RealEstate
Fri Feb 27,2015 0:00 am

Mitsui Fudosan to Establish Facility at Nihonbashi for Sending Out and Exchanging Information as Part of the Project to Support the Recovery of the Tohoku Region Watasu Nihonbashi to Open on March 3, 2015

Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
February 27, 2015
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

TOKYO, Japan, February 27, 2015 - Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd. will establish Watasu Nihonbashi on March 3, 2015 as part of its efforts to support the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. Watasu Nihonbashi started from the concept of “creating bridges of the heart between Minamisanriku and Nihonbashi and between people and the future.” It is Mitsui Fudosan’s first permanent facility for sending out and exchanging information to support the recovery of the Tohoku region from the Great East Japan Earthquake, including the town of Minamisanriku in Miyagi Prefecture.

The facility is comprised of the Watasu Café and the Watasu Room. The Watasu Café consists of two floors dedicated to dining and information dissemination, with a café that uses seasonal ingredients from Tohoku and an exhibition area for sending out information about sightseeing, events and more. Meanwhile, the Watasu Room is a floor for connecting the disaster affected areas and Nihonbashi through exchanges, including online learning support for children, events, workshops and other activities related to the recovery.

The facility realizes the aspirations of individual employees who were inspired to find a way of using Mitsui Fudosan’s resources in ongoing activities while having exchanges with the people of Minamisanriku. The implementation has focused on activities with Minamisanriku, however Mitsui Fudosan plans to expand both the content and area for exchanges going forward. Watasu Nihonbashi aims to contribute to supporting companies in the disaster affected area, as well as the children who will form the next generation of adults, by providing an opportunity for many people to learn about the area and expanding mutual exchanges with Nihonbashi. Mitsui Fudosan will support the recovery from Nihonbashi, which has a deep connection with the Tohoku seafood industry, having previously been home to a flourishing fish market during the Edo Period.


Floor Plan of Watasu Nihonbashi

■1F and 2F “Watasu Café” – floors for dining and information dissemination

A casual cafe provides an enjoyable setting for office workers and visitors in the Nihonbashi area

・Provides dishes using local seasonal ingredients

・Introduces local specialty products as well as sightseeing and event information

■3F“Watasu Room” - floor for exchanges

An exchange and event space designed for holding events and other activities related to the recovery

・Learning-support activities using a teleconferencing system to connect a classroom in Minamisanriku-cho Ritsushizugawa Junior High School mainly with university student volunteers from Tokyo serving as teachers

・Local produce exhibitions

・Exchange events, workshops and related activities with producers of local ingredients

■About the Name Watasu Nihonbashi
Watasu Nihonbashi incorporates various plays on words in Japanese with “Watasu” meaning “to cross” a bridge (Nihonbashi being also the name of the district’s famous bridge), “to increase harmony,” and “to widen the circle of one’s connections.” The name thus expresses a desire to create a bridge between Tohoku and Nihonbashi; to cherish the harmony between people, in particular harmony in the Japanese cultural sense; and to expand various networks connecting people.

■Facility Overview

First and second floors
Watasu Café – floors for dining and information dissemination

This will be a café space designed to provide the people of Tokyo with an opportunity to learn about the appeal of the Tohoku region, including Minamisanriku, and to encourage them to take an interest. The café will offer a menu that uses the local harvest of the sea and the mountains.

■Overview of Watasu Café?

Seating Approximately 30 seats
Operating times open seven days a week except over the year-end and New Year holidays Monday – Saturday 11:30 – 23:00, Sunday 11:30 – 18:00
Lunchtime 11:30 – 16:00, teatime 16:00 – 18:00
Dinnertime 18:00 – 23:00 (last order 22:00)
Example lunch menu: From ¥980 (dishes and prices may change)

・Watasu lunch ¥1,380
Ingredients from Sanriku arranged in Watasu style in a three-tiered lunchbox presented with a fresh, colorful visual appeal
・Sanriku seafood chowder ¥980
An original combination of seafood and vegetables combined in a hearty chowder
・Sanriku swordfish burger ¥980
And thick swordfish cutlet with avocado and tartar sauce in a specially made bun
・Fisherman’s curry ¥980
A curry sauce with a lashings of seafood presented with grilled vegetables

Dinner menu/
An original menu offering a fusion of Japanese and Western style dishes making generous use of local ingredients from Tohoku

■Third floor
The “Watasu Room” exchange floor

An exchange and event space designed for use in events and other activities related to the recovery. The facility will help to expand various events and activities, thereby widening the circle of exchanges.

■Main content

Learning-support activities

A classroom in Minamisanriku-cho Ritsushizugawa Junior High School will be connected with the facility via a teleconferencing system, and the specified non-profit corporation KID’S DOOR will provide learning support to the students. The teachers are mainly university student volunteers from Tokyo who have registered with the organization. The lessons are held after school as supplemental classes for third-year junior high school students. KID’S DOOR has sent out many teachers to the school to provide learning support, and will begin its first use of a teleconferencing system for this activity with the Watasu Nihonbashi project.

Cooperation: Specified non-profit corporation KID’S DOOR(HP:http://www.kidsdoor.net/)
Established in 2007, KID’S DOOR undertakes various activities such as providing learning support and career education support, especially to children in Japan, to realize a society in which all children in Japan can have a hope and dream for the future.


Events and Workshops Related to the Recovery

Mitsui Fudosan plans to hold events and workshops related to the recovery, such as exchanges with Minamisanriku, as well as exchange events between invited Tohoku food business operators and consumers. There will also be a section for speaking and lectures as part of mutual exchange activities with Nihonbashi.
Initial Schedule for the Opening of the Facility
March 3 (Tue) and 4 (Wed) “Minamisanriku-cho Produce Fair” (Presented by the Manamisanriku-cho Tourism Association)
March 7 (Sat) “Discussion Meeting for Considering Aging Care for Adults to Develop Long, Healthy Lives through Food”
(Held by the Shark Town Kessenuma Concept Promotion Association (Invitation only))

Mitsui Fudosan plans to provide appropriate information about the events at the facility and on the facility website (http:// www.watasu.net)

Facility name Watasu Nihonbashi
Location 5-8 Nihonbashi 1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Access 9 minutes’ walk from JR Tokyo Station
2 minutes’ walk from Nihombashi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line and Tozai Line, and from Nihombashi Station on the Toei Asakusa Line