Sasabase by Learning & Local Design — Kawanishi, Hyogo, Japan
A living campus
in regional Japan.
Where learning, life, and the local economy come together.
Sasabase is a living laboratory set in the satoyama hills of Kawanishi, Hyogo. It is neither a school nor a company, but a place where people of all ages come together to learn by doing.
Our concept is Learning & Local Design — connecting education, community, and sustainable livelihoods.
Since 2020
Kawanishi · Hyogo, Japan
What is Sasabase?
The community is the classroom.
Tucked in the satoyama hills of Kawanishi in Hyogo, Sasabase is a renovated Showa-era house that serves as a living campus. We believe that the local community—its land, people, food, and culture—is the richest possible learning environment.
Here, children and adults learn alongside one another. People from diverse backgrounds share the same space. Knowledge flows in every direction—there are no fixed roles of teacher and learner.
Sasabase is also easily accessible: about 50 minutes from Osaka by train, yet surrounded by rice fields, mountains, and the quiet rhythms of regional Japan.
Learn more about Sasabase →
What we offer
Ways to be part of Sasabase
For International Visitors
Programs open to participants from anywhere in the world.
6th-Sector School
A hands-on program covering rice farming, food processing, and local sales — the full cycle of regional production and local economy. Real-world learning that connects the land to the market.
Learn more →Regional Immersion Stay
Live alongside a satoyama community in a Showa-era wooden house. Take part in the everyday life of a rural Japanese community — farming, cooking, and gathering.
Learn more →For Organisations
Experiential training for teams and companies.
For Local Community in Japan
Community programs rooted in Kawanishi — primarily conducted in Japanese.
Terra'Co — Learning Space for Multiple Generations
A multigenerational gathering place where everyone is both teacher and student. From children to elders, knowledge flows freely through shared activities, conversation, and everyday life in the village.
Learn more (Japanese site) →Alternative Learning Support
A flexible learning environment for children who find traditional schooling difficult. Participants can join in person or remotely via telepresence robots — at their own pace, in a safe and welcoming space.
Learn more (Japanese site) →Why here?
Why Japan. Why regional.
Japan's satoyama — the mosaic landscape where mountains meet farmland — is a place where farming, forests, and everyday life have long shaped one another. Kawanishi is a gateway into that world — close to Osaka, yet still part of the everyday rhythms of rural Japan.
Food & Agriculture
Take part in rice farming, from planting to harvest. Alongside local farmers, experience how food is part of everyday life here.
A Japanese Wooden House
Stay and work in a Showa-era wooden home built by a local carpenter. Details like ranma panels and a traditional Buddhist altar remain part of daily life.
Accessible Nature
Just 50 minutes from Osaka by train, yet clearly at a different pace. Sasabase is the "convenient countryside" — regional depth without isolation.
Living Culture
Connect with local people — farmers, makers, and families. Experience everyday life in satoyama, as it is today.
Ready to explore?
Come experiment with us.
Whether you want to visit, join a program, collaborate on a project, or simply learn more — we'd love to hear from you.
Starting with a single conversation is perfectly fine.
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