1 What Came After

HIJIVEGE began in July 2025 with a two-day "Hiji Station Marché" held in an unused space at Bungo-Toyooka Station (see the case study "Local Vegetables, Sold at the Local Station"). The coursework project ended there, but the members chose to keep going as an independent student group, with the goal of "taking Hiji's vegetables nationwide" — putting imperfect produce to use and promoting vegetables grown in Hiji Town.

The connections made with farmers and the town office at the marché led directly to the next sales opportunities. In January 2026 the group sold Shio tomatoes at the Manai Tomato Farm Producers' Association booth, and the venues then widened to Jigorock in April and the Shiroshita Karei Festival in May. At the festival, they sold 360 servings of "HIJIVEGE Curry," made with produce from Hiji Town, over two days.

Word of the group's work also began to travel beyond the town. Following several appearances on OBS Radio, the members appeared in March 2026 on the BS Nippon TV farming program "Naomi Farm." Newspapers and online media covered them as a student-led revitalization initiative, and invitations to gatherings of growers, local government and the community — the farmers' cooperative's general meeting, a sister-city anniversary ceremony — grew more frequent.

Today, together with the Manai Tomato Farm Association and Hachinone Co., Ltd., the group is developing tomato juice and ketchup made from imperfect Shio tomatoes. What started as a vegetable stall at a station is on its way to becoming a town specialty.

2 Activities at a Glance

Sales and events

• July 5–6, 2025: Hiji Station Marché (Bungo-Toyooka Station and other sites). 55 groups of visitors; sales of ¥45,390

• January 25, 2026: Yasa-Eat Workshop (Ninomaru-kan). Sold out all 300 Shio tomatoes ("Tomaou," three varieties) at the Manai Tomato Farm Producers' Association booth

• April 25–26, 2026: Jigorock. Sold Manai tomatoes at the Naomi Farm booth (50 bags sold out on day one; heavy rain on day two)

• May 9–10, 2026: Shiroshita Karei Festival. "HIJIVEGE Curry" and direct vegetable sales; 360 servings over two days, sales of about ¥150,000. Ingredients and kitchen space provided with the cooperation of the Hiji Town Office

Media appearances and coverage

• Live appearances on OBS Radio "Do-ichi de much-on!": October 25 and December 27, 2025, and May 2026 (by phone from the Shiroshita Karei Festival)

• BS Nippon TV "Naomi Farm": aired March 26, 2026 (shiitake log inoculation); recorded April 30 (clam digging); aired June 18 (hand rice planting); scheduled July 23 (planting of Oita heirloom crops)

• Oita Godo Shimbun: coverage of the group's activities at the Shiroshita Karei Festival

• Takara-batake planting event: reported by Oita Godo Shimbun, TOS, OBS, OAB and Yahoo! News

Partnerships and exchange

• January 28, 2026: Spoke as a student representative at the STC Symposium (Horuto Hall, Oita City)

• March 20, 2026: Invited to the sister-city anniversary ceremony between Hiji Town and Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal

• April 7, 2026: Attended the general meeting of the Hiji Town Farmers' Cooperative

• June 12, 2026: Took part in the "Takara-batake" Oita heirloom crop planting event (Toyota Corolla Oita and the Oita Heirloom Crops Research Group)

Product development

• Developing tomato juice and ketchup from imperfect and surplus Shio tomatoes, jointly with the Manai Tomato Farm Association and Hachinone Co., Ltd.

• As of June 2026: trial production and tastings complete; awaiting microbial and mold test results. Launch planned for 2027, with a view to offering the products as hometown-tax (furusato nozei) gifts

3 Looking Back and Ahead

Since it began with the Hiji Station Marché, HIJIVEGE has gradually widened its activities: from selling produce to building ties with local people, taking part in events, sharing what we do, and developing products. Along the way we came to appreciate the care that growers put into their work and the appeal of the region's produce. We also learned that making good things is not enough on its own — getting that value to people outside the town is hard.

So today, rather than simply selling produce, we are taking on the challenge of adding new value to farm products that, because of grading standards or distribution, do not reach their full worth, and presenting them as specialties of Hiji Town. One example is the tomato juice we are developing together with the Manai Tomato Farm Association and the team at Hachinone Co., Ltd.

Going forward, with agriculture as our starting point, we want to draw on digitalization, DX and AI to share the region's appeal and products more widely, and to create new work and new value. Ultimately, our aim is to build an environment in Hiji Town where, through digital tools, a region can compete on the same footing as the cities — a framework that lets people keep living here and still take on new challenges.