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This story is the third of three parts about a foreigner moving to a rural town in Japan. Part one lives here.
This story is the third of three parts about a foreigner moving to a rural town in Japan. Part one lives here.
This is a VR Friendly Article
In your headset, open a browser window and enter this easy-to-remember address:
https://tinyurl.com/cozytajimi
You can then click on the VR icon in the 360 photos to experience in full VR.
Bonus 3d video for headset users
Start the YouTube VR app in your headset. Search for "180 VR Montana"
In your headset, open a browser window and enter this easy-to-remember address:
https://tinyurl.com/cozytajimi
You can then click on the VR icon in the 360 photos to experience in full VR.
Bonus 3d video for headset users
Start the YouTube VR app in your headset. Search for "180 VR Montana"
a silver lining on the dark cloud of the pandemic
2020 has been a dark year in the shadow of the pandemic. Never before have our lives been so disrupted. But here is the good news: the virus has also taught us lessons that we can use to improve our future. One of the lessons learned is that a huge city may not be the best place to live. If you live in such a place and are thinking of leaving the crowds behind for a couple of days, or maybe even permanently, I think this article may be helpful to you. I'll finish up with my own recipe for settling down in the countryside.
To be honest with you, I feel incredibly lucky to have moved here to Tajimi from Tokyo, and yet it also feels strange. It is hard to describe, but it feels like I have been planning for life in the pandemic era long before it started. I almost feel bad about it. I have managed to find work, a good place to live, and a lifestyle that is not affected by the pandemic. Every day, I put on a pair of goggles and travel around the world, meet people, hold events - I even met a man who we later recruited and moved here from Cornwall, UK. Before he stepped out of Tajimi station I only knew him in his avatar form - an alien with a glowing chest.
I work in VR, and rarely need to leave our house. It's one of the occupations that you can have as a digital nomad, but there are many others. So what is the silver lining on the pandemic cloud? Well, for one thing the reset of people's minds may help reverse this depressing trend:
To be honest with you, I feel incredibly lucky to have moved here to Tajimi from Tokyo, and yet it also feels strange. It is hard to describe, but it feels like I have been planning for life in the pandemic era long before it started. I almost feel bad about it. I have managed to find work, a good place to live, and a lifestyle that is not affected by the pandemic. Every day, I put on a pair of goggles and travel around the world, meet people, hold events - I even met a man who we later recruited and moved here from Cornwall, UK. Before he stepped out of Tajimi station I only knew him in his avatar form - an alien with a glowing chest.
I work in VR, and rarely need to leave our house. It's one of the occupations that you can have as a digital nomad, but there are many others. So what is the silver lining on the pandemic cloud? Well, for one thing the reset of people's minds may help reverse this depressing trend:
See your own country profile here.
As you can see, the Japanese have been moving from the countryside to the cities by the millions since the 1950s. This data is from Japan, but it's a global trend. Fewer people means less economic activity, less tax to be collected, and a hollowing out of services for the population. But as I have written before, living in the countryside is not so bad. For me, it has been a blessing. Now people are discovering one great downside of life in the big cities. Fewer people mean fewer viruses as well - so why not leave the crowds behind for good? Life here is more affordable, there is space and room to breath, and the air you breathe is fresh. And for people living in a small countryside town like Tajimi, nature is just around the corner.
In this third instalment I want to introduce a few villages in the outskirts of our town I find charming. They are equally nice for a short visit as they are for permanent settlement. Let's start with Chikyuumura - "World Village" - which is not really a village but a leisure facility in Sannokura town.
In this third instalment I want to introduce a few villages in the outskirts of our town I find charming. They are equally nice for a short visit as they are for permanent settlement. Let's start with Chikyuumura - "World Village" - which is not really a village but a leisure facility in Sannokura town.
chikyuumura
"Accommodation, camping, nature experience, astronomical observation": come and enjoy our facility in the forest!" says the title of the Chikyuumura home page. When I visited to shoot for the 360 tour -as seen here above- there were plenty of people inside, many of them apparently families. The main building is quite spacious and there is a vast hall in the middle. Upstairs there are rooms for visitors, and there are baths on the other side.
Sharing is a central theme at Chikyuumura. As you can see, people relax in the main area doing various things. There is a piano, and an open fire. There are areas for kids to play. One of the rooms upstairs (it's in the tour) has a view of the hall. These rooms are all about sharing too. "In addition to being used as a training camp for schools and sports groups in our city and as a place for citizens to relax, in recent years Chikyuumura has been widely used by groups and individuals from other places in Aichi Prefecture, mainly in the neighbouring cities of Seto and Kasugai", the site says.
"We have a lot of visitors", says Mr. Itakura, the manager of Chikyuumura, "especially on weekends. Many are from this region, but we have visitors from big cities like Tokyo and Osaka as well, and quite a few foreign guests. Foreigners are sometimes surprised by our sharing philosophy, especially the baths. They often expect there to be showers. But this is the Japanese style."
