The person behind Kurashiki’s first Christmas market is cabin attendant Ichikawa Namiko. She is currently on secondment from All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. to the Kurashiki Tourism and Convention Bureau.
We spoke with Ichikawa and event coordinator Maeoka Michinobu about Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023.
About the person behind the event, Ichikawa Namiko
When did you start your secondment to Kurashiki?
Ichikawa (surname only)
I have been on secondment to Kurashiki since July 2022.
Based in Tokyo, I traveled around Japan and overseas as a cabin attendant, but about a year and a half after I joined the company, flights were reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As flights were cut, employees began taking secondments to locations across Japan to support regional revitalization.
The types of private-sector jobs at the destinations varied widely.
There were also several administrative roles, such as regional revitalization projects, and among them, Kurashiki was where I most wanted to go.
I had visited Kurashiki with my family when I was little, but I barely remembered it. My only impression was that it had “historic streetscapes,” so for me, Kurashiki was almost entirely new territory.
The excitement of going to a town I knew nothing about and “taking on something new that I had never experienced before” prompted me to volunteer for the secondment to Kurashiki.
When I moved here, I didn’t know anyone and had no friends, but I enjoy eating and talking with all kinds of people, so I visited many different shops in Kurashiki.
My impression was that many of the people I met at the shops who were from Kurashiki valued its history and culture, felt strongly about their hometown, and hoped to see Kurashiki become more vibrant.
Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023 was born thanks to an outside perspective
When did you first come up with the idea for Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023?
Ichikawa
I think it was last fall (2022).
The moment I saw the metasequoia tree at Kurashiki Ivy Square, I thought, “What a magnificent tree. It would look so beautiful as a Christmas tree!”
At first, I joked, “It would be nice to put lights on the metasequoia in winter,” but a lot of people agreed with me.
So I started seriously thinking about how to make it happen.
On the other hand, the metasequoia is tucked away a little, so it seems many locals don’t even know it’s there.
When I take visitors to Kurashiki to see the metasequoia, they’re all amazed and say, “Wow!”
I thought it would be wonderful if local people could discover something so impressive too, and that’s what inspired Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023.
Lighting up the metasequoia would have cost an enormous amount, so we had to give up on that due to budget constraints. Instead, we’ll create a light display using a mirror ball.
The Bikan Historical Area makes you feel as if you’ve traveled back in time, with its old buildings still standing.
Amid the Japanese-style atmosphere, there are also Western-style buildings like Kurashiki Ivy Square.
I’ve visited many places around Japan for work and travel, but this streetscape, where Japanese and Western styles blend together, is so unusual that I fell in love with it at first sight.
An event where everything is a first
Ichikawa
I’ve only been working at the Kurashiki Tourism and Convention Bureau for about a year and a half, but I’ve had the opportunity to take on a remarkably wide variety of tasks.
The number of tourists also starts to increase after summer, so I had many opportunities to attend events and travel for work, and every day was very busy.
On top of that, we couldn’t allocate funds to anything without an established budget, so even with an idea, there were major hurdles to making it happen.
Both time and budget were sources of concern.
Also, I had never done any administrative work before, so I struggled with preparing documents and writing proposals.
I had no idea how to write them.
I tried putting together the documents anyway, but after redoing them about five times, I finally got them into a shape that Maeoka could review.
When I presented the idea to my supervisor, I started by explaining, “What exactly is a Christmas market?”
Maeoka (surname only)
Ichikawa comes up with so many ideas, looking at Kurashiki from an outside perspective and pointing out what it lacks or what could be improved.
They’re fresh ideas, you could say, and they help us notice things we hadn’t seen.
When I heard her proposal for Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023, I thought it was very appealing, so I wanted to support her. It’s different from her work at All Nippon Airways, and the administrative procedures in particular can be hard to understand, so I wanted to help with that as much as I could.
I want Ichikawa to make use of her strengths and focus on communicating with the shops and planning the event.
It’s not just me; everyone around her feels, “It’s a great idea, so let’s support it.”
We really want to make it a success.
The Kurashiki Tourism and Convention Bureau had never held a Christmas event before.
Christmas markets aren’t familiar in Okayama, and the idea had never occurred to us.
There are no tourism events in December, and we were usually busy preparing for other events coming up after the New Year, so Ichikawa helped us notice all sorts of things.
Was it difficult to bring shops together after being in Kurashiki for only about a year and a half?
Ichikawa
I was really worried about whether we’d be able to get shops to participate.
It’s a busy time of year, and since this was the first event, I was worried that some shops might find it difficult to take part.
But so many shops were happy to join, and I’m incredibly grateful.
Many of the shops that came together were ones I already knew through work or had visited personally, and that had always been so kind to me.
With support from those around me, everyone is helping as we prepare for the event.
Thoughts on Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023
How would you like visitors to spend their time on the day of the event?
Ichikawa
I’d be happy if everyone could gather at one venue, warm up while enjoying delicious food and drinks together, and feel Christmas arriving in Kurashiki.
And if this event could take root in Kurashiki and continue for many years to come, I’d feel that taking on this challenge was truly worthwhile.
I’d be happy if more people, both from within and outside Okayama Prefecture, learned about Kurashiki’s appeal and potential, and if more people chose to spend Christmas in Kurashiki, saying, “Kurashiki is the place to be for Christmas.”
From the Writer
As someone from Kurashiki, I knew about Christmas markets, but it had never occurred to me to hold one in Kurashiki.
Ichikawa said that a Christmas market would be a perfect fit for Kurashiki’s atmosphere.
I thought it was an idea that could only have come from someone like Ichikawa, who sees the city from an outside perspective.
Through the interview, I also got a sense of Ichikawa’s own appeal: in just a year and a half, she planned an event and brought shops together.
With everything about Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023 being a first, everyone’s cooperation and passion are driving preparations forward.
I interviewed them hoping that the event would continue next year and the year after, and become a fixture in Kurashiki.
Why not get into the Christmas spirit at Kurashiki’s first Christmas market, Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023, on Friday, December 15, and Saturday, December 16, this year?
Articles about the Kurashiki Christmas Market
Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023 Information
| Name | Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023 |
|---|---|
| Dates | December 15 (Friday) and 16 (Saturday), 2023 4:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. (last order: 8:30 p.m.) |
| Location | 7-2 Honmachi, Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture |
| Website | Kurashiki Christmas Market 2023 |
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