Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 183

4.3.4 Walk and Cruise to Discover the Attractions

of Kami-Goto

Kami-Goto tourist operators have promoted soft tourism using Catholic churches
and Christianity-related assets on the island. In 2006, the government organized the
“Walk & Cruise the Kami-Goto Churches” (called Walk & Cruise below) event on
the island, hosted by Shinkami-Goto town. The fi rst Walk & Cruise was held on
October 28 and October 29 2006, and tourists visited churches in the Narao and
Wakamatsu regions in the south on foot followed by a cruise on the fi rst day. On the
second day, tourists walked around the churches in the northern part of the island
and fi nished at the site of the Kujiradon Festival. This festival was held the same day
to provide an opportunity for the sale of local Kami-Goto products.
The concept of the event was to experience and enjoy the 29 churches on the
island, the Christian cave, an undersea park, and the natural scenery along the coast
through a walking tour and a sea cruise. The selected route connected eight churches
(Kiri, Doinoura, Oura, Nakanoura, Hiyamizu, Aosagaura, Maruo, and Tainoura);
tourists walked 18.9 km on the fi rst day and 24.5 km on the second day. The cruise
on the morning of the fi rst day visited an undersea park, the Wakamatsu Bridge,
Ohira and Arifuku churches, and a Christian cave. The event enabled participants to
interact with local volunteers, enjoy the natural beauty of a remote island, and expe-
rience the history of Catholic martyrs and the island's culture. The event was blessed
with good weather on both days, and about 100 participants attended.
A survey of Walk & Cruise participants in cooperation with the town of Shinkami-
Goto produced 53 valid responses. Twenty-three men and 30 women responded;
most were late middle age (37 people aged from 50 to 64) to elderly (10 people aged
from 65 years and older). More than half lived in Shinkami-Goto town and 21 were
from off the island. Most (9) off-islanders were from Goto and other visitors came
from Nagasaki, Sasebo, and Isahaya, Tokyo, Himeji, and Fukuoka. Fourteen of the
off-island visitors were visiting the island for the fi rst time.
Twenty participants discovered the Walk & Cruise project through a newsletter
published by the municipal government. Many island resident participants referred
to this as their source of information. The next largest number of people (17) heard
about the project from friends, and some of the participants from outside the prefec-
ture had found information from the Internet and magazines. Participants' reasons
for joining include interest in touring the churches (34 people), walking (26 people),
the sea cruise (24 people), experience nature in Kami-Goto (16 people), and to visit
Kami-Goto (13 people). Most of the island residents were more interested in the sea
cruise than the other tourists. Tourists were also interested in the local resources of
the churches and the nature of Kami-Goto, and some were interested in visiting
Kami-Goto.
The survey asked the visitors to rate impressions of the churches visited on a
four-point scale. The average score for each item was calculated and converted into
scores on a 100-point scale. The highest score was 94.7 for the “beautiful church
interiors,” followed by 93.5 for “value as a tourism resource,” 92.1 for “local
(church) history can be felt,” and 91.0 for “the churches should be preserved as