Karatsu Castle

[Outline of the project]
Karatsu has long been a gateway to the continent. During the Edo period, the Karatsu domain was an important base for the shogunate's rule over Kyushu, and was also a historical and cultural city where unique culture such as Karatsu Kunchi and Karatsu ware flourished.
We believe that what is expected of Karatsu Castle, which is the starting point of Karatsu tourism, is to play the role of a circulatory device for walking around the town, making use of the charm of Karatsu's shining history and culture.
By comprehensively reviewing the displays, facilities, and operation, we aimed to maximize the appeal of Karatsu Castle and redevelop it as a comprehensive facility guidance facility for Karatsu City's "walking around town" as a base for revitalizing the region.
We have consistently assisted with basic planning, design and construction.

[Customer issues]
There were three issues with Karatsu Castle before the renewal.
The first was the client's desire to renew the obsolete facilities, outdated displays, and outdated displays themes.
The second is that attractive resources in Karatsu City have not been fully utilized, and collaboration with collections and other tourist attractions was necessary.
The third was the need to deal with external light, universal concept design, earthquakes, theft, etc. in terms of safety and protection of cultural properties.
By resolving these three issues, we aimed to create a tourism hub that is suitable for being a “city of tourism and cultural exchange where the real thing shines, surrounded by nature, history, and culture.”

【solution】
Aiming to realize an "displays to enjoy Karatsu" in order to solve problems, we developed an displays story centered on the history of the castle town and successive castle lords, and realized an attractive displays space that makes use of Hizen's national product illustrations and Karatsu ware.
Active use of IT was implemented, including the introduction of AR for the displays commentary.
Next, with the aim of realizing a "comfortable displays", we created a space with a sense of hospitality, such as a museum shop, reviewed the movement lines in the museum, considered foreign tourists and other vulnerable visitors, and installed a restroom, a stair lift, and a multipurpose room.
Furthermore, with the aim of realizing a "reliable displays", we have enhanced the functions of sightseeing Karatsu facilities such as a tourist information corner, appealed to the ease of excursion by disseminating information on excursion tourist facilities, and thoroughly managed the risk of accidents and losses.
We have come up with three solutions.

<Our project members>
[Development] Yumeki Kusumoto
[Sales and Project Management] Tatsuya Fujii, Yumeki Kusumoto
[Planner] Takeshi Jin, Kyohei Kishida
[design, layout] Masaaki Mitsunaga, Rie Morita
[Production/ construction] Takeshi Suezaki, Goro Yamano, Nanae Hori
[maintenance management] Katsumi Yamada, Takatoshi Nakamura