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).

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.

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.

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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

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