[No. 241] Toshiaki Higo

Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to "Jukuin Raio."

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my mentors, Professor Adachi and Professor Inoue, as well as everyone involved.

I imagine many graduates of Keio's Faculty of Science and Technology work in research positions or for large corporations, but I have followed a slightly unusual career path. I would be happy if readers find it interesting to see that this kind of life is also possible. While reflecting on my student days, I would like to share what led me to move to Matsumoto and the things I value in life.

I spent my childhood surrounded by the nature of Kumamoto. Although my house was in a residential area, I was always playing outside in nature—playing soccer in the park, building secret bases in the hills behind the house, and catching fish or swimming in nearby lakes and rivers. I also liked video games, but I remember balancing that by playing soccer or baseball in the nearby park. Looking back, I feel that my experiences playing in nature during my childhood are connected to who I am today.

After spending my time in Kumamoto until high school, I moved to Tokyo upon entering Keio University. I remember feeling a mix of anticipation and anxiety during the entrance ceremony and orientation, as I didn't know anyone at first. I wanted to continue playing soccer, which I had done through high school, so I joined a soccer club called Keio Kickers. The concept was to be serious about both play and soccer. I have many happy memories, such as winning the national tournament for clubs when I was a freshman and going to Bali with my classmates for our graduation trip. I am still close with my peers, seniors, and juniors, and we regularly go on trips or out for drinks.

As for my daily student life, I would attend classes from the morning, play billiards at "Hiyo-Biri" during breaks, eat lunch at Musashiya or Uoomi, and spend my evenings at the club, drinking with friends, or working on assignments like lab reports.

In my fourth year, I joined the Adachi Laboratory, which specializes in control engineering, without hesitation. This was because Professor Adachi's control engineering classes were interesting and the lab conducted joint research with various companies, offering a wide range of research applications.

In the lab, I conducted applied research on printers and steel plate thickness control systems, as well as theoretical research on systems with time delays. The "ability to write and structure documents logically" that I cultivated under Professor Adachi and Professor Inoue is still useful today, even though I have moved away from research in my professional life. At the weekly progress meetings (where I presented once a month), we were required to prepare materials in a paper format, which honed my writing skills. For research presentations at academic conferences or within the university, I was always conscious of creating presentation materials that could be understood even by non-experts.

Since many in the lab loved sports, it is also a fond memory that we took breaks to play softball or soccer on the grounds between research sessions. We even came in third place in the university-wide inter-laboratory softball tournament. It's important to tackle everything—not just research, sports, or play—with full effort.

I joined Tokyu Corporation. Everyone in our year experienced 10 months of field training. I spent the first five months in town management (community building) for a shopping mall called Futako Tamagawa Rise, followed by two months as a station staff member, and the final three months as a train conductor. I will omit the details as it would be long, but these were extremely valuable experiences unique to the field. After the 10-month field training, I was assigned to the IT department I had hoped for, where I worked on building IT infrastructure for the company and its group companies. I was responsible for tasks such as updating and replacing PCs for approximately 10,000 group company employees and introducing smartphones for about 2,000 head office employees.

In the middle of my third year, I used the internal entrepreneurship development system to lead a new business with a team of six young employees. It was an app service based on the idea of neighbors running errands for each other. Unlike delivery services like Uber Eats, it featured lower delivery fees because neighbors handled the deliveries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, investment in new facilities was restricted, and the project itself almost collapsed. However, we teamed up with a venture company that was developing a similar service and managed to launch the app while significantly keeping costs down. It was a great experience to execute everything related to a new business ourselves, from service planning, design, and operation to promotions such as web advertising.

During the Obon holidays in 2020, I was at a loose end because I couldn't return to my hometown in Kumamoto due to COVID-19. A high school friend in the same situation and I suddenly decided to go on a 4-day, 3-night trek in the Northern Alps. There were mishaps, such as cabbage rotting and a friend's tent pole breaking in strong winds, but we successfully reached the summit of Mt. Yarigatake (elevation 3,180m) and descended safely. Although only the two of us entered the mountains, by the time we descended, we were a group of five, including people we had befriended on the mountain. I was captivated by the spectacular views and the culture found on the mountains during this trip. There is a culture of exchanging greetings like "Konnichiwa" with people you pass, which was very fresh to me as someone living in Yokohama at the time, where I rarely exchanged greetings. I still maintain friendships with the people I met through those greetings, going climbing or drinking with them. Having become hooked on mountains this way, I eventually found myself walking in the mountains 50 days a year—exactly once a week.

