February Monthly Report

Hi, this is Ito! 🍕

Just finished my first-ever tax filing and feeling great about it.

February’s over too, so I’m writing up a report covering some of January as well.

VIVITA ROBOCON 2026

VIVITA ROBOCON HAKATA 2026 - VIVISTOP HAKATA - JR博多シティいつも通り、VIVISTOPで活動していたある日。突然、空に稲妻が走り、窓から入り込むまばゆい光があたりを包んだ。思わず目を覆い、再び目を開けると、そこは、赤黒い煙が立ちこめ、炎が渦巻く不思議な世界――地獄。目の前に現れ […]VIVISTOP HAKATA - JR博多シティ

I got to take part in the robot contest again this time, having also joined last year.

This time I was paired with a 4th-grade boy, and we battled under a rule where you collect as many balls as possible within the time limit. As his crew member, I helped build his robot while also finishing my own, and took on the challenge of competing alongside him.

Over about two months, meeting up roughly once a week and exchanging a diary back and forth, we built out our robots at VIVISTOP HAKATA. Under the rules, when the match starts, the adult crew members are trapped in a cage, and you can only free them by knocking down a specific object.

With that in mind, my young partner told me he wanted to knock the object down with a fist, so we built our robots around a fist as the main theme.

He was really busy with lessons and other commitments, but he kept tackling the robot-building without ever giving up, and I came to trust and admire that reliability in him. He’d occasionally share snacks with me too, which made me really happy.

Our strategy for the match was: I’d use a magic arm mounted on my robot to grab the high-difficulty, high-point balls, and after he destroyed the object, he’d collect the balls into the goal.

The strategy somehow came together well, and we basked in a sense of accomplishment.

Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to an award this time. What stuck with me was him saying, with a slightly sad look, that this year’s contest had been fun anyway.

I told him, “make sure to challenge yourself again next year too.”

You can watch his heroic performance below. Do check it out!!

Also, on the stage side — which the crew built — we managed to get Takaha Kiko to provide us with solenoids this time. Being able to build the solenoids they provided into the stage as a gimmick made my heart swell with a personal sense of connection to adults across various regions.

ソレノイドメーカーのタカハ機工ソレノイドの開発・設計･組立ては、一貫生産システムのタカハ機工へお任せ下さい。カタログ製品だけでなく、コイル巻数・プランジャー変更などのカスタマイズにも短納期にて対応いたしております。タカハ機工

VIVISTOP YAMAGUCHI, one last visit

Alongside VIVISTOP HAKATA, which I regularly rely on, there’s also a Yamaguchi version called VIVISTOP YAMAGUCHI, another good-vibes space run in cooperation with the local shopping street.

VIVISTOP YAMAGUCHI (@vivistop_yamaguchi) • Instagram photos and videos655 Followers, 390 Following, 241 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from VIVISTOP YAMAGUCHI (@vivistop_yamaguchi)www.instagram.com

But there was an announcement that VIVISTOP YAMAGUCHI would close following this year’s “2050 CAFE Project,” which made me feel sad.

I’d once had someone on the management side there listen to a problem I was working through, and I felt a debt of gratitude toward them. Hearing that VIVISTOP HAKATA members were heading to Yamaguchi to help out, I went along to visit VIVISTOP YAMAGUCHI one last time together with them.

Visiting the actual location again, it became really clear just how loved it was by people on the shopping street, and it hit me that it really was coming to an end.

I sincerely hope spaces for activity like VIVISTOP keep increasing more and more.

”Ibasho Tsukuuru” Workshop

NPO法人みんなのPalette on Instagram: "こんにちは☺️みんなのPalette代表の髙木侑斗です🙏 来る2月22日にワークショップ「すすみつづけるナゾの物体！！〜まっすぐ進まない？動く工作〜」を開催します✨️ このワークショップでは、ずこうしゃこどもアートスタジオの佐土嶋先生と、ロボット工作のラビロボ社の伊藤先生を講師にお招きし、世界に一つだけの物体を作ります🤖 どんな物体かは、こちらのInstagramで公開中ですので、ぜひ、フォローして御覧ください🙆‍♂️ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTvXoprEjDD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== 参加費は500円（材料代込）ですので、ぜひぜひ、ご参加ください💪 たくさんのご応募、お待ちしています🙇 NPO法人みんなのPalette 髙木 TEL 090-9473-7166 この事業は大坪 GSI(株)、イオン九州(株)から「福岡県共助社会づくり基金」への寄附 金を活用した「ふくおか地域貢献サポート事業」として実施しています。"13 likes, 0 comments - urayamasaisei on February 7, 2026: "こんにちは☺️みんなのPalette代表の髙木侑斗です🙏 来る2月22日にワークショップ「すすみつづけるナゾの物体！！〜まっすぐ進まない？動く工作〜」を開催します✨️ このワークショップでは、ずこうしゃこどもアートスタジオの佐土嶋先生と、ロボット工作のラビロボ社の伊藤先生を講師にお招きし、世界に一つだけの物体を作ります🤖 どんな物体かは、こちらのInstagramで公開中ですので、ぜひ、フォローして御覧ください🙆‍♂️ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTvXoprEjDD/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== 参加費は500円（材料代込）ですので、ぜひぜひ、ご参加ください💪 たくさんのご応募、お待ちしています🙇 NPO法人みんなのPalette 髙木 TEL 090-9473-7166 この事業は大坪 GSI(株)、イオン九州(株)から「福岡県共助社会づくり基金」への寄附 金を活用した「ふくおか地域貢献サポート事業」として実施しています。". Instagram

