Shimane University — Students at Shimane University have produced English-language tourism materials introducing Mihonoseki, a historic port district in Matsue, in an ambitious effort to revitalise local tourism.
The initiative was part of a university tourism seminar. The students said Mihonoseki has distinct attractions, including its historic coastal townscape, seafood from the Sea of Japan, and long-standing religious traditions. However, they identified three key challenges to attracting more international visitors: transport access, multilingual information and external promotion.
Japan Tourism Agency data cited in the seminar showed Shimane’s inbound visitor share at 0.02%, the lowest among Japan’s 47 prefectures.
As part of the project, the team produced an English brochure and leaflet featuring maps, access information and photographs to help overseas travellers explore the area more easily.
The brochure is titled Glimpses of Unfamiliar Mihonoseki, an homage to Lafcadio Hearn’s Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan.
Mei Kashiwa, a first-year student from Osaka Prefecture majoring in bioresources, said she joined the programme because she was interested in both tourism and her field of study.
“Shimane has the lowest number of overseas visitors in Japan,” she said. “I wanted to help change that.”
Mire Yoshimatsu, a second-year student from Yamaguchi Prefecture, said layout design was the most difficult part of the work.
“We prioritised design quality so that the materials would be easy to read and appealing to overseas readers,” she said.
Dustin Kidd, a lecturer in Shimane University’s Faculty of Education who supervised the English text, said the students were slow to start but later became proactive.
“Once they got going, they began researching Mihonoseki on their own,” he said.
The completed materials are scheduled to be distributed at the Mihonoseki branch of the Matsue Tourism Association, the tourist information centre at Matsue Station, and other tourism and accommodation facilities in the city, to support inbound tourism in Shimane Prefecture.
ーWords by Takashi Saito