Taiwan-Japan Hot Spring Exchange: The 2016 Guguan Yukata Culture Festival Is Coming!

▲ Mutual exchange between hot spring businesses in Taichung and Japan. (Photo / Provided by Taichung City Government Tourism and Travel Bureau)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Taichung’s hot springs have garnered international attention. Following an exchange with Tottori Prefecture in western Honshu, Japan, on the 26th, Oita Prefecture in northeastern Kyushu also visited Guguan in Taichung. Chen Sheng-shan, Director of the Taichung City Tourism and Travel Bureau, stated that in 2016,the “Guguan Yukata Culture Festival”。

Hino Toyofumi, Chairman of the Yufuin Hot Spring Inn Association in Japan, led local inn mistresses to Guguan to guide hot spring business operators on bathing etiquette and various ways to wear yukata. For this event, hot spring businesses specially designed unique yukatas for Guguan, incorporating indigenous elements and weaving culture.

Chen Sheng-shan said he hopes to bring Japanese yukata culture to Guguan. With expert guidance, service staff can learn the correct way to wear yukata, and next year, they hope to hold the “Guguan Yukata Culture Festival” with closed streets in Guguan, allowing visitors to experience authentic hot spring culture and fun.

Chen Sheng-shan pointed out that Oita Prefecture has a geographical environment similar to Taichung City, mostly mountainous with only a small portion of plains. Key crops such as grapes, shiitake mushrooms, and alcoholic beverages are also similar to the important agricultural specialties of Taichung City. This time, Oita Prefecture’s hot spring business operators were brought to Guguan, providing many experiences and new ideas in hot spring management, operation, and marketing promotion.

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