Over the years, we've been traveling through the countryside and small towns of Europe, and we've often been struck by how much we've been able to stay in the quiet, relaxing, beautiful, and historically rich little places. Rarely did we think that one day we would travel to the Japanese countryside.
It was not until we happened to read the book "Four Seasons in Satoyama, Kyoto" by British author Vinicia Stanley Smith that her experience of encountering herbs and searching for the beautiful seasons lost in time in the mountains of Kyoto, far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, aroused our interest in finding the beautiful countryside of Japan.
? 1 Encounter Oyamacho in a beautiful valley
When the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Japan's countryside trip into the line. Car traveling on the highway, but see both sides of the highway, the banks of the river, the hillside up and down, in front of the house, the village, the village outside, the sunshine of a splash of pink, white, is the most beautiful time in the Japanese countryside.
It is a completely different landscape from the city. In Nishi-Oyama, Oyama-cho (town, equivalent to a town in China) in Nitta City, Oita Prefecture. The valley below the highway is pure nature. Snow-white plum blossoms are spread out on the large slopes. On the slopes of the mountain surrounded by a circle outside the plum orchard are one plum orchard after another, with red plum blossoms, also in enthusiastic bloom. In the middle of the plum gardens, there are winding walkways, both for laborers to traverse and for tourists to walk.
Mr. Mitaniello is the director of Oyama-cho Agricultural Association (Agricultural Cooperative Association).
Mr. Mitabashi, the director of Oyama Town Agricultural Cooperative Association, said that the villages in this area, 80% of which are valleys and 20% of which are fields, used to be one of the poorest areas in Japan with rice cultivation, and the first reform of the association was started in 1961, which was a change to cash crops such as plums and chestnuts, and the slogan of the association was "Grow plums and chestnuts in Xavier".
Later, various kinds of herbs were planted. Oyama-cho has 900 households and a population of more than 2,700. Thirty-five years ago, Japanese people didn't know what vanilla was, but now there are 25 kinds of vanilla in Oyama," he said. Chestnut flour and various kinds of herbs are important raw materials for Western-style pastries and Western food. The same amount of land produces higher added value and is more efficient. Farmers' incomes have increased several times."
Making farmers healthy and educated people is the second reform; the third reform is to create a comfortable and beautiful living environment, and to protect and enrich rural cultural life. Mr. Mitabashi said that now farmers in Oyama-cho work in the morning, while in the afternoon they can drive to Fukuoka City to shop and watch movies. And the Farmers' Association also encourages and organizes trips to foreign countries for farmers to enjoy their leisure and broaden their horizons, as well as to learn about the market.
The changes in Oyama Town, thanks to the Japanese agricultural industrialization of the "one village, one product" movement. That is, a village, the use of local resources, the development of a distinctive fist product, into the domestic and international markets, which not only reflects the spirit of the place, but also cultivate a local reputation in the national and even the world market.
This movement was initiated by Mr. Morihiko Hiramatsu, the former governor of Oita Prefecture, in 1979, and that is why the towns and villages in Oita Prefecture, including Oyama Town, are the birthplace of the "One Village, One Product" movement in Japan.
Mr. Mitaniella took us into the village to see how those old farmhouses were transformed into comfortable homes with clear windows and to feel the simple and clean decorative style of the countryside.
2 Plum Wine: The Best of Plum Wine
The Plum Wine Winery is located in the valley of Nishi-Oyama, Oyama-cho, where there are many plum trees. There is a beautiful hot spring hotel next to the winery. It is a good place for a wine tasting vacation.
The "one product" of Oyamacho, ume plums, has become a national specialty and brand.
The plum wine made from ume plums here is one of the best in Kyushu. The brewery proudly proclaims that it uses only ume plums and umeboshi from Oyama-cho, and that it is 100% local.
Inside the brewery, there is a wide variety of plum wine and food made from plums on display. Next to the showroom is the wine cellar, where the plum wine is waiting for its ripening day in the large oak barrels on both sides.
Next to the wine cellar is a plum wine laboratory, where guests who come to view the wine can complete a bottle of plum wine with their own hands under the guidance of a winemaker. Clean your hands; wash and dry the chilled plums and place them in a bottle; add the right amount of rock sugar according to your taste; then pour in sake or brandy; seal and add the date and maker's label. The finished umeboshi is ready to drink after a year of steeping.
