お知らせ - ホテル、街づくり、高齢者施設の企画・設計・コンサルティング｜アトリエ・天工人(テクト)

First in Western Japan! Denpaku” on Amami-Oshima Island has acquired the international eco-label “Green Key” -Aiming to operate accommodation facilities friendly to nature, villages, and people in Amami~.

Denpaku” (headquartered in Amami City, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan / Yasuhiro Yamashita, President), which is engaged in community development in the Amami Islands, has been awarded two Green Keys, an international eco-label, for its four accommodation facilities and the “Margun Plaza” complex.
Green Key” is an international eco-label awarded to environmentally friendly hotels, restaurants, and capping facilities. The Green Key” is an international eco-label that is given to eco-friendly hotels, restaurants, and capping places, etc. This time, the newly built accommodation facility “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA” and the renovated accommodation facilities “Denpaku Old Private House” (Kasari area only), “Denpaku Amami Hotel” and “Denpaku Friendly” were awarded the Green Key in two categories: accommodation facilities (general category) and accommodation facilities (small category with 15 rooms or less). We were able to obtain the “Green Key” eco-label for two categories of accommodation facilities (general category) and accommodation facilities (small category with 15 rooms or less).
Taking the opportunity of this eco-label acquisition, we will continue our environmental efforts to protect Amami’s rich nature and village culture from overtourism and to operate accommodation facilities that are close to Amami’s nature, villages, and people.

Outline of Green Key certification

The Green Key eco-label was awarded to two categories of accommodation facilities (general category) and accommodation facilities (small-scale category with 15 rooms or less) in each category: newly built accommodation facilities and accommodation facilities based on the concept of renovation.
・Newly built accommodations: Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA
・Renovated accommodations: Denpaku Old private house (Kasari area only) / Denpaku Amami Hotel / Denpaku Friendly

About Green Key

Green Key is an international eco-label for environmentally friendly hotels, restaurants, camping sites, etc. In 1994, with the support of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Green Key was launched as an eco-label system for hotels in Denmark. The Danish Ecolabel is an international eco-label for hotels, restaurants, camping sites, etc. It was started in 1994 as an eco-labeling system for Danish hotels, with the support of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.
To obtain the eco-label, hotels must meet at least 80 of 94 criteria, including reduction of water and energy consumption, reduction of waste, and use of organic products. Green Key’s eco-label criteria also include those related to management and communication, and it is unique in its emphasis on promoting environmental education to all those involved with the hotel, including employees, guests, and suppliers. In addition, the Green Key is valid for renewal every three years, making it essential for hotels to continuously address environmental concerns.

【Award】Denpaku, a lodging facility on Amami Oshima Island, received the “Best Luxury Resort Architecture in Japan 2022” award for its design and community development efforts.

Yasuhiro Yamashita (President of Atelier Tekuto Co., Ltd. and Amami Innovation Co., Ltd.) has won the “Best Luxury Resort Architecture in Japan 2022” at the Luxury Lifestyle Awards 2022 for his “Denpaku” accommodation facility and restaurant & bar on Amami Oshima. Luxury Lifestyle Awards 2022, for “Best Luxury Resort Architecture in Japan 2022”. This is the first time Amami Oshima has received this award.

The award was given to “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA” and its restaurant and bar “2 waters”.
Denpaku” started in 2016 with “Denpaku Old Folk Houses” based on the concept of “handing down the island’s traditional and legendary architecture and village culture to the next generation,” followed by “Marun Plaza + Denpaku Amami Hotel” as a center for interaction between villagers and tourists, “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA”, a newly built luxury villa resort hotel, and a wide variety of other facilities. This year’s award recognized the company’s “contribution to building a cooperative relationship with the local community by designing buildings and landscapes that harmonize with the local community, while taking into account the social structure of the area.
We will continue to work toward the realization of “a society where no one is left behind” through community development that preserves village culture and nature through people-to-people exchanges.

What are Luxury Lifestyle Awards?

The Luxury Lifestyle Awards, which have been running for 14 years since 2008, are global awards that evaluate more than 5,000 products in more than 400 categories from 120 regions around the world to select the best products and services. The awards are judged on a total of nine criteria, including reputation, reliability, creativity, brand recognition, and excellence. It is said to be the [world’s most prestigious award] that selects the best brands in various fields, from five-star hotels such as Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont to small stores.　*We will also ask Mr. Yamashita to double-check with the other two Japanese winners.

