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PROFILE
Come on UP CEO Yasuko Nagase.

Creating a community connecting people together 

 

We spoke to Come on UP CEO, Yasuko Nagase, about sharehouse management.

 

 

Many different people live in Come on UP’s houses, coming from Japan and overseas, working in a range of occupations including office workers, consultants, certified public accountants and actors by day working in hospitality at night. Talking to Ms. Nagase I sensed her idea of ‘cherishing connections and wanting to live life to the fullest’ and could understand how so many fun, interesting people could live in her houses.

 

 

---Thank you for your time today. I understand that Come on UP is concerned first and foremost with looking after connections within the house. How did you come into this industry?
Ms. Nagase

I’d always thought that if you put a whole bunch of interesting people together it would be a most entertaining occasion, so in the past I rented out bars and restaurants to hold events. Events end after one night without any continuity, however, and in searching for a different kind of way to do what I wanted to do I thought a share house would be interesting, and it started from there.

---So you thought that living together people would be able to do even more fun things? That’s quite an interesting beginning. But when you first started I’m sure share houses weren’t quite as popular and like they are today. Did you have any trouble gaining acceptance from those around you?
Ms. Nagase

Yes, well I had lived in America for 8 years after I graduated from high school, so I had no aversion to a lifestyle living with others at all. I did think to myself that it was time for this kind of lifestyle to make its way to Japan, but I had a difficult time first explaining the concept to the landlord.

---Yeah, it’s quite difficult to start something new in the real estate industry, isn't it.
Ms. Nagase

Yeah, we went through a lot in the beginning. (laughs) But all that comes with starting something new. At the time sharehouses were known as guest houses, and we wanted to treat residents not as guests, but to provide a home for individuals to live and spend time together, increasing the amount of places you could call ‘sharehouses.’

Dealing with different values

---I see. You really need to be considerate of others living in a sharehouse.
Ms. Nagase

That’s right. There may be people who worry about trouble occurring when living with other people, but in my opinion that’s the great thing about sharehouses. No one is going to have the same set of values and everyone’s background and lifestyles are different, so I think it’s natural for things you don’t expect to happen and in the end you’ll learn how to deal with these differences.

---So when living with other people it’s natural that they would have different values, right? I understand. Even families who live together have trouble every now and again.
Ms. Nagase

Yeah, you come in contact with new ideas and it’s totally up to you how you react to them, but it’s something you can’t avoid in society so people should deal with it in their own way.

---I see. You’ve been involved in 17 properties since entering the industry in 2006, is there anything that you always aim to do in managing a sharehouse?
Ms. Nagase

There’s a lot of things we try to do, but sharehouses are ultimately a connection of relationships among people, and we place great importance on that. Sharehouses aren’t all about great facilities in great locations, we at Come on Up want the people living in our houses to have a great time, too. We’re lucky to have a lot of fun people in our houses, and so many amazing things happen you never get sick of it. There are some celebrations going on at our Eifuku Nibankan house at the moment, for example! (laughs)

---Oh, really? I guess you can find love in sharehouses after all, huh.
Ms. Nagase

Well, not in the house (laughs). We have joint events with other sharehouses where people invite friends and everyone gets to know each other, so it happens that way I guess. Whenever we open a new house all of our existing tenants come to celebrate and everyone has a great time. And it’s great seeing the interaction, too.

Also, for our Eifuku-cho house, there was an entrepreneur in architecture and construction living in one of our houses who said he wanted to help with the design and layout, so we employed him to do it. Others helped out to complete it too, so this one means a lot to us.

---That’s quite amazing that he didn’t just help you out, you actually employed him!
Ms. Nagase

He was a student so it wasn’t a great amount of money, and you come to want to support people that work so hard doing their best. As a manager it makes me happy to have that connection with everyone.

Of course I’m in business to make money, but I’m not just seeking profit, I want to look after the connections of the tenants, their friends and my staff, too.

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Broadening your connections through shared living is a wonderful thing. Thank you for your time today. During the interview we were unexpectedly able to chat to a girl living in one of Come on Up’s houses, and she said, “I recommend living in a sharehouse because it’s fun,” her excited words leaving an impression on us. Incidentally, when asked about Come on Up, she said, “They’re pretty lenient overall.” (laughs)

 

 

Come on UP manage many sharehouses for 5~9 people and there is interaction between these houses, great for people who think living alone is boring, or even those are interested in sharehouses but are worried about communicating with others.

Author / Moriyama
As founder and CEO of Tokyo Sharehouse, I aim for a society in which we can freely connect with the world and everything in it. I believe there lies hidden many free and enriching, interesting stories to be told in this world and want to set about discovering them for the everyone to share.
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