A Proposal for Open Data of Sightseeing Event Information
Keywords:
Open Data, Sightseeing Events, Data Management, Web Applications

Mayu URATA, Nagoya University
Kazuma OGISHIMA, Nagoya University
Mana FUKUYASU, Nagoya University
Mamoru ENDO, Nagoya University
Takami YASUDA, Nagoya University

Abstract
Development events and application contests are held in various locations as a way to promote
open data, and have demonstrated results to an extent. Promotions of open data by basic units ofgovernment require implementation of open data into daily municipal services upon considering
the acceptability of local governments, and not merely launching the above measures intensively
in the short term. Nevertheless, many local governments are promoting open data with limited
human resources and budget amid vast operations. Following such circumstances, the researchattempted to create open data and develop applications from sightseeing events hosted by local
governments with the objective to establish open data promotion in conventional municipal
operations. Using the sightseeing events hosted by local governments as case examples, theresearch attempted to create open data from organizing data from pamphlets distributed by local
governments. The data was leveraged to develop an application for mobile devices that guideusers through sightseeing events, and its demonstration experiment using this application was
conducted at the “Dai 15 kai Arukou! Bunka no Michi (15th Annual Let’s Walk the Cultural Path)”
event held in Higashi-ku, Nagoya. The demonstration experiment clarified the application’s
effectiveness, and succeeded in demonstrating that the tested open data of sightseeing event
information were useful. In addition, as a result of the research, the sightseeing event information
for the “Dai 16 kai Arukou! Bunka no Michi (16th Annual Let’s Walk the Cultural Path)” event is
now scheduled to be made public as Nagoya’s open data. Based on the above, the paper discusses
on the promotion of open data for conventional municipal operations while considering theacceptability of local governments.

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other open data promotion measures intensively

1. Introductionin the short term.
Japan’s promotion of open data is starting toFollowing such circumstances, the research

become active among basic units of government

aims to establish the promotion of open data in(“local governments”), and the number of cities

conventional municipal operations. Sightseeingthat are promoting data has reached to 164 as of

information in which local governments canOctober 2015(1). Local governments are promoting

easily convert to open data were used as caseopen data by converting information that theyexamples upon considering the acceptability ofpossess into open data with usage rules that

local governments. The research test-createdenable secondary usage and in machine-readable

open data from actual sightseeing information

formats. In promoting open data, many local

communicatedgovernments are disclosing statistics, disasterconducted

prevention

assightseeing applications that leveraged the data.

information that is readily available for disclosure

The results will also be taken into account in(MIC, 2014). The Japanese government has also

addition to acceptability to discuss promotion ofassisted in the promotion of open data for local

open data in conventional municipal operations.

andsightseeing

information

by

local

governments,

anddemonstration

experiments

withgovernments by opening a public cloud system

(2)

2. 
Considerations of Open Data and Theirwith sightseeing information as branches, andUtilization

further vitalization of promoting open data among
more local governments are anticipated. However,

2.1 Relevant Case Studies

promotions of open data for local governments
face the issue of having unclear specific advantages

Since the promotion of open data started in full

for local governments because there are only ascale in 2012, open data trials and creative

few public service case examples (LASDEC,

utilizations are being conducted in Japan to2014). Development events and application

promote open data among local governments

contests such as Ideathons and Hackerthons are(Fukuyasu, Ura et al., 2013) (Koike, Fukuyasu etheld and demonstrate results to an extent, but notal., 2015) (Sugimoto, Ikeda, 2015). In particular,

many of them directly led to promotion of open

creative service developments that leverage open

data for local government. Moreover, according todata were conducted through hosting events

Hayashida (2007), operation loads for local

such as Ideathons and Hackerthons, including

government employees, who are also the main

International Open Data Day. Players of various

players for the promotion of open data tostatus and background participated in thesedecentralize the government, are increasing andevents and materialize the creation of public

call for consideration. Promotion of open data byservices through collaboration between thebasic units of government require implementation

private and public sectors.

of open data into daily municipal services upon

2.1.1 Biwako Great Fireworks Festival

considering

theacceptability(3)ofgovernments,

and

not

launching

Shiga’s civic hack group, Code for Shiga/

development events, application contests andBiwako(4), started its open data promotion

merelylocal

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operations for the Biwako Great Fireworks