We held the “Ibasho Tsukuuru” (Building a Place to Belong) workshop at Iikane Palette. This time I held the second edition of the workshop together with Hiroka-san from Zukoshiya.

Hiroka-san helped support a problem I’d felt at the previous workshop: not being able to draw out the participating kids’ imagination.

This time’s theme was “the mysterious object that keeps moving forward.”

The content was similar to the previous workshop, but the difference was: we first had the kids decide where the moving object they’d build in the workshop was actually heading toward — establishing a goal first.

Thanks to this setup, the kids got their imaginations warmed up around ideas like “school,” “tomorrow,” “hell,” and so on, which made the robot-building in the second half go much more smoothly.

Since a robot itself inevitably has to be built while balancing the machine’s physical constraints, it’s ultimately hard for the setting and the design to mesh together perfectly — but with their imaginations warmed up, the kids kept connecting their builds together more and more.

One thing that went well this time was that it wasn’t just about the kids — how the adults engaged with the kids also improved.

The workshops I’d originally been running were focused on: how do you set a goal for making something, and then build it using some method — in other words, focused on technique and method. With this approach, advice from adults tends to be about “how do you build it well.” At worst, it can turn into one-directional communication, where the workshop’s own way of doing things just gets imposed on everyone.

But in this workshop’s setup, the kids’ imagined goals were things like “hell” or “school,” and it became easier for adults to give advice from the angle of “does this expression actually work toward reaching that goal” instead.

As a result, instead of the previous one-directional communication from “the adult who knows the right answer” to “the kids,” it became something with much higher mutual back-and-forth, where both sides could enjoy what was being created.

Kids and adults together managed to build a lively, vibrant space, and I was very satisfied with that.

I want to keep this activity going.

Other stuff

During February, I also designed images to promote a talk by an acquaintance running for the House of Representatives, and went to tour YAMAGA BASE, a former school turned into a co-working space.

HOME｜YAMAGA BASEYAMAGA BASEは、千田小学校跡地をリノベーションし2024年４月にオープンしました。コワーキングスペースやシェアオフィスといったイノベーション支援施設に加え、ワ―ケーションや農泊等、幅広く活用できる宿泊施設、飲食スペース、運動施設の他貸会議室、イノベーションスタジオ、キッチンスタジオ等各種レンタルスペースを併設しています。YAMAGA BASE WEB

Things I made

Everyone’s “Corcelain” Project

VIVISTOP HAKATA teamed up with Kosuke Takahashi, the inventor of Corcelain — a vessel with a screw thread built into the bottom — and I made a part to attach to it too.

