Farm Stays Increasingly Popular with Foreign Tourists; Interactions with Local Farmers in Rich Natural Environment Proves a Hit

By Toru Inoue / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

14:33 JST, July 16, 2024

UTSUNOMIYA — The number of guests staying on farms in Tochigi Prefecture is on the rise. Farm stays, which allow travelers to enjoy sightseeing and farming experiences in rural areas, are gaining popularity among foreign tourists visiting Japan. Under such circumstances, the prefectural government began helping local communities develop necessary facilities this fiscal year, aiming to draw more tourists to the prefecture.

In early May, a father and son from the United States stayed for four days at Wain, a farmhouse-style hotel in the Udagawa district of Ohtawara in the prefecture. The two tourists visited Nikko, an international tourist city, and enjoyed vegetables grown in the hotel’s own fields and riding bicycles in the area to enjoy the rural scenery.

The hotel is run by Mayumi Sasaki, 45, and her Indian husband. They renovated an old warehouse and barn on the property into the hotel. The couple had dreamed of running an inn and on the advice of Ohtawara Tourism, a destination management/marketing organization in the city, they renovated the buildings into a guesthouse-like accommodation in anticipation of foreign guests.

About 150 foreign guests stayed at the hotel for about six months. “Foreigners prefer to stay in the countryside in a relaxed way. We would like to prepare programs for them to enjoy making umeshu (Japanese plum wine), miso and other experiences in the future,” Sasaki said.

The Ohtawara city government is making efforts to promote tourism with a focus on agriculture.

Ohtawara Tourism works with about 180 farmers, mainly in the city, and tries to attract not only foreign tourists but also elementary and junior high school students and group tourists to rural villages by offering them farm stays and experiences, among other activities. The development of farmhouse-style hotels is part of its activities. Ohtawara Tourism and local farmers have worked together to develop such hotels and there are currently six such facilities.

In the past fiscal year, a total of 7,865 people participated in farm-stay programs in which the organization was involved, a record high since it began operations in 2012. Of those, 1,234 were foreigners. While Sasaki and her husband speak English, other facilities whose staff are not fluent in foreign languages are said to be able to accommodate foreign guests with the help of translation apps.

Programs that offer authentic farming experiences and interactions with local farmers in a rich natural environment are popular, according to Ohtawara Tourism. Daisuke Fujii, the organization’s president, said, “Foreigners are willing to visit rural villages, even if they are less accessible, as long as they promote their attractions.”

According to the prefectural government and others, 11 municipalities, including Ohtawara City, in 12 areas in the prefecture, offer farm-stay programs while some municipalities are considering offering such programs. However, the quality and capacity of accommodation facilities and experience programs vary widely from area to area, and know-how has not been accumulated in many areas.

To address this situation, the prefectural government created a new position called the “rural village producer” in the Tochigi Agriculture Public Corporation in April to help local communities and farmers welcome foreign tourists in rural areas, and began supporting them in creating plans to encourage foreign tourists to visit rural areas and enjoy farming experiences and to develop farm-stay facilities.

Rural village producer Hiroyuki Sugimoto is a former prefectural government official who has extensive knowledge and connections in marketing and other agricultural administration. He said he would help communities hold study meetings to learn about exploring local tourism resources and developing facilities to accommodate tourists. “Tochigi Prefecture has potential because of its rich natural environment, sake and pottery. I would like to help enhance the attractiveness of rural areas by combining existing resources,” he said.

With the aim of creating jobs in rural areas and encouraging people to move to and settle in such areas, the central government is promoting farm stays as part of measures to revitalize regional cities, setting a goal of increasing the national number of farm-stay guests from about 5.89 million in fiscal 2019 to 7 million by fiscal 2025.