On the other hand, the cost of things like transportation and lodging are incurred in actually living in two districts, such that there are people who give up due to the extra expense, even though they have a desire to live in two districts. In looking at the survey regarding living in two districts $ {^{Note 34}} $ , people who wish to live in two districts mention the obstacle of “funds” more often than the people who actually live in two districts (Figure 2-1-49). For this reason, it is important to promote various programs to lighten the burden of cost, such as making use of empty housing and public rental housing as well as the promotion of participation in LCC.

Also, from now on, it is important to expand the “Living and Working in Two Districts” lifestyle which deals with not only housing, but connects two districts in a more proactive way of living and working.

## (Trial Living)

As mentioned before, actually living in two districts involves a certain cost. Because of this, even if the actual situation differs from the environment and conditions that had originally been sought, it is not easy to move to a new place.

In order to migrate or live in two districts, it is necessary to first look for the migration site or living area. Especially for people who have no connection to the countryside such as those born and raised in cities, in order for them to look for migration sites and housing without obstacles, it is necessary to actively distribute necessary information by cooperation among various entities, not only the public administration but also public and non-profit organizations. And then, in order to make it easier to look for migration sites and housing in the actual district, it would be necessary to promote extended stay type tourism by the proactive use of long vacations.

Therefore, as a step towards making migration and living in two districts actually happen, several local public organizations have “Trial Living” programs where people can actually stay in a district for a certain amount of time to try residing there.

## Hokkaido Migration Experience “Living a Little While”

In Hokkaido, there is a program in place to promote various migration/interaction in cooperation with the municipalities and non-profit organizations which is called “Hokkaido Migration Experience ‘Living a Little While’ (Hereafter “Living a Little While”)”.

With “Living a Little While”, people who want to migrate to Hokkaido or live in two districts live for a period of time in housing fitted with furniture and appliances necessary for daily living in order to experience daily life in that district. The housing provided uses existing housing such as empty houses, staff housing no longer in use due to the local school being closed.

In 2013, 2,264 people used “Living a Little While”, which was an increase of 14.6% over the previous year and set the highest record of over 2,000 people for the first time since tallying began in 2006. There are many people who use this program for extended periods, so that the average length of stay continues to exceed 20 days, making it clear that an interacting population—people building more connections to the local community rather than just visiting for tourism purposes—is increasing (Figure 2-1-50).

Looking at the number of users by the ratio of their residence location, 42% are from the Capitol Area, 28% from the Kinki Area and 10% are from the Chukyo Area, which shows that people from the 3 Major Metropolitan Areas make up 80% of the total, indicating the high level of interest which the metropolitan area residents have a high interest toward life in Hokkaido (Figure 2-1-51).

Looking the results of the user survey, approximately half of the total give seasonal stay as their purpose, but there are many users who cite looking for candidate sites for migration or two district living as their purpose (Figure 2-1-52). It is hoped that the use of “Live a Little While” to actually experience life in the local area will connect to actual migration or living in two districts in Hokkaido in the near future.