PROJECT

TOKYO BISHOKU

Emergency food redesigned for daily enjoyment—creating disaster preparedness culture through desirable cuisine.

WHY

Valuing one’s feelings, at a time
when disasters become the hardest
part of your life.

It can take approximately 72 hours for all lifelines to recover, after a disaster such as the Great East Japan Earthquake. Tokyo, which has a population of more than 9 million people, has a limited number of shelter, most likely to be forced to evacuate at home. For these kinds of events, it is said we need to stockpile at least nine servings of food. However, only 50% of Tokyo residents stockpile water and food daily. Most who do not are especially among young people living alone. In the event of such disasters of extreme conditions, a meal that is not only nutrition but also delicious is an essential element to save one’s soul and mind. We questioned whether we could make delicious stockpile foods that support people’s lives and souls, in preparation for disasters, and make stockpiling a habit.

HOW

A system providing delicious foods,
in case of disasters.

Together with the creative team of disaster preparation book “Tokyo Bousai,” and under supervision of chef Masahiro Kasahara of Tokyo’s famous store “Sanpiryouron” (meaning “Pros and Cons”) we created three meals, in pursuit of deliciousness. We developed stockpile foods and produced “Tokyo Bishoku” together with a concept book we edited. In the future, we speculate these kinds of magazine-like packaged designs can be delivered regularly like a rolling stockpile, almost like a magazine subscription. It can also be displayed on bookshelves, solving problems such as inaccessibility to warehouses where foods are usually stored. Also, a 70-page concept book contains content that raises awareness of disaster prevention, such as recipe ideas and stockpiling checklists, that are always useful in the event of a disaster.

Printed on top of the canned goods is a photo of its contents as if on a plate, making it easily identifiable.

WILL

Success in trial marketing, now with
hopes for further development.

Tokyo Bishoku attracted a lot of attention even before the release, including the successful crowdfunding that exceeded the target. The trial marketing conducted in partnership with Japan’s largest convenience chain became a popular topic on several media platforms, due to the high quality of stockpile foods and design, that was could be purchased as gifts. Please keep an eye out for “Tokyo Bishoku,” as we aim to spread the culture and heighten the awareness of needs to stockpile foods when living in Japan.