A neighborhood built for immersive experiences 1-hour from Tokyo
ZuCity is creating our own neighborhood for free spirits and free thinkers in the Japanese Alps. Living with a purpose to do what we didnt even imagine. Visit our coliving and community spaces for building, coding, farming, and exploring.
ZuCity Neighborhood: Three houses. One venue. 5 minute walks to each other.
We are next to central Komoro along the historic Hokkoku Kaido street. Each ZuCity space has its own personality: the private club, the kitchen with homemade miso, the always expanding library, the rooms we rebuilt ourselves. Explore the map to see where you'll be.
Legend
| Place | Distance | On foot |
|---|---|---|
| ZuCity Artist & Builder Residency | 0.1 km | 1 min walk |
| ZuCity Balcony Bedroom #1 | 0.1 km | 1 min walk |
| ZuCity Balcony Bedroom #2 | 0.1 km | 1 min walk |
| ZuCity Lounge - Nakamandem | 0.1 km | 1 min walk |
| ZuCity Secluded Backyard Flat | 0.1 km | 1 min walk |
| ZuCity Office Bedroom and Mountain View | 0.2 km | 2 min walk |
| ZuCity Master Bedroom | 0.3 km | 4 min walk |
| ZuCity Traditional Tatami Bedroom | 0.3 km | 4 min walk |
Three pillars: Ownership. Culture. Events.
Events are your gateway. Coliving is our daily mode. We own the houses, so we can create anything we want. We write the calendar, so the rhythm fits the people in it. Popups are more structured, intense, global, open-houses. Coliving is slow, deep, reality-bending progress on yourself, your life, and your projects.
POPUP CITIES
Expansion
Learn about frontier tech, Japanese spirituality, and offgrid solarpunk all at once
Intensity
Three day summits filled with talks, workshops, networking, and hacking.
Closing
We wish it didnt end which is why we live here. Some of you will stay longer or come back.
LONGTERM COLIVING
Mornings
おはよう. Coffee. Plan. Eject. We're always in motion.
Maintenance
Garden watering. Snow shoveling. Dish Cleaning
Forever
We choose each other again every day.
September 4 — October 5, 2026
UPCOMING EVENT: ZuCity's Annual Popup City: One month, our city, our community.
Four themed weeks, one neighborhood. Sleep in our houses, cook in our kitchens, work from our venue, walk to the shrine. One month is long enough to understand how amazing life in Komoro is, short enough to want to come back for more. Make friendships that last forever.
- 01
WEEK 1 · SEP 04 — SEP 10
d/acc + self-sovereignty
- 02
WEEK 2 · SEP 11 — SEP 17
DeSci + longevity
- 03
WEEK 3 · SEP 18 — SEP 24
jp/acc — the work
- 04
WEEK 4 · SEP 25 — OCT 05
Core + recovery
July 15 — August 15, 2026
UPCOMING EVENT: Art & Builder Residency 🛠️
4 weeks. Sleeves up. Making our community space ourselves. By the end, the rooms we renovate in July will host our community for a month September. Bring your kit or use ours.
Carpentry
Build furniture, structures, and functional spaces from scratch using local and recycled materials.
Interior Design
Aesthetics, floor plans, antique and thrift shopping for unique pieces to furnish the spaces.
Garden & Farm
Design and build the backyard garden and food production systems for community self-sufficiency.
Repairs & Restoration
Repainting walls, laying new flooring, deep cleaning, and other fixing ups around our spaces.
Art Projects
Murals, glow-in-the-dark walls, moss installations, and creative expression throughout the venues.
Fun Times
Late night dinners, board games, sumo competitions, mini raves, massage circles. Whatever we have energy for after a long day
Mountain views. Onsen down the road. Giant lunch sets for 900. Always new people and places to see.
Wake up to birds singing in a clear blue sky, the homies already making coffee and working before todays adventures downstairs. Yesterday you hit one of the six ski mountains nearby. Today someone may stops us on the street to invite us to a matsuri or party. Or we we hit the izakayas and karaoke where everyone in town meets up. You don't optimize this life — you live it.
Belonging is all about showing-up. The streets keep the count.
Nearby Communuities
We visit as many other communities that live within 1 hour of us to strengthen our local network.
The neighbors
They know our names. We know theirs. Vegetables travel in both directions.
The shops
We buy local. The owners remember our orders and how we like it.
Plan your Japan trip with local knowledge.
The ZuCity map curates the best communities, coliving, and events around Japan. You dont need to ask around to find the perfect experience for you. The calendar shows available room and venue dates and imports to Google Calendar so you always have the latest information. Our concierge agent provides 1-on-1 recommendations, itineraries, booking assistance, and group planning. Our app is direct to community, no middleman, you stay with real people.
01 · PLAN YOUR STAY
Explorable map. Live calendar feed. Real availability. Import to Google Calendar so you get new events notifications during your trip.
02 · KNOW THE SPOTS
Every neighborhood, every kitchen, every basement. Our network curates the best places you cant find online.
03 · FIND YOUR PEOPLE
Our concierge agent matches you to the week, the house, the kitchen table you'll be appreciated at.
Follow our progress on socials
The calendar is only what goes public. The proof is the place, come walk our streets with us. We've bought multiple houses, built a real community, have infrastructure ready to go, and had a lot of fun doing it. See our candids on Instagram and read our thought pieces on Substack.
Long reads — Substack
Living the Dream — Building a Coliving Neighborhood in Rural Japan
From 0 to 4 properties in 1 year: how ZuCity is building a vertically-integrated community-owned neighborhood in rural Japan by replacing vibes with equity.
ZuCity Japan Popup City Recap — Unlocking Community-Owned Coliving Infrastructure
ZuCity's first Zuzalu popup city in rural Japan generated ¥480,000 in revenue while converting 26% directly into community assets like vehicles and furniture.
Candids — Instagram
Community Life at ZuCity
A glimpse into daily life at ZuCity Japan — community gatherings, shared meals, and the coliving experience in rural Nagano.
Komoro & Surroundings
Exploring the natural beauty around Komoro — mountains, temples, local festivals, and the landscapes that make this region of Nagano so special.
ZuCity Events & Experiences
Highlights from recent ZuCity community events — workshops, cultural experiences, and the kinds of moments that happen when you bring builders and creators together in rural Japan.