Published

そのまんま荘から、
KIBOUへ。

By the KIBOU editorial team

The short answer: KIBOU did not begin to build an accommodation service. It continues one question from Sonomanma-so: can the family-like relationships born by opening one house grow across places and borders?

The means have changed. The purpose has not: help people understand a little of one another's daily lives before difference has time to become fear.

一軒の家から始まった

Sonomanma-so began in Ebisu, Tokyo, in April 2018.

It had an entrance, a table, and a bath. One ordinary house. Students arriving in Tokyo for job hunting met residents living lives that did not quite fit the usual track, along with people already in the working world.

The May 2020 official note records word of mouth and repeat visitors as the way the house was growing. Someone who visited told the next person what the house felt like. Before opening the door, a new guest already knew a little: who might be there and how the morning began.

A May 2020 note recorded 830 cumulative visits at that point. A 2025 restart story later looked back on more than 1,000 visitors.

The numbers differ because the records were made at different moments, not because one must erase the other.

泊まった人数より、残った関係

What happened at Sonomanma-so cannot be explained simply by saying that students could stay for free.

People met while still sleepy in the morning. Someone left snacks on the table. A student talked about an interview that had gone badly. Someone coming home heard, “Welcome back.” Inside small moments, a stranger became someone worth meeting again.

We do not edit the history into a story in which the house was always warm. A 2020 guest note records discomfort with a house that had changed—and people trying to make warmth together again.

Opening a house does not automatically create a community. A relationship has to be remade by the people in the room, every day. KIBOU inherits that lesson too.

口コミにあった「見えない説明書」

At one house, a friend's introduction worked like an invisible guidebook.

A wider network cannot assume that everyone has a friend in the middle. Before entering an unfamiliar home, people wonder about its rules, culture, and distance. Reading “please keep quiet at night” does not necessarily help someone imagine that night.

We wanted to grow family-like ties, yet uncertainty could stop someone before the door. What was missing was a shared experience before the visit.

だから、泊まる前に遊ぶ

KIBOU builds a game for each real space.

You encounter the house's morning, notice small rules, and learn why they exist. The point is not to memorize instructions, but to arrive with something closer to a shared experience.

Clearing the game does not prove that someone is safe or trustworthy. It records something narrower: this person understood the house and completed preparation for a visit.

That is why every space has its own quest. Finishing one does not unlock every home. You learn that space, then go to that space.

一軒から、複数の空間と仕事の出会いへ

KIBOU now calls students, hosts, and companies members.

A student learns a space through its game. A host turns the home's culture and rules into that experience. A stay can last up to two nights and three days. Afterwards, both sides leave a record of what they saw.

We are exploring how those records may lead to future encounters with work. Company collaboration is still at the pilot stage. A stay does not guarantee a job offer or employment.

The goal is not simply more stays. It is a path where people understand a little before meeting, leave words from both sides afterwards, and continue into another relationship.

記録を残すことも、KIBOUの一部

Old notes hold the language of their time. Independent interviews show Sonomanma-so from outside. KIBOU describes the present model.

We keep the dates visible rather than flattening everything into one version. Between April and May 2025, a crowdfunding campaign received ¥2,102,500 from 178 supporters. It records that people still wanted this kind of place to exist again.

In one house, strangers became people who already knew one another. KIBOU is building that front door inside a game.

年表

Sonomanma-so begins in Ebisu, Tokyo.

The official note records its definition and 830 cumulative visits at that point.

A guest independently records what they felt.

The Ebisu house closes.

A restart note looks back on more than 1,000 visitors.

A CAMPFIRE campaign receives ¥2,102,500 from 178 supporters.

KIBOU develops the next form: playing a real space before visiting it.

記録を読む