April 2, 2018
— Idea Kitchen Kuchinoerabu-jima Opens in Nihonbashi on Sunday, April 1 for a One-Month Limited Run —
The Yoko Hasebe Laboratory and the Yasushi Ikeda Laboratory at Keio University's Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) will operate the "Idea Kitchen Kuchinoerabu-jima" restaurant at the Rito Kitchen Nihonbashi store from Sunday, April 1 to Friday, April 30, with the cooperation of Rito Kitchen Co., Ltd.
"Idea Kitchen Kuchinoerabu-jima" aims to connect the remote island and Tokyo through food by serving dishes made with ingredients and recipes from Kuchinoerabu-jima Island.
Kuchinoerabu-jima Island, a remote island with a population of about 100, is located an hour and a half by ferry from Yakushima Island and is facing a shortage of young people. By connecting Tokyo and the island, Keio University aims to raise awareness of Kuchinoerabu-jima Island and generate a flow of people, while also bringing stimulation to the island itself and inspiring new activities among its residents. This serves as an attempt to create a model for regional-academic collaboration.
1. About "Idea Kitchen Kuchinoerabu-jima by the Keio University Yakushima Town Kuchinoerabu-jima Project"
Date/Time:
11:00 on Sunday, April 1 to 22:00 on Sunday, April 30, 2018
Rito Kitchen Nihonbashi Store Hours: 11:00–22:00
Venue:
Rito Kitchen Nihonbashi Store, B1F Nihonbashi YUITO
Address:
B1F Nihonbashi Muromachi Nomura Building YUITO, 2-4-3 Nihonbashi Muromachi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Organizers:
Yoko Hasebe Laboratory and Yasushi Ikeda Laboratory, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC), Keio University
Rito Kitchen Co., Ltd.
2. About the Keio University Yakushima Town Kuchinoerabu-jima Project
This joint project between the Yoko Hasebe Laboratory and the Yasushi Ikeda Laboratory at Keio University's Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) has been active for eight years since 2011. It aims to "realize resident-led community development through collaboration between the community, government, and university" by integrating their respective fields of expertise: education and architecture.
Under the philosophy of living on the island and embedding themselves in the community, they have borrowed a house on the island and actively participate in farm work and local events. Some students even stay on Kuchinoerabu-jima or Yakushima islands for long periods, from six months to a year.
The Hasebe Laboratory, which is in charge of education, operates in two locations: Tokyo and Kuchinoerabu-jima Island. In Tokyo, they manage this Rito Kitchen project and a homestay program for high school students in Yakushima and Kuchinoerabu-jima called the "High School Student Training." On Kuchinoerabu-jima Island, their activities include holding "Terakoya" study sessions where they learn about the island alongside local children. The activity of the Ikeda Laboratory, focused on architecture, is the creation of structures using bamboo-reinforced concrete. By utilizing the abundant bamboo on the island, they aim to realize architecture with a low environmental impact.
URL:
This press release (file: Keio University Kuchinoerabu-jima Project x Rito Kitchen - Restaurant Connecting an Island and Tokyo with Ingredients and Recipes from Kuchinoerabu-jima, an Island with a Population of Approx. 100 - Idea Kitchen Kuchinoerabu-jima Opens in Nihonbashi on Sunday, 4/1, for a One-Month Limited Run -.pdf ) has been distributed to the city news desks of various newspapers.
[Contact for This Matter]
Keio University, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Yoko Hasebe Laboratory, Yakushima Town Kuchinoerabu-jima Project
[Distributed by]
Keio University, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) Office, Academic and Research Support Section