Until the end of March, Mariko Kawaguchi, who worked as a principal researcher at the Daiwa Institute of Research Group, had been studying corporate activities for realizing a sustainable society and ethical consumption from the perspective of consumers. The members of BIOSTYLE Co.,Ltd., who run GOOD NATURE STATION, met Mr. Kawaguchi at the “Innovation Curator School” organized by Kyoto City's Institute for Social Innovation (SILK), and occasionally came into contact with him. I have received various advices. The other day, when I visited Kyoto the first time I went to GOOD NATURE STATION and stayed at the hotel. I heard your impressions.

A space where you can feel the feel of wood

"I feel so comfortable walking barefoot." Kawaguchi first talked about the feel of the guest room floor in the morning of the hotel.

Kawaguchi: "I was surprised. It was wasteful to wear slippers. There is no surprising space where you can feel the tactile feel of wood. I thought the effort was very good and when I put on my slippers, it was very comfortable. "

GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO is a place where you can experience the concept of “GOOD NATURE” in everything from touching the skin to space. Natural wooden floors, which are easily damaged, are considered unsuitable for hotels, but we intend to repair them as necessary so that they can be "aged" over time. You.

Kawaguchi: "In addition, most of the hotel's linens are crisp and glued, but this hotel is different. The towels are fluffy, and the sheets and gauze pajamas are very gentle on the skin, so I always stay in bed. It's a good idea to show the comfort of the whole room in a more understandable way. "

As pointed out by Mr. Kawaguchi, GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO has all the linens in the guest rooms made of soft materials. "This feeling cannot be conveyed by words alone. The feeling of 'Please come and touch'." It seemed that you could experience "enjoy the space with your five senses".

How do you tell the moment when your five senses wake up?

GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO, explanations of indoor furniture and equipment are kept to a minimum so that customers can taste the space with their own five senses. Kawaguchi commented, "It's very nice that there is no improper intrusion," but also points out that "you should have a way to know when you have a question as to what is this."

Kawaguchi: "For example, if you notice that the wooden floor that you touch with bare feet feels good, you want to know," What kind of wood is this flooring? ". When you want to know, you can easily access that information. I think there is still a challenge in how we can do it. ''

Hotel guests are not only those who sympathize with the concept, but also those who are simply chosen as one of the accommodations in Kyoto, for example, due to location and convenience. No matter what the purpose of our stay, we hope that the GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO will provide an opportunity to experience the pleasure of sharpening our senses.

Kawaguchi: "It's even more so." Why are trees planted here? "And" Why do you feel at ease with this scent? " According to the layers of each person's awareness, I will tell the hotel what I want to convey, and when I notice, it would be best if I could understand the total concept. "

As a base for ethical consumption

Kawaguchi also specializes in research on "ethical consumption." Ethical consumption means that consumers play a part in solving the world's problems through daily shopping. GOOD NATURE STATION aims to create a sustainable society and engages in various initiatives, including product development, in ties with producers. In this regard, how did you feel the potential of GOOD NATURE STATION?

Kawaguchi: "I think there are still few facilities in Japan that are thoroughly aware of ethical. I want producers to want to open a store here and to have customers who come here eat it." I suppose it will be a cutting-edge ethical consumption base that you can get. ''

“ERUTAN” on the first floor, which serves hotel breakfast, uses ingredients sold at GOOD NATURE MARKET on the same floor. They have tasted organic vegetables and flat eggs that have plenty of soil energy. Another approach is to use the vegetables left over during the cooking process to make and serve jams. "We can give our customers ethical awareness through the lodging experience," says Kawaguchi.

Kawaguchi: "The root of ethical consumption is to think about the process before it goes to the store. For example, the flat eggs used in ERUTAN are expensive compared to those sold at other supermarkets. You will realize that the taste will be completely different if you eat it.Thanks to that experience, the gratitude and respect of "Thank you for making such a delicious thing" will naturally be born and change the relationship between producers and consumers it might be"

Compared to Tokyo and other major cities, Kyoto is truly a human-scale city. He pointed out that "the proximity of producers and consumers is also an advantage," he said, saying, "It is not Kyoto that is old-fashioned, but it can convey the uniqueness of Kyoto today."

Kawaguchi: "Ecological and ethical initiatives can sometimes become a way to convey the glance from the top, saying," This is right! " In that sense, I think it makes a great sense to stay at GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO and let the five senses feel the concept of the whole facility. "

Mariko Kawaguchi

Completed the master course at Hitotsubashi Graduate School in 1986. Joined Daiwa Securities that same year. He transferred to Daiwa Institute of Research in 1994, went through a company survey, and returned to Daiwa Securities Group's CSR Office in 2010 after returning to the company in July 2011, and returned to Daiwa Institute of Research in July 2011. In April 2020, assumed the position of Rikkyo University Specially Appointed Professor and Assistant to the CEO of Fuji Oil Group Headquarters (planned). He specializes in sustainable investment, CSR, ethical consumption and other sustainability. He is a director of the United Nations Global Compact Japan Network, a co-director of the NPO Japan Sustainable Investment Forum, a director of the Ethical Promotion Council, a director of WWF Japan and a director of Plan International Japan.