ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN JAPAN 2016

Nikko: A Cultural Beacon for Japan

We took a day off from our daily farm work in ARI as we continue to travel around Japan. This time we visited Nikko, one of the World Heritage Sites. We were excited to visit shrines and temples. My expectations in Nikko is different from what I actually see. What I...

Daily Life at ARI

We have now moved from the huge metropolis of Tokyo out to the Asian Rural Institute, or ARI! What an amazing trip this has been so far. We’ve had some long days and a lot of travel, but now it’s time to get introduced to the alternative food culture of ARI! Here,...

Cooking Up Some Memories at ARI

Ohayo from ARI! (This post was written Friday January 8th, but I have had some internet issues, so I haven't been able to post until now) The group has been at the Asian Rural Institute since late Wednesday afternoon. Even though everyone is still getting used to...

The Nature of Food

Where does this food come from? This is the question that circulates through my mind constantly each day I am in Japan. On our first day when we were asked to think about the statement by Ian Miller, “We are all becoming alienated from our food,” I became curious. The...

The Stories Behind Our Food

We woke up with the sun this Saturday morning to do some community work on the farm. My group’s responsibility was to climb into a pit filled with fermented corn, pass up buckets of the funky-smelling substance, and load it into barrels for relocation. Our shoveling...

The Journey to The Clean Plate Club

During our morning foodlife activities today, the topic of cakes came up. Wedding cakes are a whole different animal from birthday cakes, we decided, not only because of how many people they must feed but also because of each person's relationship to the guest of...

Adventures of a Wannabe Foodie in Tokyo

When we arrived in Tokyo mid-afternoon the 3rd of January local time, my sleep deprived and weary body didn't know quite what to expect. I'll admit, I snuck in some quick z's on the train from the airport to Ikebukuro Station. But as soon as I exited the station into...

Sketches of Tokyo: First day

The first night in Tokyo's Hotel Sakura Ikebukuro was fairly quiet; after a curry dinner in the hotel's cafe, the inhabitants of Room 101, comprised of Dan, Marianne, and I, came back and prepared for bed. This is a quick sketch of the room, drawn the morning after....

Gratefully yours

Warmest thanks to the Luce Foundation, for its generous support to St. Olaf College through a Luce Initiative on Asian Studies and the Environment grant.

Anticipation & Memories

On January 2, 2016, the 21 students enrolled in ESJ-2016, the 7 in the partner DUR (directed undergraduate research) course, my friends & colleagues Paul Jackson and Laurel Brook and I will head to Japan for a month.  As I...

January 2-5

Flight. Tokyo food tour. Kahaku.

January 6-12

Asian Rural Institute. Nikko. Kinoshi Juku.

January 13-16

Tokyo. Nagawa-machi. Nōdai. Otaya Matsuri.

January 17-18

Free time!

January 19-30

ARI. Ashio. Watarase. Yotsuba. Fukushima. Farewell!

Greetings, dear reader!

Welcome to thoughts, photos and videos from students tracking the ideas and practices of community leadership around environmental sustainability in Japan. I’ve charged them with considering how local communities meet global environmental challenges, to counter the popular US image that Asia matters environmentally mostly as a source of problems. We learn through field trips, discussion, and symposia with Japanese students, and hands-on participation in daily food life at the Asian Rural Institute.

I hope you’ll enjoy these glimpses of our journey,

Kathy Tegtmeyer Pak
Associate Professor
Departments of Asian Studies & Political Science, St. Olaf College

Follow us on the ESJ 2016 Map

Links to all locations embedded in the map pins

Asian Rural Institute

Sakura Hotel Ikebukuro

Ikebukuro hostel that’s home for two nights.

Tokyo Central Youth Hostel

2nd hostel home, two more nights.

Unmemory Pension

Ski village hotel in Nagawa-machi.

Kinoshi Juku

Organic farm, consumer-supported ag & art.

Ashio Copper Mine

Notorious copper mine, source of labor movement & pollution tragedy.

Yotsuba Co-op

Tochigi Prefecture consumer co-operative.

Watarase Basin

Artificial reservoir created to protect Tokyo water from Ashio pollution.  Now a Ramsar Convention recognized wetland.

Fukushima University

Nagawa-machi

Nagawa-machi, Nagano Prefecture – town of less than 8000 in the central mountains.

Nōdai (Tokyo University of Agriculture)

山村再生プロジェクト、農大 Mountain Village Revitalization Project at the Tokyo University of Agriculture (Nōdai)

Narita Airport

Nikko

National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site.