MIC and METI was held in the end of 2013. The

Festival in 2014. The group collected andcontest aimed to develop actual services basedorganized information on the fireworks festival

on ideas created at Ideathons. Out of theand sightseeing owned by the local government

numerous works submitted, “NGY Night Street

and relevant groups to convert into open data. As

Advisor: The Safe and Reliable Navigation Systema result, nine types of applications that used openfor Pedestrians that Guide through Brightdata were created to provide new services during

Routes” by the National Institute of Technology,

the fireworks festival. According to the group

Akashi College, won the Grand Prize. The(2014), although measures were implemented on

application prevents crime by displaying how

a concentrated and short-term basis throughbright street lights are on the map to avoid

aiming for the common factor, the fireworks

gropers and crimes. The data on street lights

festival, promoting measures with long-term

were acquired from Nagoya after students andperspectives is essential when considering theteachers requested cooperation (Arai, Itani et al.,future. In addition, as Shoji (2012) points out,2014).

development in events have issues in that they

The data on Nagoya’s street lights, however,are difficult to brush up as administrative

were provided for use only in the contest, and areservices. Furthermore, Hayada (2014) argues on

not yet disclosed as open data as of 2015. In an

the importance of promoting open data from ainterview conducted by us, Nagoya commented

circulating perspective, and mentions how openthat the data on street lights cannot be disclosed

data events are not being coordinated well withas open data due to security reasons. Like thislocal governments is one issue requiring acase, there are limits on converting some data tosolution. Event personnel need to have event

open data even when there are needs to do soachievements and developed contents linked tobecause local governments have information that

open data promotion measures conducted bycannot be disclosed for a variety of reasons. In

local governments, such as brushing them up as

addition, each set of information is possessed bypublic services, instead of positioning them as

departments in charge. Acquiring the information

temporary trends through working together withrequires understanding and cooperation of thelocal governments. The research will display

government agency, but there are still many local

utilization case examples through testing of open

governments that have yet to fully acquire

data conversion so that they will lead to promotion

understanding internally. Although it is importantof open data by local governments in the middle

to newly convert beneficial information possessed

to long-term perspectives. It will thus focus moreby local governments in order to accelerate theiron open data promotion for conventional

open data promotion, it is desirable to firstmunicipal operations through methods that will

promote open data based on information that are

not increase burden for local government

already disclosed. The research will consider

employees.

testing open data conversion of information
already disclosed by local governments so that

2.1.2 Open Data Use Case Contest
The Open Data Use Case Contest(5)

open data of information applicable for disclosure
hosted byby local governments can be utilized.
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2.2 Research Principles
Based on the issues revealed in precedingcases, the research aims to promote open datawith consideration towards acceptability of local
governments. Promotions of open data are
conducted through methods that differ by local
government, ranging from data collection,

Figure 1 Open Data Promotion in Conventionalorganization and disclosure. Aoki (2013) argues

Operations

that when local governments work on promoting
open data, it is more effective to start from theinformation

beenorganization” and “Information communication”

communicated already. In addition, Shimizu

that

has

through using sightseeing event information as(2013) states that development based on data

model cases, and discusses open data promotion

rather than needs will lead to higher degrees ofthat will be readily accepted in conventional

completion

municipal operations (Figure 1).

when

Hackerthons.

conventionallyutilizing

Working

open

from

data

in

conventional

3. Attempts to Convert to Open Data

information is thus effective when promoting
open data upon considering the acceptability of

3.1 Converting Sightseeing Event Information

local governments, and contents that can better

to Open Data

lead to public services can be anticipated for3.1.1 Subjects of Researchdevelopment as well. The research assumes that
local governments will convert information

The research will examine regional events incollected, organized and communicated as their

the “Cultural Path” area in Higashi-ku, Nagoya,

conventional operations to open data from the

Aichi(6) (“Higashi-ku”). The Cultural Path area is

acceptability standpoint. Following this, the flow

about 8km2 in area, stretching from central tofrom information collection to communication inwestern Higashi-ku, and is one of Nagoya’s

conventional municipal operations and the flow

prominent sightseeing areas in which precious

from information collection to disclosure in open

historical and cultural heritages from modern

data

that

times remain. The area is maintained and utilized

conventional municipal operations and open dataas an area with vivid modern culture of Nagoya as

promotion methods will correspond (Figure 1).

indicated in the “Historical Town Planning

The method described in “Let’s Start Open Data:

Strategy” developed by Nagoya (2011). The

The Handbook for Local Governmental Bodies”

Cultural Path Area conducts walking events as

by MIC (2014) was determined to be the method

well as historical and cultural events that utilize

appropriate. The handbook describes contents

its characteristics. One of such events is theon information organization in Step 3, andwalking event, “Arukou! Bunka no Michi (Let’s

information communication in Steps 4 and 5.

