After working in the sales department, he became a brand manager in the marketing department, where he was responsible for developing new products and marketing strategies. Started his own business in 2018.
In August 2023, the experiential work facility “Hygge no Mori” will open in Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture.

The person who welcomed us was Aya Muramoto, the Hygge Forest project leader and representative of irodori Branding Co., Ltd.

``I'm the type of person who doesn't like to stop and always runs as fast as I can,'' says Ms. Muramoto, who is currently the mother of two children and spends her days struggling with work, family, and raising children.

"Even when I'm busy, I try to make time for hygge so that I don't lose sight of what's most important to me."

Mr. Muramoto, who has always loved making things, joined Suntory Ltd. because he wanted to work in the marketing department, saying, ``I want to do a job that creates things from scratch!''
The Marketing Department is one of Suntory's star departments, with many applicants.There was no way he would suddenly be assigned to such a department, and the first job he was given was sales at a supermarket in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

“I thought that in order to be drawn into the highly popular market, I had to first sell myself.The only way for a big company to get the spotlight as an employee is to have a proven track record in sales.That also has to be an amazing track record. Hit me.”

Suntory's slogan is "Yatte Minahare."
Mr. Muramoto is fully motivated, encouraged by the company culture that fosters a spirit of challenge and doesn't let failure be a failure!I was inspired by the words of my respected boss at the time, ``A hit product is born from the multiplication of the three powers of product power, advertising power, and sales power.'' No matter how good a product is, it won't sell just by lining it up. I realized there wasn't.
So, when he came up with an original proposal that started with the creation of a sales floor, he quickly gained attention and the products he was responsible for started selling.

Mr. Muramoto, who experienced firsthand how the same product sells differently depending on how it is presented, accurately grasped the importance of ``how to communicate'' and ``how to get the message across'' and rapidly increased sales through branding. .
After consistently achieving abnormal sales figures, in his fourth year at the company, he moved to the marketing department, which he had always wanted, and was selected to become a brand manager.

After steadily building up her career, she finally got the chance to launch a new brand after taking maternity leave to give birth to her first child.
The product was developed as a 1% alcoholic drink.Although it's not enough to get you drunk, the concept was to have a low alcohol content similar to that of an energy drink, but it didn't directly convey the content and value that it was aiming for, and the product was quickly sold out.

Although it was a heart-breaking moment because he had such strong feelings, he says that there were opportunities to develop new brands after that.
``As expected, I was nervous because I was under pressure to not fail the second time.I was also hitting the wall of raising children.I wanted to be a cool working mother, and when I finally became the ``working mother'' that I had always dreamed of, I was actually nervous. I'm not cool at all...''

Just when I was thinking, ``I felt like something wasn't right, and I should reevaluate my career and life,'' I became pregnant with my second child.

``I wanted to reset and look ahead to the future, so during my childcare leave I participated in an internship at Kids Line, where I met many people and was inspired by them.''
There, I met people who were mothers who had started venture companies or were easily changing jobs.

"I was really shocked. It made me want to see a different world."

I realized that I had a lot more options than I thought, so I quit my job at Suntory, which I loved. She decided to start a business while having children aged 1 and 5, and Muramoto, a hard worker, struggled to work, raise children, and do housework without slowing down.

At that time, I suddenly saw a casual parent and child.A father and his daughter came by bicycle to the beach at dusk, played, and then went home.

``It was probably a casual scene from everyday life for the parent and child, but on the other hand, it left an impression on me.It's a scene I can't forget even now.This isn't what I really wanted.'' '' says Muramoto, looking back on those days.

``I thought that once I started my own business, I would be able to make my own time, but I unconsciously chased things like job evaluation and social honor, and before I knew it, I was no different from when I was an office worker.'' What I really wanted from the bottom of my heart was a time where I could feel the beauty and love of what was there. It was a time where I could feel that with my family and important friends."

In January 2022, his family moved to Hokuto City, giving up their life in Tokyo.

In August 2023, we will open “Hygge no Mori Life & Work,” a coworking and socializing space with accommodation functions.

"People tend to jump to easy-to-understand results, but the value lies in the process itself. I wanted to create a place where you can see how much time you can spend on that process," says Muramoto.

dark green forest scent
Warm sunlight filtering through the trees
clear blue sky
It's a common sight that we see in our daily lives, but we just don't realize how beautiful it is.

“I actually created the Hygge Forest for myself. So that I would never forget this important thing in my life.”

A place where you can regain the spiritually enriching time that you have left behind in your busy daily life, and return to your daily life with that experience and memory.Here is a scenery that you can always remember.