Yoko Ando
(Higashi-Miyoshi Town / Guest House Ando)

"Guest House Ando (also known as Anchan's house)" is located 460 meters above sea level in Higashi-Miyoshi Town and has welcomed many guests from Japan and abroad in response to the call for hands-on educational tours and tourism projects conducted by "General Incorporated Association Sora no Sato." From Japanese urban junior high school and high school students to international exchange, children and adults from Cambodia, Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, and other countries can come here. They experience seasonal farm work and taste local cuisine with lots of vegetables from here.

"When I show them around by car, at first, everyone is surprised to find that local people live here on this steep slope of the mountains and are thrilled to see their destination. After a few hairpin curves on the road, I tell them it is almost there, and suddenly, we can see the view from the car. They normally say, amazing!" She says everyone is impressed by the spectacular view. 

The most popular experiences are bamboo crafts and Nagashi Somen, and children can also use a knife to sharpen bamboo to make chopsticks and bowls. Everyone is delighted when half-split bamboo tubes are placed in the garden, and the local famous food Handa Somen noodles are served and eaten. The fried vegetables from the field are also prevalent.

"I have nothing to buy at all. Even during winter, I produce about 15 kinds of vegetables and three kinds of beans. I grow vegetables in early spring, such as snap garden peas, snow peas. I can get freshly laid eggs from the chicken coop and cook a pot of rice with firewood. I think maybe 2-3 degrees Celsius cooler than the foot of the mountains in the summer."

"I try to listen to many stories from the children who come here. I do not have anything special, but I aim to create a place where people can feel welcome and feel as if they have a family."

Mrs.Yoko is always full of energy to join the sign language club, social education committees, and numerous other activities. Her main business is tomato cultivation, and she also makes an original product called "460 m Ketchup," with tomatoes grown on a steep slope land.