Visitor Center Exhibitions
Ise-Shima National Park preserves traditional satoyama and satoumi landscapes: forested and coastal areas where human activity has been interwoven with nature in a sustainable, productive way for centuries. Exhibits and videos in the Yokoyama Visitor Center offer an intuitive, immersive presentation of these connections.
A wall of permanent exhibit panels covers key topics about Ise-Shima National Park. One panel explains the park’s geography, from the Kyuikirin, the sacred forest surrounding Ise Jingu Shrine, to the intricate ria coastline and mosaic of islands. Another panel has information about the flora and fauna that thrive in the park. A third panel introduces recreational activities, including mountain trekking and opportunities to hear ama divers talk about their traditional lifestyles over grilled seafood. “Islands” in the center of the space offer exhibits on other topics as well.
The hall has a souvenir shop, a rest area, and a small reference library. Crafting and VR experiences are sometimes held, with details available at the information counter.
Theater room
The theater room provides a more immersive introduction to Ise-Shima National Park’s natural environment. Video screens cover three of the room’s walls as well as the floor, recreating various locations in the park. Visitors can follow ama divers as they harvest abalone and sea cucumbers on rocky seaweed beds, watch binchotan charcoal makers harvest and burn ubame-gashi oak timber, and enjoy many other experiences.
By standing on icons on the floor or placing a hand over those on the walls, visitors can access explanations in their selected language about the animals and plants that live in the areas shown in the video that surrounds them. This lets visitors virtually step inside satoyama and satoumi ecologies and watch how people use and sustainably manage the resources of Ise-Shima National Park.
