Designing a 'Deep Experience' for 300 Visitors: Participatory Culture Festival 'Blue Nostalgia Festival' to be Held in World Heritage Nikko!! Re-editing Local Value with Nature x Music x Food x Culture, from 'Watching' to 'Engaging'

The Blue Nostalgia Festival Executive Committee (Chairman: Kohei Ohno) will hold the 'Blue Nostalgia Festival' (Presented by Spot Sharoushi-kun Social Insurance Labor Consultant Corporation), a residential culture festival designed to maximize 'experience quality' by limiting the number of visitors to approximately 300, at 'TORCH Camping & Coworking Space' located at an altitude of 740m surrounded by nature in Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture, on Saturday, August 8, 2026. Ticket sales applications will begin on Monday, May 11, via the ticket sales application form (https://x.gd/fXD5s). Nikko is known as a leading tourist city in Japan, with its shrines and temples, including Nikko Toshogu Shrine, registered as a World Heritage site. It is also a land where nature and prayer intertwine, with a deep-rooted culture of mountain worship, where mountains such as Mt. Nantai are revered as gods. Unlike conventional large-scale crowd-pulling festivals, this event is characterized by its design where visitors are not 'spectators' but 'participants'. It is a new event model that combines music, food, culture, and experiences, allowing deep engagement with the region through the five senses in nature. In recent years, as 'pass-through tourism' has become an issue in rural areas, this event was planned as a 'relationship population creation event' that leverages the characteristics of Nikko, a World Heritage site with layers of nature, history, and faith, to deepen connections with the region through stay and experience. ★Official LP: https://bluenostalgia-festival.studio.site Left) Kohei Ohno, Right) Takeshi Maeda ■ The philosophy of 'Nostalgia = Creating the future from the origin' The theme of this festival is 'Nostalgia'. It does not simply mean reminiscence, but the philosophy of 're-examining our origins and creating new value from there'. The music unit 'Blue Nostalgia', consisting of Kohei Ohno, a Tochigi Future Ambassador and pianist, and Takeshi Maeda, a ginei-ka (reciter of Japanese and Chinese poetry) and shakuhachi player, planned this event. Mr. Ohno states: "Every region has a 'hometown' that serves as the foundation for its development. By experiencing music in the nature of Nikko, we want to re-recognize its value and create a place where people and regions are organically connected." ■ Not a music festival, but a 'participatory culture festival' At the venue surrounded by forests, music blends with the sound of the wind and trees, and the colors of the sky, offering an immersive experience not found in urban events. Performers are expected to include a flutist with over 800,000 total SNS followers, musicians active both domestically and internationally, and chefs who have won international competitions, among other talents from diverse fields. 【Event Features】 ・A complex festival combining music live performances with Tochigi's food, local culture, and experiential workshops. ・Designed for visitors to be 'participants' rather than 'spectators'. ・High-density experience design leveraging the scale of approximately 300 people. ■ From local event to 'culture creation project' In recent years, the role of events in local areas has shifted from 'attracting visitors' to 'creating relationship population'. This event is also positioned not merely as a tourist attraction, but as a place to foster empathy and involvement in local culture, aiming to establish itself as new cultural and tourist content that attracts visitors from outside the prefecture and overseas in the future. We challenge ourselves to a demonstrative initiative for creating new cultural and tourist content in Nikko, where history and nature coexist. 'Blue Nostalgia Festival' Overview Event Name: Blue Nostalgia Festival Date: Saturday, August 8, 2026, 12:00 - 20:00 Venue: TORCH Camping & Coworking Space (https://www.torchnikko.jp/) ◇Address: 242 Kujira-cho, Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture Venue map Venue layout ◉Access: 【For those using public transportation】 ・Approx. 15-20 minutes by Tobu Bus from Tobu/JR 'Nikko Station'. ・Take any bus bound for 'Chuzenji Onsen, Yumoto Onsen, Yashio no Yu', get off at 'Urami no Taki Iriguchi' bus stop, and walk approx. 10 minutes. ・Approx. 1 hour 50 minutes by limited express from Asakusa Station, direct limited express also operates from Shinjuku Station. 【For those coming by car】 ・Approx. 5 minutes from Nikko Utsunomiya Road 'Kiyotaki IC'. ・Free dedicated/temporary parking available. ◉Admission Fee (tax included): Applications start from May 11 via ticket sales application form (https://x.gd/fXD5s) 3,000 yen 3,500 yen (Cash sales planned at venue entrance) ・Children under elementary school age: Free ・Junior high school students: 500 yen ・High school students: 1,000 yen ◉Parking (free): General parking (Nikko Myoho High School / Kiyotaki Kindergarten, etc.) / Disabled parking (TORCH