Lessons from Running a Regional IT Community: 165 Kyoto Events and 615 Members

Key points

- Regional IT communities can use the six-part TEMPLE model: Theme, Environment, Members, Persistence, Local, and Evolution.

- The framework comes from seven years, 165 Miyako de IT events in Kyoto, and growth from two people to 615 members.

- The community progressed through launch in 2019, expansion in 2020–2021, differentiation in 2021–2023, and institutional development in 2024–2025.

- A region's disadvantage is density; its strength is context. Place and experience can create meaningful differentiation.

After seven years of operating an IT engineering community outside Tokyo, Miyako de IT had held 165 events and grown from two people to 615 members. This article records what worked, what did not, and a repeatable structure for people starting or continuing a regional community.

Why we started an IT community in Kyoto

In 2019, Kyoto had very few casual places for IT engineers to meet:

There were few IT study sessions.
Connections among engineers remained inside individual companies.
Information was concentrated in Tokyo and Osaka.

People were present but unconnected. The missing elements were a platform—a place—continuous contact, and a low psychological barrier. The immediate motivation was also simple: traveling to Osaka had become inconvenient, so we decided to create in Kyoto what did not exist there.

Seven years of development

Phase 1: Launch, 2019

One mokumoku session per month.
A series preparing for Japan's G certification began in the summer and introduced us to important future collaborators.
Hypothesis: demand exists.

This was the validation phase.

Phase 2: Expansion, 2020–2021

Events moved online during the pandemic.
Participation from outside Kyoto increased.
Hybrid events began.

Removing geographic constraints appeared to increase participation.

Phase 3: Differentiation, 2021–2023

Events at temples and traditional townhouses.
Work in blockchain.
International exchange with a Korean community.
The top HACK+ award.

The combination of place and experience created differentiation.

Phase 4: Institutional development, 2024–2025

Regular events at KOIN.
Integration into Netsujo's business activity.
Stronger company partnerships.

This reinforced the community's foundation.

Explore upcoming Miyako de IT events →

The TEMPLE model

TEMPLE stands for Theme, Environment, Members, Persistence, Local, and Evolution. It is a repeatable framework derived from building a community that writes code in temples in Kyoto.

T — Theme: a region's strength is context

A region cannot reproduce Tokyo's matching density. It can instead use the meaning of its place.

Tokyo: matching efficiency.
Regional cities: experiential value.

A temple mokumoku session works because it belongs to Kyoto's context. Community value depends on connecting the theme with meaning that can arise in that place.

E — Environment: a venue can become the brand

A regular venue becomes a psychological home and a reason to return. Miyako de IT has used four kinds of place: Butsugenji temple, KOIN in the Kyoto Economic Center, traditional townhouses, and a former teahouse. Temples support concentration, KOIN supports exchange, and townhouses support small, detailed conversations.

When choosing a venue, check:

Reasonable access from a station.
Whether participation can remain affordable.
Whether organizers can keep booking it without psychological strain.
Whether the event still works with a small group.

M — Members: design for a second and third visit

Because the potential audience is smaller outside a major metropolis, retaining someone who has attended once is more important than continuously acquiring new people. Miyako de IT therefore:

Charges between free and ¥1,000.
Explicitly welcomes solo participants.
Has the organizer greet new participants first.
Makes light introductions among participants.
Allows late arrival and early departure.
Welcomes every skill level.

The objective goes beyond “that was comfortable” to “I could come again” or “I could bring someone next time.” This can be designed deliberately.

P — Persistence: continue through structure, not willpower

The community did not reach 165 events through determination alone. The work remained enjoyable, so organizers could keep wondering what would be interesting next month and enjoy creating that experience for participants.

Two foundations are not imposing a rigid KPI and not turning every event into an obligation. On top of that flexibility, Miyako de IT maintains one non-negotiable standard: once per month. Community trust means predictable existence—the belief that the group will still be there next month. Passing 10, 30, and 100 events turns continuity itself into an asset.

L — Local: partnerships make expansion possible

A community operating alone eventually reaches limits in venues, reach, and credibility. Miyako de IT has collaborated with Butsugenji, KOIN, traditional townhouses, a former teahouse, companies, and municipalities. Each partner brings its own trust and audience, creating promotion that does not depend entirely on the organizer.

Being local means more than using a place name. It means accumulating enough trust that local people believe collaboration with the community is reliable.

E — Evolution: a mokumoku session is a starting point

Mokumoku sessions lower the first-participation barrier and create an initial participant base. They are not the final form. Communities can then expand into networking, hackathons, technical events, academia–industry work, and joint business development.

Miyako de IT uses three layers:

Layer 1 — Contact: mokumoku sessions and free events.
Layer 2 — Relationships: networking and collaborative events.
Layer 3 — Value: recruiting, contract development, and joint businesses.

A community becomes connected to sustainable business only when these layers can interact.

Current challenges

Too little involvement by engineers at regional companies.
An insufficient path from community relationships to projects.
Core operations still depend too heavily on specific individuals.

A realistic sequence for starting a regional IT community

1. Make its existence visible

Do not begin by perfecting the concept. Create a continuing place such as connpass where people can recognize that a community with this regional theme exists. Being invisible or apparently inactive is more damaging than low initial recognition.

2. Choose a venue you can keep using

Prefer access, affordability, organizer comfort, and viability with a small number of people over short-term spectacle.

3. Begin with a low-pressure mokumoku session

In the simplest form, only a place and time are required. Low operating effort is especially important where the potential audience is limited.

4. Do not overvalue initial attendance

Three people who have a meaningful conversation and want to return are enough. Repeat visits matter more than the headline number for one event.

5. Protect a monthly rhythm

Trust comes from the expectation that the group will still exist next month. Once a month is sufficient; do not stop.

6. Use social media to establish trust

Prospective participants look through earlier posts to see who attends and whether beginners are welcome. Social media is not merely advertising; it documents enough evidence for somebody to trust the event.

7. Pass the 10-, 30-, and 100-event thresholds

After 10 events, the activity no longer looks accidental. Around 30, it begins to be recognized regionally. Beyond 100, continuity itself becomes a form of credibility.

Conclusion

The essence of a regional community is to design relationships, build a repeatable system, and convert continued activity into a useful organizational asset. The deeper value of writing code in Kyoto temples is not novelty alone, but the ability to understand and reproduce the structure behind the experience.

Discuss a community initiative

Contact Netsujo Inc. if you want to start a regional IT community, use a community for recruiting or branding, or collaborate with Web3 and IT engineering communities.