Onko Chishin was founded in February 2011, just one month before the Great East Japan Earthquake. We were born into unprecedented chaos, as if we had incurred the wrath of God. We stood up, started moving, and have kept running ever since, always looking forward.
To do something useful for society. To do it with a sense of style and taste. To never give up until we succeed. And to never forget gratitude. These remain our core principles, even today.
To create places that discerning people will make a special effort to visit. And to do so in challenging locations, like Shikoku and remote islands. Such a ridiculous idea – there’s no way it could possibly succeed. Some people may have said such things behind our backs.
But we had colleagues who believed in the possibilities, and local people who supported us. Even when we were a little anxious or awkward, we kept running. As we did, fans began to appear, people offered us help, and we received awards like Michelin stars. We were blessed with a measure of good fortune.
Our company, which started with just one person, has grown 300-fold. Some fans make it a point to visit all of our unique locations. It is a layering of several small successes, which we continued to hone without giving up. I feel that the expectations placed on us have grown in proportion to this.
It is a greater blessing to run with expectations than to run without them. It’s not a pressure, but rather a kind of advantage – like a seeded position in a tournament. We have colleagues, we have fans, and there is a demand from society.
We don’t know how far we’ll go.

Onko Chishin Inc. has established a “Shareholder Community” starting from January 2023. Although our shares are unlisted, they can be traded within this community. While the “Shareholder Community” is an alternative to listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, it is still possible for the company to go public via this route.

■ Overview of the Shareholder Community System

The Shareholder Community system was established in May 2015 by the Japan Securities Dealers Association (JSDA) to support the fundraising of locally-rooted companies and others, and to meet the trading and liquidity needs of unlisted company shares. A securities company designated by the JSDA forms a shareholder community for each stock, in which shareholders and investors who meet certain conditions can participate. Within this community, the issuing company remains unlisted, but community participants can buy and sell shares through the securities company.