The study tour classroom is Satoyama Academy in Tanba Sasayama, where English guides are available.

• Table of Contents
• Experiences that shake up values ​​for the younger generation
• Lifestyle know-how that has been passed down
• “Teachers and places”, “150-year-old traditional houses”, and “local food” to share your journey with
• Feel everything with all five senses
• Participants' comments
• Plans available for 3 days or customized

Official website “Satoyama Academy”

Official video

Experiences that shake up values ​​for the younger generation

What do you imagine when you hear the word “satoyama” in Japan?

Rich nature, delicious vegetables and rice, and the calm flow of time still exist as they have in the past. On the other hand, in small talk with the village elders, it is common to talk about things like 100 years ago and what they would like the village to be 100 years from now. Living in a region means that life, nature, and the local community are all closely connected. Our daily lives and nature are more or less interconnected. Simply put, everyone must work together to mow the grass, clean the river, and maintain the landscape, not just in their own homes, but in the entire village. By working together with local people, even large-scale work can be accomplished, even if it is impossible to do it alone.

An experience that shakes your sense of values

Living with the sense that people and occupations are always connected in some way will definitely make sense at turning points in your life. Although it is difficult to realize in daily life that people are concerned about the area in which they live, I feel that it is also important for the younger generation living in modern society. Therefore, through this Satoyama Academy, I wanted people to experience the life in Satoyama that they have never seen before.

Lifestyle know-how that has been passed down

Tanba Sasayama has a history of being a castle town and post town that flourished as a transportation hub to Kyoto since ancient times. Furthermore, there is a culture of manufacturing such as Tamba ware, which has a history of over 800 years, and attractive agricultural products such as Tamba black soybeans and Tamba chestnuts. What supports this history, industry, and culture are the rich landscapes of Satoyama and the people who live there. Interaction and learning between participants and local people will also be an experience gained at Satoyama Academy.

“Teachers and places”, “150-year-old traditional houses”, and “local food” to share your journey with

teacher and place

Introducing the teachers who support Satoyama. The agricultural program begins with a tour of the fields, and through agricultural experiences and classroom lectures, students learn about the connection between agriculture and the mountains. This will lead to the forestry program and village life program. Living in Satoyama cannot be achieved even if any one of the following is missing: ``Mountains, agriculture, and the village.'' You will be able to receive the thoughts of the hometown guardians who protect and connect the Satoyama through their livelihood and lifestyle.

■Lord of the Mountains A woodcutter who inherits the trees grown by previous generations and uses them to grow trees for the next generation.

■The hometown of agriculture. Farmers who are blessed with the blessings of the mountains and grow crops even though they are sometimes threatened by the mountains.

■Hometown guardians of the village Residents who inherit history, culture, and lifestyle wisdom and pass it on to the present day

150 year old folk house

While learning and traveling, you will stay at an inn that has been renovated from an old folk house that is over 150 years old. Spending time at a splendid building built on a 1,000 tsubo site surrounded by mountains and a small village inn with a landscape that has remained unchanged from the past is a real experience that will let you relive what it is like to live in this area. there is.

regional food

Meals during your stay include crops grown in the village's fields and wild game from animals running around in the fields and mountains. You may be surprised by some unfamiliar ingredients. Please feel the blessings of Satoyama through food.

Feel everything with all five senses

In addition to experience programs in agriculture, mountains, and villages, participants will actually ride e-bikes (sport bikes + electric assist) through the geographical connections between castle towns and rural villages in order to experience the scale of satoyama.

Participants' comments

■I was moved by the awareness of protecting Satoyama!

■Do not write about it anywhere, not on the internet, in books, or in university classes. I understood this because I came here.

■When I saw a tree being cut down right in front of me, I found myself being stimulated by the power of nature all over my body.

■I felt that it was my role to spread the knowledge and experience I brought back from Satoyama to my peers who were already accustomed to normal school life.

■In order to pass on ancient wisdom from the elderly to the young, I would like to consider initiatives in which I feel a sense of ownership.

■I think I will remember this academy in many different situations in my life.

■I felt as if my heart had been peeled away.

Plans available for 3 days or customized

We accept applications from individuals such as family and friends to applications from groups such as schools. We offer two types of trips: our original trip, or a custom-made trip where we create a trip together with the experience content and schedule according to your requests.

■Contact us
Please feel free to contact us at tour@withsasayama.jp .

■Access Approximately 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes from Keihanshin (Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe) (train/car)
Nearest station: JR Sasayamaguchi Station