What we do

Hihumi 1.2.3. is a small local travel agency, based in Shinshiro City, Aichi Prefecture. While we’re located in Shinshiro city, we prefer to think about our area as a larger group of cities, towns, and villages that are linked by forest, rivers, and tradition called ‘Okumikawa.’ Okumikawa is literally the ‘deep’ part of the old ‘Mikawa’ Province of central Japan, heavily forested and mountainous.

From our mountain village in Okumikawa, we run day tours, package tours, and experiences for foreign visitors to the area, trying as hard as we can to share the amazing cultural history of the area so it never dies away. We are the guides on our tours and experiences, and with our varied experience we make sure your tours are well organised, but flexible when they need to be (that's the benefit of a local agent and local guide!).

Our mission

Many people know that Japan has many empty houses and an ageing population, but did you know that it's only part of the story?

The real issue is people moving from the countryside to the city, in search of a more modern, 'convenient' life. This leaves countryside towns with dwindling populations to keep rich culture and beautiful scenery alive and well.

Another reason for the issues Japan faces is a lack of value of Japan's own culture. Modern people tend to almost worship Western things, to the point that they ignore their own culture and cultural history. By bringing foreign people to the area and having Japanese people see their positive reactions, we know it's already working to use this worship of Western culture for good, turning the mirror back on Japanese culture.

Through everything we do, our mission is to reverse this trend and bring new people to Okumikawa! (While we'd mostly love to see new faces here, it's fine if we help people to start new lives in other countryside areas too 😁)

Whether Japanese or from overseas, we want to encourage migration to Okumikawa, and show people that the countryside has so much to offer if you're looking for something outside of the rat race.

We started our tourism business to help promote Okumikawa to the World, and help to spread awareness of the problems and opportunities of countryside life in Japan. Yuko has also started a market project to give new small businesses a platform to start their journey, and to help promote small businesses and the idea of 'shop local.' We hope that through these things we can help Okumikawa preserve it's cultural history and nature by reversing the population decline and gathering a community of active lovers of Okumikawa.

We'd love to have your help!

A message from us, and our story

We are Yuko and Alex, we run our tours and sell tea and "zakka" at markets around our area.

 

Hihumi 1.2.3. started with the feeling of missing Japan during the Covid-19 crisis in 2020 in Australia. As a Japanese person who lived in beautiful Australia, I got homesick during that time because I knew that I wouldn't be able to travel to Japan for a while. However, I realised that cute or unique products from Zakka-ya (variety stores) made me happy and gave me inspiration even though I was just browsing some online shops in Japan, and I wanted to introduce this wonderful part of Japanese culture to Australia. In 2023 we had the opportunity to buy our dream house in the mountains of Aichi Prefecture, Japan so we jumped at the chance and started our small business here. We love this area and want to share it with the world through our guided tours and package tours. We also have stalls at markets in the area selling zakka and tea, while trying to develop a 'support local' culture.

Where we live is a beautiful mountain village in an area called 'Okumikawa' that is famous for its beautiful nature and deep history. I grew up nearby and visited often, and when we lived in Tokyo I brought Alex here, and he fell in love with the area too. We want to share our love of this area, the sights, the history, and the stories with everyone to help preserve these for the future and to give this place the attention it deserves!

I hope you can fall in love with our part of Japan on a tour with us!

 

Thank you and take a look at our instagram!
- Yuko