The new vanguard of rural revitalization efforts in Japan
A70 kilometers north of Kyoto, Japan’s bustling cultural epicenter, sits the small fishing town of Takahama. Known today for its pristine beaches and surfing, during the Heian Period (794-1185), the aristocracy of Kyoto imported saba (mackerel) from Takahama. So much of the silvery gray fish flowed from Takahama to the ancient capital that the roads connecting the two began to be known as the “Saba Kaido” (literally, “mackerel highway”).