The plum wine here is not only famous in the region, but also won the gold medal at the National Plum Wine Tasting Competition, and the gold medal at the World Sweet Wine Competition for two consecutive years.
That's why some guests drove all the way here to taste the plums and plum wine, and brought a few bottles home to savor, letting the taste of the countryside slowly surround their taste buds.
At the spa hotel next to the winery, open the refrigerator in your room and a simple but exquisite dessert awaits you: chilled plums.
As one of Oyamacho's "One Piece", plums are the ultimate article. In the end, it's a design.
? 3 Finding redemption in the countryside by the power of nature
Oyama-cho, Higashi-Oyama. Behind the Oyama Agricultural Association, the Chikugo River flows gently. This is a place where you can sit and enjoy the cherry blossoms and wait for the time to pass slowly.
You can find a variety of countryside delicacies here. You can buy fresh local produce in season at the outlet store along the highway. Fruits and vegetables produced by farmers and processed agricultural products are sold by the Kinokana Farm and Garden Department. Today, "Kinohana Farm" has become a brand name, and its influence has increased the market price of fruits and vegetables produced in Oyama-cho. The Farm Department has opened a number of outlets in Fukuoka City and Oita City.
According to the information provided by the Oyama Town Agricultural Association, in 2015, the sales of this section amounted to 1.7 billion yen. There are 25 farmers among the members of the Farm and Garden Department who are engaged in the food processing industry with sales of 10 million to 50 million yen.
In recent years, several young people who once left the countryside have returned to the countryside for employment every year.
We had lunch at the farmhouse restaurant in Higashi-Oyama, where the windows are clear. Here you will find "Farmers' Hospitality", a 100% organic, self-service farmhouse restaurant. You can eat traditional dishes made by local farmers using seasonal produce, wild vegetables and other local specialties, which are very popular.
Under the cherry blossom trees, there is also a bakery called "Tian Yuan", which serves a variety of breads and pastries made from purple rice.
Mr. Mitaniella showed us a future plan. Mr. Sanfeltelt showed us a picture of the future plan, which we call the "Plum Garden of the World" plan, where the mountain plum garden is surrounded by green trees, and visitors walk under the shade of the trees, and a chic Japanese-style farmhouse is located among them. Mr. Sanfeltelt said, this is a "spring cherry blossoms, autumn leaves" beautiful countryside, is the city people come to enjoy a good place, is the city and the rural areas of the platform for exchanges.
The new Plum Blossom Garden in Daisen-machi is like a pot of mellow sake that refreshes the minds of city dwellers who feel trapped. The earth, with its natural redemptive power.
? 4 Soda Town: Architecture is the cultural DNA of a nation
Soda Town is a rural town under the jurisdiction of Nitta City in Oita Prefecture.
It is a small town with a rich sense of antiquity, known as "Little Kyoto". In the north of the town, there is a small river called "Hanagetsuki River", which looks like the moon.
The town is like an architectural museum, with many old buildings from the Edo, Meiji, and Showa eras deliberately preserved on both sides of the street, with a maximum height of two floors, and white walls and tiles, like a small poem frozen in time. These buildings are designed in the style of different eras, and some of them are national cultural assets, such as Kusano Honke and Chofukuji Temple, the latter being the oldest temple in Kyushu. It is these everyday buildings, which are approachable and not too grandiose, that form the cultural DNA of this nation.
There are a number of small museums (some are called resource centers) in the town where visitors can take their time to experience the history, culture and customs of Japan.
The Hirose Museum is the former residence of Hirose Awa, a famous Confucian scholar, educator and Chinese poet of the Edo period. Hirose life indifferent to fame and glory, although born into the aristocracy, but alone and secluded in the mountains, opened the "Guilin Zhuang" school, the students up to thousands of people. He was a good writer of Chinese poetry, and a banner in Chinese characters hangs in the museum, which is a Chinese poem he made, "Guilin Zhuang Miscellaneous Rhymes for the Students", describing the feelings between him and his classmates and friends:
No need to say that there are many hardships in other places, but there are friends in the same gown who have been close to each other since.
