2026
Eat Local -Taste the Unfold Story of Kumano-
Japan
Client: N/A
Produced by: Tsukasa Nishimura
Agency:
Category: Tourism Products
Entry Type: Promotional Video
Synopsis
"“Shokudō Ao” stands near the station in Kumano City, Mie Prefecture. The owner was born and raised in Kumano, growing up deeply connected to the local natural environment. He once lived away from home, spending time in New Zealand and Ehime Prefecture, and says that those experiences helped him rediscover the richness of Kumano’s nature and ingredients.
Goals of the film
By using an extraordinary “food experience (gastronomy)” offered by a single restaurant in Kumano City, Mie Prefecture—something you can’t find in the city—we aim to create motivation for people to visit Kumano even from far away. Further, we position the ultimate goal as enabling visitors who come for the food to also encounter Kumano’s rich nature, history, and culture, and to feel the appeal of “the region itself,” beyond the cuisine.
Target Group
As inbound tourism to Japan increases—especially from Europe, North America, and Oceania—we aim to bring more visitors to Kumano by using “food (gastronomy),” one of the primary reasons many travelers visit Japan. The objective is to make Kumano, though off the Golden Route, a destination “worth traveling for.” The film introduces the true “Eat Local” experience: savoring nature’s bounty and the living stories behind it, delivered by a restaurant style you would never encounter in a city.