Fish club
Junior high and high school students from the NPO Kitakyushu Uo Club will visit and donate tote bags with an original design made in collaboration with Onsengo Matsubo and Kamegawa Onsen to all 355 children at Beppu City Kamegawa Elementary School!
[Creating new value for hot springs from the spring capital of Beppu! ～People, hot springs, and creatures】
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【Effect】
Oita Prefecture’s rare species, Onsengomatsu, was rediscovered at Kamegawa Onsen in Beppu City by the NPO Kitakyushu Gyobu for the first time in about 60 years. We are running a project to spread the “new appeal of hot springs” from Beppu, the king of hot springs, to all over Japan. As part of this effort, I would like the children of the local Kame Elementary School to learn about Onsengomatsu and Kamegawa Onsen, where they live, and be proud of them. This donation is with that in mind! ! !
Press Release NPO Kitakyushu Uobe, Beppu City Kamegawa Elementary School February 6, 2024 [Creating new value for hot springs from the spring capital of Beppu! ~People, Hot Springs, and Creatures] Junior high and high school students from the NPO Kitakyushu Uo Club will visit and donate tote bags with an original design made in
collaboration with Onsengomatsubo and Kamegawa Onsen to all 355 children at Beppu City Kamegawa Elementary School! [Overview (Purpose)]
Oita Prefecture’s rare species, Onsengomatsu, was rediscovered at Kamegawa Onsen in Beppu City by the NPO Kitakyushu Gyobu for the first time in about 60 years. We are running a project to spread the “new appeal of hot springs” from Beppu, the king of hot springs, to all over Japan. As part of this effort, I would like the children of the local Kame Elementary School to learn about Onsengomatsu and Kamegawa Onsen, where they live, and be proud of them. This donation is with that in mind! ! !
[Image 1: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-9883be82ec1e39b0e590-0.jpg&s3=45884-4-0a194d014dbb4a50c7c0cbf560d357a1-3900×2925.jpg]
[Image 2: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-6a64c8c685f8b02b6bfc-1.jpg&s3=45884-4-40a693e8352ff75647cee70e09db2a60-1905×2700.jpg]
[Image 3: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-30ee6b81e927e7f1b115-2.jpg&s3=45884-4-3e25bab7b2b0adc175672ed97c6d7741-2529×1966.jpg] [Details about this donation] 1st Date: February 15, 2024 (Thursday) 14:10~ 2 Number of donated sheets: 355 for all children at Kamegawa Elementary School (*Also for teachers)
3 Donor: NPO Kitakyushu Gyobu
4 Contents of the donation ceremony (4th, 5th, and 6th grade students attended) 1. Introduction of the fish club 2. Explanation of Onsengomatsubo (presentation format) 3. Questions from the children 4. Tote bag donation 5. Words of gratitude from the children
*The talk will be given by Subaru Ito, a first-year high school student and vice representative of the fish club, and Eito Ito, a third-year junior high school student. The two of them are always working on monthly surveys and public awareness in Kamegawa. 5. Purpose of donation: Kamegawa Onsen was once a bustling area. Nowadays, the hot springs are loved by many locals at their homes and public hot springs. Kamegawa Onsen has a secret that no one in the area knows about, and that is surprising even in Japan. Onsengomatsubo lived there quietly for 60 years. The Fish Club, which explores the relationship between humans and nature, has started a project starting at Kamegawa Onsen that aims to spread the “new appeal of hot springs” from Beppu, the king of hot springs, throughout Japan. The hot springs that people use are actually also used by living things. The unknown charm of hot springs that no other hot spring resort can tell you about. From Beppu, we are creating a new charm of the diverse Beppu. As part of this effort, I would like the children at local Kame Elementary School to learn about Onsengomatsubo and its habitat, Kamegawa Onsen, and be proud of it. With this in mind, we consulted with Kamegawa Elementary School, and this donation was made possible. 6. Original tote bag. Original by a professional designer who is also a member of the fish club. It has a wonderful design that combines Kamegawa Onsen and Onsengomatsubo. I hope it will be made of durable fabric, and that people will use it on a daily basis to become aware of their local area, and that it will become a topic of discussion at home. It was created with support from all over the country through crowdfunding.
[Reference: About Onsengomatsubo] 1. What is Onsengomatsubo? – A tiny freshwater snail with a shell length of about 4 mm.