Facilities available at Chikyuumura include:
Sharing is a central theme at Chikyuumura. As you can see, people relax in the main area doing various things. There is a piano, and an open fire. There are areas for kids to play. One of the rooms upstairs (it's in the tour) has a view of the hall. These rooms are all about sharing too. "In addition to being used as a training camp for schools and sports groups in our city and as a place for citizens to relax, in recent years Chikyuumura has been widely used by groups and individuals from other places in Aichi Prefecture, mainly in the neighbouring cities of Seto and Kasugai", the site says.
"We have a lot of visitors", says Mr. Itakura, the manager of Chikyuumura, "especially on weekends. Many are from this region, but we have visitors from big cities like Tokyo and Osaka as well, and quite a few foreign guests. Foreigners are sometimes surprised by our sharing philosophy, especially the baths. They often expect there to be showers. But this is the Japanese style."
Facilities available at Chikyuumura include:
- An astronomical observatory. You need to book a time. The price is 1000 yen for groups of up to five people, and 200 yen for each additional person.
- BBQ facilities. There are BBQ kits available in the store.
- Log houses (see the tour here above).
- Camping. There are toilets and water nearby.
- Hiking tracks. There are several courses to choose from. Walking time varies from 10 to 90 minutes.
- Wood work experiences. Make keyholders, bird whistles, hanger racks and more.
- Golf and tennis courses at walking distance from the facility.
- A spacious meeting room with projector.
Personally, I would really like to visit the astronomical observatory. This summer I was able to watch Saturn through a telescope for the first time in my life. The feeling when the bright spot resolved into a planet with a ring around it was awesome, in the true sense of the word. Starry skies is one of the many benefits of life in the countryside!
Tsuzuhara
Ms Chiho Yamada, the CEO of Montana Cafe, serving coffe.
Tsuzuhara is quite a unique village in our city. It is home to a couple of unique companies - Tsuzuhara Eeno and Maple Lab.
At the fruit fields of Tsuzuhara Eeno you can enjoy blueberry picking in the summer and strawberry picking from winter to spring. Tsuzuhara Town, which is surrounded by satoyama scenery, is home to a popular tourist farm in Tajimi, about 15 minutes drive from the city. You can go there by bus (although they are not very frequent), or taxi if you are not driving yourself. "Tsuzuhara Eenoo" is a company established by a farmer in the town to protect the local scenery and environment.
Entering Tsuzuhara - keep on going and you will see the Montana as well as the strawberry fields on the right
The company cultivates around 2000 blueberry trees, and a strawberry variant called "Akihime", which has a reputation for being large and sweet.
You can make a reservation and pick for yourself (this is necessary as the crop size varies during the season). There are seven very large greenhouses, filled with strawberry plants as far as you can see. The temperature inside is about 30 degrees! The space between the rows of plants is barrier-free and wide, which makes it easy to use even in a wheelchair or pushing a stroller.
You can make a reservation and pick for yourself (this is necessary as the crop size varies during the season). There are seven very large greenhouses, filled with strawberry plants as far as you can see. The temperature inside is about 30 degrees! The space between the rows of plants is barrier-free and wide, which makes it easy to use even in a wheelchair or pushing a stroller.
Nearby is the Montana Café, which serves desserts using the berries from the fields. It's a wonderful log house style building, as you can see in the 360 photo in our tour. It was built with huge logs from their mother company, a forestry firm in Tsuzuhara. I found the place quite busy during my visit - people like to come here for lunch. I had a nice Japanese-style hamburger, but would also recommend the Spaghetti Neapolitan, a "Japanese old-style Western dish" invented in this country.
Japanese maple farm shots kindly provided by Mable Laboratory, Tajimi.
Another quite unique company in this town is Maple Lab. They produce teas and drinks from the Japanese Maple. As you can see in our 360 tour, the maple farm adds a special kind of charm to the scenery. The drinks produced from the leaves are thought to have various health benefits, which is driving the company's vision.
Atsushi Honma, the president of the company, is also keen to help preserve the environment, as he explains on his company site: "The momiji - the Japanese maple - has had a special place in the Japanese hearts since the Heian period, a thousand years ago. It is the subject of many classical poems. It's a tree familiar to and beloved by the people of Japan. We hope to give the momiji a new significance in modern society. Today there is a lot of abandoned farmland in our region, and we hope to plant and harvest maples there."
Indeed, the Japanese maple is now being planted around Tajimi, turning our city to a "Momiji town."
Atsushi Honma, the president of the company, is also keen to help preserve the environment, as he explains on his company site: "The momiji - the Japanese maple - has had a special place in the Japanese hearts since the Heian period, a thousand years ago. It is the subject of many classical poems. It's a tree familiar to and beloved by the people of Japan. We hope to give the momiji a new significance in modern society. Today there is a lot of abandoned farmland in our region, and we hope to plant and harvest maples there."