Walk the Cultural Path)” Events and stage events

Following this, the research distinguishes

that educate on the region’s history are held in

betweensightseeing spots (“spots”) scattered within the

promotion

the

were

two

compared

stagesofso“Information
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Cultural Path area in the event. The event also

to experiment on open data. First, the private-

possesses the following characteristics:

public cooperation structure is focused for
promotion of open data in (1), but according to(1) Continuous hosting through public-private

Nishida et al. (2013), but one of the reasons thatcollaboration

Sabae, Fukui is proactive in open data promotion

The “Arukou! Bunka no Michi” event is held on

is that the city already had private-public

November 3 (Culture Day) every year, and marks

cooperation rooted within them. Therefore, a

its 15th anniversary in 2014. Higashi-ku hosts thecooperating structure between the private andevent, and forms an executive committee withpublic sectors can anticipate vitalization of open

Nagoya, residents and citizen groups to conduct

data promotion. For (2), one of the advantages ofplanning and operation. The event is held throughpromoting open data for local governments iscooperation between public and private sectors,

resolution of regional issues (MIC, 2015).

and is one in which local residents also embrace.

Through utilizing open data, applications formobile devices can be developed. And considering(2) Approaches for younger generations

the penetration rate(7) of smartphones among“Arukou! Bunka no Michi” is an event that isyounger

generations,participation

of

the

popular among seniors due to geographicalgeneration in the event can be incited bycharacteristics, and faces the issue of not being

developing applications that leverage open data.

as recognized by younger generations. The event

For (3), many local governments have mainly

is considering various approaches for younger

information departments work on the promotion

generations

informationof open data, but information to be converted tothrough Facebook, for example, and anticipates

open data are possessed by various departments.

participation from the generation in addition to

When considering the medium to long-term

seniors for its executive committee.

effects of open data promotion, the department

bycommunicatingthat originally possesses the information should(3) Information communication from the local

work on the promotion rather than concentrating

governmentThe

executive

the operations to information departments. It isandthus important in terms of acceptability from

communicates information pertaining to the

local governments as well if the original

event.

conducts

department works to promote open data forcollection, organization and communication of

information collected, organized and communicatedevent information as part of its municipal

through conventional operations. Based on theoperations. Sightseeing events are generally held

above, the research will examine “Arukou! Bunka

responsible by divisions that promote sightseeing

no Michi” as its research subject.

Incommittee

particular,

manages

Higashi-ku

and town planning, but “Arukou! Bunka no Michi”

3.1.2 Flow of Sightseeing Event Information

has been run by accounting departments.

The flow of sightseeing event information in
Based on the following characteristics, theconventional municipal operations are represented

research will examine “Arukou! Bunka no Michi”

as below when converting the sightseeing event
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URATA et al

information of “Arukou! Bunka no Michi” into

operated by the citizen group “Higashi Net(9),” a

open data (Figure 2).

member of the executive committee. The
information included are similar to those on thepamphlet, but also play the role of communicating
pre-event information prior to the event date.

Figure 2 Flow of Event Information for Research
Subject
In order to collect event information, theexecutive committee first had local residents andcitizen groups that host events in each spot write

Figure 3 “Dai 15 Kai Arukou! Bunka no Michia proposal. Based on the information written in(15th Annual Let’s Walk the Cultural

the proposals, Higashi-ku employees organizedPath)” pamphlet

the information on Microsoft Excel (“Excel”).
Because data confirmation by employees need to
be streamlined and tasks were consigned to
private companies, the formatting needed to belegible to humans. The formatting thus required
shaping of data, such as combining cells andentering multiple contents within a cell, and isnotasmachine-readable.

Informationiscommunicated through pamphlets and theofficial website(8) based on the organized
information. Leaflets are printed doubled-sided
onto A2-size papers, distributed to participants on
the day of the event as information and support
event participation for tourists (Figure 3). The
area map and event information are printed on

Figure 4 “Dai 15 Kai Arukou! Bunka no Michi ”

the leaflet, and event information are listed bypamphlet (magnified view of dotted

spot to see at a glance (Figure 4). On the otherarea in Figure 3)

hand, the official website is managed and34

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3.1.3 Procedures for Open Data Conversion
The research experiments on the conversion of
information in the pamphlet to open data. The
pamphlet information is entered in Excel anddigitalized. The Excel formatting is not excellently
machine-readable through cell combinations andmultiple contents included in single cells, butinvolves little work for local governments because it
is information that has already been communicatedby them and digitalized beforehand, and thus easy
to link to open data promotion from conventional
municipal operations.

