No.35 Visit Nozawa Onsen Village

(Inagi Newsletter September 15, 2014 issue)

This spring, when Mayor Tomii visited Inagi City, we received an invitation to visit here as well, and we visited from July 27 to 28, 2014.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the experiential learning program of Inagi City Elementary and Junior High Schools held in Nozawa Onsen Village. Under the title "Gather Inagi Kids! Nozawa Onsen School," a mobile classroom for 6th-grade elementary students is held in summer, and a ski school for 1st-year junior high students is held in winter.
On the first day of the visit, immediately after arrival, we moved to Sutaka Lake Campground and encouraged the Wakabadai Elementary School camp during their free time after dinner. Despite the rainy weather and the unusually cool lakeside for midsummer, there was a mini violin concert performed by Mr. Shirai of the Inagi Philharmonic Orchestra. Experiencing genuine music in the midst of nature is a wonderful experience. The lively children fell silent as the performance began. It was surely a magical experience they will never forget for a lifetime.
Returned to the hot spring town and checked in; everywhere we saw buildings called "soto-yu" (public baths). There are 13 soto-yu in total, where you can bathe for free or for a small donation, and I was surprised to learn that villagers take turns cleaning and managing them through a system called "yunakama."
Nozawa Onsen Village first appeared in history as "Yuyama Village" in the mid-Kamakura period. By the early Edo period, there were already 24 inns. There are various theories about the origin of the hot springs, including one that a monk who visited this area during the Nara period discovered them, but it has long been known that hot water springs up in the land of Nozawa.
On the second day, you will take the gondola and head for the summit. It is said that skiing in Japan originated in 1911 when Austrian Army Major Theodor von Lerch taught the technique in what is now Joetsu City, Niigata Prefecture. The following year, residents of Nozawa Onsen Village skied for the first time, and in 1923, the Nozawa Onsen Ski Club was established. From its early days, the village developed alongside ski resort development and has flourished as the ski kingdom of Shinshu.

However, in recent years, due to factors such as the economic downturn and diversification of leisure activities, the number of skiers has decreased, and some ski slopes have become deserted depending on the location. The village has made a bold decision not to force the maintenance of all ski slopes but to return part of the area to beech forest. This is called the "Century-Long Beech Forest Plan," and Elementary and Junior High Schools in Inagi City have been cooperating in tree planting since the beginning of the exchange. At a vast area guided after getting off the gondola, wooden stakes with the names of Inagi City schools were lined up, and beech saplings were growing vigorously. When the children grow up and eventually visit this place on their own, seeing the grown beech trees will be a wonderful and moving experience.
When descending the mountain and touring the hot spring town, I met children from Koyodai, Shiroyama, and Nagamine Elementary Schools. Each time we passed by, everyone greeted me cheerfully. As a citizen of Inagi City, I feel proud.
Finally, we paid a courtesy visit to the village mayor at the village office. We promised to continue expanding the exchange between Nozawa Onsen Village, where hands-on learning can be enjoyed in a wonderful natural environment, and Inagi City.