Students and members of the public experienced rice planting in Shibayama Town, Chiba Prefecture.

Students participating in rice planting with general participants

Students (center) presenting their research on Shibayama Town and rice cultivation.

On May 11th, 45 students from Faculty of Tourism, Faculty Faculty of International Humanities, Faculty of Social Work Studies, Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Media Studies, and Special Course for Japanese Studies Program in Shibayama Town, Chiba Prefecture experienced rice planting together with members of the public.

Shibayama Town and our university signed a comprehensive partnership agreement in March 2023, and Faculty of Tourism is working to discover the town's tourism resources and develop a tourism strategy that utilizes agricultural products.

The rice planting experience is the first of a series of tours to experience "Shibayama" organized by the Shibayama Town Tourism Association. In order to encourage people to fall in love with Shibayama Town, which is rich in nature and history, a total of four experience tours are planned, including an ancient people experience at the Haniwa Festival. Students participated in the tours to deepen ties between the local community and the university.

The rice planting took place under the guidance of the Flower and Green Agricultural Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation that works to promote and spread awareness of flowers, greenery, and agriculture in the town. The students worked hard planting rice while enjoying interactions with the general public and students from other departments. They also observed a demonstration of rice planting using machinery by members of the corporation, and the students researched the town and rice cultivation in advance, and presented their findings to the general public. At the end of the event, with the cooperation of local farmers, they also sampled strawberries.

Students who participated shared their impressions, saying, "Many young people don't know much about agricultural crops, so this activity was a good experience. It was a very fruitful day," "I used to eat rice without thinking about it, but this rice planting experience made me realize how hard rice cultivation is and I think I need to be more grateful when I eat it," and "It was my first time planting rice. I was a little nervous because I was alone, but students from other departments and international students talked to me and it was a really fun experience."

Rice harvesting is scheduled for September. We will continue to support local experience activities in Shibayama Town.

Students planting rice in earnest

Commemorative photo with all participants