Report: Oita Press Tour

Date : December 11 - 12, 2023

post date : 2024.01.09

With the goal of promoting Oita Prefecture’s history and culture, and its initiatives in response to population decline and an aging population, overseas, a press tour was held based on the themes of “No. 1 Onsen Prefecture Oita, with the Most Hot Spring Sources and Highest Hot Spring Water Volume in Japan” and “Community Building to Prepare for Population Decline and an Aging Society.” A total of ten journalists participated in this press tour, from media based out of China, France, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan, Türkiye, the U.S. and Vietnam.

*This press tour was sponsored by Oita Prefecture, and planned and operated by the FPCJ.

*For more details on the tour stops, see the press tour notice.

[Day 1]

<Shichitoui Studio Nanatsumugi>

The journalists visited Shichitoui Studio Nanatsumugi, where they learned about the history, characteristics, and cultivation methods for shichitoui, a plant used to weave tatami mats, from craft artist Ms. Chika Iwakiri, who works with shichitoui, and from Mr. Hiroaki Hayashi, chair of the Kunisaki Shichitoui Promotion Society. The journalists then saw the interior of the studio, where they kept their cameras at the ready as Mr. Hayashi split apart shichitoui stems and Ms. Iwakiri made shimenawa rope decorations and misanga bracelets from shichitoui. The journalists asked questions about how the studio’s business was, the participation of younger generations in the shichitoui industry, and passing on techniques to future generations.

<Bungotakada City—Showa Town>

The journalists heard about the history of the Showa Town shopping arcade as they walked along it led by a guide. They also heard from Mr. Shunji Buto of Hinago Sengyoten and Mr. Katsumi Morikawa of Morikawa Hokokudo, two of people who originally pushed for the Showa Town project, about their stores’ histories and products, along with anecdotes about beginning the project. Mr. Morikawa stated that most of the tourists in Showa Town were Japanese, but a growing number of foreign tourists were also visiting, especially from South Korea and the rest of Asia. The tour also visited Yume Musubi, located in the shopping arcade, and heard from Ms. Riko Hashimoto, who runs it, about the location. The journalists asked her questions about whether there were subsidies for running a children’s cafeteria, and why she decided to relocate to Bungotakada.

<Yunohira Onsen: Yamashiroya>

The tour heard from Mr. Kenji Ninomiya, president of Yamashiroya, about the history of Yunohira Onsen and the stone-paved road along the onsen street, and efforts to provide information in multiple languages, before being shown the ryokan’s guest rooms and indoor and outdoor baths by Mr. Ninomiya. The journalists showed great interest as they photographed the numerous movie posters and Showa retro signs displayed throughout the ryokan. Mr. Ninomiya explained Yamashiroya’s popularity with foreign guests was due not only to factors such as being able to experience the traditional Japanese lifestyle and see classic views of Japanese nature, but also due to the success of efforts to ensure foreign guests can stay comfortably at the ryokan, such as making videos explaining the train route to reach the ryokan and how to wear yukata, and installing TVs with multi-language support in guest rooms.

<Takegawara Onsen>

The journalists visited Takegawara Onsen, famous for the exterior of its building and its sand baths, and learned about sand baths, part of Japanese onsen culture. Members of the Beppu Hatto Onsendo Meijinkai, including its chair, Mr. Junya Hanada, acted as models for the sand baths, with staff covering their entire bodies in sand as the journalists filmed and photographed the process. Next, staff with the Beppu City Onsen Section gave an overview of Takegawara Onsen and explained Japanese onsen culture and the number of foreign tourists since the pandemic. The journalists asked questions about what percentage of users were foreigners, and why since many years ago the municipally-operated onsen had not placed restrictions on people with tattoos entering the onsen.

[Day 2]

<Satonotabi Resort Lodge Kiyokawa>

The journalists visited Lodge Kiyokawa, located by a clear river, and the lodge’s president Mr. Yuki Ezoe gave an overview of its facilities and described the recent sauna boom, as well as new initiatives for stimulating regions with declining and aging populations, and the challenges that exist. The tour then saw the lodge’s accommodations and tent saunas, and filmed and photographed lodge staff Mr. Alex Makoto Fukada as he warmed up in a tent sauna before entering the river. Regarding future plans, Mr. Ezoe said they were always thinking about what they could do to help the local community, and had decided to focus on agriculture, a core industry of Bungo-ono which has nevertheless been declining in recent years, planning to stimulate the industry by transforming agriculture into a tourism resource.

<Takakiya/Hamashima Shuzo Co., Ltd.>

The journalists visited Hamashima Shuzo, with a brewery located in the rural part of Bungo Ono, and were guided around the brewery by its future sixth-generation owner, Mr. Yasuhiro Hamashima. Mr. Hamashima explained the sake-making process, from washing the rice to bottling, and how the company bought farmland from local people who quit farming, and continued to grow rice there. The journalists then visited Takakiya Garden SASARA, a restaurant run by the same company, and enjoined a lunch of original Japanese cuisine made using many fermented food products, before sampling sake at the shop run by the brewery. The journalists asked questions about measures in response to the decline in sake consumption by younger generations, and what led to Mr. Hamashima deciding to take over the family business.

<Minna no Ie Colorful>

The journalists visited Minna no Ie Colorful, a multipurpose community center located in the city of Taketa, and heard from Ms. Yuika Oku, director of the NPO TETO Company, about the activities there, frameworks for local community members to support each other considering the declining birthrate and aging population, and issues with the social welfare system, followed by looking around the facilities. The journalists asked Ms. Oku about the kind of people who gathered in the facility, their reasons for using it, and what circumstances led to establishing Minna no Ie Colorful. In response to a question about whether the facility was responding to the needs of the region, Ms. Oku said that although she thought it was difficult for a single facility to do so, many people came to see how the facility worked, and by passing on their knowhow similar facilities could be made in different areas, meeting the needs as they spread.

<Inazumi Underwater Cave>

The journalists visited Inazumi Underwater Cave, Japan’s largest underwater cave, and heard from Mr. Ken Takahashi, the person behind Bungo-Ono becoming a “sauna city” and the director of the Outdoor Sauna Council’s Onsen Prefecture Ii Sauna Lab, about the Sauna Expo held in the city and other initiatives to stimulate the local economy based on outdoor saunas, and about foreign tourists visiting. The journalists then entered the cave, and heard from the cave’s chief manager about the characteristics of the underwater cave as they walked along. The journalists also had the chance to film and photograph cave staff cooling down in the cave’s waters after warming up in a tent sauna set up outside.