On the second floor of "Anou Onsen," a public bathing facility located in Anno-machi, Tsu City, is an antique store and co-working space that is involved in community revitalization. A 15-minute drive from there is a ramen shop where you can enjoy "Tsu gyoza," the largest deep-fried gyoza in Japan, and a space where you can play board games. We want to liven up the community! We enjoyed workingcation at three places called
We want to keep things interesting in Anno Town! An antique store and co-working space on the second floor of a bathing facility.
Anno Town, Tsu City, Mie Prefecture, is a small town located in Aki County in the central region of Mie Prefecture, and was merged into Anno Village in 1955 by the merger of four villages: Kuso, Murashu, Anno, and Meiai.
In the town of Anno, there is a public bathing facility called "Anou Onsen," which has a coworking space on the second floor, so I decided to work there in the morning.
On the second floor of Anou Onsen are the store and gallery "Anno Antique Tool Store," and the co-working space "DEER KICK LABO". Together, these two are called "Anou Labo.
Mr. Moriya, representative of Anou Labo. Mr. Moritani said, "We want to create a place where people can think, 'I want to visit, be involved in, and live in Anno Town,' while imagining what Anno Town will look like 10 years from now through the activities of Anou Labo.
Anou Labo has two functions: "DEER KICK LABO," which functions as a workplace, and "Anno Antique Tool Store," which functions as a place to express, showcase, interact, and experience. The Anno Antique Tool Store is a place for various artists to showcase their works, and some customers come here just for the sake of this place.
First, he would like to focus on bringing customers to Anno Town, and in the future, he would like to do more than just stores.
When there are no customers, you can easily talk with Mr. Moritani about community development and events, so please visit Anno Antique Tool Store if you want to get new work tips and insights.
Next to Anno Antique Tools Store is the co-working space "DEER KICK LABO," which is available for 500 yen per hour and includes a desk, chair, power supply, Wi-Fi, and a black-and-white copy machine. There is really nothing else (not even background music), making it the perfect space for those who want to concentrate and work well.
Here, we will take care of the paperwork that has been accumulating.
If you have time, the bathing facilities on the first floor are available for 300 yen, and we recommend taking a bath after work.
I want to enliven the community with a B-class gourmet meal born out of school lunches!
After working for about two hours, I was hungry and headed to the ramen shop "Itaro" about 15 minutes away by car. My goal was to try the Tsu Gyoza, which won the Gold Grand Prix at the 2019 B-1 Grand Prix in Akashi.
Here is Tsu Gyoza. Big!
These fried dumplings are made with a 15 cm diameter skin.
The recipe was created by a nutritionist in Tsu City before the municipal merger, and is still served at elementary school lunches, where it is a very popular dish among children.
A group called "Tsu City Genki University" has been working to revitalize the local community by making Tsu gyoza a local delicacy, and it is now available at several restaurants in Tsu City.
Each restaurant has its own unique recipe, and the Tsu gyoza at Itaro was based on a school lunch recipe with ramen broth and was very juicy.
One of the popular school lunch menu items in Tsu City is not only Tsu gyoza, but also "chicken rolls. The master of "Itaro" wanted to have it as a memento of school lunch, so he asked the cook who was making chicken rolls at the time for the recipe and made it into a product. It takes a lot of time and effort to make them, but he continues to make them because they are truly enjoyed by the locals.
Also, the "Curry Tsukemen," which used to be a limited summer menu item, has become a year-round item because many customers wanted to try it year-round. Since the noodles are handmade and must rest for 36 hours, the number of noodles sold per day is limited, but it is a must-try dish for those who love curry.
Both the chicken rolls and curry dipping noodles were excellent.
Mr. and Mrs. Mori of Itaro. They started their restaurant in November 1999, so it has been 23 years. It is a comfortable restaurant loved by local people.
Master Masaaki Mori is the second generation representative of the "Tsu Gyoza Association" and has accepted the position of president in the hope that he can play some role in making Tsu City a more prosperous place.
On Saturdays and Sundays, many people visit from outside the city and prefecture for Tsu gyoza. They are very happy that people who go sightseeing to Ise or Shima stop by Tsu City instead of just passing through. If you come to Tsu City on a work vacation or business trip, please enjoy Tsu gyoza and ramen at Itaro.
I want to use board games to connect people and build community!
After enjoying ramen and Tsu gyoza, we went to Tsu Center Palace, a 3-minute drive from "Itaro".
The Tsu Civic Activity Center, located on the third floor here, has a free space and Wi-Fi access, so I do some simple work here.
Just next to Tsu Center Palace is the Daimon shopping street, where you can also buy Japanese sweets and other souvenirs.
After finishing up work, from 5:00 p.m., we head to SANTAS, a board game space just a 3-minute drive from Tsu Center Palace. It is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, but for 300 yen per hour you can enjoy board games with the store staff and customers who come there.
SANTAS aims to "use board games to create connections between people and build community," and even customers who have never met each other before can have fun and get to know each other through games. You can go alone to play games, or you can go with your friends or colleagues to get to know each other better. Playing games also activates the brain, giving rise to new ideas and reducing stress.
After three hours of fun at SANTAS, this workcation came to an end.
By setting aside time to concentrate on work at an unusual location, eating a delicious meal, and finishing with a refreshing play at the end of the day, the workcation provided energy for the next day.
An example of how to spend your time
Day 1 (day trip)
10:00 Arrive at Anou Onsen.
I will do some paperwork at "DEER KICK LABO" and take a peek at "Anno Antique Tool Store".
13:00 Lunch at "Itaro".
14:00 Check e-mails and prepare documents at "Tsu Civic Activity Center".
Buy some souvenirs at Daimon shopping street.
17:00 Enjoy board games at board game space "SANTAS".
20:00 End of workday
Facilities
Anno Antique Tool Store
2F Anno Koryu Kaikan, 51-3 Higashikannonji, Anno-cho, Tsu, Mie 514-2326, Japan
DEER KICK LABO
2F Anno Koryu Kaikan, 51-3 Higashikannonji, Anno-cho, Tsu, Mie 514-2326, Japan
Ramen Itaro
4-20 Marunouchi, Tsu City, Mie 514-0033, Japan
Tsu Civic Activity Center
3F Tsu Center Palace, 7-15 Daimon, Tsu, Mie 514-0027, Japan
Board game space "SANTAS"
16-3, Higashimarunouchi, Tsu, Mie 514-0028, Japan