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Japan | Toyooka Tourism Innovation | Visit the Town where the Once-Extinct Oriental White Storks Fly in the Skies Again 

Japan | Toyooka Tourism Innovation | Visit the Town where the Once-Extinct Oriental White Storks Fly in the Skies Again 

Toyooka
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Highlights

1. Touch the nature as well as the lives of the people in Toyooka.

2. Hear the story of the extinction and reintroduction of the Oriental White Stork.

3. Learn about the farming method for Stork Natural Rice which live in harmony with the Oriental White Stork.

4. See the lives of the wild Oriental White Stork.

5. Enjoy lunch at a restaurant that cooks with local ingredients such as bread made from Stork Natural Rice.

Overview

Toyooka City, located in northern Hyogo Prefecture, is home to the national natural treasure, the Oriental White Stork. Commonly known as kounotori in Japanese, this bird had become extinct in the wild in 1971. Toyooka City set out on an arduous project to reintroduce the stork back into the wild, and thus a breeding and research facility was created.

This project includes various efforts such as captive breeding, habitat preservation, and education on sustainable development.

Wetlands have been created and unused rice paddies have been turned into biotopes. Even new rice cultivating methods have been developed to help support the storks. Thus, farmers in Toyooka proudly sell their resulting “Stork Natural Rice,” which uses at least 80% less agrochemicals.

More than 40 years since the last stork vanished from the wild, Toyooka continues fulfilling their promise to the kounotori to “one day, bring [them] back to the wild”.

Currently, more than 200 storks can be found soaring through Toyooka’s skies.

View the detailed tour itinerary (PDF download).

Photo Gallery

Video

Living with the Oriental White Storks

Ethics

At Terra Incognita we support tours that do good in the world. They must help conserve the environment, support local people and provide educational opportunities for guests and staff, or be actively working to improve in these areas.

What conservation activities do you support through the tour, and your wider operations?

We donate to the Oriental White Stork Foundation.

How does the tour support local people?

In this tour, participants enjoy lunch at a restaurant that cooks with local ingredients such as bread made from Stork Natural Rice. This directly benefits the local people who farm this rice. “Stork Natural Rice” uses an environmentally friendly farming method that cultivates quality rice while nurturing various living creatures, but was originally created to support the Oriental White Storks' revival. This farming method enforces agricultural laws that aim to enrich the culture, community and environment, to cultivate delicious rice and various creatures, including Oriental White Storks. It does not rely on agricultural chemicals and chemical fertilizers, making it healthy and safe for consumption. Since the demand for this rice has increased, the city has also increased the number of rice paddies used to cultivate “Stork Natural Rice”. This helps maintain a balanced ecosystem, beneficial both for the local people and the Oriental White Storks.

What type of environmental education activities do you incorporate into your tour?

Learn about the Toyooka City's project, called the “Reintroduction of the Oriental White Stork into the Wild”. It is a unique and notable project with international recognition. The countless hours, great efforts, and expenditure put into the revival of the Oriental White Storks by Toyooka City has brought these once extinct storks back to live in coexistence with humans in a place they had once inhabited.

Certificates

Lower Maruyama River & Surrounding Rice Paddies were registered as a Ramsar Convention as an internationally important wetland in July 2012.

Top 5 achievements

1. Saved the Oriental White Stork from complete extinction, we first had to capture the last remaining ones and raise them in captivity.

2. The countless hours, great efforts, and expenditure put into the revival of the Oriental White Stork by Toyooka City has brought these once extinct storks back to live in coexistence with humans in a place they had once inhabited. Currently, about 200 Oriental White Storks fly grandly in the skies of Toyooka.

3. In Toyooka, work has been done to preserve and create an optimal wetland environment that will become their permanent habitat. There are currently more than 6 of these habitats in the Toyooka area. They include Hachigoro Toshima Wetland, Kaya Wetland, Maruyama River, Tai Wetland, Rice Paddy Biotope, Lower Maruyama River, and surrounding rice paddies.

4. Unused rice fields are turned into biotopes and used as corridors for connecting wetlands, creating a greater feeding area for the Oriental White Stork.

5. To ensure the safety and preservation of the storks local farmers are turning to organic farming. Rice grown through this stork-friendly method has been named Kounotori Mai (stork-friendly rice) and is a premium brand of rice.

What new sustainability steps or initiatives do you plan to take next?

As the number of Oriental White Storks declines, there is an estimated 3,000 left, so we continue to pursue the conservation, restoration and establishment of environments, in which they can survive and thrive. We are also fulfilling our duty to the international conservation of species as the last habitat in Japan for the Oriental White Stork.

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Company Name

Toyooka Tourism Innovation

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About Company

Toyooka Tourism Innovation helps put you in touch with local hotels, restaurants, and activity providers that provide quality tours.

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Toyooka
y.fujii@toyooka-tourism.com
visitkinosaki.com

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    About Terra Incognita

    We believe that ecotourism can be a powerful force for good in the world, and seek to promote the best examples of ecotourism worldwide.

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