(Jointly operated by) Comprehensive Rehabilitation Research Institute - Come-Rihibari Stage (Shimotsumatsu City, Yamaguchi Prefecture)

The Come Walk Rehabilitation Stage is a rehabilitation-focused in-patient care facility (with three units for the morning, afternoon, and day) operated by the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Research Institute.

In addition to this facility, we operate a multi-functional business facility (after-school day care services, life-care support), a visiting nursing station, a care prevention business facility, a home care support business facility, and a small daycare center.

Mr. Michiaki Otani, Representative Director and President, who is also a physical therapist, spoke about the background to the establishment of the complex facility.

"I worked as a physical therapist at a corporate-run hospital for 10 years. With the introduction of the nursing care insurance system, the scope of my profession expanded, and I started receiving requests from various places to start rehabilitation facilities for the elderly and day care services. I myself became interested in and passionate about community rehabilitation, so I quit my job at the hospital I had been working at and started working as a freelance physical therapist at local nursing care facilities and day care and rehabilitation facilities. Furthermore, I started my studies and research at Hiroshima University Graduate School with the research theme "Construction of a cognitive function improvement exercise therapy system for dementia-related elderly." Meanwhile, I started my studies and research at Hiroshima University Graduate School with the research theme "Construction of a cognitive function improvement exercise therapy system for dementia-related elderly."



Amidst a busy daily schedule, including working at three nursing care facilities on a daily basis, Dr. Ota has steadily accumulated expertise over the years. Starting with the opening of the visiting nursing station in 2004, he has been enthusiastically working to build normalization, including opening after-school day care services and kindergartens.

"Shimotsumashi City faced the problem of waiting children who could not be admitted to daycare centers, and the administration had been advised to run the daycare centers instead. In my desire to create a society where everyone can live without discrimination and with peace of mind regardless of age or disability, I thought that if people with disabilities and those without disabilities could interact naturally from a young age, it would lead to a society where normalization is achieved without any conscious bias. The current situation seems to be a form of normalization based on the idea that "no distinction should be made." Although some people are aware of this, I believe that if people with disabilities are included in the daycare centers from an early age, such awareness will disappear naturally. That is exactly my ideal of a normal society. I was also considering establishing after-school daycare centers, so I decided to run a daycare center at the same time."

Please tell us your strong aspirations for realizing a normalization society.

“There are individual differences in achieving goals due to illness or disability, so we do not impose our own expectations or rush the process. Instead, we aim to support our clients in preparing for their goals at their own pace, and create a space where they can slowly work on themselves. In the future, we will not only conduct general physical fitness tests such as grip strength measurements and walking tests, but also present detailed objective data through examinations such as body fat and body composition measurements, posture, and foot pressure distribution, so that our clients can understand their current situation and suggest specific rehabilitation programs and improvement methods tailored to their individual needs.”



They also spoke about dementia prevention.

"It is believed that engaging in aerobic activities such as walking can effectively replenish oxygen in the body on a sustained basis, and our research has also confirmed that focused exercise is effective in preventing dementia."

The staff of 35 people, including four physiotherapists, one occupational therapist, one speech therapist, four nurses, seven caregivers, and 18 nursing staff, are all very cheerful people.



Communication is possible across job roles and with other departments, making this a bright and cheerful workplace.

Also, it’s a great workplace where teamwork is naturally encouraged when there are staff who are in need of help. The staff are treating their clients with the same passion as me, so I’m really being supported too.



I realized that the reason users can train with a positive attitude is because of President Ohata’s philosophy and the team spirit of all the staff.

Furthermore, at the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Research Institute, in each facility, monthly in-house study sessions are held to improve the professionalism of staff in order to improve the quality of services.

Finally, regarding the reason why our equipment was introduced, Mr. Ota said:

"Since my time in the hospital, I have had a relationship with your sales representative, and I have been receiving very good service from them. The design and functionality of the machine are excellent, and it is highly appreciated by the users."

Shimotsumata City is a city with a population of about 55,000 people, located in the southeast of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

“The origin of the city name ”Undamatsu” is attributed to a legend that stars fell from the pine trees and continued to shine for seven days and seven nights. In the northern part of the city there is the Amikawa District, which has abundant forests. In the eastern part, the area is selected as one of “Hometown 100,” and there are many stunning terraced rice fields that only local people know about. In the central part of the city, there are commercial facilities such as large shopping malls, and in the south it faces the Seto Inland Sea. Kasato Island located in the Seto Inland Sea is an uninhabited island shaped like a crescent moon seen from the air and is connected to the mainland by the red bridge “Kasato Bridge.” There are also many natural landscapes such as camping sites, beaches, and coastal trails, which are worth seeing, and many people from within and outside the prefecture visit it.