KIP知日派国際人育成プログラム

2023 KIP Niigata Trip

This year's Niigata regional studies included a two-day and one-night visit to Minamiuonuma City, which had been visited multiple times by KIP regional training programs before 2016, and the neighboring city of Tokamachi. Nine students participated, focusing on this year's PJ theme of Japanese agriculture, trying to hear the real voice of farm managers and young people whose lives are closely connected to agriculture. On the first day, they listened to the stories of young farmers who face agriculture as a "company" at Ozawa Farm, and enjoyed nature while sightseeing the industry of Minamiuonuma, a rice-producing region, and sake brewing. We had dinner with a university student from Taisho University who was working as a member of the Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers and four local high school students. We heard their real voices, including their desire to stay in their hometowns and their concerns about entering national universities, which made us think about what we, as city youth, can do. The second day we were mostly in Tokamachi City, where we visited a sightseeing farm and viewed the "Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale." We also thought about tourism and regional development. The Kurosawa Sightseeing Chestnut Farm grows sarunashi, a fruit that has no fixed market price, and the background of the "management that farmers decide the price of the products" was completely different from that of the Ozawa Farm, among many other discoveries. Also, the restaurant that was combined with the artwork explained deeply about the area to us, and we saw many tourists visiting the museum and the outdoor artwork, which was a wonderful example of how a region can uncover its charm. I wonder if it was the abundance of nature that made it so appealing... It was a training program where we enjoyed the wonderful nature and food and grew a lot as KIP!

【Schedule】

November 4 (Sat.) Minamiuonuma City Ozawa Farm, Hakkai Brewery, underground water (Raiden), exchange with local high school students and university students of community-reactivating cooperator squad
November 5 (Sun.) Tokamachi City Kurosawa Sightseeing Chestnut & Hardy Kiwi Orchard Farm, Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial

【Ozawa Farms】

Mr. Ozawa of Ozawa Farms spoke specifically about farm management and the involvement of young people in farming. We learned that Ozawa Farms has learned management know-how through cooperation with other industries in the region, and has thought carefully about profit and work efficiency. As for rice, few people in Minamiuonuma are willing to give up their land, and the reality of large-scale farming is not about intensification but accumulation. I can learn it by talking directly with them during the regional study. Mr. Ozawa's words about wanting to put his own price on what he produces left a particularly strong impression on me. The fact that Ozawa Farm has promoted the participation of young people in agriculture by inviting Mr. Ozawa's friends and that many high school and university students come to Ozawa Farm as part-time workers during the watermelon harvest season may serve as a successful example of young people's involvement in agriculture.

【Hakkai Brewery & Village of Minamiuonuma】

We visited the sake brewery of Hakkai Jozo (brewery) and the Yukimuro, a traditional brewery facility. Niigata Prefecture ranks third in terms of sake production, and even among Niigata Prefecture, Minamiuonuma's sake is said to be high in quality. We learned how the yukimuro, which is called a “natural refrigerator,” utilizes the natural environment of Uonuma city. Inside the yukimuro, there is a huge lump of snow collected from the surrounding area, which cools down the room without any air conditioning equipment. Not only koji, sake, but also vegetables and cakes cooled in yukimuro are sold at the stores, contributing to the local economy by functioning as a tourist destination.

【Dinner & Interaction with Highschool/University Students】

At Ai・Minamiuonuma Miraijuku, we interacted with local high school students and people of Miraijuku over dinner, and listened to the raw opinions of youths in Minamiuonuma and people who are involved in local revitalization. It was impressive to hear that the high school students felt that agriculture, which was one of the themes of this trip, is something close to them. We also understood that they wanted to contribute to the local community they belong to. We also talked with youths of the “community-reactivating cooperator squad” and understood their thoughts toward local revitalization. We were thankfully able to do the understanding with thinking of those people via talks over dinner.

【Kurosawa Sightseeing Chestnut & Hardy Kiwi Orchard]】

Mr. Miyazawa, an owner of the Kurosawa Sightseeing Chestnut & Hardy Kiwi Orchard, told us about agriculture combined with tourism and welfare, and the “sixth industrialization” of agriculture. In the orchard, he grows mainly chestnuts and hardy kiwi. Mr. Miyazawa is particularly focused on planting, processing, and promoting sales of hardy kiwi. He encourages elderly rice farmers who are thinking of giving up their farmland to plant hardy kiwi. I felt that fruit trees such as hardy kiwi are an example of overturning the stereotype that “farming is hard work and not flexible in terms of time”, even without further mechanization. He also said that he would like to promote hardy kiwi as a Tokamachi specialty through a variety of products and to energize the mountainous areas by accumulating farmland in the surrounding areas.

【Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial】

Among the Echigo-Tsumari Art Field’s facilities, we visited Ubusuna House, Museum on Echigo-Tsumari, and Kiyotsukyo Gorge Tunnel. Ubusuna House is one of the restored thatched houses that were damaged in the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake. The building is made of wood and thatch grown in the area, and local ingredients are used in the cooking, creating a space that evokes the “Ubusuna(The guardian gods that follow the land)”. At Museum on the Echigo-Tsumari, the theme focused on their climate and culture, with exhibits including contemporary art created using scrap wood and farming tools collected in Tokamachi City. The Kiyotsukyo Gorge Tunnel featured works that utilized five major elements of nature, including a "lightscape" that reflected the landscape of the Kiyotsukyo in an inverted form. In common with all of the facilities, I felt that they embodied the term "regional revitalization," with an inward arrow pointing toward the charms of Echigo-Tsumari and an outward arrow pointing toward the creation of affluence by inspiring visitors to interact with each other.

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