Minamichita Town: Matching the Scale and Continuity of Initiatives What Happened after Continuing an Initiative to Encourage People to Pick Up One Visible Piece of Litter on a Sandy Beach
Content submitted by Asia-Pacific Tourism Exchange Center (APTEC) – Asia-Pacific Tourism Exchange Center
Submited Date : 30/10/2023

Minamichita Town is a tourism destination that attracts 2.5 million visitors annually, especially during the summer season. This town is working to solve the local issues of beach beautification, food loss, and traditional food culture on the Utsumi Coast.
The activity guideline for local volunteers and others was simple: Pick up visible litter on a sandy beach. At least once a month, volunteers who love the area's sandy beaches get together and continue their efforts to pick up litter. In the course of doing so, a range of events has been held on these beautiful sandy beaches, attracting attention from people in other areas as well as from the local community. These include creating sand art using a sandy beach with no obstructions as a canvas and making handmade plants with beautiful sand (such as succulent plants). In 2022, the town was selected as one of the Top 100 Green Destinations.