Santome Konjakumura

A Place to Experience and Learn in Nature

Located in the satoyama landscape, Santome Konjakumura offers experiences that connect people with nature. Visitors can explore forests and fields, observe wildlife, and engage in activities that foster awareness of ecosystems and environmental harmony. Through interaction with the natural environment, participants discover hints for living in balance with the earth.

Ishizaka Inc. will renew the symbol mark of Santome Konjakumura to mark its 10th anniversary

Experiences Offered by Ishizaka Inc.

Learning to Live in Harmony with Nature Through All Five Senses

We offer a wide variety of programs, including guided walks to discover the appeal of plants and wildlife, food and agriculture experiences centered on local production and local consumption, and hands-on experiences of satoyama life. By fully immersing the body in nature and learning together, we provide opportunities for each participant to discover what they can do personally to support a circular way of living.

Main Facilities at Santome Konjakumura

Oak Woods Environmental School

Oak Woods Environmental School is an environmental learning hub where participants can experience recycling sites rarely seen by the public and encounter rich natural environments preserved through harmony between people and nature. Rather than one-way lectures, we offer participatory learning where attendees actively think, discover, and explore.

Oak Woods Community Plaza

This is the gateway to Santome Konjakumura, a place of exchange that connects people with one another.
Through food, the “Santome Konjakumura Food Experience” invites visitors to engage all five senses in feeling the life circle. We offer a form of gastronomy—an exploration of food culture—where guests can enjoy seasonal vegetables harvested from the Ishizaka Organic Farm. We also sell bread baked with organic wheat and homemade natural yeast, original products made from the blessings of the satoyama landscape, and a variety of items centered on the themes of organic and fair trade.

Naya Yojo Meguru

This dining space offers meals that incorporate open-pollinated vegetables grown at the Ishizaka Organic Farm and wild plants from the satoyama, providing time for nourishing both body and mind. Housed in a barn that was once used by a local farming family, it serves as a place that connects Japanese traditions and culture with nature and people.

Toward an Environmental Education Hub Where Nature and People Circulate

Satoyama Regeneration and Conservation

In the Santome area where Ishizaka Inc. operates, there is a satoyama landscape that has been cherished by local people for more than 300 years. However, after losing its former state in which ecosystems naturally circulated, the area became severely degraded, at one point suffering from repeated illegal dumping.Beginning in 2001, we started collecting litter, caring for neglected trees, and restoring the woodland, regenerating it into a satoyama rich in biodiversity. To pass on and further develop the value of this satoyama, we continue our regeneration and conservation efforts every day.

Certified as a “Place for Nature-Based Experiences”

The “Place for Nature-Based Experiences” Certification System is a program under which prefectural governors and other authorities certify facilities that provide children with opportunities for nature-based experiential activities, recognizing those that meet safety standards and offer high-quality experiential programs as a “Place for Nature-Based Experiences.”Santome Konjakumura is the only site in Saitama Prefecture certified as a “Place for Nature-Based Experiences,” and is visited by educators and students from a wide range of educational institutions, from kindergartens to universities.

JHEP’s Highest Domestic Rating: “AAA” Certification

By collecting illegally dumped waste, sweeping fallen leaves, and cutting undergrowth, as well as cutting back overgrown trees and planting new ones where needed, we have carried out steady, hands-on efforts.As a result of these continuous activities, the satoyama ecosystem has gradually been restored.In 2012, these efforts to conserve and restore biodiversity were recognized by JHEP (the Japan Habitat Evaluation and Certification Program), where we received the highest domestic rating of “AAA.” This certification was subsequently renewed in 2017 and 2022.

Collaboration

Research Activities to Advance the Value of Satoyama

In collaboration with research institutions, we engage in activities to advance and further expand the value of satoyama, including scientifically examining the effects that satoyama nature has on human beings.

Satoyama and Health Project The University of Tokyo, Nawata Laboratory / Public Health Council (General Incorporated Association)

To objectively evaluate the effectiveness of well-being promotion initiatives for employees working in the satoyama, we are researching how satoyama environments affect health. By conducting multifaceted analyses based on individual employee attributes and health checkup data, we are identifying relationships with specific factors that influence health.