Supporting the Local Community: Adventures Close to Home

Local character on a pancake filled with maple-flavored cream. June 2020.

I recently saw a news article about initiatives in Japan to help the tourism industry. One of these was encouraging people to visit and stay at places near their areas rather than travel far by giving discounts and other benefits supported by local governments. Hearing this news inspired me to come up with other ideas to support my local community. 

It is still inadvisable to travel far or visit crowded places, so rather than being a tourist in the usual manner of visiting foreign and far away places, how about being a tourist in your own town? I never thought about tourism until I moved to Japan, but now it’s always on the back of my mind. With fewer people in the countryside of Japan, it makes sense to find new ways to attract people. Sadly, that is not very easy recently. So we need to start supporting each other closer to home. 

I frequently get the urge to experience new places, sights, and sounds. I just haven’t been able to fulfill that urge well in the past few months. However, I have developed the satisfaction of being willing to explore closer to home, and  I have been pleasantly surprised by what I have found without even leaving my side of Aomori prefecture. 

Walking around town

A few weeks ago, I started taking short walks in the mornings if I wake up early enough and have the extra time. It helps that we have had good weather in the mornings recently and the sun rises before 5am here. If the sun is up, why don’t I get up and join it? During these walks, I always take a different route and see something new about my town that I would rarely notice while driving by in a car.

Valley of rice fields just a short walk from home in Aomori, Japan. June 2020.

The tree was there first. Walk around town in Aomori, Japan. May 2020

Visiting nature

In the past, I had many plans made with friends and different events to do that kept me busy every weekend. Since many things are cancelled now, it is an opportunity to enjoy nature. Every chance I get, I have been going hiking multiple mountains and around coasts, rivers, ponds, and lakes. I am grateful for the time I have now to explore these areas. The only thing that can stop me now is winter snows, and those are some months away still. There are so many beautiful places to see only within an hour drive away from my town. I recently found a waterfall that I did not know existed in a nearby town. 

Miroku Falls みろくの滝. Takko Town 田子町, Aomori. May 2020.

Eat local

I rarely go out to eat except with friends. I just do not see the point of eating out when I can eat healthier and make similar food myself because I enjoy cooking. I have changed my mindset recently, however. I do like eating out once in a while, and if the places I like went out of business (one of them did go out of business), I would be sad. So when my friends do suggest eating out or getting take-out, I think of it as supporting the makers of the food. I enjoy the meal a lot more. My town’s industry and commerce department is also seeking to support local businesses by giving out food tickets where I can pay 3000 yen and get 5000 yen worth of tickets to use at a participating restaurant. I have been planning to bring some friends to eat at this place soon, so I decided to participate. 

Shop local

Along the same lines of supporting restaurants, the biggest way I support my community with my stomach is by buying the produce that is grown locally. My grocery store has a local food section, and there are many road stations and produce shops in my area that I can buy food from. I have already been doing this for a couple years now because local produce is often cheaper, but now I have even more resolve to show what I support through my spending habits. Plus, I cannot find blueberry daifuku like this at the regular grocery store.

Blueberry Daifuku of Nango Road Station 道の駅なんごう. Hachinohe 八戸市, Aomori. June 2020.

Be a Local Guide

Since I have visited many new and old places near my home recently, I have direct experience I can write about and share with others on platforms such as Google Maps. When my area is opened up again for tourists from around the world, they can see my contributions to Google Maps, and hopefully it brings in more people to support my local community. There may also be other people who already live nearby who did not realize there was so much to see and do without traveling far. Get out and make the most of your life and community and ask around for what you can do to help and see. 

It is easy to get distracted by the world and events farther afield that we forget to pay attention to what is around us every day. Rather than wish I can help or improve the major problems of the world somehow, I plan to keep taking action closer to home to make my own part of the world more worth living in.

By Kate Linsley