Takahashi River Shijuku is a program that aims to achieve the SDGs in the Takahashi River Basin and develop people who can play a central role in community activities.
The second term of Takahashi River Shijuku ran from June to September 2021, with around 30 lectures planned by instructors active in the Takahashi River Basin.
On Sunday, August 1, 2021, students took a field trip to Niimi City, Okayama Prefecture.
Akiya Nonami, who grows grapes for wine and makes wine, and Reihei Matsuda, who runs an amago trout farming business and a restaurant, introduced their work on site.
We explored the scenery of Niimi City, the source of the Takahashi River, through the businesses run by two former Community Revitalization Cooperators in Niimi City.
The information presented was current when this article was published in September 2021. Please note that it may differ from current information.
Overview of Takahashi River Shijuku
Takahashi River Shijuku is run by the Takahashi River Basin School, a general incorporated association, as a project commissioned by Kurashiki City. Through the history, culture, industries, and fieldwork of the Takahashi River Basin, it aims to foster community development, cultivate people who will support sustainable communities, and inspire action.
There are two course options:
- the “SDGs Exploration Course,” which includes practical work and presentations
- the “Auditor Course,” which involves attending selected lectures
The first term of Takahashi River Shijuku was held from November 2020 to February 2021, and the second term began in June 2021.
The opening ceremony was held on Sunday, June 27, 2021, and around 30 lectures were planned before the closing ceremony on Sunday, September 26, 2021.
The lectures fall into the following five categories:
| Category | Content |
|---|---|
| SDGs Vision | Lectures where participants can hear from active instructors about the Takahashi River Basin’s 2030 vision and current initiatives |
| General Knowledge | Lectures to gain knowledge of the history, culture, industries, and other aspects of the Takahashi River Basin |
| Skills | Lectures to acquire the skills and know-how needed to carry out community activities, including presentations, effective use of IT tools, and use of blogs and social media |
| Local SDGs Mission | A workshop to reconsider the 17 SDGs as goals for the Takahashi River Basin and set targets |
| Fieldwork | Experiential learning in community revitalization in the Takahashi River Basin |
The first term had three categories: SDGs Vision, General Knowledge, and Skills. The Local SDGs Mission and Fieldwork categories were newly added from the second term.
For more details, visit the special page for “Takahashi River Shijuku.”
Okayama Wine Valley
Instructor Akiya Nonami’s background
Okayama Wine Valley representative Nonami moved to Niimi City, Okayama Prefecture, in 2014 as a Community Revitalization Cooperator.
With the aim of growing grapes for wine, he cleared abandoned farmland and is growing wine grapes by drawing on the know-how of table-grape cultivation developed in Okayama Prefecture and the Niimi area.
In 2018, he opened a winery, Aratoyama Winery, in Tetta-cho, Niimi City.
The business plans to produce around 3,000 bottles of wine annually.
Details about Nonami’s work are available on the Okayama Wine Valley website and social media, so take a look if you’re interested.
Vineyard scenery
Much of the ground in Niimi City consists of karst plateaus formed from limestone.
As a result, the soil is said to be rich in minerals and well-drained, making it suitable for growing grapes.
Near the vineyard, we saw limestone exposed at the surface.
The area is also characterized by many steep valleys.
The slopes get plenty of sunlight and allow the wind to pass through, making them an ideal environment for vineyards.
The ground is covered with terra rossa (red soil), a geological feature unique to Niimi.
We saw fields covered in red soil firsthand.
Farming experience in the vineyard
The field trip to Niimi City took place in early August 2021.
Since it was too early to harvest the grapes, participants weeded the vineyard.
It is tedious and demanding work, but Nonami explained that it is important for reducing humidity and protecting the grapevines.
The grapevines were planted in straight rows, each about 10 to 20 meters long, with around 30 rows running parallel to one another.
▼ We get started on the weeding.
▼ Many weeds had grown around the base of grapevines that had not been trimmed with machinery.
▼ Here is a look at the trunk of a grapevine.
Its pattern gave the impression of a swirling spiral.
It was my first time taking a close look at a grapevine trunk.
▼ Looking toward the branches, we spotted some lovely little grapes.
▼ We also saw some grapes that had grown beautifully.
We worked in the vineyard on an early August afternoon, and even a little exertion made us sweat.
We took frequent breaks while weeding, but many participants seemed to look tired.
Nonami told us that he sometimes weeds the approximately 60-are vineyard alone.
Experiencing the hard work firsthand helps you imagine how difficult it is for people who make their living through farming.
Each time I drank something, I felt the liquid being absorbed into my body, but I realized that experiencing the hardships is one of the best parts of fieldwork.
Aratoyama Winery
After weeding, we moved to the winery, Aratoyama Winery, and toured the facility.
The winery is housed in a renovated nursery school at the foot of Mt. Arato in Tetta-cho, Niimi City.
With its charming exterior, it would be hard to tell it was a winery without someone explaining it.
Inside the building, impressive winemaking equipment is lined up.
We were told that they aim for simple winemaking to make the most of the flavor of the high-quality grapes grown in land suited to grape cultivation.
In addition to the winery, the site also has a shop and an art space.
If you plan to visit Aratoyama Winery, you need to register in advance, so check the website.
