On October 1, 2014, Professor Shunsuke Sasaki, Department of the Regional Frontier, Aomori Public University, gave us a lecture entitled “Tourism Industry of Aomori”.

　In the Department of the Regional Frontier at Aomori Public University, students in the first year need to do a lot of fieldwork, and then they study theories after the second year. That curriculum is unique and different from the other universities.

　We learned the effects of the tourism industry to our region, the importance of tourism, the present situation of tourism in Aomori, and what we could do in the future.

　The country that accepts the most inbound tourists in the world is France. Japan is in 27th place, but the number of tourists to Japan has been increasing constantly from 6 million in 2004 to 10 million in 2013. It is expected to increase more in the future. Tourists who come to Japan want to visit not only big cities, but also rural towns where they can enjoy heartwarming hospitality and traditional culture. Aomori has lots to see, so let’s tell the people around the world Aomori’s good points!

Professor Shunsuke Sasaki, Department of the Regional Frontier, Aomori Public University