VISON - Opening Support / Master Property Management Contract

VISON is a resort-type commercial facility located in Taki, a town famous for its medicinal herbs, in Japan’s Mie Prefecture. It has been fully open since July 20, 2021. VISON is situated in a rich natural environment, with an area equivalent to 24 Tokyo Domes (approximately 119 hectares) and is made up of 73 commercial establishments, including, but not limited to, a hotel complex, an organic farm and direct farmer’s market, “hands-on” Japanese culinary workshops, restaurants using locally grown ingredients, and spa facilities that make full use of “kusuri-yu”, an herbal remedy jointly developed by academia and industry.

VISON has gained recognition as a tourism hotspot for Mie Prefecture, and for its wealth of expertise relating to health and gastronomy. In addition to this, VISON is the first certified private facility in Japan to be directly connected to a “smart” interchange, and has also been named as a candidate site for the government-led “Smart City Special Zone Initiative.” VISON is able to catalyze expert knowledge from universities and the public sector into solutions for socioeconomic problems faced by provincial cities, such as demographic challenges and the need for regional economic revitalization. JMM also provided support for this massive project, and continues to offer comprehensive support for VISON’s operations, leveraging the company’s extensive expertise across a diverse range of areas and establishment-types throughout Japan.

• Facility: VISON Resort-Type Commercial Facility
• Operator: VISON Taki Co., Ltd.
• Main parties involved: Aqua Ignis Corporation, Aeon Town Co., Ltd., Rohto Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., First Brothers Co., Ltd.
• Business: Accommodation facilities, spa facilities, restaurants, manufacturing and sales stores, retail stores, direct markets, farm, etc. (total: 73 establishments)
• Area: 119 hectares approx. (equivalent to 24 Tokyo Domes), developed area: 54 hectares
• Access: Approximately 4 hours from Tokyo, 1.5 hours from Nagoya/Kyoto, and 2 hours from Osaka

• Service/Project Progress

The project was conceived in 2013, and in 2015, the four main stakeholders established the limited liability company “Mie Hometown Creation Project” as a joint business. Stakeholders were able to leverage their strengths and participate in collaboration with the town of Taki and Mie University, which allowed development to quickly progress and led to the opening of the facility in April 2021. At the same time, the smart interchange leading directly to VISON opened. The second phase of the opening was in June of the same year, and the full opening (third phase) was achieved in July 2021. VISON is a core facility under the "Mie Prefecture Smart City Council" created by the surrounding five towns and Taki, and it functions as a testing ground for innovative technologies such as self-driving vehicles, drone flight, and telemedicine systems. JMM has been involved in this project since March 2021.

• JMM’s Work

JMM was awarded the contract for a range of support work prior to VISON’s opening, and for master property management relating to post-opening facility operations. As the operation & management company involved is managing a large-scale commercial facility for the first time, JMM provides essential facility operations expertise as well as key support for the opening of VISON. JMM brings multi-perspective consulting expertise, incorporating knowledge of regulations and operating rules as well as marketing, sales, and customer retention strategies.

• Why JMM?

Funding procurement for this enormous project was undertaken through a funding scheme, with experienced businesses that understand the ins and outs of facility operation being preferential candidates. JMM was selected as the company has a trusted reputation globally and possesses a wide range of expertise developed through its long track record of commercial facility management in Japan. 

• JMM’s Role

"VISON is a large-scale development project based on project finance. So, the participation of JMM, whose parent company is the JLL, a global company, has meant that the project enjoys a high degree of trust from investors and other parties. And the detailed advice we’ve been given based on the wealth of experience and know-how that JMM has gained through its operation of a range of commercial facilities throughout Japan has been really helpful. Examples of the detailed advice we’ve received include strategies to increase average customer spending which include specific case studies, and measures to address problems faced by customers," says Tetsuya Tachibana, Representative Director, VISON Taki.