Rural tourism, which is often interpreted as rural development initiatives, has been extensively studied in a Japanese context; however, this has been typically observed at a community level, and the host households were assumed as homogeneous. Therefore, this article explores rural tourism’s potential as a tool for territorial development in Japan, and augments established literature by studying how rural tourism contributes to sustainable livelihoods at the household level in an aging community and a developed economy. For this purpose, a qualitative study observed a farm inn group in the town of Noto, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) site in Japan. Three hypotheses were tested: (1) rural tourism in a remote/isolated region has changed the host households’ livelihood assets; (2) the economic benefits from rural tourism are marginal to host households; and (3) the benefits other than income earnings exceed the economic benefits for aging communities. The residents’ quality of life has improved in this super-aging rural community, although the economic benefits are still marginal to most host households. Tourists have brought vitality to these remote villages, and a lack of young residents to inherit these farm inn businesses presents a bottleneck to the industry’s future development. Social capital should be strengthened by forming social networks with the local government and private sectors.

Urban forest parks provide residents with recreational spaces and interaction with nature. This study aimed to examine the use pattern of an urban forest park in Fuzhou, South China. A total of 249 park visitors were interviewed face-to-face based on a questionnaire, in November 2015 and January 2016. The majority of the respondents visited the urban forest park accompanied by other family members on the weekend and most of them stayed for half a day. The natural/cultural resources and landscape (e.g. air, water, and vegetation) were evaluated as the most satisfying, whereas the facilities (parking lot and transportation to the park) and service (interpretation and crowdedness) as the least satisfying. The factors “income level” and “family structure” significantly influenced respondents’ decision to access Fuzhou National Forest Park (FNFP) by car. The clear majority of the respondents stayed for less than 6 h in FNFP, and thus, residents show a high demand for urban green spaces for leisure, in an effort to follow a healthier, less stressful life style, and enhance their living standards. Recreational activities are mostly gentle and passive, whereas active sports and learning activities are still limited. Our data might help to develop effective management plans for improving urban forest parks in China.

Using field survey data gathered from seven villages in Youxi County in southern China and a list of famous and ancient trees and groves, this study explored the cultural roots and ecological interpretations of village fengshui forests. The results show as follows: the species of fengshui trees selected by Chinese rural villagers bear a symbolic meaning, including health, longevity, flourishing population, fortune, and wealth. Fengshui belief, clan system, village rules and regulations, fengshui worship tradition, and customs have all played important roles in villagers’ planting and conservation of fengshui forests. It is suggested that the government should recognize the cultural and ecological value of fengshui forests and integrate the local rules and village regulations into the current policy frameworks to improve fengshui (culturally preserved) forests management with favourable polices such as subsidies and conservation strategy. China’s fengshui forests suggest the cultural importance of ecosystem services from forests, and the role of culture in forest conservation.