Photo/Illutration A guidebook developed by Kyoto city to help those who have trouble returning home in the event of a natural disaster is available not only in Japanese but also in English, Chinese and Korean. The photo was taken in Kyoto on March 10. (Fuka Takei)

KYOTO--In the event of a major disaster, the ancient capital is taking action to ensure the smooth distribution of emergency information to the ever-present throngs of tourists. 

Amid the turmoil during the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, many sightseers from outside Japan were at a loss of what to do due to the language barrier. 

With the growing number of inbound tourists in Kyoto Prefecture in mind, regional authorities are exploring effective communication strategies based on lessons learned from that disaster.

Kyoto Prefecture tallied a record high 75.18 million sightseers in the prefecture in 2023, driven particularly by a notable increase in foreign visitors owing to the yen's depreciation.

The findings of Kyoto city similarly showed a record high 5.35 million visitors from outside Japan, up 40 percent from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, stayed in the municipality in 2023.

An estimate made in 2012 by Kyoto city officials predicted that 370,000 people within the municipality would face difficulty returning home during a natural disaster. Of this figure, tourists are expected to number 130,000.

The actual number of those unable to return home could be much higher than this forecast, as it has not been updated for more than a decade.

Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto city are implementing strategies to assist such difficult-to-return individuals, inclusive of international visitors.

Sightseers will undoubtedly flock to Kyoto Station in the event of a major earthquake hitting Kyoto, because the core transit center serves as a hub for the Tokaido Shinkansen Line and conventional JR trains.

These tourists will be directed to nearby emergency evacuation zones to maintain order and ensure safety. If they cannot relocate for an extended period, they will be encouraged to move to temporary shelters under the plan.

Kyoto city has signed deals with 124 establishments since 2013, including temples and shrines, which are willing to become emergency evacuation zones, while 50 hotels and other facilities have agreed to accommodate evacuees as temporary shelters.

These operators will offer restrooms as well as evacuation spaces during an emergency.

To spread the word among non-Japanese visitors, Kyoto city added English, Chinese and Korean descriptions to its disaster preparedness guidebook featuring evacuation centers.

The municipal government always displays a dedicated link on the home page of its tourism website for foreign visitors, directing them to a specialized site that presents disaster information in five languages.

QR codes to visit the disaster info site have been put up on signboards and elsewhere across 300 locations, with the hope of promptly providing tourists with essential updates even when away from their accommodations.

Aside from the online approach, Kyoto city has concluded agreements with 22 organizations, such as a shopping street. They are expected to help convey disaster information to sightseers as necessary.

“What is important is to share accurate information quickly,” said a Kyoto city representative.

In the meantime, Kyoto Prefecture is looking to refer tourists to its multi-language, anti-disaster Kyoto Crisis Management Website during an emergency.

Visitors can also access emergency information through the Another Kyoto page online, which showcases its tourist spots in English and Chinese, and the Kyo Navi general sightseeing information bureau located on the Kyoto Station’s grounds.

“It is crucial to call on people to make full use of existing resources, including the prefecture’s anti-disaster website,” said a representative from the prefectural government’s disaster response department. “Given that our current countermeasures are insufficient, we will be further disseminating useful information from here on out.”

Among the plans being considered by the local government is distributing a flier with the QR code to access its anti-disaster site to accommodation facilities within the prefecture.

(This article was written by Fuka Takei and Keitaro Nishizaki.)

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