平成30年4月のメッセージ（英語表記あり）

In the Pinocchio-kan, there are a lot of Girls’ Festival wooden dolls decorating the building. The cherry blossoms are fully bloomed and Spring is in the air.
How are you?

Many events were held in Kamikawa Town in March.

On March 7, at the roadside station “Gin no Basyamichi, Kamikawa”, a “Gold, Silver & Copper” project was held. A granite stone artwork was unveiled. Sculptor Koichi Ogino carved this piece to capture the art of horse-drawn carriage movement.

On March 11, Mineyama Kogen Resort “White Peak” closed for the first winter season. The number of total skiers surpassed 60,000 people.

On March 17, the Kamikawa Old Silver Mine Carriage Road Festival was held. The weather was great and more than 30 stalls were trading. Many people came and there were many performances.

On March 21, Kamin’s Spring Festival was held in front of Teramae Station. It was raining. However, the attendees had a good time at the festival watching performances with Kamikawa Town’s mascot Kamin. In addition, the “Marushitake” mushroom, which was broadcasted on TV, sold out on the day. It was very popular.

On March 25, many businesses in town opened for the roadside station “Gin no Basyamichi, Kamikawa” Spring Festival. The parking lots were very full. I hope the attendees will enjoy visiting the historical districts of Nakamura and Awagamachi in the future.

In other news, the town requested for former Namba Sake brewery, located in Kamikawa Town, to be registered as a Japanese cultural property on March 9. The history of the building is from the late Edo period, with a merchant family running the business.

On March 23, a farming award ceremony was held in Kobe. Nakamura Farming Co., Ltd won the Governor of Hyogo prize. This is long-deserved recognition. I hope that Kamikawa’s farming industry remains a dominant force in the sector.

In addition, Kamikawa Junior High School, the kindergartens, elementary schools and the nursery schools had their graduation ceremonies. All ceremonies were very moving events. I felt that I must make sure these young people come to love their hometown and become independent, broad-minded people.

Town business meetings closed on March 23. Particularly, we focused on land purchase costs and the Okawachi Heights maintenance costs. We also discussed plans for the former Mataemon supermarket building in Teramae.
Further town planning, such as other town redevelopment projects, the Kanzaki General Hospital North Building Reconstruction and the Kanzaki area optical cable project are key measures for the 2018 budget. These plans have been carefully deliberated and approved.
Kamikawa Town’s revitalization project is in its third year. The population decline countermeasures, international exchange, business revitalization, medical support, childcare, elderly and disability support are the broad focuses of the project. Other plans include the Kashio housing complex, road maintenance and the redevelopment of the former Awaga Elementary School site.
What are the biggest challenges facing Kamikawa Town? We are planning to counter the population decline and revitalize the community through cooperation and collaboration of public and private corporations. We need to work together to face these challenges alongside Hyogo Prefecture and the rest of Japan.

Last year, the roadside station “Gin no Basyamichi, Kamikawa” and Mineyama Kogen Resort “White Peak” opened. The town was very busy. We are hoping to increase the patronage throughout all four seasons in Kamikawa. New attractions in town, such as the zip lines, glamorous camping and the starlit sky observation will hopefully draw more visitors to town.
Furthermore, we need to reform the agricultural activities in town. Each farming company needs to work together towards agricultural innovation. We are trying to make out agricultural sector more sustainable.
Finally, we are developing a 10-year and 50-year long-term plan to further benefit the town’s residents.

The new Japanese fiscal and school years have begun.
From 6:30am on April 1, convenience stores around the country now provide residents with a copy of their government information using their My Number card. Therefore, Kamikawa Town’s services need to adapt to this new service.
In addition, community buses will go to Mineyama Heights on weekends and holidays periods from April to November.

Kamikawa Town’s firefighters held and entrance and graduation ceremony on April 1. Entrance ceremonies will be held for the elementary schools, junior high school, kindergartens and nursery schools during the cherry blossom season. The new pupils are starting their new school life.

On April 7 and 8, there will be the Cherry Blossom Festival at the “Okaen”. On April 15, there will be many events held along Ochi River for the “Spring Story Festival” and at Green Echo Kasagata. Please head out to these events.

Kamikawa’s congressional elections will be held on April 22, with the official campaign starting on April 17. The role of the congress is large as it functions as a check on the town administration's business and more. Please vote for qualified voters.

With the changing weather, please take care of your health and enjoy the Spring season.