Source: Peatix

Entrepreneurs from Toyama and the Tokyo metropolitan area gather together for the "NAKASAI Festival"!

NAKASAI FESTIVAL is a meetup that connects startups, businesses, and entrepreneurs from the Tokyo metropolitan area and Toyama Prefecture.
NAKASAI means "between people" in Toyama dialect. The event is being held as an initiative to connect and promote collaboration between entrepreneurs and managers in Toyama Prefecture and the Tokyo metropolitan area.

This will be the 13th event in the series, which will begin in July 2023. Players who are involved in Toyama or want to be involved will gather on the day!
With players joining us online from Toyama, we will have a long talk about the projects we are currently working on and our future prospects.
Enjoy a talk session that will cover developments and new possibilities in Toyama from a variety of perspectives.

During breaks along the way, light meals made with Toyama ingredients will be served!
After the talk session, there will be a social gathering where famous Toyama sweets will be served!

Would you like to join us in envisioning the future of Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture teeming with growth and rich in resources, especially food?

<Date>
Wednesday, February 18th 11:30-14:15
*Reception starts at 11:00

<Location>
SHIBUYA QWS (15F Scramble Square, 2-24-12 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo)
*When visiting the venue, we ask that you please cooperate with health and hygiene management.

＜Recommended for these people＞
Entrepreneurs, people considering starting a business, and supporters who fit the following criteria:
・People from Toyama Prefecture
・People who have some kind of connection to Toyama Prefecture
・Those who are considering contributing to Toyama Prefecture
Anyone who wants to utilize their skills and ideas in the local community!

<Participation Fee>
Light meals, snacks and drinks included (free)
*Please see the "Participation Precautions" below for important information regarding allergies.

<Time Schedule
11:00 Reception begins
11:30 Event start
11:30-11:40 Opening
11:40-12:10 Talk Session ①
12:10-12:35 Lunch break, networking
12:35-13:05 Talk Session 2
13:05-13:35 Talk Session ③
13:35-13:45 Closing, commemorative photo
13:45-14:15 Networking
14:15 Closing

<Talk session speakers (in no particular order)>
◆Talk Session 1: Q-reation recipients talk about the current state of the challenge to connect Toyama and the Tokyo metropolitan area
Keiichiro Kataoka (CEO of Jizoku Co., Ltd. / Representative Director of Co., Ltd.)
Tomoya Iwasaki (INNFRA Co., Ltd.)

◆Talk Session 2: From meeting to co-creation. A story of how collaboration was born and grew
Takuhisa Hashimoto (CEO, Hashimoto Kiyoshi Co., Ltd.) *Online presentation
Nozomi Ichikawa (Co-representative of Death Fest General Incorporated Association)

◆Talk Session 3: The future of entrepreneurship envisioned from the countryside. The potential of Toyama as a field
Ippei Usui (CEO of Shukatsu Radio Co., Ltd.) *Online appearance
Satoshi Kanaya (President and CEO of LX DESIGN Inc.) *Online appearance
Yuta Watanabe (Logue Shift)
Tatsuo Ishii (CEO of SAIL Co., Ltd.)

<Facilitator>
Azusa Kawahara (CEO of Potage, Community Accelerator)
Yuji Fujita (Co-founder and CEO of Peatix Japan Inc., CMO of Peatix Inc.)

​
Toyama Prefecture Metropolitan Headquarters

⚠️ Important notes for participation
・Participation is free of charge.
・Please see here for access to the venue.
・Number of people recruited: Approximately 20 people
・If the event registration limit is exceeded, a lottery will be held. In addition, depending on the situation, the application process may be suspended or terminated without notice. Please be sure to apply as early as possible.
・This event will provide boxed lunches, snacks, and drinks, but we cannot accommodate individual requests for allergies or dietary restrictions. As we cannot fully control the ingredients and cooking process, if any of these apply to you, we ask that you refrain from eating at your own discretion or bring your own food.
・We will send you information about the event participation guidelines via email and Peatix message, so please be sure to check them.
If you are cancelling, please be sure to contact Potage in advance by replying to the Peatix message and stating "Regarding the cancellation of the NAKASAI Festival."
・Please note that we may take photos and videos of the event for record-keeping and publicity purposes.
・Participants will be responsible for transportation and parking fees.

