Noda Village is a village facing the Pacific Ocean with a population of about 3,900. In the past few years, the number of wild animals appearing in residential areas has increased sharply. There have been cases of residents being harmed by bears, squids, wild boars, and monkeys. To protect the lives of residents, they are considering measures to prevent wildlife damage through DX. (Kitajima Kei)

Noda Village is a village facing the Pacific Ocean in northeastern Iwate Prefecture. The population is about 3,900, the aging rate is about 39%, and the birth rate is about 1.3. It is famous for producing Araumi scallops and wild grapes. I drove to Noda Village from Morioka City, taking about two and a half hours.
Currently, Noda Village does not have any big plans for DX. While they understand the trend of DX, they are still in the process of determining how to use it effectively.
Mayor Oda Yuji said, “In a small municipality with a large elderly population, if we accept the Tokyo method as it is, it may result in excessive investment. Considering the cost of introducing and operating DX, it may be better for the community if the staff does the work. We need to properly understand the advantages and disadvantages of DX for residents”.

For example, supermarkets that introduce self-checkouts are increasing nationwide. Younger generations can use them without difficulty, but older people who are not familiar with the operation tend to avoid self-checkouts and choose traditional checkouts.

“It is important to consider the number of users and their ages before proceeding with DX. For example, in Noda Village, there are many cases where electronic applications are made three times a month, so is it worth spending the introduction and operation costs to make it DX? The number of people who are eligible varies greatly depending on the region, from tens to tens of thousands to millions, so I think it is not right from the perspective of diversity to use the same system uniformly,” said Mayor Oda, folding his arms.

The balance between efficiency and costs is an issue when it comes to DX in municipalities. The cost per resident varies depending on the population size, but the cost does not decrease just because there are few users. Therefore, the cost-effectiveness of small municipalities is low, and the burden increases. It is necessary to determine what kind of things can be DX-educated to improve services for residents and benefit employees and the village.

In this situation, DX of primary industries is currently being considered. One of them is measures against animal damage.

Animal damage in the region is getting more serious every year. In recent years, the number of wild animals appearing in residential areas of Noda Village has increased significantly. In addition to bears and deer, monkeys and wild boars have been seen in recent years, and there have been cases of residents being harmed.

“I am worried that if things continue like this, people will not be able to live there in 10 years. Wild animals come down from the mountains while you think they will still be there. While the human population is decreasing, wild animals are increasing. What is happening in the region now will eventually happen in urban areas. If we do not take action quickly, humans will not be able to do anything about it,” says Mayor Oda.

As a measure against animal damage, cameras and sensors are being installed in places where wild animals are likely to appear, and a system is being considered to immediately share the information with residents when it is detected. They are also considering attaching sensors to the traps so that they can know whether the animals have been caught or not without the need for humans to go and check.
“Hunting is the only other measure. I understand that there are pros and cons to hunting. In a sense, it can’t be helped that wild animals are attacked when humans enter their habitat. However, what is happening now is that wild animals are entering human habitation. It is no longer at the level of protection, and we have no choice but to exterminate them to protect the lives of the residents,” said Mayor Oda.

Noda Village is on the route of the Mitsunoku Sea Breeze Trail, a nature trail that stretches over 1,000 kilometers from Hachinohe City in Aomori Prefecture to Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture. In recent years, many tourists who love the outdoors, including inbound tourists, have visited the village.

Mayor Oda says, “I want to expand the circle of interaction between tourists and residents. If we can converse in English with foreign tourists using apps, we can expand the circle of interaction.”

In terms of circle of interaction, the village has established the “Kokoro wa Itsumo Noda Village Resident System”. Noda Village suffered severe damage in the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011. At that time, many people volunteered to help Noda Village. This led to exchanges and connections. The “Kokoro wa Itsumo Noda Villager System” was created to continue these connections. Anyone who feels that Noda Village is their “spiritual home” can register as a quasi-villager and receive a handmade registration certificate.
“Currently, there are about 1,300 registered residents. Many of them come to Noda Village when there are events. We want to develop these efforts as an exchange population from points to lines, and from lines to areas, and increase the number of people who want to live and continue to live here,” says Mayor Oda.

Tomaya, a popular spot in Noda Village

Tomaya is a guesthouse in Noda Village. It is a small inn with only three rooms, renovated from a Nanbu Magariya house that is over 160 years old. It is run by the Sakamoto couple. They say they have been in business for about 32 years.
Tomaya does not have a telephone or Internet, so all transactions such as reservations are done by letter. I wanted to stay at Tomaya since I was going to Noda Village anyway, so I sent a letter and received a reply a few days later saying that a room was available. Although it is very inconvenient to exchange letters these days, Tomaya is still very popular and famous for being difficult to book. The secret to its popularity is its secluded and quiet atmosphere, the local cuisine eaten around the hearth, and the legend of Zashiki Warashi.
The owner, Kumiko, says she has only met Zashiki Warashi twice in the last 32 years. She says that she was a charming child with a bob haircut and a blue chanchanko. In Tomaya, they affectionately call her “Haru-chan.” By the way, her husband, Mitsuru, has never seen Zashiki Warashi.
Kumiko, who was a newspaper reporter in New York in her youth, was very cooperative when I came to interview her, and she told me about the situation in Noda Village and Fudai Village while showing me a picture book called “Miracle Water Gate,” which describes how the water gate protected Fudai Village from the tsunami during the Great East Japan Earthquake.
I heard that Haru-chan often appears in my room, so I was vaguely hoping that she would appear, and even left some sweets by my pillow. The silence, unimaginable in the city, and the fatigue of the journey meant that I fell into a deep sleep, and in the end I didn’t meet Haru-chan, but I thought I heard the sound of footsteps in the middle of the night. Another strange thing was the sound of a flute. It must have been early in the morning, when I heard the sound of a flute coming from outside the window, where no one was supposed to be. It was an off-tune sound, like a child playing, and it strangely caught me by surprise.
It was probably just my imagination in my sleepy state. But if I thought that it was the work of a zashiki warashi, I secretly felt a sense of amusement.

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI