| Tourism and exchange are becoming more fashionable.
There has been a shift in interest from "sightseeing" which
focuses on traveling around places of scenic beauty and historic interest,
to "tourism" and then to "exchange" which facilitates
the revitalization of regions. In a sense, "coming and going"
for any purpose can be called "tourism". Tourism may also
be considered a form of culture insomuch as it reflects the characteristics
of a region. Tourism rooted in such regionalism thus lies at the heart
of exchange between regions. |
The Oita Agro-Culture Park |
|
 |
The themes of the Oita Agro-Culture Park (Park
Arkadia), which opened in April 2001, are "Having fun in agricul-ture",
"Understanding agriculture", and "Getting close to
nature". The park spreads out over an area of about 40 hectares,
centered round the Hisashi Dam Lake over Yamaga Town and Ajimu Town.
It has numerous facilities and equipment such as farms and orchards
for rent, through which people can experience agriculture first hand.
It is attracting attention as a new exchange spot for connecting cities
and villages.
Owing to the development of public transportation and the subsequent
decrease in transporting time, cities and farming villages have rapidly
become closer to one another. Farming and fishing villages are bustling
with peo-ple who come from cities for fresh products, and this has
led to renewed activities in the villages. |
|
Direct Sales of Farm Products |
|
|
| Shops engaged in direct sales of farm products
first catch one's attention. At the same time, one can buy processed
farm products, as well as enjoy the local delicacies served up by
numerous restaurants. There are over 100 shops engaged in direct sales
of farm products in the prefecture. Besides driving around the countryside
and drinking pure natural water, these markets have become another
form of enjoyment for the people. Farm and marine products in season
are named after the producers. Furthermore, conversation between the
producers and the consumers often take place here, giving the producers
a sense of satisfaction and reward in providing consumers with safe
and tasty products. |
|
Green and Blue Tourism |
|
|
| Green Tourism, which is a tour planned around
typical Japanese rice terraces and country scenery, is very popular.
During the tour, one can experience a farmer's daily life through
working, having ordinary meals and staying with farm families - an
experience which heals and touches one's heart more than can be imagined.
This form of tourism has seen an increase in the number of repeated
visitors. In fact, some children in the urban areas even move to study
in schools in the rural area for a short period of time. Some volunteers
in cities participate in forestry work to care for cedars and cypresses.
One can also enjoy the same experience in seaside villages through
partaking in setnet fishing or processing marine products. This is
called Blue Tourism. The morning markets at fishing ports and the
site of Fishery Cooperative Association are always bustling with life,
while markets and processing factories selling rich marine products
are also popular. Planting trees at the upper streams of rivers is
one of the activities in this form of tourism, and this has helped
to enrich the sea. As young people move away to the cities, rural
villages have begun to lose their vitality. On the other hand, people
in the urban areas are flocking to the villages to pursue comfort,
warmth and peace. As a result, the gap between cities and rural areas
has shrunk and new businesses have been started. Thus, both the urban
and rural areas repeated visitors. In fact, some have become more
attractive in their own ways. |
|
@ |
Oita Agro-Culture Park (Yamaga Town, Ajimu Town)
Direct Sales Shops of Farm Products
Rice Terrace
(Beppu City(C) Yoshihiro Hirano)
Green Tourism (Ajimu Town)
Morning Market of the Fishery Cooperative Association (Tsurumi Town)
Tree Planting |