Yasuhiro Yamashita, Representative, Award Comment

I believe that the village culture inherited in my hometown Amami Islands and the people who have carried it on are precious treasures that we should be proud of to the world, and I have been working on community development through the operation of “Denpaku” and “Magun Hiroba. Today, we are the largest private enterprise in the northern part of Amami Oshima, and many local residents and businesses are involved in our activities. We believe that this recognition will encourage our employees and local community members to take pride in our culture, and to strive to maintain it with even greater ambition and initiative. We will continue to deepen our cooperation with the local community to realize sustainable tourism and to pass on the beauty of Amami.

Evaluation comments by the judges (excerpts)

Atelier Tekuto Inc. believes in designing buildings and landscapes that harmonize with the local community while taking into account the social structure of the region and building cooperative relationships. The luxury project being developed on Amami Oshima Island embodies this commitment and contributes to the creation of a healthy community.

On Amami Oshima Island, blessed with nature and culture and designated as a World Natural Heritage site in July 2021, many villages are in a state of crisis, with abandoned old houses and the destruction of local communities due to excessive tourism. Amami Innovation Corporation, headed by Yasuhiro Yamashita, has been working to renovate and revitalize the region and now operates restaurants, facilities for the elderly, products and galleries, and ample lodging facilities.

The award-winning facilities are making a significant contribution to the maintenance of the Amami Archipelago’s diverse village culture that has persisted for hundreds of years.

Award-winning facilities

・Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA” and “2 waters
(Project details：https://yamashita-yasuhiro.net/）
Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA, which had its grand opening in July 2019, is a luxury villa resort facility located on Amami Oshima, a World Natural Heritage site blessed with rich forests and beautiful ocean. Under the concept of “Dialogue with Nature on the Island,” the villa offers a lodging experience that allows guests to forget the hustle and bustle of daily life and adjust the depths of their minds through the great nature spreading out through the glass windows. This was followed by the opening of the “2 waters” complex in April 2021, which includes a restaurant & bar, pentagonal infinity pool, and accommodation reception.

【Award】 Received the Excellence Award at the 12th Regional Revitalization Awards -Awarded for activities to enhance the appeal of the island by utilizing traditional island architecture and vacant houses.

On January 30, 2022, Amami Innovation Corporation, which is engaged in community development in the Amami Islands which is engaged in community development in the Amami Islands, has received the [Excellence Award] at the 12th Regional Revitalization Awards sponsored by 46 local newspapers and Kyodo News.

The award was given in recognition of the company’s efforts to enhance the attractiveness of the community by reusing vacant traditional island houses and former supermarket facilities as lodging facilities, dining halls, senior citizen facilities, cram schools, and other community interaction centers.

We will use this award as an opportunity to expand recognition of our community development activities, and at the same time, we will work with local residents to realize a society in which “no one is left behind” by returning profits to the community.

What is the Community Revitalization Award?

The award was established in 2010 by 46 local newspapers and Kyodo News to recognize organizations that have achieved success in activities that energize and enhance the attractiveness of their communities. The awards are intended to support organizations that are taking on the challenge of solving regional issues such as population decline, aging, disparities, and disasters. In the fall of each fiscal year, newspapers and other media nominate a total of 50 organizations as candidates for the Grand Prize. After screening the nominations and conducting on-site surveys, the selection committee determines the Grand Prize, Runner-up Grand Prize, Block Prize, and Excellence Prize at the end of the year. The winning organizations’ efforts will be reported in newspapers and on the Internet from various perspectives. (Quoted from the Regional Revitalization Awards website)

Click here for the Regional Revitalization Awards website

【Publication information】Featured in “CREA Traveller”.

Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA was introduced in the May 1, 2023 issue of “CREA Traveller: In Search of Ultimate Wellness, Awakening Thailand / Amami Oshima: A Journey to the Islands for Gastronomy.

The article features the one-night-only dinner held by JAL Local Gastronomy Trip “Fly to the Table – A Journey of Flavors”.

Thank you very much for the wonderful text, photos, and the fascinating article on Amami Oshima.
Please take a look at the article.

Denpaku was featured in “Asa da! Tabi Salad” featured Denpaku.

Denpaku was introduced in the April 8, 2023 broadcast of “Asa da! Tabi Salad” on April 8, 2023.

