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【A Regional Study to Minamiuonuma City】
From October 1st to 2nd, 13 KIP members and 1 KIP alumni visited Minamiuonuma City in Niigata Prefecture. We had a discussion with local people, the local government and students from International University of Japan. We harvested rice and learned how to make “Hazakake” (the place to put rice in the sun) from local farmers.This is the third time for us to visit Minamiuonuma. In the discussion, we considered some ideas for reactivating the town from various aspects of opinions of the participants. As the ideas for reactivating the town, we suggested 5 ideas; ①The introduction of new technology, especially drone, into agriculture ②Holding summer school for university students ③Holding tours for experiencing “sake” and Japanese foods for the wealthy class from Europe and America ④Holding the FES ⑤Building community for foreigners to live comfortably.
【Schedule】
10/1
・discussion
・preparation for making “Hazakake”
10/2
・rice reaping
・making “Hazakake”
・a tour of ice house at Hakkaisan Brewery
【Pictures】
-Making “Hazakake”-
“Hazakake” is a traditional way of drying harvested rice.
-Discussion-
We had a discussion with local farmers, workers from various industries, city employees, and students from International University of Japan. They were total of 40 people and were divided into five discussion groups.
-Rice Reaping-
We harvested rice with students from International University of Japan by receiving instructions from local farmers.
-Drying Harvested Rice with “Hazakake”-
We dried harvested rice on “Hazakake.”
-BBQ with local people and students from International University of Japan-
After we finished the work, we enjoyed BBQ and talking with one another. We had new rice of Koshihikari boiled in an iron pot.
-A Tour of Ice Room at Hakkaisan Brewery-
We went on a tour of Hakkaisan Brewery which uses ice houses to brew sake for a long period of time. The main application of the ice is usually the storage of perishable food, but ice houses at the Hakkaisan Brewery use winter snow to maintain the facility at low temperature. This picture was taken in the storehouse holding 1,000 tons of snow.