Achieved the target amount through regional revitalization crowdfunding planned by students Faculty of Tourism, and the event ended with great success.

Students distributing tickets to participants (left)

A student hosting a bingo tournament in the car (second from the right)

Faculty of Tourism Led by more than 70 students from the Yoro Gorge Area (Chiba, Ichihara City, Ichihara Prefecture), a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to solve local issues such as population decline and reconstruction from typhoon damage that the Yoro Gorge area ( , Ichihara City, Ichihara Prefecture) is facing, has reached its goal. Accordingly, one of the crowdfunding returns, the Yoro Gorge Hiking "A Sa Hi," was implemented on January 20, this year.

In August 2023, our university concluded a ``Tourism Promotion Cooperation Agreement'' with Chiba Prefecture. Within our university, Faculty of Tourism will play a central role in collaborating and cooperating with Ichihara City, and will be responsible for increasing the city's population, revitalizing the region, and promoting tourism, together with local young people who are active in Ichihara City, known as "Machinaka Sensei." We are conducting initiatives aimed at developing human resources.

This year, we have set the crowdfunding goal at 700,000 yen, and the return gifts include a participation ticket for the Yoro Valley hiking ``Asahi'' where you can fully enjoy the charm of the Old Valley, and a ``Kuroyu'' unique to Yoro Valley. We prepared bath salts and soaps from ``OIKAZE BIKE WITH COFFEE'' and coffee beans provided by OIKAZE BIKE WITH COFFEE. It was far more popular than expected, and the funds we received were used to fund the Yoro Valley hiking ``A Sa Hi.''

The Yoro Valley hiking "A Sa Hi," the centerpiece of the crowdfunding return campaign, has been working to promote local attractions other than the nature and hot springs that come to mind when thinking of the Yoro Valley in order to escape the problem of "tourists staying away from the area outside the foliage season. Since it is a remote area, the students have been researching and planning for about six months, with advice from "Machinaka Sensei," a local leader, Kominato Railway Company (Ichihara City, Chiba prefecture), and the Ichihara City Department of Regional Development, and have regularly visited the area to research and plan meals and attractions only available in the local area.

Student explaining precautions to participants (left)

Student serving wild boar hotpot to participants (second from right)

The project started with a hiking event at the meeting place, Goi Station (Chiba, Ichihara City, Ichihara Prefecture), which took about 80 minutes by train on the Kominato Railway. A bingo tournament was held on board a Kominato Railway train car, which was chartered to a group of people. The participants were so eager to win that they shouted "Reach! Bingo! and "Bingo!" were heard from the participants, and there was a lot of interaction among them.

From Yoro Keikoku Station, students will walk along three courses designed by students while answering original quizzes held at various locations. "Traditional food course" where you can enjoy the city's local cuisine Boso futomaki sushi and parsley rice balls, "Sweets course" where you can enjoy bread made with locally produced honey and herbal tea made with local wildflowers, fried rainbow trout and wild boar. Participants freely chose the ``full stomach course'' where they could enjoy hot pot and enjoyed the hike. Hidden spots were also prepared along the course where people could listen to the voices of immigrants, and a system was also considered to generate a related population in the area.

Jun Yanagisawa, a third-year student Faculty of Tourism, who was nominated to serve as a leader in this project, said, ``In organizing over 70 students and collaborating with local people, things did not go as planned and I still have some things to reflect on. However, thanks to the local people who were involved in this project, the event was a success, and it was a meaningful experience for us students as well.We hope that the event will become a means of revitalizing the region." He said.

A student (center) asking participants an original quiz

Students greet participants at the finish line of the hike