Success and succession: agritourism, heterotopia and two generations of rural Japanese female entrepreneurs

Abstract

Agritourism is promoted as a tool for rural revitalization in Japan. Farm inns are an example of agritourism and are run often by female farmers. They usually start a small family business to find a sufficient and comfortable way to make a living, with some of them focusing very little on profit and growth; they are lifestyle entrepreneurs. This article, based on multiple interviews conducted over several years with four female farmers and farm-inn owners—two elders and their daughters/granddaughters—focuses on the succession of farm-inn businesses from the older generation to the younger generation. A comparison of these different generations’ life stories shows that farm inns provide both generations with new identities as rural women, but in quite differing ways.

Keywords:

• Agritourism
• rural female entrepreneurs
• succession
• heterotopia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI under Grant Number 16K18768.

Notes on contributors

Ayumi Sugimoto

Ayumi Sugimoto is an associate professor of Akita International University in Japan. She obtained her PhD in Agriculture from the University of Tokyo. Her field of expertise is rural studies.