What all adults
Living here can do
Deeply accept and enjoy
The charm of your hometown as it is,
The importance of continuing to promote
(ISH) Yamagata Arcadia Tourism Bureau (Chairperson, Strategic Council)
Naoki Takahashi
Naoki Takahashi has made a U-turn to his hometown after getting a job in Tokyo and is an active member of the strategic council for the Yamagata Arcadia Tourism Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the Arcadia Tourism Bureau). He talked about the attractions of the area and what he can do for the next generation.
ーPlease tell us about your history and your current role at the Arcadia Tourism Bureau.
I’m not from the urban area of Nagai. I’m from the foot of a mountain in the Nagai area. I grew up as siblings with the children of the neighborhood. I’m not sure if it’s because I had many connections with the community, but when I turned 30 years old, I felt a strong sense of nostalgia for my hometown and made a U-turn back home from Tokyo. Since the days of the Yamagata Nagai Tourism Bureau, the predecessor of the Arcadia Tourism Bureau, I have mainly been involved with promotion and information services. I participate in the formulation of plans and missions as a member of the Strategic Council. As for specific activities, I participate in the activities of the promotion team, the gourmet team, the travel product development team, and the connecting team, which has the role of gathering and connecting the activity members.
ーWhat are your current thoughts from recent activities?
By being involved in various projects surrounding the tourism bureau, I have greatly increased the chances of discovering more about the neighboring cities and towns, including my hometown. There were many stories I didn’t know about until now, and things I knew but had never experienced until now. This is as someone who lives here.
It’s not limited to Okitama, but I think that every land has its own unique culture and beauty. I feel that it is important to deeply accept the essence of what makes your hometown beautiful, enjoy yourself, and to spread information about it.
ーA feeling of importance related to “Passing the Arcadia of Asia to Children.”
I think it is the role and mission of all adults, not just of the tourism bureau, living in this area to increase the value of this place and to pass the baton to the next generation. History has proven that illiquid communities degrade, and expenses itself is not a bad thing, but I think the problem lies in the extremely low influx of people and money.
In that sense, this project is not a narrow story like a so-called tourism promotion project, but I think that it is for the whole town, and everyone living in the town, to increase the inflow of anything and everything. If more people come from outside and praise the town, I hope that the adults and children of the town will be prouder of where they live.
PROFILE
Naoki Takahashi
Born in Nagai City. After working for an advertising production in Tokyo, he made a U-turn and became an independent as a CG designer. He established an event-planning company by investing with his colleagues. After that, he joined the Japan Arcadia Network. With his flexible creativity, he is working to increase contact points between the community and people.