Amago Trout Farm
Instructor Reihei Matsuda’s Background
In 2014, Mr. Matsuda moved from Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, to Niimi City, Okayama Prefecture, as a Community Revitalization Cooperator.
Since childhood, Mr. Matsuda had wanted to be independent and make his own way rather than work for someone else. While attending a correspondence high school, he studied cooking and business management at a restaurant.
He then used the Community Revitalization Cooperator program to look for a business that would allow him to become independent.
Wanting the freedom to pursue his own activities, he looked for Community Revitalization Cooperator openings that required applicants to be part of the first cohort, and eventually found his way to Niimi City, Okayama Prefecture.
After taking up his post as a Community Revitalization Cooperator, he started farming amago trout just one month later.
He now also runs café&bar naradewa, a restaurant in Omotecho 3-chome, Okayama City, serving dishes made with amago trout, and lives between Niimi City and Okayama City.
He has also established a general incorporated association that carries out forest thinning projects and an NPO that supports people relocating to the area, and has been involved in running many organizations.
Mr. Matsuda also taught a classroom session in the first cohort of Takahashi River Shijuku, introducing his work.
For the second cohort’s fieldwork, he showed us the amago trout farm and the former Aburano Elementary School, renovated as a place for exchange among people who have relocated to the area.
Tour of the Amago Trout Farm
The amago trout farm run by Mr. Matsuda is located at the northwestern edge of Niimi City.
It is a place where crossing one mountain takes you to Hiroshima or Tottori Prefecture, and is also at the northwestern edge of Okayama Prefecture.
At an elevation of 650 meters, it is at the uppermost reaches of the Kamigo Aburano district, so we were told that there are no homes or fields upstream of the amago trout farm.
The water is clean because it is unaffected by household wastewater and pesticides, but the area gets heavy snow in winter, making it somewhat inconvenient to live there.
However, he explained that inconvenience does not necessarily make a place difficult to live in; once you get used to living somewhere, you can make a life for yourself anywhere.
The farm is located about an hour’s drive even from central Niimi City.
▼The amago trout farm.
Mr. Matsuda put the equipment, which had been left unused for about 15 years, back into service and restarted the amago trout farm in 2014.
At the time, Mr. Matsuda had no knowledge of amago trout farming, so he studied using the internet and books.
He told us that because so much information is available today, acquiring knowledge is not a major burden.
For information that required relying on personal connections, such as where to buy young fish, local people helped him out.
▼The amago trout.
This pond is home to amago trout that have been here for about a year and a half since being brought in as young fish.
In the pond next to it, young fish are being raised.
Amago trout are carnivorous, so smaller fish can sometimes be eaten.
At the time of our visit, 25,000 adult fish and 45,000 young fish were being raised.
Tour of the Former Aburano Elementary School
After touring the amago trout farm, we were shown around the former Aburano Elementary School, which is being used as the Niimi City Relocation and Exchange Support Center.
It was built in 1991 and was used as an elementary school for only about 10 years.
Mr. Matsuda continues to work with the local government to make use of the closed school.
We were told that it also serves as a hub for exchange among local residents.
The interior had an atmosphere unlike that of an elementary school, with warm wooden furniture arranged throughout.
The tables were made by Yoshikazu Saiki, a woodworker and former Niimi City Community Revitalization Cooperator.
The fieldwork concluded with a roundtable discussion between Mr. Matsuda and the participants.
We learned a great deal from Mr. Matsuda’s approach to his work, which spans many fields, including amago trout farming, restaurant management, and forest thinning.
Visiting Niimi City, the Source of the Takahashi River
In geography class, we learned that grapevines grow best in sunny places with good drainage.
When we actually visited the fields, we saw exactly what we had learned: limestone exposed at the surface and grapevines lined up along valley slopes.
The amago trout farm is in an inconvenient place to live, at the uppermost end of a settlement.
But hearing that water untouched by human activity flows into it constantly made it feel like a precious place.
Both are environments created by nature, which people cannot create themselves.
I felt that both grapes and amago trout thrive there because people draw on the power of nature.
While we felt nature’s blessings, weeding in early August also gave us a sense of nature’s harshness and the challenges of farming.
The experience of weeding the grape field with sweat running down our faces will be an unforgettable memory.
The cumulonimbus clouds glimpsed between the grapevines are likely to be the most memorable sight of the summer of 2021.
Takahashi River Shijuku, Second Cohort: Information
| Name | Takahashi River Shijuku, Second Cohort |
|---|---|
| Dates | Second cohort of Takahashi River Shijuku: June 27, 2021–September 26, 2021 |
| Location | Niimi City |
| Participation fee (tax included) | For details, check the Takahashi River Shijuku website. 1. SDGs Exploration Course participants General: ¥12,000; students: ¥8,000 (includes in-person attendance at all programs and access to archived recordings) ※The fee is the same for in-person and online participation. 2. Auditors (classroom sessions only) In-person: ¥1,500 per session (limited capacity); online and archived sessions: ¥500 per session ※A page accessible only to participants will be provided later. ※Some sessions may require an additional fee to cover actual costs. ※Some sessions may be open to the public free of charge. |
| Website | Takahashi River Shijuku | Takahashi River Basin School |
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