When you say Narita, many people probably think of Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, but it is not the only thing to see. In Narita, there are many people who provide hospitality to visitors, and I would like you to know about them. Here, we will introduce them to you as “People of Narita”!
Our guest this time is Mr. Hidetake Akiba, CEO of Akiba Farm Holdings. Mr. Akiba, who is engaged in dairy farming, manufacturing, direct sales, and other businesses with the operation of Narita Yume Dairy Farm at its core, spoke in detail about Narita Yume Dairy Farm and the future of Narita.
ーPlease tell us again about Narita Yume Dairy Farm.ー
Originally, there was nothing in Narita. My mother and father built Narita Yume Dairy Farm for the children in the area when I was a child because there was nowhere else to take them. So the concept of Narita Yume Dairy Farm was to provide a facility where children could play freely, tinker in the dirt, and play in the mud.
Most of our customers are elementary school students and younger, but we also have inbound visitors, including families who enjoy picking strawberries and seeing sunflowers and other flowers.
Right now we are doing a lot of collaborations with animation, most recently PUI PUI Morkar. It was incredibly popular and about 9,000 people came in three days. That's a wide range of people, even adults.
We provide a place to play with nature, but we are conscious of the essence of adding new things to it, so I think our characteristic is that we are doing something even though it seems like nothing. By the way, we have about 300,000 visitors a year. Inbound visitors account for about 10%.
ーPlease tell us about your background.ー
I left Habotan Kindergarten in Narita, and grew up in Narita all the way through elementary and junior high school attached to Narita High School, and went all the way from the ranch. I went to college at Seikei University in Tokyo, and worked as a publishing and printing salesman at Dai Nippon Printing Co. After that, I worked as an accountant at Oriental Land Co.
My intention was to do something on my own when I graduated from high school, to start my own business. When I decided to do that by the time I was 30, I worked backwards and decided to make sure I gained experience in sales and accounting, as they are essential for running a business.
So, for my first company, I only applied to places known for having tough sales positions (laughs). At DNP, I was able to win the President's Award, so I decided to work in accounting next. At that time, Oriental Land was recruiting for its first mid-career job, so I thought this would be a good opportunity and applied. I was asked what I wanted to do, and I said, “I want to work in accounting. They said, “You are very unusual,” and hired me (laughs). After two years of doing this, I realized that numbers are very important.
I had a little more time before I turned 30, so I thought the rest was English, so I did an MBA in Birmingham, England, then went to hotel school in Switzerland, and came back to work in Singapore.
ーWhat is your favorite spot in the area surrounding the airport?ー
I guess it would be Naritasan. And then there is Hikouki no Oka Park (Plane-Spotting Hill). Both have a unique space.
I have lived in Narita since kindergarten, so Naritasan is like a hometown in my mind.
I don't think there is any other place where you can see airplanes take off and land like that, even on Hikouki no Oka.
ーHow would you like to move toward Narita's future?ー
Narita is finally connected to the Ken-O Expressway, which connects to the Tohoku Expressway in the north and Kisarazu in the south, so I see it as a base for imports and exports, or a place where goods gather from all over the country. It will be a place where various things can be gathered from all over the country and the world. Then, on the other hand, I wondered if it would be okay for Japanese people to gather in that place. I think it would be good to create more chaos in that sense.
I think Narita's unique culture is centered on Naritasan Omotesando, but I think it would be more interesting to have a single place that represents the environment where things gather from all over the country and the world, and then leave. I think it would be interesting to have a place like the Don Quijote of Japan. I think it would be nice to have such a base. I think it would be nice to have something like that in the Narita airport area, like the crowded markets overseas.
ーHow do you want people to enjoy Narita?ー
In other countries, there are no safe places to walk around at night, so if it were in Japan, the ability to walk around at night would be a selling point.
Although there are still only a few, I hope people will enjoy the night town centered around Naritasan.
