Relay Talk

I live in Takamatsu City, which had a prosperous history as a castle town. Traces of this time can still be seen today in the shopping street, which is considered to be the longest in Japan.

With its central location and the fact that many of my classmates had parents who owned shops here, the shopping street essentially served as a playground for us on weekends. I have fond memories of how much fun it was to see my friends and their parents on my way home from school every day and how I couldn’t leave without stopping by.

Another feature of Takamatsu is how close it is to the sea. Some of my classmates commuted to school from Megijima Island across the sea, and I remember feeling quite envious that they were able to take a ferry to school.

I wonder how surprised the islanders at that time would feel today, with modern art pieces dotting the islands in the Seto Inland Sea and tourists from all over Japan and the world visiting this area to admire them.

But, not everything is good; there are still some challenges.

As people involved in the tourism industry, we cannot ignore, for example, the adverse effects of overtourism (rapid rise in tourists) on the lives of local residents.

Crowded boats and buses and an increase in the amount of garbage brought to remote islands where there is a lack of infrastructure, in particular, have become matters of life or death.

As a child raised in this area, I want to do something about this situation, and it is with this desire that I am now engaged in my own work.

The tourism industry was depleted after being forced into a period of stagnation for three years due to the long-lasting effects of COVID-19 pandemic. However, if we look at this in a new light, it was also a turning point in the shift from a business model that focused on “quantity” to one that emphasizes “quality.”

I am committed to helping transform Takamatsu into a sustainable city from the perspective of tourism to create an area that is friendly to both local residents and tourists.