Hello, this is Dojo from the Creative Department.
The other day, I participated in the "1st Josethon in Nishiaizu Town." Josethon is an event that combines Joseexercise and ideathon, and was organized by " Nishup49 " and the " Nishiaizu Hometown Fan Creation Council ," members who want to promote Nishiaizu.
First of all, what is Jose-exercise? Those who know about it know that Jose-exercise is a popular exercise in snowy regions. The idea is to treat snow removal as exercise and have fun in a positive way! When I first heard about it, I thought it was very innovative and interesting!
The Joses Exercise Handbook also features illustrations modelled by Uemura from the production department!
Additionally, Joseson is a project initiated by Innovation Tohoku, with members of Monosus' production department involved in its management.
This time, I would like to share my participation report from the 1st Joseson in Nishiaizu Town.
What prompted me to join Joseson?
The reason I became interested in Innovation Tohoku in the first place was because members involved in the project told me that participating in the event would make me feel really positive!
According to this person, until then she had been a shy girl who was unable to look people in the eye when talking to them, but after attending an Innovation Tohoku event, she suddenly found herself talking about regional revitalization with a sparkle in her eyes.
I'm also a fairly shy person and at the time I was worrying about my future life plans, so I became interested in the story and casually took a look at the Innovation Tohoku website .
The newly redesigned Innovation Tohoku website . When I visited, the Joseson challenge was still open for submissions, but the status has now changed to "Completed." (As of March 29, 2016)
The first thing that caught my eye when I visited the site was the keyword "Jose Exercise."
Although it was a word I had never heard before, I was intrigued and checked out the details page . When I looked at the details, I found that "Joseexercise" is a portmanteau of "snow removal" and "exercise," and the challenge involved everyone gathering in Nishiaizu to do Joseexercise.
The first thing I thought was, "What is this? Looks fun!" I thought it looked fun because I had never cleared snow before and didn't know how hard it was, but the surreal illustrations and the sense of words were really good, and even though I had no interest at all in regional revitalization, I was strongly attracted to it, so I decided to participate.
Arrived at Nishiaizu International Art Village!
~First day of Joseson~
Finally, the day of the Joseson arrived. I tend to be shy, so I was worried about whether I would be able to join in with everyone and whether I would be able to come up with any ideas, as I was swaying on the bus from Shinjuku to Aizuwakamatsu.
The first thing that surprised me when I arrived in Aizuwakamatsu was that there was absolutely no snow!
Aizuwakamatsu without snow
I was worried whether I would be able to do the Josesercise or not, but as I was on the train from Aizuwakamatsu to Nozawa, snow gradually started to appear as I headed inland, and I was relieved.
When we arrived at Nozawa Station, members of the Joseson management team were there to pick us up.
Nishiaizu International Art Village surrounded by snow
And finally we arrived at Nishiaizu International Art Village, the venue for Joseson!
Nishiaizu International Art Village is a facility that reuses a closed junior high school, and the building has a very nostalgic atmosphere. Artists from Japan and abroad sometimes stay and create works there.
It is also said to be a place where local activists gather together to talk and generate ideas, and the idea for Jose Exercise was apparently born at Nishiaizu International Art Village.
An atmospheric wooden school building
Cute yellow school hats lined up
Incandescent! An ideathon to enliven Nishiaizu
The highlight of the first day will be an ideathon to liven up Nishiaizu.
When I saw the schedule, I thought, "3 hours is a long time," but when I actually participated, the time flew by and it felt like not enough time.
The theme of the ideathon was
- Thinking of ideas to enliven Nishiaizu
- What kind of business can you start in Nishiaizu?
There are two types:
Ideathon starts!
Relatively more participants attended session 1, and since Monosus also has plans to open satellite offices in rural areas, I decided to attend session 2, which was about "What kind of business can you start in Nishiaizu?"
First, we introduced ourselves to the other members. The person I introduced to was a student from Ryukoku University.
When I asked them about it, I found out that they were participating with a total of 10 members from their study circle.
I don't have many opportunities to talk to university students in my everyday life, so it felt really refreshing. They were full of youth and energy, and I really felt the power of young imagination.
Also on the team was a professor at Ryukoku University and a reliable woman who is interested in regional revitalization.
Our team came up with a business idea to attract people from overseas and have them settle in Nishiaizu, based on the perspective that snow itself could be a tourist resource for people in countries where it doesn't snow, and that Nishiaizu's abundant snow would be attractive to people in the Southern Hemisphere, where the seasons are opposite to those in Japan, and who want to experience snow even in summer.
We lie on the floor and discuss this and that.
The ideathon, which brings together people of different generations and professions with different ways of thinking, was very stimulating and informative. It was also fun to see everyone's ideas come together and new concepts be born, and it made me realize once again how great it is to do something together with other people.
Enjoy delicious local cuisine and chat with the people of Nishiaizu
After using our brains for a while, delicious drinks and food prepared by the locals were waiting for us.
From spring wild vegetables such as taros and butterbur buds carefully grown by locals, to horse sashimi, sake, and doburoku! Every dish is delicious and goes well with rice!
