Local people helping you find your way along the coast.

A tourism organization in Karakuwa, Kesennuma City, is strengthening its efforts to provide information to foreign hikers. It is using social media to share information in English about such things as accommodation, food and sightseeing, and is also responding in English to questions sent by travelers.

The initiative comes as more overseas visitors travel along the Michinoku Coastal Trail, a long-distance hiking route running along the Pacific coast of the Tohoku region.

The group is using websites and social media to make practical local information easier for foreign visitors to obtain. Until now, hikers sometimes had difficulty finding information about places to stay, restaurants and transportation because much of the available information was only in Japanese.

By communicating directly with travelers online, the organizers hope visitors will feel more comfortable traveling through the area and will spend more time in the local community.

They also hope that improved communication with overseas visitors will help revitalize tourism in Karakuwa and Kesennuma and encourage more people to visit local shops, restaurants and accommodation facilities.

The café says, “We have only just begun and are still feeling our way, but we want to work so visitors can make use of everything in the area, from tourist attractions to local accommodation and restaurants. We hope we can help as a base where people can stop with confidence even during their journey.”

Half a year has passed since Miyagi Prefecture introduced its accommodation tax on January 13 to secure funding for tourism promotion, and concrete uses for the revenue are now taking shape. In the Kesennuma–Motoyoshi area, it has been decided that 10 million yen will be invested in overnight tours using the Michinoku Coastal Trail.

At the same time, businesses are struggling with fewer travelers due to frequent earthquakes, bear sightings, and the outflow of guests to neighboring prefectures offering lodging discounts. The accommodation tax is being seen as a possible foothold for recovery, but the situation on the ground is mixed with expectation, anxiety, and dissatisfaction.

This fiscal year, the prefecture has budgeted 937 million yen for projects related to the accommodation tax. The projects fall under four measures: strategic tourism-area development, improving secondary transportation for sightseeing circuits, creating a comfortable travel environment, and effective promotion.

One centerpiece is the Tourism Appeal Improvement Promotion Project, which allocates 10 million yen to each of seven regions. In the Kesennuma–Motoyoshi area, the plan is to create overnight tours centered on the Michinoku Coastal Trail. The strategy is first to concentrate on tourism promotion that makes use of the natural environment, then gradually broaden the benefits.

The Michinoku Coastal Trail is a long-distance trail of about 1,000 kilometers, running from Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture to Soma in Fukushima Prefecture. Visitor traffic is concentrated around the Aomori–Iwate section near the starting point, while the Miyagi section has been less lively. The project aims to create reasons for travelers to extend their journey into Miyagi.

Specifically, the area will partner with travel agencies and combine trekking with activities such as learning, playing, and eating. From autumn through winter, they will run four two-day, one-night tour courses from Karakuwa to Minamisanriku. The target customers are trail beginners and seniors from the Sendai metropolitan area and the Kanto region.

The project will also use WhatsApp, a free messaging app used in more than 180 countries, to strengthen information services for foreign travelers and respond to individual inquiries. It will also coordinate with lodging facilities, restaurants, and related businesses.