This study reassessed the procedures and methods of agricultural and rural geography based mainly on the author’s fieldwork experiences of conducting research and surveys on the following three research topics since 2013: “commodification of rural space in Canada,” “sustaining and developing strategies of Japanese agriculture,” and “regionalization of Japanese agriculture.” It was confirmed that the investigation and research on the three research topics were closely correlated and followed the stages of “foreshadowing,” “conception and preparation,” “execution,” “repetition,” and “development,” respectively. To sustain the research, the basic attitude of “thinking in and from the field” is indispensable. The study found it was necessary to make comparisons with foreign countries, introduce applied aspects, expand the results of research in a small region to research issues in a wider region, and continue research and study over a long period of time. As for the procedures of fieldwork, in addition to those already presented, the importance of cooperation among researchers, consideration for the human rights of the surveyed, establishment of good human relations between the researchers and the surveyed, as well as the return of research results to the study areas, were pointed out.

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Ski resorts have developed in Japan’s mountainous highland tourism areas. When the ski boom collapsed, these accommodation venues faced financial difficulties because of declining tourist numbers. They adopted countermeasures such as accepting school camps and foreign tourists, but the tourism industry was subsequently affected by shrinking school camp programs, compounded by the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the impact of declining school camp programs and the survival management strategies adopted by accommodation venues and tourism organizations by examining the case of Yabu City’s Hachi Highlands in the Hyogo Prefecture. The ski resort area began to develop in the traditional settlement in the low-altitude area, but, as mountain skiing became popular, the center of the resort moved to a higher elevation in the Hachi Highlands as further development occurred. The resort area consists of diverse types of accommodation, each of which pursues varied countermeasures to counter the crisis of declining tourist numbers. If such countermeasures prove successful, accommodation venues in the Hachi Highlands can overcome the impact of shrinking school camp programs and the COVID-19 pandemic.

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[in Japanese]

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[in Japanese]

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