By Claire Liu
Did you know that trees can be drunk as tea? This innovative idea was made into reality through ‘konoki’, a startup project inspired by a desire to revive Japan’s forest industry. One of the founding members behind ‘konoki’ is Koki Uchiyama, a 4th year APU student. Here, Koki has been kind enough to share with us his insight as a student entrepreneur and his advice for fellow APU students.
1)まずは、自己紹介とkonokiの紹介をお願いします。
Could you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about konoki?
APU4回生（7セメスター）の内山浩輝（Koki Uchiyama）です。Social goodな起業を志して、一昨年からAPU起業部(出口塾)に所属し、学外ではVCやベンチャーでインターンしていました。
今は、konokiという、木の幹でできるお茶を作っています。
国際学生の皆さんはあまり知らないかもしれませんが、日本では林業の衰退が深刻で、森林の保全が大きな問題になっています。この問題を解決するためには、まずは多くの人に木に関心を持ってもらう必要があります。そこで、「木を飲む」という普遍的な形で広めることで、人と木の接点を増やすことができます。そして、結果的に木こりの担い手を増やして、健全な森林を継続させるきっかけにできると思っています。
I am Koki Uchiyama and am currently a 4th year APU student. I’ve always aspired to be an entrepreneur for social good and since 2 years ago I have been a part of the APU Startup Program. Outside of school activities, I have also done internships at venture capitals and startups.
Currently, I am producing “konoki” a type of tea made from tree trunks.
Many international students are probably not aware, but Japan’s forest industry is in decline and as a result, the conservation of forests is becoming a serious issue right now. This is due to the public’s lack of interest in the forest industry. Thus, in order to solve this problem, we need to increase public awareness which can only be achieved by incorporating ‘trees’ into people’s everyday life. That was how the idea of “drinkable trees” came about. “konoki” is our hope to connect the public with the forestry industry, bringing more assistance to loggers, as well as emphasise the importance of maintaining sustainable and healthy forests.
2)konokiを始めったきっかけと動機は何ですか？
What inspired you to start konoki?
今年の3月、私はひとりの木こりと出会いました。彼から木に関する様々なことを学び、林業再生の必要性と、林業の可能性にとても共感しました。そのきこりが、konoki共同代表の三浦です。彼は、三重県美杉町で祖父の代からつづく林業を営んでいます。「木を飲む」という発想も、林業の発展をずっと想い、まだ見つかっていない木の価値を追求し続けたからこそ生まれました。
そこで、私達がタッグを組み、「木を飲む」という発想を実現し、多くの人に発信することで、日本の美しい森林、魅力ある林業、きこりの明るい未来を守るきっかけにできると思い、チームkonokiを結成しました。
実は私は林業にはまったく縁もゆかりもなかったのですが、こうして林業に取り組むことになりました。
“konoki” started from my fateful encounter with a certain logger. His name is Miura and he is currently the joint representative of konoki.
When I first met him, I learnt a lot about trees as well as the necessity to revive the forest industry. I could feel the passion he had for the industry and hearing him talk inspired me to want to do something to help the forestry industry. Miura’s family has been running a forestry business since his grandfather’s generation. The concept of “drinkable trees” was born from this endless pursuit in the belief of the hidden potential in the forest industry and the value of trees still waiting to be discovered.
From there, we collaborated and together we made this idea of “drinkable trees” into a reality. “konoki” is born out of our desire to spread the beauty of Japanese forests, the charm of the forest industry and the desire to protect the bright future of Japanese loggers.
Truth to be told, I never had any sort of connection with the forestry industry prior to meeting Miura. But as life plays out, this fateful encounter lead me to where I am today.
3)APUでの選択や活動から特に影響されたことはありますか。
During your time at APU, were there any certain activities or choices you made that influenced you majorly?
私は、APU起業部のリソースを積極的に利用しました。実際にAPU起業部で活動する中で、木こりとも出会うことができまた。
I took the initiative to make the most out of the resources provided by the APU Startup Project. After all, it was through the APU startup project that I managed to meet with Miura in the first place.
4)APUの後輩たちに、どうやってAPUにいる時間を充実に過ごせるのかについてのアドバイスはありますか。
Do you have any advice for APU students for them to make the most of their time at APU?
私はよくAPUをbuffetに例えます。APUには、国際環境や、交換留学のサポート、サルク、学生団体など様々な「料理」が用意されてあります。どの料理を自分のお皿にチョイスするかは自分次第です。
かつての私のように、打ち込みたいものが見つからない人は、今自分の身の回りにはどのような料理があり、どれが自分に合うのかを色々試してみると、充実したAPU生活を送れるヒントが見つかると思います！
I often compare APU to a buffet. At APU, there is an abundance of ‘dishes’ available for you to take. These include opportunities like the multicultural environment, study exchange support, SALC, and a variety of student organizations and clubs. It is up to you yourself to choose what ‘dishes’ you want to take and what you want to make the most of. It’s a buffet after all.
For those of you who don’t know what it is you want to do and have no idea what is suitable for you, you are not alone. Back then, I also couldn’t find my own calling. But by being aware of the variety of options around me, I made the effort to try out an assortment of ‘dishes’, which was what helped me reach the point I am at now.
I believe that trying a variety of things is what is most important. Some of these you will hate, some you will love and eventually, you will find something that is just right for you. You won’t know unless you try and that’s what I believe will make your life at APU fulfilling.
5)最後に他に言いたいことはありますか？
Are there any last comments you would like to add?
取り組む分野は違うとしても、お互いAPUファミリーとして頑張っていきましょう！
Even if we are involved with different activities and aspire for different things we are still connected through APU, so let us work hard together!
Thank you very much Koki for sharing your experiences and advice with us. If you are interested, you can find out more about konoki here.