ABOUT
About RunHive
OUR STORY
See a new side of Chichibu through running.
Make Chichibu a place you return to.
Through running and Chichibu, RunHive helps you discover experiences you will want to share. We hope you take home your own discoveries—the scenery, culture and people you encounter because you explored on foot.
Read the RunHive storyOUR PRINCIPLES
RunHive Principles
RunHive is about more than running. We connect with people, encounter the community, and take home small discoveries found in nature and culture—experiences we eventually want to share. These five principles guide everything we do.
01 Enjoy it ourselves first.ENJOY FIRST.
Before we create enjoyment for others, we first embrace the place, the trail and the people we meet. We can share something with genuine enthusiasm only when we truly believe in it. We do not recommend things simply because they are popular;we share what we have come to love, in our own words.
02 Share, don’t teach.SHARE, DON’T TEACH.
We are not teachers. Rather than passing down knowledge and experience one way, we run together and share what we find and feel as equals. Experienced runners and beginners each make different discoveries.We respect one another’s insights and never dismiss someone else’s discovery.
03 Run alongside, don’t simply guide.RUN ALONGSIDE.
A RunHive experience is more than taking someone to a destination. We stay alongside each participant so they can walk, run, discover and take the experience home as their own. We support when needed and step back when they are ready, with the hope that one day they will return to Chichibu with someone else.The participants—not RunHive—are the heart of every experience.
04 Treasure the small discoveries.DISCOVER MORE.
A region’s appeal is not limited to famous sights: a narrow lane, seasonal flowers, birdsong, a long-standing shop, or a casual conversation with a local. Running reveals things you might otherwise miss. We value what cannot be measured by speed or distance alone.We create experiences that leave you with at least one discovery you will want to share at the end of the day.
05 Leave the trail better for those who follow.LEAVE IT BETTER.
Nature, the community and local daily life do not belong to us alone. We respect the roads we are privileged to run, honor local life and minimize our environmental impact. We leave no litter, do not treat the community as a commodity, and avoid unsustainable events. Whenever possible, we leave a place a little better than we found it.Leave only footprints. Take home discoveries and connections.
FIVE QUESTIONS
Five questions that guide RunHive
When considering a new event, product, service or partnership, we ask ourselves:
- Do we genuinely find it exciting?
- Are we sharing it with participants as equals?
- Does the experience let each participant take center stage?
- Will people take home a discovery they want to share?
- Is it a choice we can be proud of for the future of the community and nature?
We develop only the activities for which we can answer “YES” to all five questions.
Then pass that discovery on to someone else.
Through running,
people connect with Chichibu.
Through running, RunHive creates
人と秩父がつながるための活動です。
CONCEPT
The RunHive concept
It’s more than just running. A place where Chichibu starts to feel like home.
Backstreet views you would pass in a car. Local food and hot springs after a run. The history of the pilgrimage temples and casual conversations with people in Chichibu. As each discovery becomes your own, Chichibu changes from a tourist destination into a familiar place you will want to share.
REPRESENTATIVE
Founder
Takuya Matsumoto
Running Advisor / Nature Guide
Chichibu Muse Park parkrun Event Director
adidas TERREX MEISTER
Born and raised in Chichibu.
When I was younger, I thought Chichibu had nothing to offer and moved away. In Tokyo, I discovered running and a community of friends, and running changed my life for the better.
The turning point came when I brought my running friends from Tokyo to Chichibu. Hearing them say, “Chichibu is amazing!” transformed how I saw my hometown—from gray to vivid color.
Sharing the Chichibu I love and seeing others enjoy it—that is where RunHive began.
Today I organize running events across the Chichibu area, support beginner runners, work as a nature guide, and help lead Chichibu Muse Park parkrun.
“I want to inspire more people to run in Chichibu.”
With that goal in mind, I look forward to running alongside you.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES
Current Activities
What RunHive Does
Planning and operating running and walking events
Planning and operating outdoor tourism programs and workshops
Planning and operating guided nature tours
Running lessons for beginners
Working toward opening a future running station
* RunHive does not currently operate a physical running station.