THE AKITAN
ALTS enjoying “Akiya Art in Akita”
SIDE: AWA
AKI REGAN
doned until Moe moved in in 2019. I remember that summer when a coworker of mine told me that there was a new lady in town. She and two others had traveled from the small island of Koh Tao in the Gulf of Thailand to Mitane, a town of about 16,000 residents that’s symbol is a semi-aquatic edible plant called junsai with the goal of starting a coliving, coworking space in Japan’s countryside. Within a matter of three months, we had
neighbors from Portugal, Switzerland, and from other parts of Japan. Mitane, like many other rural areas in Japan, is facing the pressing threat of extinction with a graying and dwindling population. Located along the sea, its landscape alternates between extensive farmland and small pocket communities, lone vending machines (including one with x-rated content!?) here and there. Life feels slow and predictable, and if **Photos coutesy of Aki Regan
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