD Consultant
Transformative Trip® Designer
We are engaged in various profit-making and non-profit activities to update the world to one where money is no longer needed. #Autonomous decentralization #Circulation #Overlap #Sustainability #Organization #Management #Real estate #Money #Finance #Economy #Politics #Democracy #Regional revitalization #Community #Blockchain #Web3 #DAO
Kozo Takei
Social Activist / Social Systems Designer
Our vision is to "create a world where we can facilitate together." Creating a place where people can learn from each other and create new things. Our job is to increase the number of people who can create such places.
Takahiro Watanabe
Facilitator
He loves people and the Earth, and is interested in unlocking their potential. He is also an expert in energy, finance, and management. He has been involved in managing multiple companies in Japan and Australia, and is engaged in activities to breathe new life into people, organizations, and the Earth, and to create a regenerative society. He lives in Tokyo.
Hirokazu Suzuki
Regenerative Systems Designer
Join the Circulation
Stay as Co-Resident.
Your Stay Circulates Back Into the Commons.
Spend your retreat time at Årc. Staying here is not simply about using a room, facilities, or receiving services. The money you pay becomes part of the circulation that sustains Årc as a commons, supports artists, and keeps our Commons Economy practices alive in the local community.
But money is only one way to take part. You might share a meal or a car with someone, help a little in the garden or fields, share your knowledge and experience, leave shared spaces and tools ready for the next person, or return to the city as a more natural version of yourself and change something small in your everyday life.
These small acts, layered over time, help make Årc and the local community not places to be used and consumed, but commons that are created and sustained together.
A shared kitchen and workspace where encounters naturally happen.
You can hear the river flowing through the commons. Spend time on the deck upstream, or step into the river itself.
From the forest-view single rooms, the mountains and forest feel close beside you.
Group Private Stay
Hold a Retreat at Årc
With Your Group.
The Co-Owner who designed Årc specializes in training programs and Transformative Trip®. Drawing on past experience as a program organizer, Årc was designed with group retreats in mind.
Årc can be reserved for private group stays, including retreat programs, trainings, team off-sites, and creative projects.
Årc-hosted retreat: “Creating Your Authentic Work”
Expression born from a genuine inner desire does not always come with market value or commercial potential. Living as an artist in society is not easy.
At Årc, we see what is created through natural, honest expression as part of the commons. Through this program, we support artists by offering opportunities to stay and create.
Artist residency program
Årtist in Commons
Supporting Art as a Commons.
Commons in Practice
Our Projects
Årc is not a place that only speaks about ideas. Through concrete issues in Yakushima, including housing, cleaning work, mobility, local currency, art, and international networks, we develop projects that put the Commons Economy into practice.
Local Coop Housing
With the increase in international tourists and the expected launch of direct flights from Tokyo, the conversion of homes into accommodations is accelerating. This is deepening an existing housing shortage. Without places for workers and families with children to live, both the local community and tourism itself may become unsustainable. We feel a strong sense of urgency about this.
As one response, this project aims to form a cooperative with local residents, businesses, and supporters from outside the island, and to create rental housing that helps sustain everyday life in the community.
Cleaning Coop
As mentioned above, the conversion of homes into accommodations and the increase in lodging businesses are rapidly increasing demand for cleaning work and competition in hiring. This can lead to rising wages across industries, hiring difficulties, and eventually affect the sustainability of businesses that are necessary for the local community.
This project aims to create a business cooperative made up of multiple lodging operators and cleaning workers, building a system where cleaning work is shared through cooperation rather than competition, creating stable and sustainable work.
Mobility Commons
Tourists often find island public transportation inconvenient compared with cities. For local elderly residents and others who cannot drive, mobility can also become a serious challenge. At the same time, island conditions make solutions difficult, including driver shortages, the recovery of infrastructure investments, and adaptation to new technologies.
We believe that if local residents’ private cars and travel opportunities are seen as part of the commons and shared through ride-sharing, they could meaningfully complement existing transportation.
Local Currency
A gift economy without money, such as sharing vegetables or fish, or helping one another, is part of island culture. At the same time, many things not produced on the island must be imported from outside, creating a structure where money easily flows out instead of circulating locally. When external logistics are disrupted, the situation can become critical. The difficulty of sustaining ferry services, which are essential for transporting goods, has already become a visible issue.
As an approach to encourage money to circulate within the island, this is a local currency project started by a group of local businesses.
Sauna Coop
A regenerative sauna was being built on shared land at Årc, but the project has stalled due to the operating company’s financial situation. Over time, we have heard many hopes and words of support from local residents and Co-Residents who wanted to see the sauna completed. We also feel the sadness of seeing the plan disappear. At the same time, we currently do not have enough resources to build, manage, and operate a sauna ourselves.
This project aims to make the sauna a reality by forming a cooperative, led mainly by local people, to jointly manage a public sauna.
New Commons Ground
Wonderful people who resonate with the idea of the commons come to Årc from across countries and cultures. We feel deeply grateful for these encounters. If these people were to gather and create a new commons together, what kind of creativity might emerge? We believe it would become a beautiful place, one that this world truly needs.
This is a project to create a new practice ground for the commons somewhere in the world, together with Co-Residents we have met at Årc.
Articles
Notes from Årc
Årc continues to change little by little through our daily practices, failures, learnings, and questions.
where we are
Local Area & Getting Around
Located on the southern coast of Yakushima, Årc offers a quiet and warm setting that's ideal for retreats and longer stays. The area is also popular with people who have chosen to make Yakushima their home. Within walking distance, you'll find cafés, local restaurants, and a farm stand selling fresh vegetables. Just a 5-minute drive away are Onoaida Onsen, Hirauchi Kaichu Onsen, supermarkets, and other everyday essentials.
Årc is approximately 35 minutes by car from Yakushima Airport, or about 1 hour by bus (a 6-minute walk from the nearest bus stop, Koidomari). It is also accessible by bus from both Miyanoura Port and Anbo Port.
