The Scene

Away from the crowded streets of Japan’s bulging Tokyo lies the charming castle town Hagi. Situated in Yamaguchi Prefecture on the Sea of Japan, this coastal heritage town is surrounded by mountains blanketed in lush forest and rice fields. But the streets where samurai once lived are nearly empty. A once bustling community, the population of around 45,000 residents is shrinking.

Each year, it is estimated that over 800 people leave Hagi due to limited income opportunities, according to Miyazaki Takahide, manager of the Hagi Homestay Association. With birth rates decreasing and an aging population, he notes that every rural town in Japan faces the same crisis in socio-economic and social issues.

Yet Hagi, located in western Honshu Island, has found a unique approach to create purpose and generate income for young farmers and the aging community. It is called the Hagi Homestay Program.

The Hits

Travellers stay with local farmers and elderly hosts for a few days. These homestay program hosts share cultural traditions like making matcha tea, preparing sushi or arranging traditional flowers.

The Backstory

Originally Hagi offered a student work program working with farmers for a few days to experience rural life. In 2017, the town expanded the program to foreign travellers. Today, 22 families participate in the Hagi Homestay Program supported by Planeterra, which is the non-profit partner of  G Adventures, a global travel company.

In 2019, Planeterra and G Adventures collaborated with the Hagi Green Hometown Tourism Association to develop this homestay experience as part of its multi-day tours.

One household in this Hagi Community Homestay is the young Sasase family. Three children are under the age of 14 years. In 2023, tired of city life, the Sasases, without any farming skills, moved from busy Shiba, a neighbourhood in Minato City, Tokyo to the quiet setting of Hagi to become farmers. The low cost of vacant homes along with the abundance of nature attracted them to the area.

Meeting people from all over the world and sharing a slice of their rural life is what prompted the family to join the homestay program.

The Takeaway

The Hagi Community Homestay creates purpose and an income for the town’s aging and rural population while giving travellers an opportunity to experience rural Japan. A homestay isn’t the only reason to visit Hagi. The quaint town is famous for Hagi-yaki pottery, considered one of the most famous pottery areas in Japan. It was also the political centre of a powerful clan during Japan’s feudal period, and is part of a larger UNESCO listing related to the Meiji Industrial Revolution.

Must See

One of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites is the well-preserved Hagi Castle Town, which contains former samurai and merchant houses.