As part of a practical internship (regional type) for the COC+R project (Centers of Community - Project for Universities as Drivers of Regional Revitalization through New Human Resources Education Programs), students from Tokushima University have planned the Return Gift of the Hometown Tax Donation Program using the "Awa Jyuwari Sake," a pure rice sake, made with 100% Tokushima-grown sake rice and water.
The Return Gift includes a ticket for a tasting at the Shibuya's antenna shop, the "Turn Table," and the right to keep a 720ml bottle for three months.
Tokushima Prefecture and the Turntable are the internship hosting partners for this project, and the students came up with the idea through their work experience at the Turntable and fieldwork in Tokushima Prefecture. They visited the Tokushima Prefecture Sake Brewers Association and learned about the value of Tokushima's local sake and the challenges of promoting it, and discovered the possibility of using it as the Return Gift of the Hometown Tax Donation Program. More than just an one-time experience, the introduction of a bottle-keeping system aims to create a lasting connection between people in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Tokushima Prefecture deepening their interest in the region.
Tokushima University hopes that the appeal of Tokushima Prefecture will reach more people through this initiative which the students conceived and created together with local partners.
