BCCJ Member Spotlight: Shigenobu Kawakubo (Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau)

With tourist arrivals to Japan this year set to surpass the record highs of 2019, travel stakeholders across the country are stepping up efforts to ensure inbound visitors can experience more of Japan’s less well known destinations.

Kagoshima, in southern Kyushu, is among the prefectures hoping to attract more international travellers as Japan embraces its ongoing tourism growth.

The British Chamber of Commerce in Japan spoke to Shigenobu Kawakubo, head of Kagoshima Prefectural Visitors Bureau (KPVB), to learn more about how and why Kagoshima Prefecture is welcoming more overseas visitors.

What is the role of the KPVB?

The KPVB was established in 1948 to contribute to the development of the local economy by revitalising Kagoshima. The prefecture faces many challenges, including population decline caused by an ageing population and labour shortages, but we hope tourism will help us tackle those challenges and empower local people to thrive.

What are some of the core aspects of your work?

Our vision as an organisation is to make Kagoshima a destination that appeals to travellers from all over the world. To achieve this, our mission is to create somewhere where visitors want to come, regardless of cost.

To implement this business strategy, we are formulating a plan called “Japan Quality Kagoshima,” indicating our intention to make Kagoshima synonymous with high-quality tourism in Japan.

Team members are developing sales activities and events overseas, inviting travel agencies and media to Kagoshima, and disseminating information through social media in South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Europe, the United States and Australia, as well as cruise markets.

The UK & Kagoshima

Since joining the BCCJ in 2018, the KPVB has been honoured and excited to contribute to the strengthening of Anglo–Japanese ties, particularly given the long history between the UK and Kagoshima.

Our relationship with the UK began with the Anglo-Satsuma War, a military engagement in Kinko Bay, Kagoshima Prefecture, that lasted three days in August 1863. The settlement related to this war led to the establishment of a close relationship between the UK and Kagoshima, and became a great opportunity for the modernization of the prefecture.

In 1865, 19 young people, most of them teenagers, departed for the UK on a ship owned by Nagasaki-based Scottish merchant Thomas Glover. Their goal was to acquire Western knowledge through the study of technology. They became known as the Satsuma Students, a nod to the old name for Kagoshima Prefecture, and went on to make great contributions to Japan and the world.

Today, Kagoshima is home to tourism sites that introduce the students’ journey, experiences and later accomplishments. They include the Satsuma Students Museum and Satsuma Eikoku Kan (Satsuma–British Museum).

What’s special about Kagoshima?

Kagoshima stretches 600 km north to south, from the southernmost mainland of Kyushu to the Amami Islands. The prefecture is home to diverse cultures, customs, and culinary delights, nurtured by beautiful nature including volcanoes, oceans, islands and highlands.

In the midst of this natural bounty, visitors can enjoy a vast range of physical activities such as SUP, hiking, fishing and yoga, as well as lots of opportunities for wellness including bathing in naturally hot sand. Kagoshima also boasts some of the best wagyu beef and incredibly fresh fish and seafood.

The prefecture is home to two of Japan’s UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites: Yakushima and Amami-Oshima/Tokunoshima. Visitors can take part in unique experiences here that create memories for a lifetime and help pass on the irreplaceable nature to the next generation.

Whether visitors are looking for a relaxing holiday or a spontaneous weekend accessible by a low-cost-carrier, Kagoshima is the perfect destination, offering a Japan yet to be discovered! Our goal at the KPVB is to create and support tourism offerings that will allow trips here to put smiles on faces!

What’s new in Kagoshima?

Satsumasendai’s Great Tug of War has been designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Asset of Japan. The traditional event, held annually for the past 425 years, involves 3,000 men (1,500 on each side) pulling a rope that is 365 meters long and weighs 7 tons, making it one of the largest and most exciting festivals in the country. The entire day has a carnival atmosphere, starting with the making of the rope from early morning. At night, the ceremony, followed by the sight of the two teams colliding during the struggle, is a must-see.

Further north, Kirishima Jingu Station, the gateway to Kirishima Jingu Shrine, a designated National Treasure, has been renewed. The wooden station, reminiscent of Kirishima Jingu Shrine, has been transformed into a bar where visitors can enjoy Kagoshima craft whiskey, a gallery in a stone warehouse, and a store introducing craftsmen’s handiwork, making it a destination spot in its own right. The station is 7 km from Kirishima Jingu Shrine, and many visitors arrive by public transport to enjoy the walk to the shrine.

In Kagoshima City, Sheraton Kagoshima celebrated its first anniversary in May 2024. From this modern accommodation it is only a 15-minute stroll to the Kagomma Furusato Yataimura, a grouping of food and drink stalls selling local favourites in the basement of Kagoshima Chuo Station Terminal. It’s a place where visitors can taste the unique flavours of each part of Kagoshima and enjoy the friendly local atmosphere.

Of course, Kagoshima Prefecture also continues to see the development of more ryokans, camping and glamping, too, enabling visitors to stay in a way that suits them.