A circle of friends connected by gut touch! The “FIST BUMP” corner of the radio program “GRAND MARQUEE” features people who live and enjoy Tokyo in a relay format.
On August 7, we will be joined by Teruyuki Hikiji, story creator of Mountain States Tokyo and producer of TAKAO MOUTAIN HOUSE, a mountain house at the foot of Mount Takao. We asked him about his motivation for focusing on Japan’s mountains and the appeal of mountains.
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Transmitting mountain-side culture
Celeina (MC): First of all, let me introduce my profile. She is currently working to create a new value for the mountainside, aiming to make the mountainside a part of Shonan. This year, he was appointed as the brand manager of PARKS PROJECT JAPAN, and is also focusing on the protection of national parks.
Takano (MC): What do you mean by “Shonanization of the mountain side”?
Hikiji: This is an analogy I use when I tell people, but when I say Shonan or “let’s go to the beach,” 90% of people do not mean to go in the ocean.
Celeina: I understand a little when you say it.
Hikiji: In fact, the ocean has a very high location value, and I think the culture of spending time there is deeply rooted. However, I believe that 90% of the people who say, “Let’s go to the mountains,” are doing so for the purpose of climbing mountains.
Takano: There aren’t many places where you can listen to music and drink while looking at the mountains.
Hikiji: That’s right. Conversely, if you don’t climb mountains, you don’t go. I hope that there is a space on the mountain side where the culture and lifestyle of Shonan and the ocean side can be born.
Takano: This is a perspective I had not noticed before. What is it that you are actually doing?
Hikiji: At first, there was art such as photography, which is often found on the ocean side, in the sense of looking at the location. So, as a start, we started “making art on the mountain side.
Takano: Art on the mountain side?
Hikiji: The first project I started was to display mountain-side scenery as art in rooms and stores.
Celeina: Now that you mention it, mountains have not only soil and greenery, but also flowers and water elements such as rivers, so they have various colors.
Hikiji: That’s right. I think that when you decorate it, you can enjoy it as if you are looking out the window.
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A mountain house, not a beach house
Celeina: What was it that attracted you to mountains?
Hikichi:I started out working for a company called GREENROOM, doing various activities on the ocean side, but I originally loved nature, and when I quit GREENROOM and came to the mountain side, I felt a gap, so I thought it would be interesting if the mountain side was opened up like the ocean side.
Celeina: And you created a “mountain house” instead of a beach house.
Hikiji: When I went to the ocean, there were beach houses, but there were no mountain houses on the mountain side. There are mountain huts, though.
Takano: They are different in function, aren’t they?
Hikiji: Yes, that’s right. So I wondered if I could create a place where people could enjoy the mountains more and communicate with each other, so I produced and opened Takao Mountain House last October at the foot of Mt.
Takano: By coincidence, I am going to climb Mt. Takao this weekend. I have no choice but to go there now.
Hikiji: It is right in front of the trailhead, just outside of Takaoyamaguchi Station, so please come visit us.
Takano: What kind of things does the TAKAO MOUTAIN HOUSE have to offer?
Hikiji: : We have an outdoor brand Salomon’s store, a deck terrace, and a cafe stand.
Celeina: You can even enjoy a cup of coffee.
Takano: I want to stop by both before and after the climb.
Hikiji: The concept is to have a cup of hand-drip coffee before climbing Mt. Takao, then have a craft beer on the way back and take the train home.
Celeina: Isn’t that the best course? It’s very fulfilling. I don’t go to the mountains much, so I don’t know, but is it hot this time of year?
Hikiji: Mt. Takao is only 599 meters above sea level, so it is hot, but there are some routes that are cooler, such as one with a stream running through it.
Celeina: I see, that sounds great!
Hikiji: Actually, Mt. Takao has the highest number of climbers in the world.
Takano/Celeina: Is that so?
Celeina: Why are there so many people?
Hikiji: Because you can get to the trailhead in 5 minutes after exiting the ticket gate, and it only takes about an hour from Shinjuku Station. I don’t think you can find such a mountain anywhere in the world. Please visit the mountain.
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Mountain-side options not limited to mountain climbing
Takano: Do you have any memorable mountains?
Hikiji: I have climbed Tanigawa-dake and Tsubame-dake, but I am not so focused on mountaineering as I am on fishing, camping, and snowboarding.
Celeina: I see. I see. The leisure activities in the mountains are what you are talking about.
Hikiji: Yes, that’s right. Or spending time there or playing in the river, I like those things in themselves.
Celeina: I had never looked at it that way. I want to play in the mountains.
Takano: I felt that there are ways to spend time enjoying nature, not just climbing mountains. You were born in West Tokyo, weren’t you, Mr. Hikichi?
Hikiji: Yes, I was. I was born and raised in Hino, which is on the mountain side of Tokyo, and I spent my childhood playing in places like Mt. I felt a gap when I came back to the mountain side from the prosperous culture on the sea side, where there were many immigrants and companies moving into the area. I think it would be interesting if the mountainside culture could offer a variety of options and create a beach-like margin.
Takano: It would be great if the culture on the mountain side could flourish as well. Now, I would like to play a song here. I asked Hikichi-san to choose a song that he would like everyone to listen to together on the radio at this time. What song would it be?
Hikiji: An LA-based artist named Forester, as the name suggests, draws inspiration from nature in his songwriting. It is a very pleasant song that combines indie-folk genre and electro music.