■ Event management
[Organizer] Toyama Prefecture Metropolitan Headquarters

[Production] Potage Co., Ltd.
*As part of its production collaboration, Potage is handling recruitment, promotion, contact points, and personal information management for this event.
*Personal information provided at the time of application will not be used for any purpose other than this project.

[Venue provided by] SHIBUYA QWS

■Speaker profiles (in no particular order)

Keiichiro Kataoka (CEO of Jizoku Co., Ltd. / Representative Director of Co., Ltd.)
Graduated from Hitotsubashi University Faculty of Economics.
While still a student, he founded the general incorporated association Co. and developed a carbon credit creation business. After graduating, he founded Jizoku Co., Ltd. and took over the business of the general incorporated association Co.

Tomoya Iwasaki (INNFRA Co., Ltd.)
Born in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture in 2000. After graduating from the Graduate School of Economics at Hitotsubashi University, he joined INNFRA, which he had been involved with since its founding. He is engaged in business development of off-grid infrastructure that does not require connection to power lines or water pipes. He lives in Bunji Dormitory, a shared house in Kokubunji.

Takuhisa Hashimoto (CEO, Hashimoto Kiyoshi Co., Ltd.) *Online presentation
Born in 1982, Hashimoto Kiyoshi is the third generation owner of Hashimoto Kiyoshi Co., Ltd., a wholesaler of Shinto and Buddhist altar implements in Takaoka City, Toyama Prefecture, which has been in business for over 80 years. While inheriting the techniques and spiritual culture of traditional crafts, including Takaoka Buddhist implements, he is committed to developing modern Buddhist implements and memorial items that fit the values and lifestyles of the times. He has launched projects such as "#SilenceLAB" and "Wabi-Sabi Pot®," which redefine Buddhist implements for modern life, not simply as religious items, but as a place of "prayer," "tranquility," and "spiritual support." He continues to practice connecting culture to the future. He promotes the appeal of Buddhist implements on social media under the name "Hashimoto Botanical," pioneering new sales channels and possibilities for traditional industries.

Nozomi Ichikawa (Co-representative of Death Fest General Incorporated Association)
Co-representative of Death Fest General Incorporated Association
Founder of the non-profit company Polaris
Master of Social Design, Associate Certified Fundraiser of the Japan Fundraising Association

After graduating from Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior College, she joined Dentsu International Information Services Inc. (now Dentsu Institute of Technology). She left the company upon giving birth and worked at a Setagaya childcare support NPO providing "stakeholder-driven, circular" childcare support. In December 2010, her plan was selected in the Cabinet Office's Regional Employment Creation Business Plan Competition, leading to the founding of the nonprofit Polaris Co., Ltd. The company's business, which aims to create a society in which people can choose diverse work styles, was recognized, and the company won the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Women's Empowerment Promotion Award (Regional Division Grand Prize) in 2019. In 2016, she took over as CEO and entered Rikkyo University's Graduate School of 21st Century Social Design, where she plays a role in connecting practice and research.
In 2023, he established Maeve LLC as a place to promote more experimental projects. Currently, with the theme of "well-being in life and death," he continues to propose diverse views on life and death and new options to society through Death Fest and Living Lab from Death.

Ippei Usui (CEO of Shukatsu Radio Co., Ltd.) *Online appearance
During his school days, he devoted his youth to basketball, and was so passionate about it that he even competed in the Inter-High School Championships.
Immediately after graduating from university, he served as the third-generation representative of a surveying consulting company, but resigned to start a startup based in his hometown of Toyama. He has been involved in job hunting and recruitment support for the past six years. In 2025, he released "AI Talentee," pioneering a new market of "value-based matching" rather than the existing condition-matching type of recruitment. He raised 70 million yen in funding within six months of the service launch. In his private life, he is also a father of four children.