Table 1 Examples of Open Data on Sightseeing

Following this, we organized information to

Event Information

convert to open data based on the information
printed on the pamphlet. The organized data wasfacilities and sightseeing facilities where events

test-converted to open data upon using an open

are held are disclosed in addition to information

data platform (Figure 5).

on event names, times and details. Toyohashi,
Aichi also discloses open data on sightseeing
events in CSV format(11). Similar to Fukui, the city
discloses names, phone numbers and locations ofpublic facilities and sightseeing facilities where
events are held in addition to information on
event names, times and details.
Based on these examples, the informationnecessary as sightseeing event information are

Figure 5those pertaining to event details and event

Flow of Open Data Conversion

locations. Many sightseeing events are held in
public3.2 O rganization of Sightseeing Event

facilities

andsightseeing

facilities.

Facilities can be used for purposes other thanInformationsightseeing events, and when considering the

3.2.1 Types of Information

versatility of information, the information on

Open data of sightseeing event information are

facilities and events should be separately

disclosed by some local governments other thancategorized when converting to open data. Boththe Biwako Great Fireworks Festival mentioned

Fukui and Toyohashi disclose open data onin the previous chapter. Key governments include

sightseeing facilities and public facilities as well,

Fukui and Toyohashi, Aichi (Table 1).

and can be concluded as information that has

Fukui discloses open data on sightseeing

value in usage for situations other than

(10)

.

sightseeing. In addition, sightseeing events are

Names, phone numbers and locations of public

sometimes held multiple times with the same

events held in the prefecture in CSV format

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title. Local governments can skip the task ofand numbers for the stamp rally to be held on therepeatedly entering information by making

event day. Together with organizing the data,

information on event times independent fromaddresses, latitudes, longitudes, transportation andevent details. The research considers theclosing days were acquired through the official

acceptability of local governments to distinguishwebsite and Google Maps based on the casebetweenevent

examples of Fukui and Toyohashi. Addresses andinformation, and have event details and event

facility

information

andother added information were thought to betimes separated within event information (Figure

additional burdens for the local government when

6).

considering acceptability for the local government,
but such information are basic information on thefacilities and are also made public on the official
website, and thus can be concluded as information
possessed by the local government. Location
information can also be continually used for theyears ahead after once acquired because they don’t

Figure 6 
Organization of Sightseeing Eventsignificantly change. The acquisition of such

Information

information thus can be concluded as not causing
considerable burden to the local government.

3.2.2 Organization of Information for Research
Subject
The leaflet information that is collected,
organized and communicated by the local
government was categorized into three: facility
information, event details information and event
time

information.

These

information

areconventionally organized through Excel that has
been used in event management by local
government employees. By considering open
data conversion and reviewing the Excel format
while also keeping legibility for humans, theresearch speculated that the data will lead to
open

data

promotion

thatdemonstrates

acceptability for the local government.

Table 2 List of Facility Information(1) Facility information(2) Event details information

Information on the spots that would be the event
venues were organized as facility information

For the event details information, sub-event(Table 2). The information printed on the pamphlet

information held in respective spots were eachwere facility names, phone numbers, opening hours

organized based on the information in the36

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pamphlet (Table 3). Event names, venues within

information through using Ids assigned to events

spots, outlines, performers, costs, capacities andin the event details information.

conditions including reservation requirements

3.3 Conversion to Open Data

were included in the pamphlet, and wereorganized. Furthermore, genre information were

The organized data were test-converted toalso organized following that the pamphlet

open data. When converting the research usedcategorized event genre.

LinkData(12), an open data platform.

In addition, as part of event details information,

3.3.1 LinkData

spot IDs in which events are held were referred
to from the facility information and organized.

