Trade fair to promote charms of remote islands to be held in Kagoshima, with talk events
Last year’s event
On February 17, the “& island – Kagoshima Remote Islands Trade Fair,” an event to introduce the charms of Kagoshima’s islands, will open at the Unitement Garden on the fourth floor of Maruya Gardens.
The event is the second of its kind, launched last year with the aim of introducing the activities of Kagoshima’s remote islands to the general public and helping to vitalize them. It is co-hosted by Kagoshima Prefecture and Island Company. The event is also part of the activities of the Kagoshima Remote Islands Cultural Economic Circle (a.k.a. Ritolab), a community run by Island Company.
Businesses from each island will exhibit and market their products at the venue. This year, a total of 11 businesses from nine islands (Shishijima, Kamikoshijima, Tanegashima, Yakushima, Iwojima, Nakanoshima, Takarajima, Amami Oshima, and Kikaijima) will open booths.
During the three days of the event, there will be a talk session once a day, with Mariko Maki, winner of the Kagoshima Mayor’s Award in last year’s Kagoshima’s New Specialty Product Competition, and other businesses participating in the event as speakers.
There will also be a workshop to learn about flotsam from Koshikishima Island, a yoga certification program by a yoga instructor from Tanegashima, which has recently become known as a “sanctuary for yoga,” and a workshop to make moisturizing balm from Mishima’s camellia oil and beeswax.
Kenta Yamashita, the managing director, says, “This is a place like a port that connects to each island. We hope that visitors will discover island life and the people and landscape of the islands through the various products we offer.”
The fair will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (until 7:00 p.m. on the last day) until February 19.