Satoshi Kanaya (President and CEO of LX DESIGN Inc.) *Online appearance
Born in 1990, he is the eldest son of a family of teachers in Toyama Prefecture. After graduating from Toyama Prefectural Takaoka High School and Tokyo Gakugei University's Faculty of Education, he worked as a classroom teacher at a public elementary school in Tokyo before founding LX DESIGN Inc. in 2018. He provides "Fukugyo Sensei®," an external human resources matching service specializing in education that enables people with side jobs to get involved in school education. Together with a community of over 2,500 people from 20 countries, he is dedicated to eliminating loneliness and creating a culture of enriching learning.

Yuta Watanabe (Logue Shift)
Graduated from the Master's program at the University of Tokyo Graduate School. Joined a payment startup as a new graduate. Engaged in a wide range of tasks, from B2B sales and marketing to HR system design, recruitment, and service launch. Currently working semi-independently while working as a company employee. Engaged in podcast production and recruitment consulting.

Tatsuo Ishii (CEO of SAIL Co., Ltd.)
After graduating from the Faculty of Education at Saitama University, he worked as an elementary school teacher in Saitama City for five years. After working at Kadokawa ASCII Research Institute, Inc., he started running the "Self-Directed Learning Guidance School SAIL" cram school for elementary and junior high school students and the practical entrepreneurial lab "LIGHTHOUSE" in Omiya Ward, Saitama City in 2023.

Main stage host of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Education Event
Kadokawa ASCII Research Institute, Entrepreneurship Education Producer
Selfwing Co., Ltd., Certified Instructor/Trainer
Official supporter of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Entrepreneurship Education Program "TiB Students"
Producer of Yokohama City Business Management Experience Program
A practitioner of entrepreneurship education, he has conducted workshops and spoken at many events across Japan.

■Event producer/facilitator

Azusa Kawahara (CEO of Potage Inc., Community Accelerator)
Representative Director of Potage and Community Accelerator. After working for companies such as Fujitsu and Nifty, he became the event coordinator for the event house-style restaurant "Tokyo Culture Culture" in 2008. He is involved in the management of over 200 events per year. From 2013 to 2016, he was stationed in San Francisco. After returning to Japan, he produced numerous business communities for companies such as NHK, Ito En, Kokuyo, Omron Healthcare, Suntory, and Tokyu. In the spring of 2020, he went independent and founded the guild-based team "Potage," where he works as a community accelerator, planning events and designing corporate communication.

He is the author of "A Textbook on Creating a Community that Cultivates Fans and Grows Businesses" (Diamond Inc., co-authored with Yuji Fujita). He is a key opinion leader for COMEMO, an opinion media outlet for the Nikkei Inc. He is an official influencer on LinkedIn, and a director of Koto Co-Creation Lab, a general incorporated association that promotes open innovation in large companies.

Yuji Fujita (Co-founder and CEO of Peatix Japan Inc., CMO of Peatix Inc.)
Graduated from Keio University. After working in sales at Intelligence Co., Ltd. (now Persol Career Co., Ltd.), he joined Amazon Japan Co., Ltd. (now Amazon Japan G.K.) in 2003. As the youngest manager at the time, he oversaw sales for the marketplace business before founding Orinoco Co., Ltd., the predecessor to Peatix. After overseeing the domestic community manager team, he concurrently served as head of sales and marketing. In June 2019, he was appointed CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), overseeing community management and marketing for all of Peatix. In May 2025, he was appointed Representative Director of Peatix Japan Co., Ltd., and also served as CMO of Peatix Inc.

Nikkei COMEMO Key Opinion Leader. LinkedIn Certified Influencer. Author of "A Textbook on Creating a Community to Cultivate Fans and Grow Your Business" (Diamond Inc.).

Venue