LinkData is an open data platform operated by

Assigning Ids based on the structure of the

LinkData. Once registered an account, various

relational database facilitates calling of data. This

private entitites together with local governments

enables

can disclose open data. More than 2,700 data has

association

with

other

data,

and

been registered as of July 31, 2015, of which

eliminates tasks to enter relevant information.

about 2,000 are widely disclosed as open data.
Advantages of using LinkData are that Excel
files can be easily converted to open data just by
uploading, data can be jointly edited by multiple
users and that data can be automaticallyconverted to RDF and various formats when
making them open data. Entities that do notpossess much information technology may thus
easily disclose open data to expand theircapabilities of utilizing their information.
The research uploaded the Excel data asorganized in the previous chapter according toTable 3 List of Event Details Information

the procedures directed by LinkData. The dataset(3) Event time information“Walking the Cultural Path 2014(13)” was also

Information on event dates, starting times andprepared, and data were uploaded within theending times were organized as information

dataset. As indicated in Table 5, files onpertaining to event times printed on the pamphlet

cooperating(Table 4). Event names are linked with time

information, in addition to sightseeing event

storesandtransportation

information, were registered onto the dataset anddisclosed as open data.
Parts of open data on bus information(14)provided by the Transportation Bureau City of
Nagoya are also disclosed within the dataset.
Because the open data provided by theTransportation Bureau City of Nagoya is not in a

Table 4 List of Event Time Information
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URATA et alopen data on LinkData. The application targeted
external tourists visiting “Arukou! Bunka no
Michi”. The event had the issue of having “fewyounger generations participating in the event,”
and the executive committee hoped for contents
that will stimulate the generation’s participation.
Following such circumstances, the researchdeveloped an application for mobile devices as an
approach targeting the younger generation.

Table 5 List of Open Data Tested

The application development was conducted

format that excels in machine readability throughon “LinkData App(16),” the affiliated sister site ofcell combinations, we shaped the data requiring

LinkData. LinkData App uses open data on

revision before registering them to the dataset.

LinkData to enable online application developingon browsers, and various entities may develop

3.3.2 Rights Handling of Open Data

contents as long as they have and establishedIn addition, rights handling need to beinternetenvironment.

The

researchused

conducted to display “usage rules applicable for

LinkData App to develop the sightseeing event

secondary usage” when converting to open data.

guid application, “Arukou! (Let’s Walk) Guide

We referred to Creative Commons Japan

(15)

and

(Figure 7).”

notated licenses for respective data.
Many of the open data by local governments
possess “CC-BY” license, which only requires
display of credit for the original author, andpermits changes and usage for commercial
purposes. The license has the least amount oflimitations among Creative Commons Licenses,
and data licensed can be widely used. Nagoya,
Higashi-ku’s superior organization, also discloses
open data with “CC-BY” license. Following suchcircumstances, the test-converted open data
were disclosed as data with “CC-BY” license upon
obtaining approval from the executive committee.

Figure 7 “Arukou! Guide” Screen Display
Example4. 
Application Developments with Utilization
4.2 Application Featuresof Open Data

A guiding feature that urges tourists to

4.1 System Development

participate in sightseeing events was thought toAn event guide application for mobile devices

be an effective application feature. In order towas prototyped upon utilizing the test-converted

achieve this, information on the official website
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were used for missing information together withthat link to spot detail pages on the official

test-converted open data (Figure 8).

website, display bus route information and link to
bus

route

schedules

disclosedbytheTransportation Bureau City of Nagoya by bus
service were also added. The route guideprovided by Google Maps was also linked todisplay routes leading to the destination toachieve an even smoother sightseeing guide. The
feature was added through using Google Maps
JavaScript API v3 made public by Google.

“Research venue” feature
The feature enables searching for spots within
the area from a list. Similar to the “Research

Figure 8 Coordination with the Official Website

surroundings” feature, the application added
In addition to event details held in spots,features that link to the spot details page of theinformation to access sightseeing spots in which

official website and guide through routes.

the events are held are also necessary to guide

Keyword searches for spot names and time were

through sightseeing events. Conventional printed

also enabled by adding a search window, andpamphlets only display access information

made selection of information possible for users.

through maps, and event information were only

“Research bus” featuregrouped by spot. On the other hand, application

Because “Arukou Bunka no Michi!” is held in

guides enable event searches by genre andthe Cultural Path area, aimlessly walking in thetimefor event details, and may be added bus

event would be quite exasperating even for

information and routes in addition to maps for

adults. Following such circumstances, a searchaccess information. In addition, information thatfunction for bus routes running within the area

was missing in the test-converted open data were

was added. Bus routes are listed to see spots

compensated by coordinating also with thealong the way at a glance. In addition, features

official website. Materializing these guidingthat links to the spot details page of the official

features enable tourists themselves to selectwebsite and guides through routes were also

information as desired and create an event guide

added, similar to the previous features.

