The Aoshima Community Development digital residency NFT of Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture, is sold by lottery sale at ¥1,000 each, limited to 1,000, and can be bought by credit card. Anyone with a credit card and a PC or smartphone can buy it easily and safely. The Aoshima Community Development Council has announced that it will provide the following perks to holders of the digital residency NFT.
1. Aoshima Community Development Ambassador program
The NFT proves that you are a digital resident, and you can declare yourself an "Aoshima Community Development Ambassador" on social media and elsewhere and post with the hashtag "#青島まちづくりアンバサダー" (Aoshima Community Development Ambassador). Photos and information that can be used in posts will be provided to ambassadors, so you can be fully active as an ambassador.
2. Contribute to the growth of Virtual Aoshima
You can take part in developing "Virtual Aoshima," a metaverse being built around Aoshima Shrine in the HEXA Metaverse. In addition to areas created to reflect actual buildings and the like, projects are planned in which digital residents and local residents can separately purchase the right to open a shop. Shops are planned to be selectable from buildings whose exteriors are designed by Kent Miyazaki Co., Ltd. ( https://kentmiyazaki.com/ ), which specializes in resort facilities, shops and detached houses. The metaverse is designed by Yoshino of Mirai Accelerate LLC, who is also a HEXA-certified metaverse architect. A dedicated e-commerce site will also be set up, with plans to establish metaverse e-commerce.
3. Online community
An "Aoshima Community Development DAO" will be formed on HEXA Community. Only holders of the residency NFT can view this community. It provides photos and information that Aoshima Community Development Ambassadors can use freely, and members can vote on the growth of Virtual Aoshima and on support for the Aoshima Community Development Council's projects. The possibilities keep growing, such as events made real by ambassadors' votes.
4. Digital resident-only perks for use when visiting
• 50% off admission to Aoshima Shrine's "Hyuga Shinwa-kan" (Hyuga Mythology Museum) *Companions are also half price
• Discounts on the community development e-commerce site (the site is being set up)
*The e-commerce site is in preparation and will be announced in the community.
*Further updates and additions to the perks are planned. The Aoshima Community Development Council will announce the latest information on the community site for digital residents.
*Please note that the online community, perks and their details may be changed or discontinued without notice
Why the Aoshima Community Development Council is issuing digital residency
The Aoshima Community Development Council positions this project as "an experiment in sustainable regional coexistence," limiting the first round to 1,000 people and aiming for a scale of 10,000 people over 5 years. The Aoshima area has 3,262 residents, but 1,169,923 tourists visit each year (*from the Miyazaki City Tourism Statistics for R5 (Reiwa 5, 2023), number of visitors to Aoshima Shrine), which works out to 3,205 people per day. Through this sale of digital residency, the council aims to turn tourists into related population — people who maintain an ongoing connection to a region without living there.
About the design of the Aoshima Community Development digital residency
The photo for the "Aoshima digital residency," which conveys Aoshima's beautiful scenery and culture, was taken by a photographer and marketer who shoots while traveling to beach towns around the world. Having moved to Aoshima, Miyazaki, with family in 2022, the photographer expresses the atmosphere, people and beach culture of the area through photos and video. This time the image captures Aoshima Shrine and the "washboard" rock formations at a beautiful dusk typical of Aoshima. The photographer runs the Instagram account @japan.films, which shares Japan's appeal through video.
The design was handled by "Aoshima Navi," which shares local information about Aoshima. Aoshima Navi also serves as a presenter on FM Aoshima, and plays a role in conveying Aoshima's appeal widely by sharing local event information and doing PR through Instagram. The design expresses a tropical atmosphere and the cutting-edge character of NFTs, based on Aoshima Shrine, the symbol of Aoshima. The result is a visual that lets people who obtain digital residency feel a connection with Aoshima.
Roadmap published by the Aoshima Community Development Council
The Aoshima Community Development Council does not plan to stop at a single sale: it plans to sell 1,000 at a time twice a year, for 10,000 over 5 years, aiming to create 10,000 digital residents and 10,000 Aoshima Community Development Ambassadors. Through this, it aims to increase its influence on social media and build a structure for growing together with the region. It plans to expand its services over 5 years, including links with Virtual Aoshima, shops opened by companies, a fuller e-commerce site and events. As "Aoshima, the Web3 town," it aims to become a model for advanced regional revitalization nationwide and, together with its digital residents, to attract wide attention.
About the first lottery sale of the Aoshima Community Development digital residency NFT
◇Sale overview
Quantity and price 1,000, ¥1,000 each *One person may buy more than one
Payment currency and method Japanese yen, credit card
Sale format INO (lottery sale)
Where to buy HEXA NFT Marketplace
Application page https://nft.hexanft.com/nftmaticmulti/274
◇Sale schedule
April 16, 2025 (Wed) Purchase applications open (from 14:00)
May 11, 2025 (Sun) Purchase applications close (until 21:59)
May 12, 2025 (Mon) Winners announced
From May 19, 2025 (Mon) Secondary market trading opens
About the Aoshima Community Development Council
Aoshima, located in Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture, is a tourist town. About 1.16 million people visit for sightseeing each year. The island of Aoshima, from which the place name comes, is designated in its entirety as a national Special Natural Monument as a colony of tropical and subtropical plants. More than 200 plant species have been confirmed on the island, 27 of them tropical or subtropical, and it is known as the northernmost colony of palm plants in the Northern Hemisphere. Aoshima Shrine stands there, and the sight of a shrine among subtropical plants is something special.
Aoshima Community Development Council official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aoshima4616/
Aoshima Community Development Council official X:https://x.com/aoshimamachikyo
About HEXA, the NFT marketplace
A Japanese NFT marketplace where you can issue, buy and sell NFTs using Japanese yen alone. You can easily buy NFTs by credit card from a PC or smartphone. No crypto or wallet is needed at all, so you can buy, sell or issue NFTs right away. If you have a HEXA Residents NFT or a LAND NFT, you can also display the NFTs you buy in the HEXA Metaverse. HEXA also offers community features such as Web3-style online salons and fan clubs.
How NFT issuance works: https://hexanft.com/issuermanual/
Apply to issue NFTs here: https://nft.hexanft.com/issue