While I was in charge of the new business at Tokyu, I had the opportunity to hand out flyers in front of a station. Looking into the eyes of the people coming out of the ticket gates, I noticed something. It was that there were so many people with "dead eyes." In particular, the middle-aged businessmen during the 7 PM rush hour had dead eyes. I imagine they were tired after work, but I felt a bit of fear toward the urban system that could make so many people's eyes go dead.

On the other hand, when people are climbing mountains, no matter how tough it is, everyone has sparkling eyes. I began to think that by placing oneself in "nature," one could find peace of mind and make daily life easier. From around this time, I started considering moving to a rural area rich in nature.

Just then, the Matsumoto City Hall in Nagano Prefecture was recruiting for the position of Alps Resort Project Manager (PM), with the mission of "Realizing a World-Class Mountain Resort." Although I had no experience in the tourism industry, I thought it would be interesting to make the mountains I was obsessed with my job, and since I had already decided that if I were to move, it would be to Matsumoto, I decided to apply.

The image I had of the work before moving was something glamorous, like developing beautiful facilities or doing large-scale tourism PR. In reality, there is a lot of unglamorous work, involving not just tourism but also community building. There are scenes where one is required to immerse oneself in the community and act as a bridge between the region and the government. I have worked on various things as a PM, and one of them is the "Shin-Hi Trail." This is a 117km walking journey route connecting Matsumoto in Shinshu and Takayama in Hida. Preparation was carried out collaboratively by the Ministry of the Environment, Matsumoto City, Takayama City, and private organizations, and it opened in July 2025. It includes not only mountain trails but also paved roads. It passes through ancient paths and highways where people have traveled since olden times, such as the Kumano Kodo and Nakasendo. By walking the trail, you can experience the history and culture of the region. Since it passes through villages, there may also be interactions with local residents. It is truly a path for a walking journey. The Shin-Hi Trail connects tourist spots that many people usually visit by car—such as Matsumoto Castle, Kamikochi, Okuhida Onsen, and the old streets of Takayama—by walking, turning these spots from isolated points into a connected line. As a result, people begin to visit places that were not previously tourist destinations, increasing the length of stay for visitors, bringing money into the area, and leading to regional revitalization.

I left Matsumoto City Hall at the end of March 2026 upon the expiration of my term as PM, and I am currently active as a sole proprietor. I am mainly doing three things now.

First, in collaboration with a friend, I operate an inn called "Fumoto no Yamagoya Neighbors" in the Matsumoto city area. As the name suggests, we aim for it to be a "mountain hut at the foot of the mountain" that climbers can use before or after their treks. It is located within a 10-minute walk of both Matsumoto Station and Matsumoto Castle, and recently we have many guests from overseas.

Second is mountain guiding. I obtained a mountain guide qualification after moving to Matsumoto. I guide with the theme of "making mountains more accessible" for people who want to start climbing, children, and inbound tourists.

Third is the operation of the Shin-Hi Trail. Until March, I was involved from the position of Matsumoto City Hall, but now I am involved in the operation of the Shin-Hi Trail as a member of the Shin-Hi Trail Club General Incorporated Association. In addition to regular operational duties, I am responsible for the planning and operation of events such as "MATSUMOTO TRAIL DAY." This event was established in 2023 with the aim of boosting interest in trails in Shinshu, including the Shin-Hi Trail.

The common sentiment behind these three activities is the desire to increase the number of people who can find peace of mind by placing themselves in nature and live their daily lives a little more lightly.

In my current career, the specialized knowledge I learned in the laboratory may not be directly useful, but the way I perceive and think about things is undoubtedly being utilized. Furthermore, the connections with friends I met during university are irreplaceable, and all my experiences—including play and sports—are connected to who I am today. Moving to Matsumoto was a big decision, but I met my wife in Matsumoto and got married. You never know what will happen in life.

I hope this serves as a catalyst for you in choosing your university, faculty, or department, and in thinking about your life.

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