customized to individual tourists compared to“Research events” feature
The feature enables searching by genre andconventional methods.

time for events held within the area, and lists

Features of the “Arukou! Guide” are as follows:“Research surroundings” feature

results. Detailed information for events listed canThis feature enables searching for spots andalso be viewed. In addition to information

bus stops within 500m-radius of the user’s current

included in the pamphlet, map information

location by using the GPS feature of mobile

around the venue through Google Maps, venue

devices. Spots and bus stops are listed in order of

pictures taken from the official website, andproximity to the user’s current location. Featurestransportation methods to event venues are
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displayed.

“Research nearby stations” features

4.3.2 Results

This feature enables researching of train

For the four features that used the test-

stations within the area together with surrounding

converted open data for the research, participants

areas. The feature considers needs when tourists

evaluated on a scale of 5 (5: Strongly agree, 4:head home after the event, and by adding route

Agree, 3: Neither, 2: Don’t agree as much, 1:

guide functions as similar to the previous

Disagree). For the event guiding method as well,features, the application can present smooth

the application and leaflet were compared on aroutes heading home to tourists.

scale of 5 (5: The app helped, 4: The app helpedslightly more, 3: Same, 2: The pamphlet helped

4.3 Demonstration Experimentslightly

4.3.1 Outline

Evaluations on features are indicated on the top

more,

1:

The

pamphlethelped).

A demonstration experiment was conducted topart of Figure 9, and the evaluations comparedverify the usefulness of the application thatwith the pamphlet are indicated on the bottom

utilized the test-converted open data. The

part of Figure 9.

usefulness of the event guiding feature wascompared with the pamphlet, the conventional
guiding method. The promotion of open data onsightseeing event information will be discussed
through the experiment results.
The experiment was conducted on the “Dai 15
kai Arukou! Bunka no Michi (15th Annual Let’s
Walk the Cultural Path).” There were a total of 22participants including students and general event
participants. Ages ranged from 20s to 50s, withparticipants in their 20s construing 80％ overall.
Participants gathered at the former residence of
Sasuke Toyoda in the center of the Cultural Path,and each toured around the area using thepamphlet and application for about six hours after
receiving explanation on how to use the

Figure 9 Experiment Results

application. With 27 spots scattered within the
The app generally received good evaluation forarea, the participants went around as they
wished. After certain time passed, all participants

allquestions.

Accordinggathered at the former residence of Sasuke

pertaining to “ease of understanding accessToyoda once again, and answered questions on

information”

the evaluation sheet.

application and pamphlet, the app was easier tocomparatively

to

the

question

evaluating

theunderstand than the pamphlet. In addition,comments such as “Content categorization was
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helpful in searching what I wanted,” “Details ofTransportation

events were easy to see” were written in the free-

employees.

answer question, indicating that the guiding

commented, “The event guiding features such as

application successfully assisted tourists toevent searches and route guide are excellent,”

participate in events. As for the types ofand “I have always wanted to guide like this but

information, the experiment revealed needs for

couldn’t. This system is just what we wanted.”

information on restaurants, public restrooms,

Transportation Bureau City of Nagoya employees

parking and resting areas.

also commented, “This is the first case example
in4.3.3 Discussion
Throughwhich

BureauExecutive

open

City

of

Nagoyacommittee

members

data

disclosedbytheTranspor tation Bureau City of Nagoya wasthedemonstration

experimentutilized,” and “Examples like this is very

results, it was verified that the application

meaningful for open data to cultivate.”features were useful to tourists following the

The application developed in this research washigh evaluation points for all features that usedvery well-received by both parties. As the first

open data. In addition, results from comparing

case for the Transportation Bureau City of

the application and pamphlet indicated that

Nagoya’s open data to be utilized, the application

converting

information

conventionally

that

have

been

also contributed to the promotion of open data forcommunicated

by

local

Nagoya.

