Satoyama Experience in Hida-Furukawa (Part 1): After the Tale of Furukawa Town

Furukawa-cho, located in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, is not an entirely unfamiliar place to Taiwanese people. In 2001, public television produced and broadcast the "Vision of the City" film series, which included "The Tale of Furukawa-cho," introducing this small town of about 16,000 people in the countryside of Gifu Prefecture in central-northern Japan.

After "The Tale of Furukawa-cho" aired, Furukawa-cho became almost a model textbook in Taiwan's community-building circles (it has even become teaching material in elementary school textbooks now). Many friends involved in community-building work and students in related departments have seen this film (I admit, I used to love showing it myself, because this film really does explain the community-building FAQ quite clearly), and many Taiwanese friends have already visited Furukawa-cho.

So why am I talking about Furukawa-cho again? Isn't this just reheating old rice? It has been 12 years since "The Tale of Furukawa-cho" was filmed, and both the inner and outer aspects of Furukawa have actually undergone quite a few changes, the biggest factor being the 2004 "municipal merger." Furukawa-cho originally belonged to Yoshiki District, and in 2004 it merged with Kawai, Kamioka, and Miyagawa, the four becoming "Hida City," with the city hall located in Furukawa.

Before the municipal merger, although the "Furukawa Tourism Association" had already been established, at that time the tourism association held a strong insistence regarding Furukawa's tourism development: "Tourism is about letting visitors experience Furukawa, not changing Furukawa to cater to visitors." Therefore, Furukawa's tourism always followed its own pace, and only after everyone in the community discussed it together would they decide how to proceed. And under this philosophy, residents were also more willing to jointly maintain and improve their living environment, because they knew that our life is the asset of tourism.

* The office of "Chura Chikyu," also converted from an old house on the street

PS. As for background information on Furukawa, I wrote a few articles when I first visited Furukawa four years ago. Perhaps many friends already have some understanding of Furukawa, so I will not spend more space introducing it here. If any friends are interested, please refer to my humble work from four years ago:

[Japan] The Tale of Furukawa-cho (1) – A Walk Through Furukawa-cho

[Japan] The Tale of Furukawa-cho (2) – The Reappearance of Local Culture

[Japan] The Tale of Furukawa-cho (3) – The Rising Drum of the Hida Furukawa Festival

[Japan] The Tale of Furukawa-cho (4) – Other Aspects of the Hida Furukawa Festival