Mar 28, 2022 (Japan Times) - TOKIGAWA, SAITAMA PREF. – Except for the occasional buzzing of cars passing by and the gentle chirping of birds, route 172 — the main road that runs through Tokigawa — was quiet on a recent Wednesday morning.
The alleys were mostly empty and the mom-and-pop stores still closed. An older lady pushed a stroller across the street. From behind the steering wheel, the small town in Tokyo’s neighboring Saitama Prefecture appeared like any other sleepy community dotting Japan’s rural landscape.
Step outside and start exploring, however, and there’s more to this place than meets the eye. There’s an incubation center for local entrepreneurs and a riverside glamping resort complete with outdoor sauna cabins. A renovated Showa Era-themed hot spring greets locals and tourists alike, while traditional kominka homes have been transformed into cafes and inns.
As the aging, shrinking nation struggles to address its demographic woes, municipalities such as Tokigawa are questioning conventional wisdom and searching for creative ways to keep their communities vibrant by drawing in new ideas and talent — even as their graying populations fall.
“Ever since the Meiji Restoration 150 years ago, the Japanese have been harboring the illusion that happiness can only be attained through growth,” says Norio Koyama, a nonfiction writer who founded an event space in Tokigawa in late 2020.
He is referring to the series of events that saw the downfall of the Tokugawa shogunate in 1868 and ushered in an era of major political, economical and social change.
“But that’s no longer sustainable,” Koyama says. “We need to figure out ways to achieve happiness while scaling down, and Tokigawa can become an example.” ...continue reading
