[Activity Log] "All Around Nanasawa"—A Day Connecting Satoyama, Spring Water, and People

From morning until evening today, it was literally a day of "all around Nanasawa".

Working in the satoyama, hunting for spring water, seasonal flowers, historical stone monuments, and visiting shrines.
It became an activity where I fully enjoyed the charm of Nanasawa in one day.

First, from the satoyama site

Work on the "Nanasawa Satoyama Multi-Live Plan".

Today's tasks were—

• Transplanting spider lilies

• Maintenance around the Hirosawa-ji hot spring ♨️ parking lot

• Weeding and environmental maintenance in the surrounding area

Hoes, sickles, rakes, chainsaws, garden rakes, etc...
Everyone picks up the tools they need and does what they can.
It is not passive, but an independent activity.
People are assets, which is also the greatest feature of this project.

Satoyama development is a comprehensive project of
"nature + people + maintenance."

I realize once again that Nanasawa is supported by the accumulation of such steady, hands-on work.

Why is satoyama development important?

The work we did today, if you look at each task, is all quite modest.

Weeding.
Transplanting flowers.
Maintaining paths.
Clearing away dead trees, branches, and fallen leaves.

However, these small, steady efforts
protect the unique character of Nanasawa.

Satoyama is not originally a "pristine, untouched mountain."
It is a landscape that has been sustained by human involvement and continuous care.

If we stop maintaining it,
the paths will become overgrown, the scenery will deteriorate, and the environment of the spring water will worsen.

That is why creating Satoyama is,

• not about destroying nature,

• but about utilizing nature

• while maintaining a balance between people and the environment.

I believe it is a "collaborative effort" to achieve that.

It may not be a flashy initiative that appears in tourist brochures,
but the charm of the region is born from these everyday sites.

Today's activities were also a part of that.

Satoyama as a place that creates connections

Another major aspect is "human connection."

Satoyama creation is

• local residents,

• people from outside,

• and people of different generations

all naturally mingling in one place.

When you break a sweat in the same place,
titles and age no longer matter.

Nanasawa's Satoyama activities are
not only about environmental creation, but also—
community building.

The future of the "Nanasawa Satoyama Multi-Live Plan"

The Nanasawa area is a place where the satoyama environment—terraced rice fields, vegetable gardens, and woodlands—has long existed in harmony with human life.
However, when human intervention ceases, both the landscape and the ecosystem gradually begin to collapse.
The "Nanasawa Satoyama Multi-Live Plan," which serves as the foundation for these activities, has been continued to stem that tide and maintain a "just-right relationship between people and nature."

These activities, too,
will conclude under the current framework with the activities in March 2026.
(*The Ogino area will continue)

In other words, the Nanasawa project is reaching a milestone.

But this is not an "end,"
but rather a transition to the next stage.

From April 2026, Nanasawa will take on a new form.

Right now, together with the people of Nanasawa,
we are considering plans to create "mechanisms to pass on satoyama to the next generation" and "opportunities to experience the relationship between daily life and nature," in addition to our conventional work.

• How to utilize the results achieved so far

• In what form to continue the activities

• How to build a mechanism to connect to the next generation

Fieldwork like today's is also
an important process leading to that "next Nanasawa."

I believe the real work, the true challenge, starts now.

The afternoon is the usual— #SpringWaterLOVEClub

After the work, as usual,

#SpringWaterLOVEClub activity

• Patrolling spring water points

• Checking the surrounding environment

• Checking the water volume

• And drawing water

Nanasawa is a treasure trove of water.

Spring water is not just "clean water," but
the history of the land itself.

That is precisely why—

#SpringWaterHunter
#SpringWaterLOVEClub

I continue steadily with this style.

A little spring at Nagomi-no-Oka

At "Nagomi-no-Oka," where I stopped by between travels,

• plum blossoms are blooming here and there

• Japanese narcissus are blooming quietly

It's not flashy, but
this quiet change of seasons is a typical Nanasawa landscape.

Meeting history

What I found at a certain place in Nanasawa was—

a Koshin tower built in the Meiji era

It has now become a presence that watches over the region as aDosojin (road ancestor deity).

Meow, what's this❗️
Stumbling upon this kind of "local history" is part of what makes Nanasawa so interesting.

Finishing up at Atago Shrine

The conclusion of the day is a visit to Atago Shrine.

Atago Shrine has long been worshipped as a deity of "fire prevention" (protection against fires).
It is a quiet guardian deity that has protected the region.

When you press your hands together in prayer at this small shrine in the mountains,
you feel as if you are melting into the flow of time in the satoyama.

Work → Nature → History → Prayer

Everything is connected, that is Nanasawa

Today's reward

I did my best today (patting myself on the back)
Today's reward is—

• Harvested from "Old Man Nanasawa's" field
  　🥦 Broccoli
  　🥬 Daikon radish

• 3L of freshly drawn spring water

Today, I used this spring water to
cook and eat "Harumi" rice harvested from the terraced rice fields of Nanasawa.

• Just lightly boil the broccoli

• Daikon radish in rice bran pickles, and the leaves lightly pickled

Simple is best.
Delicious is justice.

What you see when you go all the way around

Satoyama work, spring water, flowers, stone monuments, and shrines.
Everything in Nanasawa is connected.

It was truly a day where I experienced All Around Nanasawa firsthand.

Even as things change into a new form for the next fiscal year,
I want to cherish this atmosphere and the connections between people.

To sum it up in one word—
It was a great day today, too❗️