Indeed, the Japanese maple is now being planted around Tajimi, turning our city to a "Momiji town."
Links
How to cook Spaghetti Neapolitan (YouTube)
Maple Lab
Strawberry picking in Tsuzuhara (English article)
Maple Lab
Strawberry picking in Tsuzuhara (English article)
suwacho
Suwacho is a place I certainly wouldn't mind living in. With the new possibilities of fast broadband virtually everywhere thanks to tens of thousands of tiny satellites covering the world, it's exciting to think about how you can withdraw from civilization and yet at the same time be more connected than ever, and in ways that would have sounded like science fiction only a few years ago. VR, which we have used for several years now, is finally taking off. Anybody can now be anything, go anywhere, and meet anyone without stepping outside the house.
Two of happy Suwacho ladies dressed up in their best yukata for the evening.
Knowing that, I feel an urge to move to some place where I can completely forget about urban life in reality. Just not having to hear the noise of cars, or see the ugly concrete blocks that are called buildings seems like chicken soup for the soul. The village of Suwacho is a place where you could find peace. It sits in a beautiful valley. There is a Shinto shrine overlooking it from a hill. It all reminds me of the hobbit village in Lord of the Rings.
But a daytrip here is nice as well. Suwacho is certainly a fun place to go when there is a festival, like the Bōnote (‘staff and hand’). This is a martial tradition surrounded by mystery and legend, and practiced in many places in the region. You can learn more about it if you read this in-depth article by Ellis Amdur. I asked a local elder, Takehiko Kawachi, about its origins. "Nobody knows what they are," he said, "but what can be said about our form of bōnote is that it is much more gentle than what is practised in some other places." Indeed, some aspects of bōnote have been banned because they are deemed too dangerous.
But a daytrip here is nice as well. Suwacho is certainly a fun place to go when there is a festival, like the Bōnote (‘staff and hand’). This is a martial tradition surrounded by mystery and legend, and practiced in many places in the region. You can learn more about it if you read this in-depth article by Ellis Amdur. I asked a local elder, Takehiko Kawachi, about its origins. "Nobody knows what they are," he said, "but what can be said about our form of bōnote is that it is much more gentle than what is practised in some other places." Indeed, some aspects of bōnote have been banned because they are deemed too dangerous.
Bōnote performance at Suwacho. Elements of comedy have been introduced to the rather ritualistic bōnote tradition over the centuries. But here, where a man defends himself with nothing more than a wooden lid, this may also be mixed with realism. Farmers were part of the local defense when no soldiers where available, and they probably had to use what they could find when the village came under attack.
"It is said that this village was founded by fighters on the losing side of the war between the Taira and Minamoto clans," he says. "They fled here to avoid death". This would explain why Suwacho village seems to be hidden up in the mountains. The two sides fought for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Perhaps the warlike bōnote ritual in Suwacho is related to this history - one can only guess.
Takehiko Kawachi
Another very nice local event is the yearly summer festival. I captured it in 360 a couple of years ago, and wrote a story about it. It was like a big family coming together. In this small village with about a hundred citizens, everybody knows everybody. It's an advantage, but also something urban dwellers think of as an infringement of personal freedom and privacy. In a small society like this, you are expected to contribute and participate. It may not be the perfect environment for lone wolves. "I guess you can say people here are quite conservative," says Kawachi. "We are not used to outsiders." There are other problems for new settlers as well. "The regulations on building new houses are very strict," says the former village leader. "They are not our rules, but imposed by local government. The way to sidestep that is to buy an empty house."
So the ultimate way for a digital nomad to settle in Suwacho would be to find a property, get a satellite Internet connection, make full use of VR, and build a friendly relation with the locals, making sure to be helpful and make a contribution to local life. This, I think, is the recipe for successfully settling down in any similar place in Japan.
Indeed, I think it is a recipe for a better life.
Indeed, I think it is a recipe for a better life.
links
Bōnote: A Little-Known Martial Tradition of Rural Japakogenbudo.org/guest-blog-bonote-a-little-known-martial-tradition-of-rural-japan-russ-ebert/n – by Russ Ebert
Bonus information for rural VR users (and those considering being one)
VR - Virtual Reality - is rapidly gaining popularity in 2020, especially after the introduction of very affordable stand-alone headsets (no PC necessary). In this article we mention Starlink, which is the new satellite network built by Elon Musk and his company SpaceX. For VR, latency is an important factor - that is, the lag introduced when signals travel from their origin (a server) to the receiver (the headset user). If the server is far away and latency is high, the experience will not be smooth. Think of it as a video phone conversation with a lot of lag. When you start to speak, it takes too long time to reach the other person, so he or she may start saying something in the middle of your sentence and so on. VR suffers badly from this. Ideally, a latency of 20 milliseconds or less is needed for the best VR experience. This article suggests that Elon believes this will be possible with StarLink. He also believes that Starlink will be better for rural areas than urban ones. Learn more here.
