Hello! We are interns of “WANDER COMPASS BEPPU” (Abbreviated as “WCB”), the Beppu Station Tourist Information Center located in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture.

From September 2023 to the following six months, we have been passionately working on our mission: “Proposing Beppu tourism for inbound foreign travelers.” In this article, we’d like to reflect on what we saw, learned, and felt during our internship.

Below are the articles we wrote in September and October 2023, introducing the hidden charms of Beppu that we discovered. We hope you’ll enjoy reading them!

▶ Hide-and-seek Beppu: Unravel hidden Beppu (link to article)

▶︎Beppu relaxing weather on an E-bike (link to article)

*This article is divided into Part I and Part II, and this article is Part I.

In preparation for our mission, we conducted interviews at WCB to see if there were any problems that inbound travelers were facing in Beppu tourism. As a result of our interviews while interacting with many travelers, we came up with three issues and findings.

In WCB, we have encountered one particular challenge. While we suggest tourism to travelers who want to sightsee around Beppu Station, it is hard to find a variety of activities beyond shopping and dining, limiting the available tourist content in terms of experiential activities.

One day, a Taiwanese traveler asked us for recommendations around Beppu Station. We introduced them to shopping and restaurant options. However, they inquired, “Are there any other recommended places for sightseeing?” As we considered other suggestions, they remarked, “It isn’t anything around here. I searched online, but there’s nothing here except Onsens.”

Many have said, “There is nothing except Onsens in Beppu.” Before we came to Beppu and started our new life there, we had the same thoughts as those people; however, in the six months we were involved in an intern activity to explore Beppu’s charms, we had changed our minds thoroughly. There are many fun facts in Beppu and many exciting places to explore! Based on this spirit, we became eager to convey the beauty of Beppu to more and more people.

Our surveys showed us that approximately 80% of travelers were visiting the “Jigoku Meguri (Hell Tour)”. In our daily observations, we repeatedly witnessed long lining up at the bus stops heading to the Hell Tour. This realization led us to hypothesize, ‘Could over-tourism potentially become an issue in the future due to the popularity of the Hell Tour?’

We carried out field research at the “7 Hells” to confirm our hypothesis. After analyzing the tour conditions and interviewing travelers, we did not find any common problems related to overtourism, such as sanitation issues or excessive noise, during the “7 Hells” experience. We conducted on-site research at the “7 Hells” to verify this hypothesis. After examining the tour conditions and conducting interviews with travelers, we found no typical issues related to over-tourism, such as sanitation concerns or excessive noise, throughout the “7 Hells” experience.

During our interviews with tour guides who cater to Chinese tourist groups visiting the Umi Jigoku (Blue Hell), we made an unexpected discovery. One of the tour guides expressed the opinion that Beppu Tours is primarily known for the Jigoku Meguri, and apart from that, there is little popularity, and there are no other places worth visiting. We were shocked to hear this statement since we found several charming places in Beppu.

The unexpected discovery highlighted the importance of improving overall satisfaction with Beppu tourism for travelers.

During the interviews, we asked our interviewers about the reasons for their visit to Beppu. While most cited reasons such as easy access from Fukuoka and Beppu being a popular stop on the Kyushu sightseeing route because of its Onsen culture.

We started to generate ideas about how to let tourists experience Beppu’s onsen culture immersively besides seeing and taking baths in Onsen. 

In our field study, we visited Takachiho City in Miyazaki Prefecture and Aso City in Kumamoto Prefecture. Takachiho is renowned for its stunning natural landscapes, while Aso is known for its magnificent mountain scenery.

On the first day, we traveled to Takachiho and had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Iihoshi, who has been instrumental in organizing the traditional Kagura performances for inbound travelers, showcasing the unique culture of Takachiho.

（Takachiho’s tourism improvment case in Japanese：「来てほしい人に来てもらう仕組み作り」高千穂町観光協会が実践するマーケティングの取り組み｜地域の取り組み事例｜JNTO（日本政府観光局） ）

Takachiho-no-Yokagura is a Shinto ritual that has been dedicated to Ujigami-sama (a local god) from November to February for each settlement since a long time ago. For the people who cannot enjoy Takachiho-no-Yokagura, the leading 4 episodes are performed from 8 pm to 9 pm at Takachiho Shrine Kagura-den Hall throughout the year. The first three episodes (The Dance of Tajikarao, Uzume, Totori) are based on Iwato Mythology. The dance of Goshitai is a dance of a married couple (Izanagi and Izanami) living happily together. It expresses a prayer for a rich harvest, happy marriage, smooth delivery, and pregnancy.（Reference：高千穂神楽のご案内 ）

This time, we were lucky to have experienced the full episode of Yokagura; it was our first time and remained a really great memory.

On the second day, we enjoyed Kunimigaoka, Takachiho Shrine, and TakachihoGorge.

(The photo captures the beauty of Takachiho Gorge while we enjoyed a boat ride)

On the third day of our trip, we traveled to Aso City and took part in an exciting activity known as the “BOKUYA RIDE EXPERIENCE”. We rode electric bicycles and explored the grasslands of Aso, which was truly exhilarating. During our visit, we also had the opportunity to learn about the conservation efforts being made to preserve the declining grassland areas from the representatives of the Ministry of the Environment.（reference：Speeding through the Aso Grasslands on an E-Bike! Our Bokuya Ride Experience | The Official Kumamoto Prefecture Website）

We had visited Aso several times before, but experiencing the grasslands of Aso on mountain bikes was a first for us. It allowed us to feel much closer to the land and truly experience the beauty of Aso in a way that driving couldn’t provide.