VIVISTOP HAKATA on Instagram: ". 【イベント出展】 「はかた陶器まつり」にVIVISTOP HAKATAが 「みんなで！Corcelainプロジェクト」で 展示出展します🔴🟢🔵 「みんなで！Corcelainプロジェクト」では、 ネジ穴のついた、カスタマイズできる器 「Corcelain(コーセリン)」のオリジナルパーツを VIVISTOP HAKATAメンバー8名が制作しました。 パーツの制作には3Dプリンタを活用🌟 実際に使う場面を想像しながら制作を進めていきました☁️ メンバーたちの試行錯誤でうまれた作品をぜひご鑑賞ください！ また、今回の展示では、 来場者の皆さまにも共創に参加してもらいたいという思いで 「アイデアたくさん！みんなの器コンテスト」を実施します。 展示ブース内にデザインが描けるコーナーを 作っているのでぜひご参加ください！ ご応募頂いたデザインから、 後日8名のメンバーよって入賞作品が選ばれます。 (プチプレゼントもありますよ！🎁) ※コンテスト実施期間は2月27日(金)11:00から 3月1日(日)16:00までです。 🍚🌸はかた陶器まつり🌸🍶 佐賀や長崎の8つの市町が連携する 「肥前やきもの圏」と協力し合い、 お客さまに様々な陶器の魅力をお届けいたします。 様々な陶器の中から自分好みの焼物を手に取り、 選び、お楽しみください。 🔴開催期間 2026年2月27日(金)～3月3日(火) 🟢時間 11:00〜19:30(最終入場19:00まで) 🔵場所 JR九州ホール(JR博多シティ9階) ※入場無料 🌟💫🌟💫 2月28日(土),3月1日(日)13:00～16:00は メンバーたちがブースをご案内をします！ ぜひ遊びにきてね✨ ※予定は予告なく変更になる可能性があります"40 likes, 0 comments - vivistop_hakata on February 26, 2026: ". 【イベント出展】 「はかた陶器まつり」にVIVISTOP HAKATAが 「みんなで！Corcelainプロジェクト」で 展示出展します🔴🟢🔵 「みんなで！Corcelainプロジェクト」では、 ネジ穴のついた、カスタマイズできる器 「Corcelain(コーセリン)」のオリジナルパーツを VIVISTOP HAKATAメンバー8名が制作しました。 パーツの制作には3Dプリンタを活用🌟 実際に使う場面を想像しながら制作を進めていきました☁️ メンバーたちの試行錯誤でうまれた作品をぜひご鑑賞ください！ また、今回の展示では、 来場者の皆さまにも共創に参加してもらいたいという思いで 「アイデアたくさん！みんなの器コンテスト」を実施します。 展示ブース内にデザインが描けるコーナーを 作っているのでぜひご参加ください！ ご応募頂いたデザインから、 後日8名のメンバーよって入賞作品が選ばれます。 (プチプレゼントもありますよ！🎁) ※コンテスト実施期間は2月27日(金)11:00から 3月1日(日)16:00までです。 🍚🌸はかた陶器まつり🌸🍶 佐賀や長崎の8つの市町が連携する 「肥前やきもの圏」と協力し合い、 お客さまに様々な陶器の魅力をお届けいたします。 様々な陶器の中から自分好みの焼物を手に取り、 選び、お楽しみください。 🔴開催期間 2026年2月27日(金)～3月3日(火) 🟢時間 11:00〜19:30(最終入場19:00まで) 🔵場所 JR九州ホール(JR博多シティ9階) ※入場無料 🌟💫🌟💫 2月28日(土),3月1日(日)13:00～16:00は メンバーたちがブースをご案内をします！ ぜひ遊びにきてね✨ ※予定は予告なく変更になる可能性があります". Instagram

伝統工芸と、若いクリエイターをつなぐ。ネジ穴付きの器『Corcelain』｜高橋鴻介@発明家こんにちは。発明家の高橋鴻介です。 今年の2月に『Corcelain(コーセリン)』という器をリリースしました。Corcelainはネジ穴のついた磁器です。高台に施されたネジ穴に拡張パーツを組み合わせることで、自分好みにカスタマイズすることができます。 高台の部分がネジ穴になっている 陶磁器を１から作るのは難しいですが、この器と、3Dプリンターなどの小さな加工機があれば、自分オリジナルの器を少量から形にすることができます。拡張パーツをデザインして、ねじ込むだけで、カップや植木鉢、おもちゃになったり…などなど、使い手の想像力次第で用途は無限に広がります。 僕も3Dプリンターのユーザーnote（ノート）

What I made was themed around “turning the refined elegance of a matcha bowl into a physical shape.” I love tea ceremony, and in tea ceremony you select various tools, flowers, and hanging scrolls to match the tea gathering. Which shape and pattern of vessel you use to match the gathering also matters a lot, and it occurred to me that it might be nice to freely change the shape of the vessel itself as a form of expression.

For example, during a season for moon-viewing, you’d bring out a vessel actually shaped like the moon; when cherry blossoms bloom, a vessel shaped like a cherry blossom.

So what I made was a vessel shaped like the moon itself. It’s easy to hold firmly, and I think the vessel’s shape is beautiful too, so I’m quite fond of it.

Solcon

Since I’d built a relationship with Takaha Kiko through the robot contest at VIVISTOP HAKATA, I figured I should go ahead and enter the contest they hold every year too.

What I built was the “Leg-Shaking Prevention Buddy”!!

At the time, I was struggling to stop my own leg-shaking (a nervous habit), so I thought about developing a device that would warn me when I did it.

The idea was: when it detects vibration, it fires off a pleasant thump from a solenoid felt through the chair as an alert, which I figured would make you start paying attention to your leg-shaking.

I’d never built a piece of hardware entirely by myself for a contest before, so it turned out to be a really good experience. I even got the chance to meet Nobumichi Tosa of Maywa Denki and Eiji Miruno of Miruno Pro, which was a huge amount of fun.

Wrap-up

Looking back, I’ve managed to keep building things for myself in February too, so it feels like “gradually reducing work and increasing time spent making my own things” is going well. I want to keep pushing forward with it!

Bonus

Here are some sketches I’ve slowly started doing recently. Even sketched pretty loosely, fudging the details, they turn out looking like this — so I recommend giving it a try.