governments to open data enables tourists to

As a result of such positive feedback, we haveselect information they want, and assist in having

received requests from the “Computerization

tourists efficiently participate in sightseeing

Promotion Department” of Nagoya that isevents. The testing of open data for conventional

responsible for promoting open data starting thisinformation using LinkData as conducted in thefiscal year to work with them in open data

research can be concluded as an useful method

promotion. In addition, the conversion to open

to

data

createnew

publicservices

for

local

demonstrated

in

the

researchwasgovernments. Open data promotions by local

interpreted as not increasing work for local

governments

governments,

try

to

disclose

information

and

the

sightseeing

event

responding to various needs amid vast operations

information for the “Dai 16 kai Arukou! Bunka

to create new public services. As indicated in thisno Michi” to be held this year has been decided toresearch, however, converting information thatbe officially disclosed as Nagoya’s open data. The

has been conventionally communicated can also

testing of open data and its utilization aslead to creation of useful public services if

demonstrating in the research can be concluded

converted to open data upon consideringas having led to actual promotion of open data formachine readability.

local governments.

4.4 Research Achievements

5. Discussion of the Research Overall

The application developed in this research was
well-received by the “Arukou Bunka no Michi!”executive

committee

membersThe

andresearch

conducted

testinganddemonstration of open data conversion to41

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A Proposal for Open Data of Sightseeing Event Information

URATA et alpromote open data for conventional municipal

to prepare for secondary use through machine

operations. The fact that the research results

processing. Formatting that is adequately legible

actually led to promotion of open data for local

for humans are thus desirable, and in turngovernments supports the interpretation that thechallenging to consider machine readability formethod used in the research is one way toconventional municipal operations. Therefore,

promote open data that possesses acceptability toopen data promotion through public-private

local governments. In order to connect thecooperation while also receiving cooperation

research results too future open data promotions,from experts including private businesses,

the promotion of open data upon considering

educational institutions and citizen groups. A

acceptability in the two stages of “informationcooperative attitude in working for open data

organization” and “information communication”

promotion is required such as having local

in conventional municipal operations will begovernments conduct open data promotion

discussed:

operations within an acceptable range so thatexperts will convert the information into

(1) Information organization
Local

governments

havemachine-readable format.
conventionallyIn addition, versatile information organization

organized information pertaining to operations

methods that are common with other regionsby using Excel. The information tend to notneed to be considered when actually organizing

consider machine readability, such as combining

information. For example, the field name forcells or having multiple information included inphone number information may differ by local

the same cell. On the other hand, the information

government, i.e. “Phone number,” “TEL” orcommunicated by local governments require“Number.” Standardizing such vocabulary willcomparatively little work for employees, including

enhance interoperability of contents utilizing

information gathering and organization, andopen data, and utilizations can be anticipated tomany can also be disclosed as open data as wellincrease. There are many regions already thatas possess value. Compiling the information into

have developed contents that utilized open dataa machine-readable format can thus anticipate

in advanced ways. Promoting open data while

effective utilization as open data. It is therefore

using such advanced cases as reference canimportant to conduct information organization

anticipate increased utilization and facilitate openwith an eye for open data conversion beforehanddata promotions with higher acceptability. The

when organizing collected information.

Japanese government is currently working on

On the other hand, there are limits for local

the Public Vocabulary Framework Project(17) as

governments to organize information withpart of its measures to assist vocabularymachine-readable formatting when considering

standardization.

acceptability for local governments. Information

establish and develop versatile formatting whilegathering in conventional operations involve

also effectively taking advantage of suchorganization and compiling of information formeasures.

Local

governments

shouldemployees to manage and view, or to consign
operations to private firms, instead of organizing
42

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Journal of Socio-Informatics Vol. 9 No. 1 Sep. 2016

and a demonstration experiment using this(2) Information communication
Local governments are communicating theirapplication was conducted in the “Dai 15 kaiorganized information through various media.

Arukou! Bunka no Michi (15th Annual Let’s Walk

Information communication through websites

the Cultural Path)” held in Higashi-ku, Nagoya.

has become the norm after digitalization of

The demonstration experiment revealed theregions, and most of open data from local

application’s usefulness, and demonstrated thatgovernments are disclosed on their respective

the open data prototype on sightseeing event

websites. Publicity departments are generally

information was also useful. In addition, as an

responsibly for local government websites, butachievement of this research, the sightseeing

much of the information communicated belong

event information for the “Dai 16 kai Arukou!

to different departments. On the other hand,

Bunka no Michi (16th Annual Let’s Walk theinformation departments are responsible forCultural Path)” is scheduled to be disclosed as

open data promotion for most local governments.

