COI-NEXT Nagaoka Hub x Akita Hub will jointly exhibit at Bio Japan!!

Last year's "Bio Japan 2024"And so, COI-NEXT “Nagaoka Hub × Akita Hub,” which made a huge impression on visitors and attracted a great deal of attention, is back this year with “Bio Japan 2025" (October 8–10) We will be co-exhibiting at the event.

On May 17–18, as a kickoff for our joint exhibition,COI-NEXT Akita OfficeProfessor Katsuhiko Takada of Akita Prefectural University and Professor Eijiro Kosugi of Akita Public University of Art visited the COI-NEXT main hub.

First, we toured the university’s Regional GX Innovation Co-creation Center. Opened in July, this center will serve as a venue for demonstration experiments unique to this location, aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in energy and food. It is a facility designed to conduct research that harnesses the power of nature, much like a snow cellar. Through the various research projects that will begin here, we will advance research toward the realization of a sustainable society.

We also visited “Uonuma no Sato” at Hakkai Brewing Co., Ltd. in Minamiuonuma City. The “Hakkaisan Snow Cellar” is used to store alcoholic beverages such as sake and whiskey. This summer, our university’s snow cellar within the Regional GX Innovation Co-creation Center will also begin full-scale operations. We will use it to store rice. This visit has further heightened our anticipation for new research into the changes that snow cellar storage brings about in rice.

In addition, Minamiuonuma City is home to several water sources fed by Mount Hakkai. One of these is a spring at Fujiwara Shrine, traditionally known as “Raiden-sama’s Water.” The spring is located deep in the forest, where a massive Japanese horse chestnut tree stands tall like a guardian, and at its base stands a small shrine dedicated to Raiden-sama. Its dignified presence evokes a deep sense of reverence for nature. This clear spring water is also used as brewing water for sake. Feeling the power of nature firsthand, my vision for our exhibition at “Bio Japan 2025” began to take shape.

During this site visit, the two COI-NEXT centers were able to align their visions for their participation in “Bio Japan 2025.” We will continue to make further preparations for the event, so please stay tuned.