In Vol. 7, we introduce Hiroki Tamemoto, who is involved in various businesses in Kamikatsu Town. In addition to "Shizen no Yado Asahi Yama no Gakko," an inn that utilizes a former elementary school, he also manages "Kamikatsu Kayabuki Gakko," which is centered on the Hanano Residence, an old thatched house in the Yaeji community of Kamikatsu Town. In this interview, we asked him mainly about his activities at the Hanano Residencein Yaeji.

“Yaeji Village, where the Hanano residence is located, is at the far end of Kamikatsu Town. There are currently 17 households. The aging rate is up to about 80% of residents being over 65, but the old men who live in Yaeji, known as ‘Yaejii (a nickname which combines the word ‘Yaeji” and ‘jii,’ which means ‘grandpa’)’ thatched the roof on the Hanano Residence with their own hands. The old house has been used as a base for the project, andthe ‘Yaejii’ said, ‘This village may disappear sooner or later. But now, we can still pass on our skills and knowledge to the younger generation,' so we started the Kamikatsu Kayabuki Gakko (Thatched Roof School).”

Mr. Tamemoto is involved in various projects in Kamikatsu. In particular, as the representative of "Kamikatsu Kayabuki Gakko," which is the main focus of this issue, he is busy maintaining and managing the Hanano Residence, which has a magnificent thatched roof.

The village of Yaeji has been selected as one of the "100 Best Villages in Japan.” The Hanano Residence overlooks the beautiful terraced rice paddies and can be rented for private use, or for a variety of other experiences– such as cooking rice in a wood-fired kamado, catching amego fish and grilling them in salt, grinding coffee beans on a millstone and enjoying them by the open hearth. It is also possible to camp on the grounds and experience the star-filled night sky and beautiful dawn (currently working towards approval for simple lodging). It has nowvery simple baths made from oil drums, allowing visitors to experience taking a bath the old-fashioned way. Mr. Tamemoto was also solely responsible for the construction of thesebaths.

I thought Mr. Tamemoto was originally from Kamikatsu, but he started living in Kamikatsu in 2009. Fifteen years have already passed, but his connection with Tokushima goes back further than that 15 years. “Our relationship began when I came to Tokushima from Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture to attend university.”However, after spending seven years at the University of Tokushima and graduating from the graduate school, he found employment at a company in Osaka.

“After graduating from the graduate school, I went to work for a civil engineering consulting firm. I worked there for about nine years, working on various public works projects, but I was tired from all the overwork.... It was then that I remembered Tokushima."

Tokushima, where he lived during his college years, became his favorite place even after he left. He also decided to move to Kamikatsu because a senior colleague he had worked with in Osaka had a connection to Kamikatsu.

“After moving to Kamikatsu, the first thing I did was to get involved in tourism. I was working on various projects to revitalize the area..."

He started his own travel agency after obtaining qualifications as a domestic travel business manager and itinerary manager (a so-called "tour operator"). In fact, it was Mr. Tamemoto who accepted the first school excursion students in Kamikatsu around 2012. After about two years of preparation, henegotiated with 30 households to accept the students and made various other arrangements to welcome a large group of about 150 people to Kamikatsu.

Since then, Mr. Tamemoto has not limited himself to the travel business. He has also been involved in the production and sale of "Yuko Cheese "1, a delicious souvenir from Kamikatsu, and the operation of "Shizen no Yado Asahi Yama no Gakko," a nature lodge that utilizes an old elementary school building.
In addition to that, he also started serving as the head of the "Kamikatsu Kayabuki Gakko" starting in 2022.

“I have been involved in the Kamikatsu Kayabuki Gakko since 2012, when the first thatching was done after the school started the rehabilitation of the Hanano Residence. In addition to re-thatching the roof, I have also been maintaining the water supply, replacing shoji screens, and working in the rice paddies and fields.... Perhaps it was natural or inevitable for me to take on the management here. Based on my desire to maintain this Yaeji community, I would like to continue to engage in various activities in the future.”

The "Kamikatsu Kayabuki Gakko" is involved in a variety of activities in addition to the stay-and-go experience mentioned above.Not only the ongoing annual winter thatching for thatched roofs, but also several activities utilizing the rice paddies in the Yaeji region have been started.

One activity is to "create rice paddies" with their own hands by inviting "rice paddy supporters" from within and outside of the town to take advantage of the terraced rice fields in Yaeji. They are free to do everything from arranging seedlings to harvesting, and can harvest the rice they have grown themselves. The second is "Farmer's Day," which was newly started in 2023. Held on the first Thursday and fourth Saturday of each month between 9:00 and 15:00, it is open to anyone who is interested. This new activity allows people to casually experience "peasant work," which is the daily work at Yaeji.

“I would like to make Yaeji a place where people can interact not only in the rice paddies but also in various other ways," Mr. Tamemoto says. We hope that you will come and meet Mr. Tamemoto and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Yaeji.

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Kamikatsu Kayabuki Gakko
18-49 Yaeji, Asahi, Kamikatsu-cho, Katsuura-gun, Tokushima
https://kayabukischool.localinfo.jp/

*1 "Yuko Cheese" is a stick-type cheesecake made from "Yuko," a specialty of Kamikatsu Town that is also known as a "fantastic citrus fruit.” Yuko is said to be a natural hybrid of yuzu and daidai, and is characterized by its refreshing aroma and mild sourness. Yuko cheese is a unique but very tasty combination of cream cheese and white bean paste. The crunchy texture of the cookie dough also adds a nice accent. It is sold at "Tsukigatani Onsen" and "IkkyuChaya" in Kamikatsu, as well as at "Tokushima Awa Odori Airport" (Matsushige Town) and "Awa Odori Kaikan" (Tokushima City).