After our “Bokuya Ride (Grazing Ride)” experience, we had an opportunity to interact with representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and learn about the current state of Aso’s grasslands. They shed light on the challenges faced by the region due to the reduced demand for grasslands as agricultural land, which has resulted in difficulties in their management. We were also made aware of the various initiatives undertaken to address these issues through tourism activities, including the recruitment of volunteers and engaging travelers in the conservation efforts of Aso.

We had many opportunities to interact with local people during the field study. We experienced the cultural tradition during the Kagura performances, where locals generously provided meals and conversed with us.

We had an unexpected interaction that gave us the joy of engaging with local people and hearing firsthand information about the challenges and dedication involved in living in Takachiho and organizing the Kagura performances. It was an opportunity for us to feel like being an integral community member.

This field study provided us with valuable learning opportunities. Not only were we able to address the challenges faced by inbound travelers but we were also able to focus on the betterment of the city, residents, and travelers involved. The study allowed us to gain valuable insights into the initiatives aimed at integrating local experiences with tourism and helped us broaden our perspective when it comes to addressing regional challenges. We have already begun working on our project and are currently in the process of crafting plans based on the knowledge gained during the study

Through our previous activities, we have developed the “Onsen Guardian” project, centered around three key perspectives: “Creating activities around Beppu Station,” “Introducing new local experiences to enhance satisfaction,” and “Raising awareness of local issues.” In a nutshell, the Onsen Guardian project offers inbound travelers the opportunity to experience and protect Beppu’s hot spring culture through participation in local hot spring cleaning activities.

The idea to enhance travelers’ satisfaction to Japan while supporting the local community was born through repeated discussions. This idea was actually inspired by a local hot spring cleaning volunteer event organized by the Hot Spring Masters Association, as mentioned in the “Leisurely Beppu with E-Bikes” article. During the volunteer event, the association managing the hot springs highlighted a manpower shortage for cleaning all the local hot springs due to an aging population, making maintenance difficult. In order to address this issue, it was proposed to offer hot spring cleaning as a local experience for visitors to Japan, potentially increasing satisfaction with Beppu tourism. Moreover, it was believed that this initiative could have a positive impact on local hot springs as well.

Our target is visitors to Japan, but we set up a profile to narrow down the targets that might be interested in the Onsen Guardian plan. Our tour targets foreign travelers who want to interact with the local people in Beppu. Among them, we set up a persona for travelers in Europe, America, and Australia in the 30s.

After setting up a persona, we decided on the details of the plan in specific. The concept is a local experience (an experience that can only be done in Beppu), and the main contents are a cleaning experience at a local Onsen and the first bath. The experience of  Beppu’s onsen culture makes travelers feel the value of a local experience. Also, from the experience, we put our expectation that people would be interested in the current situation of local Onsens.

From the perspective of “three-way good points,” we aimed to reduce the burden on people who clean the Onsen. We also planned to offer local products such as Beppu retro towels, Midori milk (Oita local brand milk), and Onsen eggs as souvenirs for travelers, aiming to revitalize the local economy even a little.

In order to give the impression that cleaning Onsen can immerse themselves in the world of `Ghibli`, we have created a device to make them feel more experienced, including wearing `Yukata` and making onigiri.

In developing the plan, there were challenges with creating a specific image of the Onsen cleaning and obtaining cooperation from the local onsen to carry out the plan.

In order to increase the specificity, we received advice from many Onsen experts such as the city hall’s Onsen Division, the head of a local Onsen association, and the Onsen Masters Association. In fact, we also were able to have the opportunity to observe the usual Onsen cleaning site.

We also had the opportunity to speak with the union leaders of several local Onsen thanks to their cooperation. However, We got a negative opinion from the experts. They said participants should be serious about cleaning Onsen because this tour could break down the cleaning workers` routine.

We had a strong desire to create something beneficial for both travelers and the local community. However, we realized that we had overlooked the perspective of considering aspects from the standpoint of local residents. At the same time, we keenly felt the challenges of starting something new.

BEPPU ONSEN GUARDIAN could solve the problem of the need for more cleaning labor at the local onsen and innovate the Onsen scene in Beppu by providing travelers with a unique sightseeing experience. However, this solution does not bring tangible benefits to current local Onsens but rather challenges.

Using our plan as a PowerPoint, we received some advice from travelers, local people, Beppu Onsen masters, and Wonder Compass staff and revised it several times. After that, we looked for Onsen around Beppu Station where we could experience cleaning, by contacting and having meetings. As a result, the contents of the tour were changed due to the possibility of breaking down the cleaning routine for those who were originally cleaning onsen and causing inconvenience to customers. We decided to cancel the Onsen cleaning experience and change to the experience of making onigiri, and increase the time of Onsen tours.

Three demonstration tours were held to determine the contents of the tour and its price, and to understand the reactions of travelers.

Unfortunately, despite reflecting on our insights and efforts, we were unable to make the plan for “Beppu Onsen Guardian” come true. However, we have maintained the mission of “Creating activities around Beppu Station,” “Introducing new local experiences to enhance satisfaction,” and “Raising awareness of local issues” and have developed a new plan. With the new plan of “Beppu Onsen Wawo,” we wonder if it will truly provide valuable experiences that enhance the satisfaction of inbound travelers and contribute to the achievement of our mission. Stay tuned for the outcome in our next update.

▶︎Article : “WANDER COMPASS BEPPU Second-Term Internship: A Compass for Life“