The first time I saw you, I was so happy to see you, and I'm so happy to see you.
Hirose's poem is like tea, with a lingering fragrance. Because of the cursive Chinese characters, we read with interest, the curator saw, but could not help, holding a folding fan, hand dancing, singing. Chinese and Japanese culture influence each other, a long history, it is sad.
Inside the town, there are many fresh stores, tea rooms, liquor stores and restaurants, each store is different, each has its own wonderful.
Zen Rindo, a small store specializing in old paintings, under the guidance of Professor Ye, received an old print in the style of the Edo period ukiyo-e master, Tsukioka Yoshinen.
Kaicho Brewery, a famous cellar specializing in brewing sake, is also a small museum on the second floor. It is a classic of the Edo period sake cellar complex.
? 5,100 Years of "Design for the Long Haul" in Tsushima: Future Island Tsushima
Fly from Fukuoka to Tsushima Island, far from Honshu, and it's about as rural as you can get in Japan.
Driving around Tsushima Island suddenly became a long-cherished dream of mine.
Climbing up to the observation deck at the top of Mt. In the distance, the deep blue waters of the Tsushima Strait are like satin.
The cruise ship glided past one island after another on both sides of the Asama Bay strait, pulling out a snow-white wave trace on the sea. Dolphins jumped up and down around the boat, and the sea breeze brought a burst of pleasure. The red camellias that bloom brilliantly on the small islands burn on the dark green mountains.
Tsushima Island is located in the middle of the Korea Strait and belongs to Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. It takes about 40 minutes to fly to Tsushima Airport from Fukuoka. In the northernmost part of Tsushima Island, Haikuri Island, you can even see the lights with Busan, South Korea.
The island is mountainous and densely forested, with only a few dry fields, and the islanders are mainly engaged in fishing and mariculture. But once you get into the mountains, there's something else to see.
But Tsushima has both far-reaching and immediate concerns. For Mr. Naoyuki Kuwabara, the medical coordinator of Tsushima City, the problem of "fewer children and aging" is increasingly troubling the Tsushima City government. The island's population continues to decline and ageing is becoming more serious.
Design changes the future. Mr. Kuwabara said that we have come up with a plan called Future Island Tsushima, and we are going to take 100 years to realize it.
He said that realizing this plan starts with a change in consciousness and a rediscovery of the meaning and pride of working and living on the island. There are so many wonderful things on the island that go unnoticed. Ancient monuments, such as the old Tsushima Castle from the seventh century; good nature, forests and bays, and wonderful folk art, such as shrines. There is also an abundance of seafood, and thus many local specialties. In a word, Tsushima is a synthesis of fine nature and rich history.
After making the islanders realize their own strengths, it is also part of the plan to strengthen education and cultivate diverse human resources. By bringing in talented people from outside the island, they will be able to create and nurture local industries and cultures, and create a community environment in which people can live meaningfully.
As part of this future plan, the Tsushima Art Fantasia has been held since 2011 to enhance international cultural exchange.
Toshi Yoneda, the festival's executive director, said the festival is held annually and features the work of about 20 artists, mainly in contemporary art. There are artists from Japan, Korea, China as well as Europe and America.
He said that through the festival, it not only gives domestic and foreign artists the opportunity to get to know Tsushima's nature, history and culture, expands the communication and contact between local residents and children and the outside world, but also revitalizes local facilities such as abandoned schools and old stores. The festival has been featured in numerous media outlets, greatly increasing Tsushima's popularity and influence. Not a bad way to hear about island operations.
The design of Future Island, a re-examination of the relationship between man and nature, history and culture, will undoubtedly give people a sense of the philosophy of nature behind it, as well as the concept of development and worldview formed on this basis.
Designing a plan that takes 100 years to realize is what Japanese designer Kenmei Nagaoka calls "long-lasting design": something that has a sense of design but is the most traditional, which is in fact the origin of Japanese design.
Even the future of the countryside, as Niaoya founder Muneaki Masuda said, only designers can survive, the enterprise will be composed of designers, can not do this enterprise, will not be able to succeed in the future of the business world. A hurried trip to the Japanese countryside, but there are also many useful insights.
(First draft on 2018.04.29, revised on 2018.6.19)