A Base to Feel Food and Life with Five Senses, Connecting to the Future, Exploring Future Satoyama Life and Ways of Living

Shiiba Village in Miyazaki Prefecture, known as one of Japan's three great hidden villages, retains values nurtured by the coexistence of people and nature, such as slash-and-burn agriculture certified as a World Agricultural Heritage, hunting culture that reveres mountain gods, and a food culture that cherishes mountain blessings like wild vegetables and shiitake mushrooms.

To pass on these values of Shiiba Village to the future, we are working to create a base where people can experience this worldview through food, interaction, and stays.

Starting in July 2026, we will sequentially open the restaurant "Nosari" and the snack bar "Nava," followed by the accommodation facility "Satoyama Yuso" in the fall.

By experiencing the life and culture of Shiiba Village, we aim to create opportunities for each individual to reflect on their relationship with nature and their own way of life, and to explore the future of satoyama living and its richness together.

A hunter and hunting dogs heading out for boar and deer hunting

Slash-and-burn agriculture registered as a World Agricultural Heritage

Project Background: From Concept to Realization

This project was born during the formulation of Shiiba Village's tourism promotion plan.

Through repeated dialogues with residents about the village's future, it was suggested that while rich values nurtured by people and nature, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, hunting, and food culture, still exist in daily life, it would be beneficial to have accommodation and dining facilities where these values can be experienced.

Sato Yume Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sato Yume"), which supported the formulation of the tourism promotion plan, met Mr. Ichihide Omaen, a first-class architect in the village, a hunter, and the chairman of the Shiiba Village Tourism Association, during that process.

Mr. Omaen has long held the desire, "I want to pass on the fundamental experiences of using all five senses in nature, playing with friends while running through forests and climbing trees, listening to the babbling of rivers, and learning through trial and error, to the next generation."

Beyond that desire, he envisioned a "Forest Amusement Park" where both adults and children can play, learn, and grow together in earnest, with the nature of his hometown, Shiiba Village, as the stage.

Nurturing a place for challenge and growth in nature together with the community. This philosophy deeply overlaps with the concept of this project, which is to connect the nature and life of Shiiba Village to the future.

Through the combined efforts of Mr. Ichihide Omaen, who has continued to envision this in Shiiba Village, Sato Yume, which provides support from the planning stage of tourism, and the Shiiba Village Tourism Association, which supports connections with the community, the concept has moved towards a full-scale business.

To achieve this, we have established "Omaenowa Co., Ltd." (jointly funded by Mr. Ichihide Omaen, Sato Yume, and the Tourism Association) to manage accommodation and experience businesses, and "Meguru Shiiba Co., Ltd." (jointly funded by Sato Yume and the Tourism Association) to manage food and beverage businesses, and are proceeding with the creation of a base to experience the values of Shiiba Village through stays, food, and interaction.

Mr. Ichihide Omaen

Children playing in the Forest Amusement Park

"Nosari": Beyond the Crucial Juncture

In Shiiba Village, there is a word called "Nosari."

It signifies the blessings bestowed by the mountain gods and nature after people have done their utmost, sometimes overcoming difficulties and sacrifices. It is gratitude for the blessings that come after fulfilling one's duties, rather than simply waiting for good fortune. This way of interacting with nature is embodied in the word "Nosari."

The hunting culture of Shiiba Village still strongly retains this value.

Before entering the mountains, hunters offer sake to the mountain gods and pray for gratitude for the mountain's blessings and for their safety. They also observe the "Sakameguri," a system of directions and calendar cycles based on the ten celestial stems and twelve earthly branches, and refrain from hunting in certain directions. Even hunters who know the mountains inside and out follow the principles of nature, not their own convenience. This attitude has been passed down through generations. No matter how experienced a hunter may be, they are not guaranteed to encounter prey. Therefore, in Shiiba Village, it is thought of not as "caught," but as "bestowed."

Not being overly greedy, not forgetting gratitude for nature, and doing one's utmost. Accepting the blessings that come after that is the spirit of "Nosari."

We hope that each act of eating, experiencing, staying, and meeting people will become an opportunity to reconsider our relationship with nature, our future satoyama life, and our way of living. We aim not only to savor the local ingredients and stay here, but also to convey the way of interacting with nature behind them, the life where people and nature support each other, and the spirit of "Nosari" that has been passed down in Shiiba Village through food and life.

Boar and hunting dogs

The hunting law "Sakameguri" observed by hunters

Opening a Base to Experience the Blessings of Satoyama through "Food" and "Stays"

As a base to experience satoyama life, Shiiba Village's food culture, and connections with people, we will open the restaurant "Nosari" and the snack bar "Nava" in July 2026.

The restaurant "Nosari" will offer dishes that utilize the rich mountain blessings of Shiiba, such as game meats like deer and boar, enoha fish, shiitake mushrooms, wild vegetables, and vegetables.

In the evening, the same location will operate as the snack bar "Nava." "Nava" is a word in the Shiiba dialect meaning "shiitake mushroom." We will foster a place for interaction where local residents, new residents, and tourists can naturally gather, converse, and form new connections. *Details on business hours, menu, etc., will be announced again in early July.

Enoha fish raised in the clear streams of Shiiba

Charcoal-grilled boar meat

In the fall of 2026, we plan to open "Satoyama Yuso," a rental accommodation facility.

"Satoyama Yuso" is a base for stays where guests can reflect on their own values and way of life while immersing themselves in the nature and life of Shiiba Village. We will offer stays that allow guests to experience the daily life of Shiiba Village through the changing seasons and interactions with local people.

In the future, we plan to develop programs that allow visitors to experience satoyama life, such as slash-and-burn agriculture, food culture, and mountain activities. We aim for time spent in Shiiba to be an opportunity to consider our relationship with nature, the future of satoyama living, and our own sense of richness.

*Details about "Satoyama Yuso" will be announced later.

"Satoyama Yuso" nestled in the satoyama

A spectacular giant swing

Future Outlook

"Connecting Satoyama Life to the Future." This is our philosophy.

Much of the wisdom of life in satoyama, including slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting, exists primarily in the memories and bodies of people in their 60s and 70s and older, and opportunities for connection with the next generation are becoming limited.

These cultures have the potential to gradually disappear if left unattended.

We intend to carefully pick up these fragments of life and re-edit them into tours, food experiences, and accommodation programs, thereby creating a cycle that connects to the next generation by fostering both external learning and internal rediscovery.

Our vision is to connect Shiiba Village's way of life to the future as something that "continues to live."

Company Profile

【Omaenowa Co., Ltd.】

Location: 357 Fudono, Shiiba-mura, Higashiusuki-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture

Representative: Ichihide Omaen, President and Representative Director

Established: March 2025

Business Activities: Operation of accommodation facilities and experience programs

Contact: omaenowa@gmail.com

【Meguru Shiiba Co., Ltd.】

Location: 1826-108 Shimofukura, Shiiba-mura, Higashiusuki-gun, Miyazaki Prefecture

Representative: Takahito Matano, President and Representative Director

Established: March 2025

Business Activities: Operation of food and beverage business, development of specialty products

Contact: megurushiiba@gmail.com