Furusato Nozei Transforms into an "Experience" for Next-Generation Local Love! "Hioki City Smile Project" Launched to Deliver Return Gifts to Local Children

LR (headquartered in Hioki City, Kagoshima Prefecture, President: Yuma Suenaga), which supports Furusato Nozei return gifts, Hioki City, and local confectionery "Aoyama Juan" will implement the "Hioki City Smile Project." This project utilizes Furusato Nozei donations to deliver local specialty sweets to children in the region, instead of sending return gifts to donors.

In this project, sweets are delivered not merely as "objects" but as an "experience" to be enjoyed with family and friends. This initiative aims to bring smiles to children, encouraging them to recall their hometown in the future and grow into individuals who support the community.

Overview of the "Hioki City Smile Project" This project utilizes Furusato Nozei donations to deliver "Satsuma 770,000 Koku Lava Cream Puffs," the signature product of local confectionery "Aoyama Juan" in Hioki City, free of charge to children attending kindergartens and nursery schools in the city. The sweets are positioned not as mere "objects" but as an "experience" through distribution at schools and time spent enjoying them with family and friends. These experiences are intended to remain as cherished memories of growing up in Hioki City, serving as a trigger to recall their hometown in the future.

With the support of donors who agreed with this principle, the project has achieved its goal. Distribution to children attending kindergartens and nursery schools in the city will sequentially begin from May 2026.

In recent years, Furusato Nozei has become a system where the content and competition of return gifts tend to attract attention. However, the original purpose of the system is to support local regions and circulate funds for future initiatives. Hioki City will continue to consider future-oriented utilization of donations and development of return gifts, using this project as an example.

Background of the Initiative ~Commercialization of an Award-Winning Idea~ This project was realized based on an idea that won the Grand Prize at a new return gift development presentation competition for regional revitalization held in July 2025.

The competition was attended by companies and organizations supporting Furusato Nozei, local governments, and return gift providers, who discussed the possibilities of new return gifts and the utilization of donations. Among the ideas, the concept of creating a connection with the region through local sweets and delivering them as an experience to children was highly evaluated, leading to the award.

After receiving the award, local governments, companies, and businesses collaborated for about half a year of deliberation, resulting in the project taking shape as an actual business.

Scenes from the presentation competition held in July 2025.

Overview of Return Gifts This project is implemented using donations from donors who wish for their contributions to be used "for the future of Hioki City."

The donation amount and number of recipients are set in connection with the product name "Satsuma 770,000 Koku Lava Cream Puff."

Donation amount: 770,000 yen Recipients: Children attending kindergartens and nursery schools in Hioki City Number of recipients: Up to 777 children in the city, including Ijuin Kindergarten (Hioki City) Scheduled distribution date: May 8, 2026 (first distribution) (sequential distribution planned after this date)

Confectionery "Aoyama Juan"'s Thoughts on the Project Since its establishment, we have cherished "authentic deliciousness," continuing to make sweets that are unpretentious, straightforward, and can be honestly described as "delicious." This attitude stems from our gratitude for the experience of being nurtured in our hometown, Hioki City.

We want to be a presence that children who grew up in this town will remember when they become adults, recalling, "I still remember the cream puffs and cakes I ate as a child." We believe that playing a part in such memories is one of our roles as a community-rooted business, and thus decided to participate in this project.

We hope that the experiences and memories created through sweets will lead to a sense of familiarity with Hioki City.

Introduction to Hioki City, Kagoshima Prefecture "Fukiagehama," one of Japan's three great sand dunes, and "Satsuma-yaki," boasting 400 years of history.

Hioki City, located in the western part of Kagoshima Prefecture, facing the East China Sea, and almost in the center of the Satsuma Peninsula, is surrounded by rich nature.

"Fukiagehama," a white sand and green pine beach, one of Japan's three great sand dunes, is a popular spot where visitors can enjoy marine sports and admire beautiful sunsets.

The city is also rich in valuable resources filled with ancient charm and tranquility, such as historical traditional events like "Myoenji Mairi," "Yabusame," and "Seppetobe," "Satsuma-yaki" boasting 400 years of history, and "Yunomoto Onsenkyo" and "Fukiage Onsenkyo" with excellent hot spring qualities.

As an initiative to create new industries, we aim to establish a brand for sparkling Hioki City olives through collaboration between industry, government, and finance. We deliver proud specialty products from Hioki City, rich in nature and history.

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