Sharing Shimane’s best
through live streaming:
Online tours during thepandemic

Shimane Prefecture

Background and Reason for the Project‘@Discover.Shimane’. There were three live streams,In order to attract foreign tourists, Shimane

each on the themes of gourmet, traditional culture,

Prefecture uses its website and SNS to share tourism

and nature respectively. These are themes that are

information with the aim of raising awareness of theparticularly popular overseas, and advertisements

prefecture. Shimane planned online live streaming

were targeted to countries that enjoyed these parts

aimed at an overseas audience interested in Japanof Japan in order to spread awareness.

and Shimane to allow them to get a real feel for

A specialised company was used for the live

Shimane directly, during the period where travel was

streaming and monitoring, but planning, gathering

restricted due to COVID-19.

information, and script writing was carried out by theLive streaming can share a large amount of specificlocal government.

information to a large number of viewers and canshare programs to suit the various tastes and• Gourmet (shared on January 29, 2022)

preferences of the viewers. Furthermore, Shimane

Matsue City is known as one of Japan’s three major

hopedShimane

wagashi (Japanese sweets) and matcha (green tea)

(Coordinators for International Relations, etc.) would

producing areas, so they chose wagashi and matcha

communicate directly with their followers so thatto be promoted to the participants. Starting with anthey could feel closer to Shimane Prefecture.

explanation of tea culture in Matsue, a workshop forthatforeigners

livingin

making wagashi with the viewers (a free trial

Project Aims

experience for people who applied for it in advance)

1. To provide online simulation of visiting andwas held. Recommended gourmet destinations wereenjoying Shimane Prefecture (two-way interaction

introduced via making wagashi together, and thankswith followers, etc.)

to this live experience viewers’ opinions could be

2. To attract visitors during trying times of COVID-19

heard directly (including those who did not take partand even after COVID-19 has calmed down byin the workshop). New designs used, such as cutesharing detailed information that cannot bebears were also highly popular and changed theconveyed through regular social media posts

perception of traditional wagashi.

3. To acquire new followers by advertising online
tours.

Project Outline
The live stream (Facebook Live) was shared on
Shimane Prefecture’s official Facebook account1

introduced. By having foreigners working in the Oki• Traditional Culture (shared on March 19, 2022)

tourism industry appear as reporters and moderators,

Kagura performances that are performed regularly in

Shimane was able to provide more detailed and easy-

various parts of Shimane were featured, explaining

to-understand information.

the stories played out in Kagura that are based on

This resulted in very specific questions about getting

myths because they are difficult for foreigners toto Oki and costs for an experience and visit to Oki inunderstand. Kagura’s history in Shimane Prefecture,

the comments.

and the regional characteristics of Kagura within
Shimane were also featured. A quiz was held

Features and Innovations

involving viewer participation (a free trial experience

While it is not possible to travel abroad due to thefor people who applied for it in advance). In addition,

pandemic, social media can be utilised to shareforeigners

weretourism information in real time from a local level,interviewed about the charm of performing Kagura

and to directly convey the here and now of thatto make Kagura feel more accessible to others whodestination.

whojoined

Kaguragroupsare not exposed to it.
The fun of Kagura, which is conveyed by deepening

Results of the Project

understanding of it, waslive streamed, andBy broadcasting live from the site, it is possible todetailed information were conveyed to those whosend more specific and detailed content than regularwere interested. By using many videos, Shimane

social media posts, and it is also possible to feature

enticed many, with many gaining an interest in seeing

the locals who have not been featured previously. By

Kagura in person. At the end, they held a giveaway

being able to see what kind of people are there, it iswith Kagura related gifts.

easier to get people interested in going there andmore likely to lead to actual trips there.

• Nature (shared on October 19, 2022)
Nature has always been a popular tourism theme, soIssues, Problems and Responses

in order to enhance its appeal, a live stream from theIt takes a considerable amount of time to prepare forOki Islands was held. With live streams from theinterviews and filming, as well as to check andthree islands, views from Oki

could be shared inrehearse before live streaming. Since all of it is live, it

the moment, along with the latest tourist spots, andis necessary to avoid any issues while streaming, asrecommended experiences from each location. The

well as considering beforehand what to do if alive streamers tried to create an experience as if theproblem were to occur.

viewers were actually in Oki. In addition, in order toattract the interest of viewers, the remote island
hotel Ento, which has become popular of late, was2

Future Developments (expected effects andproject vision and issues)

Sharing content on a similar theme two or three• Live streaming of more personalised, niche content

Gain visitors through deep understanding ofin order to share Shimane’s features that cannot beparticular topics.

times to deepen awareness in special livestreams.

found in other prefectures (such as ways to get silky
smooth skin, experiencing the Kami-ari-zuki [monthReference URLswhen all the Shinto gods return to Shimane], gain

https://www.facebook.com/discover.shimane

luck and fortune for relationships, etc.) on a deeper(Official Facebook Account)level, trial experiences of participants are gathered inadvance to get better content for the live streams,

Contact

and via the live streaming there will also be a chanceAffiliation: Shimane Prefecture Tourism Division

for information exchange. By increasing the number(Inbound Promotion Group)of themes under which live streams are held,

Telephone: +81-0852-22-6298

Shimane aims to increase the number of viewers andEmail: kanko-inbound@pref.shimane.lg.jp

gain more viewers overall.
• Focusing on sharing content that did well in live
streaming3