2nd Information Exchange Meeting of Izu Peninsula Geopark Visitor Centre Held in 2022

2022.12.14

The Izu Peninsula Geopark and Tourism Bureau (Chairperson: Takeshi Toyooka) held the 2nd Information Exchange Meeting of Izu Peninsula Geopark Visitor Center on the 14th.

Visitor center employees and local government officials from each town and city participated in the event, which was aimed at promoting cooperation among Izu Peninsula Geopark’s visitor centers (or desks), which are located in 15 towns and cities on the Izu Peninsula, and at operating more cohesive visitor center network for Izu Peninsula Geopark.

Starting this year, the conference will be held on a rotating basis in various cities and towns, and the first conference was held in Nagaizumi.

In the morning session, Kosuke Ushijima, Secretary General of Nagaizumi Tourism Interaction Association, gave a presentation introducing the Nagaizumi Visitor Center, explaining why it is not a tourism association but a tourism interaction association, creating new interactive opportunities for tourists. He also described Nagaizumi's tourism interaction resources and the activities of the Visitor Center.

In the workshop that followed, participants had fun learning to actually play the Nagaizumi karuta (local card game) and Nagaizumi sugoroku (local board game), which are part of the Geopark’s promotion and education activities.

In the afternoon session, participants learned about the formation of lava mounds found in the town by conducting a kitchen volcano experiment using flour.

After that, they toured the geosites, visiting the Warikozuka Inari Shrine and Ayutsubo Waterfall to learn more about lava.

Many participants commented that they found the activities at the Nagaizumi Visitor Center helpful, and were enthusiastic about trying to incorporate hands-on activities such as karuta, sugoroku, and the lava mound experiment into their own towns and cities.

Although this was the final information exchange meeting for this fiscal year, the plan is to continue to use each of the visitor centers as a venue next year to strengthen mutual cooperation while maintaining a common awareness.