Matsue – Sustainable Development Goals(after this SDGs) has become popular today. SDGs was adopted in the 50th plenary session of the United Nations in 2015. Shimane is no exception to SDGs. Kaori Inoue, a Matsue woman, is engaged in her sustainable development activities: a skyrocket for medical workers to express her appreciation regarding the fight against the covid-19, a cleanup activity on a beach, and reviving a traditional Matsue’s ferry boat operation.
Notably, she and her colleagues(members of Dokkoi Sha, a community enhancement group) are trying to revive the city’s cultural heritage: the operating a small ferry boat across the Ohashi River, Yada Ferry. The ferry craft has been working since the Japanese mythological era. Once, the boats were indispensable for residents to live in, but modernization in the 20century caused the boat operations to downsize. Now, only one boat keeps its operation and faces difficulty surviving. The challenging situation as they are, Kaori tries to develop a campsite at an uninhabited island in the river so the boat can ferry guests to the camp location.
Kaori was born and raised in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka. Having learned English in China, she worked in Kyoto for years, known for its tradition and history. One day, she decided to move to Shimane to find her new life. This Kyushu woman preferred the prefecture because her father is from a town in Shimane. The familiarity with Shimane made her apply as a member of the Local Vitalization Cooperator(Chiiki Okoshi Kyoryoku Tai), which consists of incomers from urban areas such as Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Kyoto to suburban areas like Shimane to develop the sites. Kaori has been trying to tackle social problems in Shimane based on SDGs, and local people count much on her engagement and contribution. Kaori’s challenges continue.
Yada Ferry
10 Asakumi Matsue, Shimane
6900834
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