School Diary Udo Municipal Hashirigata Elementary School Kumamoto Prefecture / Aerial photography, 2013

Uto Municipal Hashigata Elementary School (from the head office helicopter in Uto City, Kumamoto Prefecture) May 14, 2013; photo by Koki Kataoka = Handle with Care = The school opened in 1874, and was named "Hashigata Elementary School" from that time on. The school is enthusiastic about environmental preservation, and in 2004 and 2005 received awards for excellence in the prefectural board of education's "Environmental ISO Competition for Schools. In April of this year, the school received an award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology for its excellent reading activities. The school is located in 743 Sorigata-cho, Uto City. Sorigata is surrounded by the Midorigawa River and the Hamadogawa River. The entire area is a delta formed by earth and sand carried by the river, and the school district covers the entire area. The area has a history of being developed as farmland during the Edo period (1603-1867), and about one-third of the households are still engaged in agriculture. Rice, cucumbers, tomatoes, and other crops are grown in the rich countryside surrounding the school. Carp and goldfish are also farmed. As of May 1, the population of the school district was 2,141 in 720 households.