Asoboat Tour at Boat Race Kojima ～ Enjoy Afternoon Tea and Various Experiences at Boat Race Kojima

Interview

We spoke with Yokota Yuko, a Kurashiki City Office employee assigned to the Boat Race Business Bureau, about this tour.

About Planning the Tour

What led you to come up with this kind of plan?

Yokota (honorific omitted)

I was transferred to Boat Race Kojima in April 2022.

Many of the visitors to Boat Race Kojima are older people or groups of men.

These days, tickets (boat-race betting tickets) can also be purchased online, so visitor numbers have been declining year by year.

We wanted to increase visitor numbers, and especially attract more women. What could we do to achieve that?

When I came to the boat race venue in Kojima, I thought, what a wonderful view.

I wanted lots of people to see this view.

I also wondered if there was something else we could offer, and remembered Kurashiki Afternoon Tea.

In fact, when I worked in the Tourism Division, I was involved in the Kurashiki Afternoon Tea program.

Kurashiki Afternoon Tea is an event with such strong drawing power that people travel to Kurashiki from other prefectures to attend.

I thought that if people could enjoy afternoon tea at a boat race venue with a beautiful view, it might attract groups of women and first-time visitors who had never been there before.

What Makes a Boat Race Venue Special

What are the highlights of this tour?

Yokota

First, I’d like people to enjoy the view from the boat race venue.

We’ve reserved one of the day-use rooms in the fifth-floor Royal Room, which is normally available only to paid members.

Please sit back on the sofa, take in the view, and enjoy chatting with your friends.

And, of course, afternoon tea.

At first, I was thinking of a light meal with lunch and sweets packed in a bento box.

But with the help of .KOMBINAT, we were able to arrange the afternoon tea just as it is served at the cafe.

There are also decorative displays for taking photos and posting them on Instagram and other platforms.

There are also VR experiences and workshops, as well as photo opportunities with Gaako, the mascot character of Boat Race Kojima.

Even after leaving the boat race venue, visitors can go to Kojima Jeans Street and Betty Smith, or visit the observation deck at Washuzan Hill. It’s a full day of fun for both locals and tourists.

The New Boat Race Kojima

What would you like to see for Boat Race Kojima in the future?

Yokota

This time, we held a limited series of eight tours, and we ask participants to complete a survey as a condition of joining.

We hope to use the survey responses as a reference and come up with something fun for next time, too.

Boat Race Kojima is under the jurisdiction of Kurashiki City and is one of its public sports facilities.

Revenue from boat racing is used to fund measures against COVID-19 and recovery efforts following the July 2018 torrential rains, and is transferred to Kurashiki City’s general account.

Boat Race Kojima is scheduled for renovation work in the future.

The new building will also serve as an evacuation site, and is planned to include facilities where children can play freely.

I hope it will be enjoyed as a leisure facility that both boat-racing fans and people who aren’t fans can visit casually, and as a tourist attraction.

From the Writer

Taking part in this tour completely changed my image of boat race venues.

I was also surprised to learn that it was actually a Kurashiki City facility.

There are only 24 boat race venues in Japan, and one of them is in Kojima.

I learned that being able to watch boat racing live is actually a rare opportunity.

I also learned that boat racing is a one-of-a-kind sport where active competitors ranging in age from 17 to their 70s can compete on the same field, regardless of gender.

As a Kurashiki City resident, I found myself wanting to cheer them on wholeheartedly.

Boat Race Kojima will be transformed in the near future.

I hope it will become a new tourist destination in Kurashiki City, enjoyed by locals as well as visitors.

Articles About Boat Race Kojima

Boat Race Kojima Asoboat Tour Information

Name	Boat Race Kojima Asoboat Tour
Dates	Weekends on race days from January to March 2023 January 21 and 28; February 18, 19, 25, and 26; March 5, 2023
Location	6-3 Motohamacho, Kojima, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture
Participation fee (tax included)	¥2,000 per adult (tax included)
Website	Boat Race Kojima Asoboat Tour