Hotel offers retirees a chance to get back to the land : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)

The Second Stage hotel, located in the Shionoecho area of the city on the boundary of Kagawa and Tokushima prefectures, has been flooded with more than 300 inquiries, mainly from people from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe.

In a measure aimed at stemming a decline in population, local nonprofit organization Shionoe purchased and renovated a bankrupt hotel. Guests at the hotel can grow vegetables under the watchful eyes of local farmers and eventually sell them if they choose to continue living in the area. An official of the NPO said it hoped people from urban areas would start a "second life" after retirement, thus helping to revitalize the local economy.

The hotel comprises a seven-story, 54-room main building and a three-story, 11-room annex, as well as a nearby greenhouse and 2.5-hectare field. Guests will have an opportunity to cultivate seasonal vegetables such as Chinese cabbages and tomatoes, in addition to seasonal fruits, while learning how to prepare and fertilize the soil. Agricultural tools are loaned free of charge.

In addition to farming, guests also will be able to take advantage of workshops on ceramics, woodworking and other crafts. Guests can book rooms in the hotel for a month or longer, and there is no limit on the length of stay. The Shionoe district originally prospered as a hot spring during the Edo period (1603-1867).

However, the population has halved to about 3,400 in the past 50 years. This prompted the NPO to renovate the resort hotel at a cost of about 200 million yen. Thanks to effective advertising on the Internet and other media, 16 couples from Hyogo, Kanagawa and other prefectures are among those that have applied to stay at the hotel. Apr.

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