In southeastern Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, nestled about 30 minutes by car from the city center in the slopes of Mount Fusube, is the small village of Takao. On clear days, from the observation deck several hundred meters above the village, the view stretches out over terraced rice paddies, across the greater Echigo Plain and all the way to the Sea of Japan; beautiful, but remote.
It's also a genkai shūraku (a depopulated village where most residents are senior citizens) — a common story playing out in villages across the archipelago. A few decades ago there were around 50 to 60 households in Takao; today there are only 23, and the village has no children under elementary school age.
Still, residents are deeply attached to their yama no kurashi or "mountain way of life." Two years ago, Takao native Mina Ueki and Akemi Suzuki struck upon an idea to help showcase their village, if not encourage people to move there themselves. Inspired by the format of the Engawa Cafe community event in Osawa, Shizuoka Prefecture, Ueki and Suzuki created the monthly "Ochanomi Sanpo" ("Tea-drinking Walk").