Zenbird Editorial TeamA local culture tour titled “Go Local in Ureshino: Tea, Onsen, Pottery – and the People Behind Them” will soon be held in Ureshino City, Saga Prefecture, on 5 October. The single-day initiative connects international and domestic digital nomads with local producers, artisans and heritage businesses.
Up to 10 participants will experience regional traditions through direct community engagement rather than standard sightseeing. Participants will ride electric bicycles across rural landscapes, visiting Ureshino tea plantations to learn about regional tea cultivation directly from local farmers. The itinerary includes visiting artisans preserving Hizen Yoshida porcelain, a ceramic crafting tradition with approximately 400 years of history in the region’s Yoshida district. The interaction with the producers will allow participants gain an understanding of the cultural philosophy behind these traditional crafts, something that is often lost in conventional retail interactions.
In the afternoon, the tour moves to Wataya Besso, a historical hot spring inn in Ureshino Onsen. Participants can use the inn’s dedicated co-working space for remote working, access hot spring baths, or join cultural activities at their own pace. The programme concludes with a guided walk through Ureshino’s town centre to experience local footbaths, historic shrines and regional culinary specialities, followed by an optional evening gathering at a local izakaya pub.
Japanese municipalities face population decline and economic stagnation, but conventional tourism often fails to generate lasting regional benefits. Swallow Base addresses this with an aim to build a “relationship population” that finds connection in the region.
