A chance to feed the famous seabirds and Japan’s economy enticed 25-year-old Hiromi Suzuki and her brother Keita, 23, to travel from their home in Kanagawa prefecture near Tokyo to the pine-clad islets of Matsushima Bay.
"We got a hotel in nearby Sendai because they had an earthquake earlier; we thought this was a good destination to come to as a family," said Keita Suzuki.
Matsushima Bay, which has long been considered among Japan’s top three scenic destinations, was hit by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. Although damage at the bay was relatively light compared with other attractions near Sendai, tsunami waves reached from nearly five feet to above 12 feet in places, said Kyuichiro Sato, president of the Matsushima Tourist Association.
"This was the biggest tourist attraction in the Miyagi prefecture. But after the quake people stopped coming," said Sato, whose own home was swept away by the waves — fueling his determination to anchor the country’s tourism.
Japan tourism promotions aimed at stimulating travel as a way to improve the economy and get the country back to normal could change Matsushima’s tourism course for the better as it also helps improve Hawaii’s visitor arrivals from Japan.
Before the disaster, Matsushima Bay received 3.7 million visitors from 78 countries annually and about 600,000 of them would stay overnight, Sato said. Matsushima Bay tourism began picking up at the end of April 2011 when the boat tours restarted, but Sato said arrivals have only recovered to 70 percent of what they were before.
Still, travelers like the Suzuki family are responding to efforts by the Japanese government, tourism officials and private investors to get residents traveling both within the country and outbound to pump money into the economy.
"The Japan Tourism Agency has tried to stop self-restraint and support travel," said Shuichi Kameyama, director of the International Tourism Promotion Division for the Japan Tourism Agency.
The agency has implored businesses to get their workers to take vacations for personal renewal and to help Japan get back to normal, Kameyama said.
"People have the right to take 20 days on average, but most only use 50 percent. They are hesitant about the effect on their colleagues and some think it makes a bad impression," he said.
Although Japan has a "workaholic" culture, the campaigns have spurred travel, Kameyama said. The need to reduce energy usage at work also has caused vacations to rise, he said.
"Some businesses will ask their staff to take one- or two-week vacations when it gets hot and humid in the summer," said David Asanuma, director of community relations for JTB Hawaii Inc., which controls about a third of Hawaii’s wholesale Japan travel market.
Last year, Hawaii saw power-conserving visitors coming from Japan’s affected regions like Sendai and Tokyo, Asanuma said.
"This year they are coming from places like Osaka, which are also suffering power shortages," he said.
Outbound travel also increased due to the Japan Thank You campaign, which encourages Japanese people to show their appreciation to those who helped, Kameyama said.
"People now understand that the support was overwhelming to Japan and the Japanese people," said Mamoru Kobori, executive director of marketing and promotion for the Japan National Tourism Organization.
"Sometimes Japan is an insular country and people feel it’s independent, but actually the food and the culture and businesses are interlinked to all the international communities and people have realized the importance of those bonds," Kobori said.
The new mindset and the continued strength of the yen contributed to a 21.4 percent increase in outbound travel from Japan between March 2011 and March 2012, Kobori said.
"Many in the industry anticipate that the country could break its 17 million-traveler benchmark this year," he said.
JTB Hawaii President Keiichi Tsujino said travel for Golden Week during the spring fared better than last year and the trend remains positive.
Japan’s improving economy also could bring more business incentive groups to Hawaii, Tsujino said. "Hawaii is still the destination of dreams," he said.
A post-disaster emphasis on kizuna, the Japanese word for bond, has increased travel for weddings and other events that bring people closer, said David Uchiyama, vice president of brand management for the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.
"Not only for Japan, but for the rest of the world, the value of the family relationship was heightened," Uchiyama said.
Hawaii also has benefited from the perception that it is a safe destination, Uchiyama said.
The ties that exist with Hawaii because of the state’s quick response to Japan’s needs and because of family bonds going back to the immigration of Japanese plantation workers are among other variables that have strengthened tourism, he said.
"We started to regain our positioning last August and September," Uchiyama said. "But the last few months have been phenomenal. We are exceeding 2010 levels and our year-over-year targets."
Japan arrivals to Hawaii are about 7 percent above target, he said. More than 639,000 Japan visitors came to the islands through June this year, Uchiyama said.
Likewise, per-person-per-day spending by visitors from Japan has risen to about $304 through June compared with $284 during the same period last year. "That’s higher than our $298 per-day target," Uchiyama said.
Changing attitudes toward spending, increased airlift between Japan and Hawaii, and the continued strength of the yen also could contribute to greater tourism gains in the islands, he said.
"There’s pent-up demand," Uchiyama said.
Hawaii has seen some of the Japan travelers who turned to Southeast Asia in 2006 and 2007 when price points in the isles were increasing come back into the market, he said.
"They’ve tried Southeast Asia and they realize it’s not Hawaii," Uchiyama said. "I’d say the outlook for Japan is very, very promising."
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About this series: Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Allison Schaefers recently traveled to Japan as part of the Foreign Press Center/Japan Fellowship Program. During her time there, Schaefers examined Hawaii-Japan connections as the nation continues to recover from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
