The "KURASU MORI", located in 14 locations throughout Japan from Hokkaido to Kyushu, are Daiwa House's "forest housing sites" that aim to enable residents to live healthy lives in harmony with nature, both physically and mentally. These forest housing sites meet the needs of lifestyles that are diversifying with the times, such as vacation homes, permanent residences, and two-base living.
In order to provide a comfortable living environment while being surrounded by rich nature, the "KURASU MORI" has introduced the high-performance weather IoT sensor "Soratena Pro" and the weather app "Weathernews for business. We asked Shinichi Hiraiwa, Naoki Matsumoto, and Jun Hashimoto of the Forest Housing Site Management and Operation Department of Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.
Forested residential areas surrounded by nature are subject to extreme weather changes, requiring more accurate weather information.
Daiwa House's forest housing business, which began in 1973, is now being used by people all over Japan as "KURASU MORI," lush green subdivisions that make the most of the topography and climate of each area.
We have built houses on approximately 3,700 lots in 14 locations throughout Japan, from Kayabe-gun in Hokkaido in the north to Kirishima City in Kagoshima Prefecture in the south. We aim to create sustainable forest residential areas that coexist in harmony with nature, and we offer our owners a 'life in the forest for rent'" (Matsumoto).
Several management staff, including Daiwa House employees, are stationed on the premises of each area to ensure residents' safety management from various angles. In recent years, natural disasters such as torrential rains have become more frequent, and the company felt the need for highly accurate weather information as a form of risk management.
In some areas of KURASU MORI, there are active volcanoes and typhoons pass through frequently, so timely weather information is essential. Especially in recent years, we have seen a large number of landslides and other disasters caused by torrential rains, and there was a need to further strengthen safety measures for owners and risk management for staff." (Hiraiwa)
In addition, most "KURASU MORI" are spread across mountainous areas. Even in the same area, the weather differs greatly between the mountains and the plains, so meticulous data is essential to accurately assess the weather.
"One of the most notable examples of the difference in weather is the Royal City Aso Ichinomiya Resort, located at the foot of Mount Takadake on Mt.
The temperature difference from the plains can be as large as 4°C in summer and 6°C in winter, compared to the neighboring city of Kumamoto. Rainfall also varies from region to region. In recent years, there has been a concern that 'localized heavy rain' and 'torrential rains' that dump heavy rain in a limited area have been occurring frequently, and we felt that we needed more pinpoint and high-resolution weather information." (Hashimoto)
In order to solve these weather risk issues at once, we introduced "Weathernews for business" in November 2023, which allows us to freely customize weather applications according to our needs, and "Soratena Pro," a high-performance weather IoT sensor, in December 2023.
Centralized management of weather risks at 14 locations nationwide with both weather IoT sensors and weather apps
Currently, the management staff of "KURASU MORI" and members of the headquarters nationwide utilize approximately 40 accounts of "Weathernews for business" and 15 units of "Solatena Pro" to help manage the safety of residents and staff.
The system is customized to display a list of accurate weather information for 14 locations nationwide, so we can get the information without having to go out of our way to get it, which we feel is a great advantage.
Previously, the rain gauges installed at each location could only be viewed by local staff, who had to confirm observations over the phone. After the introduction of the system, rainfall observation data can now be managed centrally in the field and at headquarters, allowing us to make more efficient decisions on safety measures," says Hiraiwa - san.
Hiraiwa - san checks the observation data and weather forecasts in the morning and evening, and when there is information of concern, such as heavy rainfall, he shares the information each time and takes safety measures.
By registering 14 locations throughout Japan, we can quickly detect weather risks in each area and take subsequent countermeasures smoothly.
For example, many elderly owners and others are concerned about power outages in areas where lightning strikes are frequent. We carefully monitor the weather forecast for possible lightning strikes, and when we receive a notification, we use the Lightning Strike Radar to check for more detailed information. (Matsumoto)
Enables quick advance preparation for various situations, such as clearing gutters in preparation for heavy rain or arranging for snowplows in the event of heavy snowfall
By utilizing weather data, the company says it is able to contribute to the original goal of providing a comfortable lifestyle with the safety and security of residents and staff at its core.
In addition to heavy rainfall, the system is also expected to be effective in addressing the risk of snow accumulation, because in some areas, snowfall can be a problem for snow-dozer cars and low-rise cars. This is because in some areas, snow removal and clearing operations using snow dozer trucks and rotary snowplows are necessary when snow accumulates. In some cases, work may also be required to prevent fire hydrants from being buried under snow or to erect snow poles. In addition, we cannot neglect to warn people about the health hazards caused by icy roads and low temperatures.
Until now, these decisions have been made according to our disaster standards, and after a report is made from the site to headquarters, countermeasures are discussed. However, due to location, climate, and other factors, some areas may be considered at risk of disasters even though they are outside of our standards. In such situations, we can easily share highly accurate weather data, allowing us to respond accurately and quickly, especially in the field," says Hashimoto - san.
In addition, other precautions must be taken during stormy weather, such as cleaning out gutters where fallen trees, flying debris, and fallen leaves tend to accumulate. For this purpose, they rely heavily not only on advance forecasts, but also on the observation data provided by "Solatena Pro. Solatena Pro" observes temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, wind speed, wind direction, and illumination every minute. Not only does it provide real-time information on actual rainfall and wind speed, but it can also be used to save observed data and link with other systems.
In the past, when the rainfall exceeded 120 mm in 24 hours, there was an area that suffered from a landslide. Based on that experience, we have set up the system so that alert notifications will be sent out if the observation data from "Soratena Pro" exceeds a predetermined standard.
In fact, there were times when we received alerts when the set values were exceeded, but we were able to detect it at an early stage and responded calmly. We feel that we have been able to build stronger safety management.
Recently, the summer has been extremely hot, and I am concerned about heat stroke among the elderly owners. By receiving alert notifications when the risk of heat stroke is high, we are taking all possible measures to prevent heat stroke," said Matsumoto - san.
Accumulation of local observation data leads to risk management for each region.
While this initiative has improved safety measures, they feel the need to become more experienced in using the vast amount of weather data.
Even after the introduction of the system, as we used it, we noticed more effective ways to use it," he says. As we enter the rainy season and typhoon season, there will be more risk of heavy rainfall. We may also find more effective ways to use the data to prevent heat stroke in the summer. We would like to update the use of weather forecasts and observation data as appropriate, while ensuring thorough safety management and providing a more comfortable lifestyle," said Hiraiwa - san.
Specifically, we are considering displaying weather forecasts on a website page exclusively for owners.
The Owner's Club site displays live camera images for owners, allowing them to check the status of their residential area in real time. We are now working on displaying detailed weather forecast data of 1 km mesh for the next 72 hours and up to 10 days ahead. If weather forecasts can be checked at the same time, it should make it easier to plan not only safety measures but also the duration of the stay. In the future, we would like to consider displaying observation data from 'Soratena Pro' to provide more accurate local information," says Matsumoto - san.
In addition to weather factors such as rainfall, disaster risk is also affected by regional characteristics such as topography, so the observation data accumulated in each region will also be important.
By analyzing the collected data, we can prepare for disaster risk based on numerical values. We can take specific actions for each region, such as issuing warnings when rainfall exceeds 0.5 mm or wind speed exceeds 0.5 m." (Hashimoto)
The "KURASU MORI" stay houses also offer overnight stays. How about experiencing a safe and comfortable "living in a forest on loan" utilizing weather data?
