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優秀賞（個人の部）

寺西 未有さん　Ms. Miyu Teranishi
東京理科大学 経営学部 経営学科 ２年

Theme02
外国人観光客に日本の夜をアピール！

Miyu Teranishi

6,852: What do you think this number refers to? It refers to the number of islands in Japan. When you count both inhabited as well as uninhabited islands, the total is this many islands.

So, today I would like to focus on and talk about just one of those 6,852 islands, called “Hachijo Island.”

This is an aerial view of Hachijo Island. It’s somewhat similar to this shape, don’t you think? Does anybody know what this is? It’s a type of fruit called “gourd.” In Japanese, we call it “hyōtan.” As the name might reveal to some of you, the NHK’s children’s puppet show “Hyokkori Hyoutanjima” was actually based on Hachijo Island.

So, today I would like to talk to all of you about Hachijo Island, and more specifically, I would like to propose a new and highly innovative nighttime sightseeing tour that could turn Hachijo Island’s natural grandeur into a potential late-night tourist attraction.

Here is my new idea. If we can achieve the following - a tour in which people can gaze at the stars while savoring the island’s vast natural nighttime beauty and participate in simple activities like yoga. I believe it’s possible to create a truly enchanting experience. The tour I’m proposing is the kind of nighttime sightseeing that can make this “enchanting experience” a reality. This is no longer just traveling; it’s adventure.

This is today’s plan. First, let’s take a look at exactly what’s involved in our adventure. Since just verbally explaining everything is kind of boring, so I would now like everyone here to experience our adventure tour on the screen here. Ready? Go!

We can get to Hachijo Island either by ferry or by plane, but it’s better to take a ferry from Tokyo to Hachijo Island. You’ll know why soon enough. We depart Tokyo at 10:30 p.m. When we take a ferry, it’s possible to savor Tokyo’s stunning night views, like the Rainbow Bridge, and since the arrival time is the following morning at 8:30 a.m., so we have plenty of time to enjoy the ride.

After we arrive, it looks like there is plenty of tourist spots to enjoy during the daytime. However, don’t you think it would be a real shame if we spent the whole night in a hotel and missed seeing Hachijo Island’s beautiful nightscapes?

This is the night schedule and the map on the right is a topographic map of Hachijo Island. At 5 p.m., we’ll get on a bus and first head to the Osaka Tunnel Observatory. Here, we can get a magnificent view of the sunset. Watching the sun disappear below the horizon is a truly sublime experience.

After we’ve enjoyed the splendid view, let’s enjoy some of Hachijo Island’s delicious food. Hachijo Island is known for a specialty called “Ashitaba.” The Chinese character means “tomorrow” and “leaf” in English. Ashitaba draws its name from its remarkable regenerative ability. It is said that when picked one day, it will grow back by the next day. When Ashitaba is kneaded into udon, the result is “Ashitaba Udon,” which is my personal recommendation.

After we finish eating, it’s time to get on the bus again and head to Mt. Hachijo-fuji. Let’s make our way up the mountain and do some light yoga at the summit. Perhaps some of you heard the word “mountain” and are now worried about how difficult it might be to climb. Well, don’t worry! It’s possible to go over three-quarter of the way up the mountain by bus.

The mountain path includes stairs along its gentle slopes, and there are also handrails. Oh! Many elderly folks use this path in addition to preschool students who come here for field trips. So, basically, you don’t need to worry at all about climbing the mountain. We’ll illuminate the path with flashlights as we slowly and leisurely walk for about an hour to the summit.

At the summit, a whole new world unfolds before us. This magnificent spot commands a panoramic view of the vast Pacific Ocean. Here at the summit, everyone can participate in yoga for 40 minutes. After enjoying yoga at the summit, we can descend the whole mountain in just 50 minutes. Our next stop is the ocean.

By the way, is anyone here familiar with SUP? SUP stands for “Stand Up Paddle,” and this is a SUP board. Stand up paddle surfing is a new kind of water sports in which one is free to either stand up or lie down on the board. The board features outstanding buoyancy and support. Since this kind of sport doesn’t require strength and technique that normal surfing necessitates and it’s possible for even inexperienced beginners to have fun. SUP has been enjoying huge popularity worldwide in the last few years.

Although Hachijo Island’s best spots to experience SUP have remained unknown, so today I would like to reveal to just you, ladies and gentlemen, where the best SUP spot is. Let’s check it out!

This is Yaene Port. It’s just 20 minutes bus ride from Mt. Hachijo-fuji. As you can see from this photo, it’s very easy to access the water from this particular spot. Since there is a huge embankment, the waves in the vicinity tend to be calm, even on windier days and there is a lot of space and no large rocks in the water, so it’s extremely safe. Nevertheless, perhaps some of you might be worried about entering the water in the darkness of night! Don’t worry! I have a great idea to address just this.

If you attach an LED light to the bottom part of the SUP board just like this, it will illuminate your immediate vicinity. Now, if we were to install these special LED lights underwater and ride our SUP boards over them, what would that look like? Wow! As you can see, a magical, enchanting world lies in wait. Let’s just remember to turn off the lights when we are finished! When the lights go out, we’ll get to see the whole sky glittering with millions of stars.

Next, we’ll chauffeur all participants to their accommodation. I hope everyone had a wonderful time!

By the way, I focused on Hachijo Island’s nighttime sightseeing possibility so far, but what do the island’s locals think of all this?

To answer this question, I gave a questionnaire to all students attending Hachijo High School. In response to the question, “Would you like foreign tourists to come to Hachijo Island?” about 90% answered, “Yes, we would.” Many of those who answered “yes” hoped that more people from abroad would get to know their island better. Since normally, there are so few opportunities for locals to meet people from abroad and many also expressed the hope that this would give them a rare opportunity to speak with foreigners.

Thus, I came up with the following idea: For the first part of the tour - this climbing portion - we’ll have a few local students accompany us for our adventure. It’s important to facilitate interaction between foreigners and the locals. For local high school students, the opportunity to successfully understand and be understood in English or other languages will definitely be the valuable and unforgettable experience.

Lastly, I would like to speak about what kind of visitors we are hoping to attract.

First, the main kinds of visitors we want to attract are tourists in Tokyo. According to data provided by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, tourists who visit Tokyo occupy 48% of all foreign tourists who visit Japan. Thus, foreigners visit Tokyo more than any other part of Japan. In addition, foreign tourists in Tokyo spend on average 6 nights and 7 days in the metropolis. So, this long period of stay surpasses the number of days foreigners spent in other parts of Japan.

I thought hard about what would be the most fun, unique thing to experience for a tourist spending a week in Tokyo that wouldn’t necessitate long periods of travel, and ultimately I came up with today’s plan and mainly, I would like to attract the tourists who are interested in this nighttime adventure tour.

I hope that everyone can see the firsthand the precious natural beauty of this island. I promise to show you an extraordinary world which will surpass your imagination!

Just one island out of Japan’s 6,852 islands - that’s “Hachijo Island.”

Ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for your time today and I would be honored to answer any questions.

Thank you very much!