[Report] Participation in the Shokosai Autumn – Yubatake Market 2025

On October 19, 2025, the Kusatsu Town Chamber of Commerce Festival “Yubatake Marche 2025” was held at Yuriji Plaza in Kusatsu Onsen.

This annual autumn event is a long-standing tradition in Kusatsu, bringing together many locals and tourists for a lively and vibrant day.

Around 20 local vendors—bakeries, diners, cafés, flower shops, and more—gathered for the Yubatake Marche.

Kusatsu Onsen Coworking, which is a member of the Chamber of Commerce, was given the opportunity to participate—and we made our very first appearance at the event!

This year’s event came with a slightly new concept:
in addition to the usual market theme, it also served as a “showcase for new products and services.”
Each vendor prepared special items just for the Marche, resulting in a wonderful lineup of unique offerings.

Here’s a look at the Marche, where Kusatsu’s unique “delicious” and “fun” came together—creating many new connections.^^

Our First Booth! Bringing Color to Touji Plaza

At our booth, we introduced the services of the coworking space while also selling sweets from Porta Rossa, a new business launched by one of our staff members and their spouse.
(Instagram link here)

It has been 1 year and 8 months since we opened in February 2024.
Although Kusatsu Onsen Coworking has grown thanks to the incredible support of the local community, many residents still don’t know about us—or are unsure what a coworking space is.

For us, the staff who want more local residents to know about the space and use it meaningfully, the chance to meet so many townspeople face-to-face at Yubatake Marche was invaluable.

（Porta Rossa’s sweets: fully plant-based—no eggs, dairy, or animal products）

That said, since it was our very first time, we were quite anxious during preparation—
Will people come? Will they enjoy what we offer?

And after a hectic morning, we even opened about 30 minutes late.
But the moment we opened, a line formed!

People gathered all at once, saying “We’ve been waiting!”

New Connections—Made Possible Because of the Event

Among those who stopped by, some showed interest in the coworking space and asked questions such as:

“I’ve always been curious—can anyone use the coworking space?”

“I live between two places and will return to Kusatsu this summer. Does the space get crowded during Obon?”

“Is it okay to stop by not for work but just to rest or chat a bit?”

We were thrilled that many people approached us before we even said hello.
It truly felt like these encounters were made possible because we took part in a town event.

We often found ourselves diving into explanations like:

“Of course! Anyone can use the coworking space—even for things other than work. Some people come after their job to study for certifications or work on digital art…”

Or suddenly realizing we already knew each other:

“Have we met before? Wait—you’re from that soba restaurant! I had lunch there recently!”

Others stopped by casually just to pick up a flyer.

By the way, Kusatsu Onsen Coworking offers a local-resident monthly membership.
More details here.

For just ¥5,500 per month, you can use the coworking space freely.
We hope residents will feel like they have an extra “living room” in town.

（We also handed out flyers and sold original stickers）

Supported by the People of Kusatsu

Meeting new people was an incredible gift, but what moved us most was the number of familiar locals who came by.

People stopped on their way to work, stepped away from their own booths, visited during shop breaks, or even waited for us to open.

Some bought sweets and immediately came back to share their impressions;
others stayed and chatted about life in Kusatsu and their hopes for the future.

Each and every person gave us energy—and thanks to that support, we were able to finish the day strong.

（A small seating space beside our booth became a casual gathering spot）

Thinking About What We Can Do for Kusatsu

Through this event, we feel we succeeded in our goal of helping more locals learn about Kusatsu Onsen Coworking.
We also gained many opportunities to talk with residents, which led to new insights and ideas.
How can we make the coworking space more useful for the town?
What kind of place would make people genuinely happy?
We now have many “assignments” to reflect on—and we plan to use them to improve the coworking space going forward.
“Kusatsu Onsen is known for its hot springs—but also for its warm-hearted people.”
We hope that the visitors who came to the Marche felt that same warmth.
To everyone who supported and visited us—
thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
Kusatsu Onsen Coworking will continue evolving, so please look forward to what’s next.
To all the vendors—great job, and thank you!