Personal story CASE5
Made the seals at “Erimo” into a tourist attraction
Katsuhiko Yanagida (61 years old)
From Erimo town.
Operates “Yanagida Ryokan (Japanese style rest house)” at Cape Erimo.
Runs “Cliff Kayak,”
a tour to observe seals from kayaks.
5-1Things that existed on Cape Erimo for a long time: “wind” and “seals.”
Tourists that come to experience the strong wind
Could the seals also become Erimo’s attraction?
Wildlife and activities of agriculture and fishing have a delicate relationship.
But I think it is wrong to make it a debate about a choice between the two.
The seals have been around “Erimo” for a long time.
Perhaps we have already been successfully co-existing.
That is how I feel.
There are many opinions and standpoint in town.
We cannot ignore the relationship with the fishing industry, which holds over 90% of town’s tax revenue.
As the 5th generation owner of an inn
during the time when group tours are being replaced by individual travelers,
I was concerned about ways to attract visitors to Erimo.
It was about 30 years ago,
when I began to think about investigating how to utilize seals
that have always existed around Erimo as a tourist attraction.
I headed to a Californian port town of Monterey.
I learned that the many seals that live there
successfully co-exist with town’s fishing industry,
and the town also thrives as a tourist town.
5-2Ways to deal with the seals learnt in Monterey
Angry Sherlock taught me
all about kayak on the following morning
I remained when majority of the group returned home, and that is when I met kayak.
Out of curiosity, I decided to rent one, and entered “OK”
next to all the questions about my previous experiences with kayak on the questionnaire.
In actuality, this was my “first time” on a kayak.
Sherlock, the owner of the club, was waiting for me to come back ashore.
“You lied on the questionnaire!”
While he was furious with me, next morning, he met me 2 hours before he opens his club,
and taught me how to kayak.
Since then, we have strong ties with Monterey, and we send the kayak fans we meet
on a tour there nearly every year.
Kayak over, on their own, to the rocky area where the seals are to observe them.
I learned this thrilling and moving tour plan here,
and implemented it at “Erimo.”
It is the beginning of the seal watching tours on kayaks,
which have gained awareness in Cape Erimo.
5-3A good relationship between the seals and tour originator
From the seal’s perspective
Sharing the same curiosity
3 species of seals live around Cape Erimo. Harbor seals are most abundant,
followed by spotted seals and ribbon seals.
They beach on the rocky area, connected to the tip of the cape.
We do not go far out into the sea,
but wind greatly affects the maneuverability of the kayaks.
Our most important job of the day is to decide on the course based on the wind direction and strength,
since seals come ashore to avoid the wind.
The tours are cancelled if the wind is above a certain strength.
Since we never feed the seals,
they do not get domesticated, like a pet.
However, they are naturally curious animals.
They always look at our movement,
and at times, baby seals come close to the kayaks and swim along side them.
We have a few seals that we recognize, and we try to see how they are doing.
Attractiveness of being able to observe them at their eye-level, at extremely close range.
It is exhilarating to get close to them on the kayak you are controlling on your own!
My number one motivation for this job
is seeing the faces of the customers when they return.
5-4Tourism in Erimo going forward, seals and kayaks
The role in observing seals
Things we can do for promoting tourism
There are 2 resident staff instructors including myself.
During the busy periods over the GW and summer,
students in “Harbor Seal Research Club” and boat club
from Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine
join us to help.
We may be contributing in creating jobs for the region.
More foreign visitors are showing interest in our tour.
There was a Korean visitor, who went on the tour after a group tour,
and simply became captivated that he extended his stay, and continued to return for the next few years.
Due to the necessary equipment preparation, the tour was offered by reservation only.
However, by reducing the scope of the experience,
we can offer a course for walk-in visitors.
Because increasing number of tourists visiting “Kaze no Yakata” on the cape
started asking,
“can we participate in what they are doing over there now?”
While maintaining a proper distance from the seals,
we do not unnaturally promote their propagation,
or get them close to the fishing grounds.
Through the operation of “Erimo Seal Club,”
I would like to think about the future of tourism in Erimo,
where we would co-exist with both the seals and the fishing industry.