Lots of delicious local dishes!
By the way, food produced in Fukushima Prefecture is subject to more thorough inspections than any other local government, and is now said to be the safest in Japan.
At the social gathering, we heard stories from people who moved from Kanagawa to Nishiaizu with strong aspirations, as well as people who had returned to Nishiaizu and are working there.I was impressed by how cool and passionate everyone was about promoting Nishiaizu.
At first, I had no idea what regional revitalization was, and it sounded appealing, but after talking with various people at the ideathon and social gathering, I realized that if my involvement could contribute even in some small way to revitalizing the local area, it could be extremely rewarding, and I became very interested.
The people of Nishiaizu, both young people and the elderly, work together to address local issues, and I believe that the connections between people have a very positive synergistic effect on revitalizing the community.
I can't really put it into words, but I felt that the people who live in Nishiaizu are what make the place so charming, and I really wanted to come back and meet everyone there again.
It's time to try Jose Exercise!
~Joseson Day 2~
The day of the actual Joses Exercise has finally arrived.
I had thoroughly read the Joses Exercise manual that had been distributed the day before and was fully motivated.
We put on our mountain climbing clothes and get ready to try the Josesercise.
To practice Jose Exercise, we first had to take a class. Mr. Suzuki, the president of the Japan Jose Exercise Association, gave us a thorough lecture, during which we learned about the precautions and concepts of Jose Exercise, as well as terminology such as "snow removal high" (the feeling of elation after long hours of snow removal).
Now it's time for the Josescise Class B License certification exam.
I was full of confidence because I had been studying since the night before. When the exam actually started, I was able to answer the questions smoothly and finished the exam without any problems, thinking to myself, "Maybe I should get 100 points?"
The test results will be announced in the afternoon. I'm looking forward to hearing them.
Everyone is taking the lecture seriously.
After the exams it's finally time for some Jose exercise!
First, we all did some warm-up exercises with Josesaise. This was actually quite good exercise, and I was already sweating during the warm-up exercises.
After thoroughly warming up, the participants are given a practical lesson on the basic movements of Jose exercise to avoid straining their lower backs, as well as which movements work on which muscles, before they begin clearing snow at Nishiaizu International Art Village.
We are currently in the midst of a group snow removal effort!
Our mission was to remove the snow in front of the window, where a wall of snow had blocked off the light. We were all busily doing the Jose exercise, and before we knew it, we had become silent and absent-minded. We were taken aback by the words, "If you become silent while doing the Jose exercise, you'll be high from snow removal, so be careful!" and thought to ourselves, "I see, this is what a group snow removal high is like," and we worked hard at the Jose exercise, not forgetting to take regular breaks and drink fluids, just like we had learned in class.
I think that now I have gained a little bit of "Jose power" (the power that people who live attractive lives through Jose exercise possess).
Jose Exercise B-class License Exam Results
After working up a sweat with the Jose exercise and enjoying delicious curry rice, the long-awaited results of the B-class license exam were announced.
Of the 27 applicants, 20 were successful, so the 7 failed, which made the participants quite excited. There were two applicants with the highest scores, so I wondered if they would call my name, but not only was my name not called, my name wasn't called when the successful applicants were announced.
"What? I can't believe I failed..."
I sat there trying to look cool, but deep down I was in total shock.
Later, I was shown my paper by someone from the Japan Joses Exercise Association, and I found out that I had scored 78 points.
The passing grade was 80, so it's a shame I didn't pass, but I still can't believe it. I'm disappointed in myself.
I failed, but I'll definitely get revenge.
The only thing I regret about this time at Josephson is that I wasn't able to get my Class B license.
Next time, I would definitely like to visit Nishiaizu again in the winter to get my Class B license.
A glimpse into the future of Nishiaizu at the Ideathon presentation
Preparation before the presentation
Finally, we will have a presentation of the ideathon that we all discussed on the first day.
The mayor and members of the town hall's tourism department also came to inspect the site, which made the presentations even more exciting.
Among the teams, there was one where the members got together after the social gathering on the first day and worked on ideas until 4am, and all the teams' presentations were very interesting.
In particular, the presentation by one team was very interesting, as they had worked out specific details such as the company name and the type of services they would provide, making it easy to visualize how their vision would turn out.
It was a business plan to use an abandoned school to provide experiences at Nishiaizu with a variety of timetables, and I thought that I would definitely like to take part.
I would be delighted if the ideas that came out of this ideathon are realized and serve as a catalyst for something exciting to be born in Nishiaizu in the future.
Conclusion
Sunset in Nishiaizu
My overall impression was that it was a lot of fun. It may sound a bit exaggerated, but it was a very fulfilling two days, and I felt like a new world had opened up to me.
Through this Joseson experience, I have come to really like Nishiaizu Town, and it has given me the opportunity to rethink the connections between people.
Also, I began to feel a desire to do something about regional revitalization, something I had never had any interest in before.
From now on, I would like to try various things so that I can get involved in society and the local area, even if it's just something small.
Thank you very much to the Joseson management and everyone in Nishiaizu Town!
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