24/7 softball tournament

[Taro Toporific]

The rapid aging and depopulation of rural areas has resulted in empty school districts, lot of excess equipment, and the need for a "24-hour Softball Tournament."

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昨日の夜はBBQをやってるのかなーと、今日の昼はこんなとこでソフトボールやってるのかなーと、昼2回目に通ったときはカカシがまじっとるなーと、3回目通ったときに全部カカシやないかい！！！と — がっちゃん‏@gattyann21 16 Nov 2013

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近所の畑のカカシがすごいことになってた。深夜にたまたま見つけたんで死ぬほどビックリした。これは怖い。怖すぎる。カラスとか来ねえ。もっというと人間ですら近づきたくねえ。なんだこのセンス。すごいぞマイタウン — 青木潤太朗 (@aokijuntarou)2014, 11月 23

The 24-hour Softball Tournament could be seen as a continuation of Japan’s tradition of imaginative scarecrows...

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Nagoro Village has more life-sized dolls than humans (news.com.au/travel)
---The mysterious Nagoro village in the Iya Valley is little-known and untouched. It's situated on Shikoku Island, the smallest of Japan's four main islands.
Nagoro is home to just 51 people, and over 150 dolls that resemble former residents. Each doll represents a person who has moved away or died.
The dolls are created by local woman Mizuki Ayona using straw, rags and old clothes, and are lined up around the town. One doll is placed in the abandoned school, after its last student died...

[matsuki]

I love how there are so many ghost towns and depopulated places in the country and yet my friend in Shizuoka (fairly suburban area) is building his home literally in his parent's garden and the average J-person still explains the insane cost of land here as "Japan doesn't have much land so it's expensive."

[Coligny]

I love how there are so many ghost towns and depopulated places in the country and yet my friend in Shizuoka (fairly suburban area) is building his home literally in his parent's garden and the average J-person still explains the insane cost of land here as "Japan doesn't have much land so it's expensive."

I think it's called rationalization.

A thing happen, so there might be a good reason to it, let's make up its story.

The locals are definatuly world champions at this sport... "we japanese -insert bullshit here- yada yada yada..."

[wagyl]

I love how there are so many ghost towns and depopulated places in the country and yet my friend in Shizuoka (fairly suburban area) is building his home literally in his parent's garden and the average J-person still explains the insane cost of land here as "Japan doesn't have much land so it's expensive."

Living in a depopulating area I can tell you that unless you create/bring a job with you, there is no way you will get people out here because you can't make a living. People don't live in the crowded cities because they are nice places to live, they live there because their work is there.

[matsuki]

I love how there are so many ghost towns and depopulated places in the country and yet my friend in Shizuoka (fairly suburban area) is building his home literally in his parent's garden and the average J-person still explains the insane cost of land here as "Japan doesn't have much land so it's expensive."

Living in a depopulating area I can tell you that unless you create/bring a job with you, there is no way you will get people out here because you can't make a living. People don't live in the crowded cities because they are nice places to live, they live there because their work is there.

I get that...but just like people, it would behoove companies to relocate at least some of their facilities (jobs) to places where land is dirt cheap. (cough cough "Tokyo" Disneyland..."Tokyo" International airport) Been happening in the US for awhile. I know Japan isn't the only place that does this but super concentrating everything in a few major cities isn't exactly a good idea either.

[J.A.F.O]

There was another video posted somewhere on here about a dying town that tried to revitalize with an amusement park. I watched the whole video (I was drunk ok) Apparently there it was a mining community. I'm wondering why the mining was shut down? Was it because of depletion? which is seldom the case. Or were they regulated to death which makes sense because of j-lands obsession with eco/green friendly policies. Not that I have a horse in the race or anything or saying they should change course, just that if what they're doing now isn't working maybe they should go back to the way things were when they did work.

[matsuki]

There was another video posted somewhere on here about a dying town that tried to revitalize with an amusement park. I watched the whole video (I was drunk ok) Apparently there it was a mining community. I'm wondering why the mining was shut down? Was it because of depletion? which is seldom the case. Or were they regulated to death which makes sense because of j-lands obsession with eco/green friendly policies. Not that I have a horse in the race or anything or saying they should change course, just that if what they're doing now isn't working maybe they should go back to the way things were when they did work.

The land I own up in the mountains used to be a mining town with some huge onsen and big community....they converted the mining railroad to a regular road (save for a few dangerous looking bridges which are still there) and the area is now covered with rice fields where they can be fit in....and sure enough the population has declined to the point they are closing down the local schools and whatnot. Pretty sad considering how beautiful the area is.

