Green Tourism in Practice

Day six of field study - continued

For lunch we stopped at one of the handful of soba restaurants for which Minami-Oguni is known. It was a light meal that really hit the spot.

Cold soba (buckwheat) noodles topped with grated mountain potato (yamaimo).

Freshly planted rice fields next to the restaurant.

Then we were off to Saconue no kaeru, a farmstay destination run by a couple and their daughter, Mika Kawazu. After high school Mika left home to work in Fukuoka, the largest city in Kyushu and a destination for many ambitious young people around the island. After a few years, she decided to return to her small rural village to assist her mother with a new business idea. Her mother had seen a television show about a German family that ran a bed and breakfast, growing its own vegetables and herbs and serving hearty, home-cooked meals to its guests. With Mika's help, the Kawazus created a similar business.


Now they welcome families and small groups of friends who want to take a break from city life and relax in the countryside. The guests are usually on their way between tourist destinations in the Aso region, visiting Mt. Aso on one day and Mt. Kuju on the next, or making day trips to hot springs in the area. So, they stay one or two nights at this cozy farm, either in the renovated storage building (kura) or the house next door. In the middle of the compound is an octagonal gazebo made of local lumber (sugi), next to which is a pizza oven formed with large volcanic rocks from Mt. Aso.

Mrs. Kawazu sharing stories and homemade foods in the gazebo.

During our tour of the facilities, we drank water from the mountainside. A series of pipes connects a water source to the house, allowing it to have fresh water at all times.

Students viewing a guest room during the tour.

After some snacks we walked to some nearby fields to get a feel for the landscape. The mountain air was refreshing, and something quite new for Singaporean students. Very few people in Singapore grow any of their own foods, even herbs or tomatoes, so this was a unique experience for my students.

Rice seedlings in a greenhouse waiting to be planted.

Ms. Kawazu discussing farming with students.

Along the walk we had a special treat; a quick tour of the place that makes the Kurokawa Onsen bath pass (nyūto tegata). This pass has been instrumental in the tourist success of both Kurokawa and the greater region since its introduction in 1986. Now in its 25th year, the pass continues to attracts visitors to Kurokawa Onsen, thereby having a ripple effect on the local economy, including the small business that makes the passes.

Sawing young trees into coaster-like discs.

Sanding the edges of the discs.

Nearly finished - after one side has been branded with an image and a hole has been drilled, the last step is to insert a string so one can wear the pass around the neck.

Afterward, we stopped for a bath at Mokkonkan and proceeded to our overnight accommodations, at the TAO retreat center in Minami-Oguni town.

Onsen at Mokkonkan

Dinner at TAO retreat center