Dedication to the children who will create the future of Kito.
The phrase “Children live in the future, and they are our future.” was inspired by an expression that cartoonist Osamu Tezuka once expressed about children.
The “MIRAI (future) CONBINI” is named after this phrase.
We hope that children, who will play a leading role in the future, will be exposed to many cultures and values,
and that they will be stimulated and nurtured to develop their sensibilities.
We are conducting various activities that naturally bring children together and make them smile.
Shelves designed for children to easily reach
Shelves in Mirai Convenience Store are designed to be lower than in typical convenience stores.
The main reason for this is the “children’s perspective”.
After countless simulations, this height was chosen so that children can easily reach the products.
Kito’s senior residents have also expressed positive feedback, commenting that it is “Easy to understand!” and “Easy to reach!”.
Moreover, thanks to these low shelves, the inside of the store feels spacious.
Even the staff find themselves smiling as they naturally hear cheerful conversations from the cafe in the back of the store.
Events for children to enjoy
The children of Kito grow up in a rich natural environment surrounded by mountains and rivers.
We plan and conduct a variety of events to give these children diverse experiences and opportunities for stimulation.For example, we held the event “The Sea is Coming to Kito!” in collaboration with Mugi, Tokushima, a town of the “sea” not found in Kito. We planned the event so that children could enjoy the relationship with a fellow Tokushima village and life amongst the sea’s bountiful blessings.
In “Kito and Mugi Quiz”, Kito’s children demonstrated their deep knowledge of the village and love for the local community. They overflowed with questions about sea-related work, such as spiny lobster fishing and fishing in the winter, showing their fervent interest in the different lifestyle.
In the future, we would like to continue planning stimulating events to give children experiences not possible in Kito.
Sharing the history of the former elementary school site
Mirai Convenience Store is built on the former site of Kitagawa Elementary School.
With the desire to gather residents under one roof and revive memories of our past place of learning, we created an exhibition that chronicles the school’s history with the cooperation of local residents and village supporters. Displayed on drawing boards actually used in the elementary school are excerpts from the commemorative book Ishidate that describes Kitagawa Elementary School’s history and invaluable photographs of school buildings and the like from that time, alongside real textbooks used from around the late 1950s and early 1960s.”