What's wrong with being biased!
"Unbiased Guide" and the Deep World March 25, 19:07
Would you like to experience the world of "Unbiased Guide"?
I would like to introduce the rust on the arcade of the shopping district.
And the signboard for the closed snacks.
Now, guides with a biased love for the region and hobbies are secretly gaining popularity.
What's wrong with being biased!
I went to a deep world with a "biased guide"!
(Interviewed by Michiko Yoshimura, Gifu Broadcasting Station, edited by Hokuto Takasugi, Network News Department)
I will take you to the "Gifu Pyramid"
Shigeo Katori, one of the popular "unbiased guides".
Mr. Katori is particular about the scenery that no one has ever seen.
He is a well-known person who loves the "harsh roads", unexplored regions, and ruins of various parts of Japan.
"Today I'll take you to the Pyramids in Gifu."
"Pi, Pyramids !?" I've
never seen a pyramid in Gifu ...
There was when I followed Mr. Katori with half confidence.
What really looks like a pyramid.
The true identity of this place, which Katori calls the "Gifu Pyramid," is "Kinseisan" in Ogaki City.
It is a mountain made of limestone and is a limestone quarry.
About 10 years ago, it had the shape of a normal mountain, but as a result of quarrying, it seems that the current shape has been completed.
"Why did you cut it into a mysterious shape like a pyramid?"
Katori asked a neighbor, and because of the rights to the land, he picked up limestone outside the top of the mountain, which naturally led to the pyramid. It is said that it turned out to be shaped like this.
Quarrying is still going on, so the shape of this pyramid may disappear someday, and he told me that it's a "only now" landscape.
What people have done is not interesting
"Why are you guiding only such maniac places?"
When I asked Mr. Katori during the interview, he said something like this.
"It's not interesting what other people are already doing. I just want to see the scenery I've never seen before."
Mr. Katori is a guide while working as a researcher at an industrial chemical manufacturer.
On holidays, when the five children are still asleep, they leave their homes and go around Gifu prefecture under the name of "patrol", looking for "undeveloped tourist spots".
It all started more than 20 years ago when I got my driver's license and went back to my first drive.
I'm not good at changing lanes, so let's drive on a road with less traffic, but a wide road is good ...
I chose National Highway 157, which connects Gifu and Fukui, to see if it's okay if it's a national highway.
After running for a while, the center line disappears, and in some places there are cliffs on the side of the road but there are no guardrails.
Is there such a harsh road even though it is a national road?
It's not "a place that everyone enjoys seeing", but "a discovery that if you change your perspective, it might be surprisingly fun".
Mr. Katori is said to have noticed the charm of "Kokudo".
Shigeo Katori
"I was absorbed in thinking that it was more fun for me to have a rare experience than riding a roller coaster in an amusement park."
There is nothing, that's why
This deep tour guided by Mr. Katori is secretly gaining popularity.
About 20 people from Gifu, Aichi, and Shiga prefectures participated in the tour on the day of the interview.
The tour participants found a charm that they couldn't find on their own and went home satisfactorily.
Shigeo Katori
"It is often said that Gifu is sober, inconspicuous, and there are no tourist spots, but I don't think so. There are many new ways to enjoy Gifu because there is nothing. There is a very attractive place. "
"I'm from Gifu!" When I introduce myself ...
Mr. Katori's words made me surprised.
"Gifu is sober" because
I was the one who thought so.
A 20-minute drive from the center of Gifu City, I am from Kakamigahara City, which is famous for the aircraft industry, and after graduating from high school, I went to Tokyo to go on to higher education.
What I felt when I entered university was that even if I introduced myself as "I'm from Gifu!", I didn't get excited.
It is said that "Hida beef and Shirakawa-go!", But Kakamigahara City, where I was born and raised, is nearly 100 kilometers away from the Hida region where Shirakawa-go is located, and I have only been there on a trip ... ..
However, when asked "What is famous then?", I can only think of Ukai, who has never seen Shirakawa-go.
So, although I was talking about it on the spot, I was reluctant to talk about an area I had never lived in, as if it were a local.
It is troublesome to explain such circumstances one by one, so I started to introduce myself, "I'm not familiar with Gifu because my hometown is close to Nagoya."
For me, I was envious of Mr. Katori, who talked about Gifu with a lot of love.
"Rust" is the history
When I go around the city with Mr. Katori, I feel that the familiar townscape looks a little different.
One day, I visited Yanagase Shopping Street, the largest downtown area in the prefecture.
This place became famous for "Yanagase Bruce" sung by singer Kenichi Mikawa.
It is said that 2000 to 3000 shops were lined up at the peak of the Showa period, but it is no longer as busy as it used to be.
Mr. Katori guided me to a multi-tenant building in the shopping district.
When I got permission from the owner and headed upstairs together, there was a place that was used as a snack until about 20 years ago.
It is now a storeroom, but for Katori-san, it is a "mountain of treasure."
When he found the snack sign, Katori seemed so excited that he couldn't hide it.
"No no no. This is good! This is a great place!"
Mr. Katori's excitement never stops.
When you go up to the roof of the building, you usually see the arcade of the shopping street looking up from below.
At first glance, the roof that is just reddish brown with rust spreads out in front of you.
However, it is shining to Mr. Katori that "rust" represents the history of the shopping district.
Shigeo Katori
"Yanagase Shopping Street is a rare place where the entire shopping street is covered with arcades. You can see how much momentum it had during its peak. Now, rust has spread and water pipes are tattered." Rust " The scenery weaving is very tasty, isn't it? "
Just a mountain, just a shopping street ...
By changing the way I see and talk, the everyday scenery that I pass by thinking that way makes me realize that it is so interesting.
Kakishibu Mania Gourd Madam
Mr. Katori is not the only guide who tries to convey the charm of Gifu, which is a bit different from the general “sightseeing spot”.
A magazine editor who keeps chasing only Mt. Kinka, where Oda Nobunaga and Saito Dosan's castle "Gifu Castle" rises.
There are also people who are enthusiasts of "Kakishibu" and even "Gourd Madam" who is particular about gourds.
The reason why I was guided to Gifu from such a unique perspective was the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
It was the result of trying to get the locals to rediscover the charm of the area while not attracting tourists from outside the prefecture.
Also known as "micro tourism."
All the guides are eccentric, but what they all have in common is the love they love and love the area.
With their piercing affection, they eventually become "biased guides" and support the community.
Well, it's a hobby.
For Mr. Katori, it seems like a program like "What is the job of a biased guide?", But when I asked him, the answer was very simple.
Shigeo Katori
"Well, it's a hobby. The guide is just a part of my hobby. I don't want to discover new charms and monopolize them. I want as many people as possible to know. As a result, it's useful for something. I'd be happy if ... "
With the guide, I felt a deep love for Gifu, where I didn't feel that kind of feeling, whether to accomplish something or get something.
Through Mr. Katori, I felt that "biased love" is a respect for the land and history, and an unmistakable "love".
I feel that many people, including myself, told me that there is a "treasure" in the everyday scenery and things that I overlooked.
NHK Gifu Broadcasting Station Reporter
Michiko Yoshimura
Born in Gifu Prefecture Joined in 2015
After working at the Tottori Bureau and Takayama Branch, worked at the Gifu Bureau from last fall.
She is actually Miha.
She is interested in the spring tour "Machu Picchu in Gifu".
She was fascinated by "biased love" and ended up with a long sentence ...