The program introduced the charms of Amami Oshima Island in a wonderful video.
You can watch the streaming video you missed on TVer.
The streaming will end at 15:00 on Saturday, April 15.

Click here for TVer

【Publication information】Featured in “Hanako”.

Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA was featured in the February 28, 2023 issue of “Hanako: Tradition and Style Encountered on Amami Oshima. Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA” was introduced in the magazine “Hanako: Tradition and Style Encountered in Amami Oshima” on February 28, 2023.

Thank you very much for the wonderful text, photos, and the fascinating article on Amami Oshima.
Please take a look at the article.

Denpaku’s facilities were provided as a filming location for the NHK cooking program “Dining with the Chef”.

Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA, Denpaku Old Folk Houses, and Margun Plaza were offered as filming locations for “Dining with the Chef,” an authentic English-language NHK cooking program from Japan that presents the philosophy, worldview, and appeal of Japanese cuisine to foreign viewers from a variety of perspectives.

In the program, we also commented a little on the community development efforts of Denpaku.

This is a learning program that unravels the profound culture of Amami Oshima’s traditional cuisine with food experts and producers.
It is available on NHK On Demand.
Please watch it as an opportunity to learn more about Amami Oshima.

（Watch Dining with the Chef Amami-Oshima vol.1 [NHK]:https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2019331/）

（Watch Dining with the Chef Amami-Oshima vol.2 [NHK]:https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2019330/）

【Publication information】Featured in “Ima, ikitai nihonnoakogare hotel best100 2023ver”.

Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA was introduced in the mook book “The Best 100 Hotels in Japan You Want to Visit Now [2023 Edition],” which features 100 of the latest resort hotels and inns carefully selected from all over Japan.

Thank you very much for introducing us with your nice text and photos.
The article is featured on the cover, the door picture in the table of contents, and 4 pages of the magazine.
Please take a look at the article.

【Finished】 Representative Yasuhiro Yamashita speaks at the Inbound Summit 2022

On Saturday, July 2, 2020, Representative Yasuhiro Yamashita spoke at “Inbound Summit 2022,” an online event organized by the Inbound Summit Executive Committee. The “Inbound Summit 2022” was a large-scale online event held for tourism businesses and local governments across Japan with the aim of raising the strategic importance of inbound tourism in Japan. With three other speakers, “Does Sustainable Tourism Really Need to be Tackled?” and held a session on the attractiveness and future of tourism in Japan and the importance of sustainable tourism.

Details of the “Inbound Summit 2022” session

●Date: Saturday, July 2, 2022, Term 3, 17:40 – 18:40
●Session theme: “Sustainability” – Do we really need to work on sustainable tourism? –
●Speakers:
Ryo Ito – Manager, Business Promotion Management Group, Planning and Coordination Office, Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)
Wang Chen – Representative Director, ENtrance
Yuuki Iwaasa, Associate Professor, Taisho University
Yasuhiro Yamashita – Architect and President, Denpaku + Kogei Co.

What is “Inbound Summit 2022”?

A large-scale online event for tourism operators and local governments across Japan, aimed at raising the strategic importance of inbound tourism in Japan. 120 key tourism players took the stage and more than 4,000 viewers attended the event.

（Click here for the official Inbound Summit 2022 website:
：https://inbound-summit.com/）

（Archived Videos / “Sustainability” – Do we really need to work on sustainable tourism? ~：https://youtu.be/U2_huj7iclA）

【Publication information】Featured in “Visit Kyushu”.

Denpaku Old Private House” was introduced by “Visit Kyushu,” a web media which provides tourist information to foreign countries.
Thank you very much for the wonderful article and photos.
Please take a look at the article.

Click here for the article on Visit Kyushu

【Publication information】Featured in “HONEY”.

Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA” was featured in the beach style life magazine “HONEY” ~EARTH AWESOME / How beautiful the earth is! 〜(May 26, 2022 issue/Vol.33) introduced “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA”.

【Publication information】Featured in “Research Report 5 of Aichi Prefecture’s “2021 International Tourism City Function Development Research Project”.

Our accommodation facility “Denpaku The Beachfront MIJORA” was featured in the research report 5 of Aichi Prefecture’s “FY2021 International Tourism City Function Development Research Project”.

Click here for the research report of the 2021 International Tourism City Function Development Research Project, Aichi Prefecture.