Cooking workshop in local language – enjoying food while learning about local culture

In November and December 2022, ViLLA  Nohoho welcomed guests twice as participants in the recent monitoring tour “THE EARTH VOICE – Yaima, SDGs Tour”. The tour aimed to provide experiences reflecting sustainable tourism, ViLLA Nohoho provided a program about the local Okinawan and Ishigaki languages as one unique, local cultural resource. The workshop aims to increase awareness about the issues related to endangered languages and to establish a connection to conservation efforts.

After learning about the dialects which are considered as critically endangered or heritage languages, and the Yaeyama region, the workshop included a cooking session to while unravelling the menus written in the local Ishigaki language. After cooking the guests, we enjoyed the food and chit-chat together on top of a BBQ, until late hours!

We plan to further brush-up the local language cooking workshop and prepare more recipes using seasonal products. The workshop is available for staying guests. Those interested may contact Nohoho for inquiries. The current content is for Japanese speakers with basic proficiency (able to read hiragana and katakana).