FY 2011

This time, the committee held a workshop together with the members of Niseko Town Children's Council.
We took on the challenge of creating the "Niseko Future Newspaper." (This workshop was held to incorporate children's opinions and ideas into the formulation of the new comprehensive plan.)

Divided into four groups, the children tackled riddles that identified locations such as Kira Kaido, JR Niseko Station, and Karita Shrine. Next, they used the answers as themes and interview locations for their newspaper articles and set off to explore the town. Throughout their travels, the children were given interview tasks based on their chosen themes, conducting interviews with passersby and other reporting activities.
After finishing their interviews, the children, in groups, discussed the information they had gathered and what they had observed while exploring the town, deciding on the structure and content of their newspaper articles, and then began creating their newspapers.
The newspaper, which took about 3 hours to complete, contained many thoughts about the future of Niseko Town, such as "the rich natural environment will be protected," "trash will be eliminated," "Niseko will become a more popular tourist destination," and "Niseko's food will be more delicious and there will be many restaurants.

At the recital, each one shared their thoughts in their articles. You can see the details of the children's workshop on the blog of Niseko Town Comprehensive Plan.

In this committee activity, with the cooperation of Professor Shimizu and his research lab at Muroran Institute of Technology, we held a "hands-on crafting workshop" with child council members and students from Kondo Elementary School. By pouring molten tin into molds made of sand and letting it cool and harden, participants created original paperweights with country sign designs.

After making paperweights, we enjoyed a Genghis Khan barbecue in a giant pot specially made by the Shimizu Lab. Despite the unfortunate rain, it was delicious.
In this "Manufacturing Experience Workshop," we were able to learn about and experience manufacturing in a fun way.
Thank you to Professor Shimizu and everyone in the research lab at Muroran Institute of Technology.
Please see the following documents for details about the result of the event.

In this committee meeting, we conducted a hands-on crafting experience, making windmills out of plastic bottles and generating electricity, as well as learning cheese-making from a craftsman in Niseko.
We also did some town watching, visiting Niseko High School's agricultural greenhouse that utilizes geothermal energy and the town community center, which is about to be renovated.

Through this cheese-making experience, I learned that dedicated artisans in Niseko make delicious cheese, that the raw material for that cheese is delicious Niseko milk, and that cheese making is both difficult and enjoyable.

After the experience, we reflected on our activities throughout the year, which were themed around "manufacturing," and summarized our impressions of the activities and "what we want to convey to the town and the mayor for the future of Niseko," which we then submitted to the town.
Please see the following documents for details about the result of the event.