Company

Hiroshima attracts a large number of foreign tourists every year. In 2014, the number of foreign tourists who came to visit Hiroshima exceeded 1 million, and from that point the number continued to increase every year. In 2019 the number reached 2.76 million, making it one of the top cities in Japan in terms of the number of foreign visitors. However, the tourism industry took a huge hit in 2020 due to the Corona pandemic, which resulted in the number of tourists plummeting. This was a major blow to Hiroshima Prefecture, which had previously continued to grow rapidly in the tourism industry.

However, the challenge of rebuilding the tourism industry is not only something that is being faced in Japan, it is something that is being faced all over the world. Here at Wako we wanted to help serve the city by potraying the many attractive parts of Hiroshima to foreign people, through the eyes of those living here. So, at the start of 2020 we teamed up with a group of 10 foreigners living in Japan to start devloping this project.

The first phase of this project will be a web media creation titled “Joy in Hiroshima”, which will be released in 2021. The concept of this is “a travel story that digs deep into Hiroshima” as stories are told from the perspective of both foreigners living in Hiroshima and residents of Hiroshima Prefecture.

Together, foreigners living in Hiroshima, members of Wako who have grown up with the city, as well as Japanese writers who are also Hiroshima residents, will work together to tell stories that portray the wonders of Hiroshima to both foreigners who are already living in Japan, and foreigners from all around the world who want to visit Japan in the future, despite the difficult circumstances currently being faced.

At Wako we will continue to look to the future, not only in Hiroshima Prefecture, but also in other prefectures in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, using Hiroshima as a hub, so that we can contribute to and help many local communities.