Alyawmu Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Sapporo, Hokkaido; CEO: Hiroaki Hatanaka), in collaboration with Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, is pleased to announce the results of its workation promotion and DAO incentive research project (conducted from July 2025 to January 2026), which utilized the 'Shirahamania' Community Revitalization Volunteer DAO. This project was adopted as part of the 2025 'Migration, Settlement, and Exchange Promotion Support Project' (a grant program for collaborative projects by municipal members) by the Japan Organization for Migration and Exchange (JOIN) and the Japan Center for Regional Development. The project was funded by proceeds from the Municipal Promotion Lottery (Summer Jumbo Lottery).

Background: Challenges faced by Shirahama Town and the DAO approach Although Shirahama Town in Wakayama Prefecture is one of the leading tourist destinations in the Kansai region, it faces challenges in promoting stays during the off-season and weekdays, as well as in developing an environment to accept teleworkers. Meanwhile, information on spots suitable for workation use was scattered, creating a need for systematic research and organization.

In this project, participants of the 'Shirahamania' DAO community, based on LINE OpenChat, acted as researchers. Instead of a one-off administrative survey, the project was conducted as a community-participatory decentralized survey. Furthermore, to promote participation, multiple types of incentive systems were designed, trialed, and evaluated for their effectiveness.

Key Project Results - Workation-ready spot survey [Table: Survey Spots: 88; Survey Criteria: Number of seats, power availability, Wi-Fi environment, noise level, usage fees, reservation availability, etc.; Total tasks performed: 113; Number of participants (unique): 26]

- Task performance by DAO members [Table: Task Type: Basic tasks (survey of existing list spots) - 75; Survey of spots not on the list (new) - 19; Online tasks (5 spots not on the list) - 12; Online tasks (article creation, 2,000+ characters) - 7]

- Verification of incentive systems In this project, the following three types of incentives were designed and trialed to motivate DAO members: 1. Yanico (Digital gift certificates usable within Shirahama Town) 2. Local specialties (Famous products of Shirahama Town) 3. Facility vouchers (Vouchers for facilities within the town) Through operation, we identified the conditions for success as participation motivators (design of participation flow, clarity of granting rules, operational burden, etc.) and organized key points for future system improvements.

Significance of the project and insights gained This project confirmed the following points: 1. Effectiveness of decentralized research: Through participatory research utilizing the DAO community, we were able to collect information on 88 spots in a short period, significantly exceeding the initial target. 2. Importance of simplifying participation flow: The development of an online form that does not require login contributed to lowering the barrier to participation. 3. Diversity of incentives: By providing multiple options such as digital gift certificates, local specialties, and facility vouchers, we confirmed the potential to meet the diverse needs of participants.

Future Outlook We will utilize the list of 88 spots as material for developing Shirahama Town's acceptance environment and considering visitor attraction measures, while also examining an update and maintenance system to keep the information current.

Regarding the incentive system, we will proceed with improvements toward a sustainable scheme that minimizes operational burden, including simplifying granting conditions, designing tasks by difficulty level, and standardizing evaluation procedures.

Moving forward, we will continue to work with an eye toward horizontal expansion to other regions as a new model for solving regional issues by leveraging the characteristics of DAO communities.

About 'Shirahamania' 'Shirahamania' is a community operated as a Community Revitalization Volunteer DAO for Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture. Based on LINE OpenChat, people interested in Shirahama Town from both inside and outside the town participate to share the region's appeal and work on solving local issues. The number of registered members has exceeded 500, and it continues to grow as a regional community. Project overview and how to participate: https://note.com/shirahama_times/n/nc6704279e0d6

[Shirahama Town Official Community 'Shirahamania'] A community where you can find out the 'now' of Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture! Everyone can exchange information on the latest news, spots, and gourmet food in Shirahama Town! https://t.co/9ger43XfSf

[Web Media 'Shirahamania'] A web media that summarizes information on tourism, events, and daily life in Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture. https://shirahamania.com/

FACT BOX

  • Source: PR TIMES
  • Category: research