Abstract
This study examines changes in agri-tourism along the national bypass road, the Apple-Line, in Nagano Basin, by analyzing the management strategies of tourist farms. Agri-tourism in this study means tourism that is directly related to agricultural activity in rural space. Nagano Basin has been characterized as one of the most advanced places for agri-tourism in Japan. Its development was mainly based on its accessibility from existing tourist destinations such as Zenkoji, a famous temple in Nagano, and surrounding mountainous environments or ski areas. After the opening of the Apple-Line, constructed in the middle of customers an apple orchard in 1966 , many farmers began to open tourist farms to sell their products directly, and to provide harvesting experiences （pick-your-own） for guests who preferred circuit tourism while traveling in a group. However, the new construction of expressways has gradually changed the traffic flow and tourist behavior since the mid 1990 s. Therefore, the tourist farms have faced a shortage of visitors, which in part is due to the persistence of traditional management. In terms of sales, home delivery has become a more important selling method, rather than direct sales to tourists at the farms. The farmers have also attempted to establish a new strategy to increase the number of personal customers who are interested in the apple farming itself and can understand the management of individual farms. Thus, recently many tourist farms have changed from places that are only tourist destinations to places where the managers and customers can interact with each other, illustrating a continuous relationship based on personal contact or a sustainable order of apple products.