Approximately 7 species of Sphagnum pine species inhabit Japan (one of which is undescribed and the other is an introduced species). – Rare in the world, they live in waterways where hot spring water flows at around 40 degrees Celsius.・A new species was described in 1962 based on the Hosenji Onsen in Kokonoe Town.・Later, it was confirmed in Yufu City and Kamegawa, Beppu City (around 1965). -However, it is said that it had disappeared from Kamegawa, Beppu City in June 1967.
2. Current status Currently, the only habitat in the world is Kokonoe Town and Yufu City, Oita Prefecture. It is listed as Endangered in the Ministry of the Environment’s Red Data Book, and as Endangered in the Oita Prefecture Red Data Book. Additionally, this species has been designated and protected as a designated rare wild fauna and flora based on the Oita Prefecture Ordinance on the Protection of Rare Wild Fauna and Flora.
3. About the rediscovery at Kamegawa Onsen (details)
The NPO Kitakyushu Fish Club will be based in Kamegawa, Beppu City from the spring of 2022, and will begin researching and reporting on the relationship between nature, creatures, and people’s lives unique to Kamegawa. While observing aquatic insects living in hot spring water during a series of activities, they first confirmed what appeared to be this species in May of the same year. In collaboration with Oita Prefecture (Nature Conservation Promotion Office, Department of Living Environment), we conducted a field survey together on June 25 of the same year, and confirmed the existence of this species. 4. Current Status 1) Survey/Research: With permission from Oita Prefecture, we continue monthly surveys in Kamegawa, Beppu City, as well as distribution surveys in Kokonoe Town and Yufu City. In fiscal 2024, we will begin genetic analysis of similar species from the Nansei Islands and the Goto Islands, and proceed with ecological taxonomic research, which has many unknown aspects. 2)
Education/dissemination: Implemented in parallel from 2022. In 2023, there will be biological exhibits at the Inochi No Tabi Museum (May) and Beppu Tourist Port (November 4), observation sessions during Art Month (October), and the 15th Iikawa/Ii River Creation Workshop in Tohoku. (September 30th to October 1st), and will present and report on case studies at the Noto Satoumi Satoyama Society (December 16th, Suzu City). From 2024, we will utilize vacant houses in the habitat area and open Kamegawa Onsengo Matsubo-so, a rental inn with a hot spring, in collaboration with the local community. [Photos related to Onsengomatsubo in Kamegawa, Beppu City]
[Image 4: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-0f2bb9c137d6062bc000-4.jpg&s3=45884-4-b56df26798a76e3f47df2b3ddf2e2a24-3200×2400.jpg] A culvert pit. A large number of onsengomatsubo
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-8c99b2baed8e6c4b878e-3.jpg&s3=45884-4-104bc16aaa65c5d15436c5194509638d-1600×1281.jpg] A scene from the monthly survey in Kamegawa Chuo Town
[Image 6: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-2ebb2ae6b855645468de-5.jpg&s3=45884-4-6a25dcdc6f8f19432def7678e84e69f5-3900×2925.jpg] Subaru Ito, the presenter who spoke about the Kamekawa project at the 15th Nice River and Good River Creation Workshop in Tohoku, won the runner-up prize. .
[Image 7: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-c9dabed9930627ed2bbf-9.jpg&s3=45884-4-9998296354487ef18251ee300b9f7667-3900×2925.jpg ]
Beppu’s first exhibition of products from Kamegawa (November 4th)
[Image 8: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-27c1d7e4a47eb5aba538-6.jpg&s3=45884-4-da19dc41ad200c2894657436d1349cb3-2025×2700.jpg]
[Image 9: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-27fd1aef6bcc55e57187-7.jpg&s3=45884-4-fcc71039d7baf49698cb0e863ef15eba-2025×2700.jpg ]
[Image 10: https://prtimes.jp/i/45884/4/resize/d45884-4-7149d11440b96d155508-8.jpg&s3=45884-4-5537c8f0d085c2ea3d39a98887c8d991-1276×1790.jpg] Kamegawa Onsengu Bonfish base “Kamekawa Onsengo Matsubo -soo” has a signboard, goodwill, and paintings of Onsengo Matsubo Design (official website: https: //kamegawa.gyobu.or.jp/gomatsubo/)
More details about this release:
https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000004.000045884.html