"Stop Extinction"... A Japanese mountain village earns billions with its leaves

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The town of Kamikatsu with a population of 1300 has achieved annual sales of 2.3 billion yen through Japanese-style decorations, and practices zero waste by sorting garbage into 43 categories.

(Tokushima = UD News) Yoon Seulbin, tourism journalist = The provinces in South Korea are growing old. There are more elderly people going to nursing homes than children just starting school. By 2025, 20.3% of the population will be 65 years or older, and half of the nation's 228 cities and counties have received warnings of being at "risk of disappearance." Without young people, jobs, hospitals, and schools are also disappearing in the countryside.

But there was one village in Japan that was different. This is the story of Kamikatsucho (Kamikatsu town), with a population of just around 1300 people, located in the mountains of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku Island, Japan. In this place where the aging rate exceeds 50%, grandmothers earn tens of millions of won by collecting one leaf and sort garbage into 43 categories to save the village. Everyone believed this place would be deserted, but Kamikatsu found the answer to regional depopulation.

Population 1300, the smallest but strongest village in Japan

The town of Kamikatsu, located in the deep mountains inland of Shikoku, is a small village in Tokushima Prefecture.

As of 2024, the population is approximately 1,300, with an aging rate exceeding 53%. This figure is more than twice the national average in Japan. The rate of population decline is also steep.

The village, which had only 1800 people just over ten years ago, is decreasing by 50 people each year.

88% of the total area is mountainous, making the flatlands precious, and there is no notable industry other than agriculture. The young people leave for the cities, leaving only the elderly behind.

그러나, 이 마을은 '이대로 사라질 수 없다'며 주민들이 직접 움직이기 시작했다. 그렇게 만들어진 변화의 씨앗이 바로 '잎사귀 프로젝트'(葉っぱビジネス·핫파 비즈니스)다. A leaf costs 150 yen, the grandmothers' income in the tens of millions yen

In a small village in the mountains, the leaves earn money.

1986년, 가미카쓰초 농협 직원 요코이시 토모지 씨의 아이디어로 시작된 '잎사귀 프로젝트'(葉っぱビジネス·핫파 비지네스)는 고령자와 여성도 쉽게 참여할 수 있는 소득원을 만들겠다는 고민에서 출발했다.

Mr. Yokoi noticed the decorative leaves (tsumamono) used in high-end Japanese cuisine, and the skills of the village elders helped to preserve their value.

Now, about 140 farms mostly run by people in their 70s and 80s pick leaves from their mountains and fields every day. They carefully sort and pack them according to size, color, and shape before shipping them off in the mornings.

For one sheet, it's 100 to 150 yen, and a pack can sell for several hundred to several thousand yen. This small village accounts for 60 to 70 percent of the decorative leaf market across Japan.

Based on last year's figures, the total revenue is approximately 270 million yen (about 2.3 billion won), and there are several grandmothers who earn over 100 million won. The key to success is simplicity and systematization. There are no light or heavy, or dangerous machines. At 8 AM, when orders coming in from markets nationwide are shared digitally, farmers competitively click on their tablets, saying "I'll sell today."

The CEO of Nonoyama Satoshi Pangaea, which plans and operates sustainable local businesses on-site, explained, "This is a niche industry that combines agriculture and IT," adding, "It's not a structure that anyone can easily imitate." Experiment for a garbage-free village... Zero Waste Center

There is a symbolic building at Kamikatsu-en. It is the 'Zero Waste Center' with a unique red triangular roof.

The residents bring their garbage directly here and sort it into an astounding 43 categories. Among them, paper products alone are divided into 5 types: milk cartons, aluminum foil, cardboard, magazines, and hard paper. Plastic is also categorized into recyclable containers and general waste.

Next to each recycling bin, it states how much profit is generated by recycling this waste and how much disposal cost is incurred by throwing it away.

While PET bottles and cans are purchased by collection agencies at a certain price per kilogram, contributing to village revenue, mixed plastics or aluminum foil packaging must be processed at the village's own expense. Why does this village require garbage to be separated in a somewhat inconvenient manner?

Furumichi Yastomo, a staff member at the Zero Waste Center, explained, "In the past, Kamikatsu relied on incineration plants for waste disposal." However, "as small incinerators reached capacity, dioxins were detected, leading to environmental pollution issues."

In 2003, Kamikatsu finally closed its incinerator and declared itself a 'zero waste' town. The village now achieves a recycling rate of over 80%, which is four times the Japanese average.

There are also rewards for residents' efforts. If you accurately separate the designated items, points are given, which can be exchanged for daily necessities. On one side of the center, there is also a unmanned reusable item space called 'Komigatake'.

This is a system where local residents freely bring unused household items, and those who need them can take them for free. Children's clothes, tableware, toys, and books are instead passed on rather than being discarded. Is this all garbage I created?...Hotel WHY

Kamikatsu has only one hotel. Its name is an impressive one: Hotel WHY (WY).

The only zero-waste hotel in Japan poses questions such as "Why throw away trash?" and "Why must we consume?" from check-in to check-out.

Upon check-in, the traveler's habits are shaken. Only enough tea leaves for a proper drink and coffee is given to the guest for one day. The soap is not whole; guests must cut off as much as they need. There are no disposable items in the room. Instead of a trash can, there are separators. The building has a two-story structure with only 4 guest rooms. Though small and intimate, the clean space made of wood and glass features a terrace that overlooks the village scenery. It feels like you're in the middle of nature, offering a sense of tranquility.

After staying just one night, as I dispose of the remaining trash myself, it makes me think. Even in such a short time, the amount of waste I produced is this much. I bury food waste in the outdoor compost, and put non-burnable waste like chicken bones in the incinerator. There are villages throughout Japan that practice sustainability, similar to Kamikatsu. The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) introduces green travel destinations, ecotourism, Satoyama culture, and more, which can be experienced in regions such as Kyushu-Chugoku, Tokai-Hokuriku-Shinetsu, and others through their official website and various channels.

The Japan Tourism Agency has been promoting the 'Enhancement of Sustainable Tourism Content' model project since 2021. It is spreading sustainable travel practices nationwide, including in various regions designated as UNESCO ECO PARKs.

seulbin@news1.kr

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