Nagoya’s open data. Based on the above, theThe promotion of open data with consideration ofpromotion

acceptability for local governments thus requires

municipal operations with consideration forstrengthening of cooperation upon obtaining

acceptability of local governments was discussed.

publicity departments that manage the website

When considering the interoperability ofandrespective

departments

that

of

open

data

for

conventional

applications that will become public services,

possess

vocabulary

information to become open data.

standardization

needs

to

be

Website and open data linkage systems are

conducted for open data formatting disclosed bycurrently being developed by private enterprises,

local governments. Wide-area cooperation will

including CMS (Contents Management System)

also become necessary so that the formattingthat converts entered data on websites into

using standardized vocabulary can be used withappropriate formatting as open data . Usage ofversatility. For example, the Shinetsu region thatthese systems will anticipate further promotion ofincludes Nagano and Niigata is regularly holding

open data conversion for conventional information.

open data conferences with experts, and is(18)

receiving good reviews on its promotion of open

6. Conclusion

data. The true value of open data promotion shallbe revealed by expanding such measures to

The research aimed to establish open data
promotion

throughconventionalvarious regions and creating connections. It ismunicipal

important for the achievements acquired in thisoperations, and developed an application upon

research to not be a mere case example, andtesting open data conversion of a sightseeing

instead increase cases pertaining to open data

event hosted by a local government. Sightseeing

promotion. We plan to continue with our research

event information on the pamphlet distributed byso that it will contribute to vitalization of thethe local government was organized and test-

information society.

converted into open data. The data was thenleveraged to develop an application for mobile

Acknowledgements

devices that guide through sightseeing events,

We sincerely thank Mr. Fukumi KATO who made43

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A Proposal for Open Data of Sightseeing Event Information
great effort during the research, as well as everyone

URATA et al
digitalization of Higashi-ku. <http://higashinet.
net/nagoya/> Accessed 2015, October 18.

in “Higashi Net,” “Arukou! Bunka no Michi”
executive committee and the Transportation

List of Fukui prefecture’s open data <http://(10) 

Bureau City of Nagoya. This research was

w w w. p r e f . f u k u i . j p / d o c / t o u k e i - j o u h o u /supported under the Grants-in-Aid for Scientificopendata/category.html>

Accessed2015,

October 18.

Research (KAKENHI), No.25280131, 15K00448,(11) List of Toyohashi’s open data <http://www.city.

and 15K16097.

toyohashi.lg.jp/16399.htm>

Notes

Accessed2015,

October 18.

(1) List of Japan’s open data cities <http://fukuno.jig.

A website operated by LinkData. More than(12) 

jp/2013/opendatamap> Accessed 2015, October

2,500 datasets have been uploaded, of which a18.

little less than 2,000 are disclosed as open data.

<http://linkdata.org/> Accessed 2015, October(2) Public cloud system https://www.chiikinogennki.
soumu.go.jp/k-cloud-api/ > Accessed 2015,18.

October 18.

(13) Dataset “Arukou! Bunka no Michi 2014”<http://linkdata.org/work/rdf1s1870i>(3) Acceptability of local governments refer to new

Accessed 2015, October 18.

concepts and technology being accepted upon

The Transportation Bureau City of Nagoya’s(14) 

acquiring understanding and endorsement fromopen data <http://www.kotsu.city.nagoya.jp/

the local government and its employees.
(4) Code for Shiga/Biwako <http://opendata.shiga.

about/opendata/> Accessed 2015, October 18.

jp/> Accessed 2015, October 18.

Creative(15) 

CommonsJapan<http://creative

commons.jp/> Accessed 2015, October 18.

(5) Open Data Use Case Contest <http://openlabs.

(16) LinkData

go.jp/opendata_contest/usecase/products_
report.htm> Accessed 2015, October 18.

App<http://app.linkdata.org/>

Accessed 2015, October 18.

(6) Higashi-ku is located in the heart of Nagoya with(17) Public Vocabulary Framework Project <http://

an area of 77km and population of approximately

goikiban.ipa.go.jp/> Accessed 2015, October2

75,000 (as of March 2015).

18.

(7) According to results from “Survey on Usage Timeof

Information

Communication

Media

Examples include “4Uweb/CMS” by Hitachi(18) 
Government & Public Sector Systems, Ltd. andandInformation Activities” conducted by MIC in“i-City Portal” by Fujitsu Limited.

2014, smartphone ownership rates are 68.6％
among ages 10-19, and 94.1％ among ages 20-29.

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