[yanpa]

There was another video posted somewhere on here about a dying town that tried to revitalize with an amusement park. I watched the whole video (I was drunk ok) Apparently there it was a mining community. I'm wondering why the mining was shut down? Was it because of depletion? which is seldom the case. Or were they regulated to death which makes sense because of j-lands obsession with eco/green friendly policies.

That would be Yūbari.

Not that I have a horse in the race or anything or saying they should change course, just that if what they're doing now isn't working maybe they should go back to the way things were when they did work.

Better ban imports of cheaper foreign coal then.

[Wage Slave]

I'm wondering why the mining was shut down? Was it because of depletion? which is seldom the case.

Are you sure? I thought that was the usual case with mines - They all have a finite life. The deposit may not have been completely exhausted but if it costs far more to get it out than the cost of buying it, what's the point? In particular, what's the point when you are also putting men's lives at risk?

[wagyl]

There was another video posted somewhere on here about a dying town that tried to revitalize with an amusement park. I watched the whole video (I was drunk ok) Apparently there it was a mining community. I'm wondering why the mining was shut down? Was it because of depletion? which is seldom the case. Or were they regulated to death which makes sense because of j-lands obsession with eco/green friendly policies.

That would be Yūbari.

Not that I have a horse in the race or anything or saying they should change course, just that if what they're doing now isn't working maybe they should go back to the way things were when they did work.

Better ban imports of cheaper foreign coal then.

I vote for a managed market, with tariffs on imports, and stockpiling of local production. Amakudarisaki for all! Add in those little niceties where you establish brand cachet and there will be more Yubari Coal available for sale in the Michi-no-Eki than there is actually mined. And you can have a steady supply and everyone is happy, just like the butter market (or the rice market 20 years ago).

[matsuki]

Better ban imports of cheaper foreign coal then.

What? I thought Japan had robots and shit to do the mining for a fraction of the cost?

[Coligny]

Better ban imports of cheaper foreign coal then.

What? I thought Japan had robots and shit to do the mining for a fraction of the cost?

i don't think robot will survive long or do any good job in a mine setting...

Better use orphans, plus if you don't pay them it can't be called child labor...

[matsuki]

Better ban imports of cheaper foreign coal then.

What? I thought Japan had robots and shit to do the mining for a fraction of the cost?

i don't think robot will survive long or do any good job in a mine setting...

Better use orphans, plus if you don't pay them it can't be called child labor...

Shhhh, don't give em ideas!

[J.A.F.O]

Are you sure? I thought that was the usual case with mines - They all have a finite life. The deposit may not have been completely exhausted but if it costs far more to get it out than the cost of buying it, what's the point? In particular, what's the point when you are also putting men's lives at risk?

You're right of course. I'm not to sure about j-land. I do have some knowledge of geology stuff back stateside albeit gold mines though.
Usually... at least this is with Merica. Deposits tend to go hand in hand. Meaning that if you deplete one beyond reasonable mining there is another not far away. This is mostly prevalent in mountain mining communities in places like W.Va. But yea circumstantial at best. My comment was more inquisitive if nothing else because things are just weird here... at least to me.

Better ban imports of cheaper foreign coal then.

I'm all for protectionist tariffs if it protects the local community. America's government was run without an income tax until the victory tax of 1942 and supported primarily by protective import tariffs.

[J.A.F.O]

Better use orphans, plus if you don't pay them it can't be called child labor...

From China ... I mean they're not human anyways right

[matsuki]

Better use orphans, plus if you don't pay them it can't be called child labor...

From China ... I mean they're not human anyways right

Nope, if the C-gov recognized that, they'd need to give em rights

[Taro Toporific]

Unsettling softball-playing scarecrows keep Japanese town entertained, creeped out
RocketNews24 | 2014/11/26
...one Japanese man living in a town outside of Fukuoka in southern Japan is showing us life doesn’t have to be boring when you have access to several dozen scarecrows, old softball uniforms and an open rice field. Every November after the rice is harvested, he dresses scarecrows up as softball players and has them “play” a month-long game, keeping score the entire time.
Local scarecrow aficionado Shinji Kuboi first came up with the slightly unsettling idea when he came across 20 elementary school softball uniforms at the local community center that were about to be thrown away. And when the 63-year-old construction worker realized his friend would have an empty rice field after the harvest in November, he naturally came up with an idea to dress the scarecrows in the uniforms and move them around every day to make it look like they are playing a softball game, albeit very slowly. Kuboi even found mannequin heads to put on top of the scarecrows to give them that extra lifelike feeling.
More (with pix)...