Photo/Illutration Diego Cosa Fernandez in Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, in May (Photo by Takeshi Kamiya)

OZU, Ehime Prefecture--At 188 centimeters tall, Diego Cosa Fernandez cuts quite a striking and popular figure here. 

“Here comes Mr. World’s No. 1,” children cheered at the sight of the 45-year-old Spaniard. 

Ozu in March won first place in the culture and tradition category of the Green Destinations Story Awards, which are conferred on the world’s sustainable tourism development initiatives by a Dutch-based international certification body.

Cosa Fernandez, who speaks proficient English and French in addition to his mother tongue, was the central figure that helped lift Ozu to the world’s top status.

He is the director of the architecture and culture research department with Kita Management, a destination marketing organization affiliated with the Ozu city government.

Community revitalization efforts in the castle town, which include refurbishing old private houses into hotels and cafes, were given high marks for helping to preserve the townscape, create jobs and make the local economy circular.

A native of Valencia in eastern Spain, Cosa Fernandez learned about Japanese culture while he worked for a Parisian architectural design firm.

He was an international student with the Hosei University graduate school in Tokyo, working on the subject of water and the city, in 2019, when he came to live in Ozu, enchanted by its nature and culture.

Ozu, also known as the “little Kyoto of Iyo,” where "Iyo" was the name of a former province that corresponds to today’s Ehime Prefecture, previously prospered on trade in sumac wax and raw silk.

Part of those products were exported to Western countries, but the trade waned in a time span of only several decades.

The city was later left behind by postwar development, which, however, kept its old private houses from being demolished.

“I am here to restore the ties between Ozu and the rest of the world,” Cosa Fernandez said as he looked over the Hijikawa river, which once carried sumac wax that was bound for overseas.

And he shared his thoughts on what constitutes genuine sustainability.

“Making new things is not everything,” he said in fluent Japanese. “You should find value in what you have today. Perhaps that is particularly essential for Japan, which is expected to continue waning in economic power amid depopulation.”