Wedding plan incorporating apples and Hirosaki Castle
The "Hirosaki Wedding Project" is one of the active learning projects that students of the Faculty of Human and Social Studies have been working on.In the first place, the students who participated in the "Regional Producer Training Project" of the same department announced a regional revitalization plan by tourism in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture at the "College Student Tourism Town Development Contest" held in 2015. That was the trigger.
Hirosaki City is a land with tourism resources unique to this land, such as the cherry blossoms of Hirosaki Castle in the spring and the Neputa Festival in the summer.However, due to the limited time, they have not been able to attract tourists throughout the year.In addition, like other local cities in Japan, Hirosaki City faces challenges such as depopulation and declining birthrate and aging population.
In order to work on the regional revitalization plan of Hirosaki City, the students of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences actually visited the site and did field work, and the apples, which boast the highest production by municipality in Japan, and the apples that lasted for about 1 years. We sought ways to utilize local tourism resources, such as Hirosaki Castle, where the history of the Tsugaru family remains.The flower language of apple flowers is "chosen love," and Hirosaki Castle, which boasts a long history, is "family prosperity."Therefore, the students linked them to the theme of "romance, marriage, and marriage" that can appeal to the younger generation, and devised a wedding plan "Ai" Hiro "Gari," Saki "Hirosaki Wedding" that incorporates apples and Hirosaki Castle. It is.This plan is a unique idea with unique characteristics of Hirosaki City, such as taking a commemorative photo at Hirosaki Castle, planting a commemorative apple tree, a banquet with apple-based dishes, and a gift of local traditional crafts. Was woven.
The realism of society that I felt in my efforts for commercialization
"Ai" Hiro "Gari," Saki "Hokkoru Hirosaki Wedding" won the Aomori Prefectural Governor's Award at the 2015 "University Student Tourism Town Development Contest".After that, the Faculty of Human and Social Studies launched the "Hirosaki Wedding Project" aiming to commercialize this plan. In 2016, a field survey was conducted to explore the feasibility, and in 2017, in addition to the department, the project project was carried out in collaboration with industry, academia and government, including Hirosaki City, the CSV Development Organization, and related companies in Hirosaki City. "Hirosaki Wedding Study Group" was established to study the conversion. In FY2017 and FY2018, it was adopted as a project support project by the Mutsu Ogawara Regional and Industrial Promotion Foundation, and we have taken a step further toward commercialization.PR activities such as producing promotional movies and exhibiting at events in collaboration with related organizations in Hirosaki City are also continuing.
"When this project started, I was in the first grade, but at that time I was doing my best to put together a plan to submit to the contest with my seniors. Then, working toward the commercialization of Hirosaki Wedding like this. I never imagined that it would be, ”says Chisato Hotta, a fourth-year student in the Faculty of Human and Social Studies, who has been active as a core member since the project was first launched.
"At the beginning of the proposal for the Hirosaki wedding plan, I think that the local people were warmly looking at it because it was a student's idea. When the event started, we received opinions such as "Is it really a business?" "Isn't weddings a high hurdle from the beginning?" "How do you differentiate yourself from others?" Adults I wondered if this was the reality of society (laughs), but I certainly felt the expectations of the locals. I was happy. I think we must continue to proceed with the project while properly considering the positions of the people involved. "
As a future task, Mr. Hotta aims to increase not only the "exchange population" of people who visit Hirosaki City for sightseeing, but also the "related population" who continue to be involved in various ways with attachment to the area. Before, I mentioned promotion and study of tour plans to let people know the charm of Hirosaki City.In addition, the Hirosaki Wedding package plan itself will be further refined from a realistic perspective, and ultimately it will be aimed at being able to be operated only by businesses in Hirosaki City.The Hirosaki Wedding Project, which the students have sowed and carefully raised, is about to blossom.
