Local Guide Interview – Shimanami Cycling, Onomichi Hiking, and More with Takayuki Fukumoto

I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with BINGO Guide Network’s Takayuki Fukumoto for an interview. Operating out of his hometown of Onomichi, Hiroshima, Fukumoto-san is the kind of guide who just absolutely floors you with his enthusiasm, the kind of guide who turns a fun trip into a life-changing one. Our talk covered a variety of topics, ranging from Fukumoto-san’s guide history and Onomichi’s many sightseeing spots to rural Japan’s growing abandoned house crisis and the kaleidoscopic world of the late great film director Nobuhiko Obayashi.

For more on Onomichi, check out my travelogue on the town!

On Guiding and Language Learning

Q: What kind of tours do you conduct?

I do cycling tours of Shimanami Kaido through the Onomichi Tourism Association, as well as walking tours of Onomichi. Apart from that, I also take on Miyajima guide requests from the agents I’m registered with and guide other guide-interpreters around Onomichi-Senkoji as a part of guide training sessions.

Q: What sort of jobs did you hold before becoming a guide-interpeter?

I worked for the Hiroshima Prefectural Government. When I was younger, I worked in a wide variety of fields, including fire and disaster prevention, Hiroshima Airport, civil engineering maintenance, business attraction, prefectural taxation. After that, I was transferred to the Osaka office of the Hiroshima Prefectural Government. I was in charge of promoting Hiroshima tourism to agents and media in Chubu and Kansai, and I ended up working with a lot of municipalities and tourism associations across Hiroshima.

Q: What made you decide to be a guide?

I retired early from the prefectural government and returned to my hometown of Onomichi. I started working at a fruit wholesaler run by a relative of mine and at a guesthouse too. More than half of the guesthouse’s customers came in from abroad, and I felt the need to study English. And so, I figured I might as well get a qualification of some sort and aimed to become a Hiroshima Prefecture Regional Guide Interpreter. I picked up English again for the first time in 30 years and after two and a half years or so, I managed to secure the guide-interpeter qualification. That was the start.

Q: What do you enjoy most about being a guide?

Being able to offer my guests opportunities to fall in love with Onomichi. I also really love connecting with other guides.

Q: Are there any places you’d like to guide in the future?

I’d love to do food and drink crawls while guiding guests along Onomichi’s Three Mountain route (Mount Jodoji, Mount Saikokuji, and Mount Senkoji).

Q: How do you like to study English?

I mainly listen to NHK’s English conversation program. I also periodically take the TOEIC.

Q: What do you struggle with the most in language learning?

I’ve never lived abroad. I had only studied English up until university. So, I have next to zero sense when it comes to English conversation. I’m also not good with memorization. I’m struggling with everything, basically.

Q: When do you most feel the fun of language learning?

When I manage to communicate with people from abroad using my middle school level vocabulary. Also, when I go drinking and chat with the short-term helpers at the guest house.

On Onomichi

Q: What sort of a town is Onomichi in your eyes? Also, as a citizen of Onomichi, what qualities of the town would you like to share with others?

Onomichi is a town that soothes the soul. Even for those raised in more urban towns, it feels like their home town. I want to work together with everyone to create an environment where people can try and live here, interact with all kinds of people, and then even find a job. Also, all of the refurbished properties offered by The Onomichi Vacant House Revival Project, which runs the guest house I work at, are really attractive. Not just the buildings, but the staff too. I’d love for people to visit and interact with the community.

Q: While you were growing up, what kind of a town was Onomichi?

I was born in Onomichi and lived here until high school. Although I say Onomichi, I lived in the northern part of town, which is quite rural, so downtown Onomichi felt like the big city to me. I always looked forward to playing at my relative’s house downtown, and I remember the shopping arcade, the fish market on Kaigan-dori, and the port being full of life.

Q: Are there any places in Onomichi that hold special meaning for you?

The Stairs of Misode Tenmangu Shrine, which appeared in the film I Are You, You Am Me (1982), the home of the protagonist of the film, and Suminoe Ryokan in Setoda.

Q: What qualities of Onomichi do you think are attractive to guests from abroad? As a guide, what points do you want to convey?

Walking along the roads that form a labyrinth amongst the temples and homes that cling to the surrounding mountains. Looking out at the scenery from Mount Jodoji and Mount Senkoji. And who doesn’t want to just stare at the Onomichi Channel, with boats cruising across it. I want to convey Onomichi’s charm through interactions with the locals, in such a way that people want to try living here.

Q: What sort of town would you like Onomichi to become in the future?

I want it to be a town that’s always moving, filled with all sorts of people who want to live and do business here.

Q: Do you feel that Onomichi’s residents bear any qualities that set them apart from residents of other towns?

Onomichi is a place where new residents really shine. Thanks to the astounding activities of the Onomichi Vacant House Revival, the town is welcoming to outsiders.

Q: Do you have any fun facts or anecdotes about Onomichi?

I live in the countryside, and I really only venture downtown for the Onomichi Beccha Festival and Sumiyoshi Fireworks Festival. In the past, the children used to have a big battle with the Beccha (referring to three demons that citizens dress up as to scare children) on the field at Nagae Junior High School. It was so much fun. We would really knock the hell out of each other. These days, the festival is less violent.

On Onomichi's Relationship With Film

Q: What are your thoughts on Onomichi’s Relationship With Film

I feel like Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953) was probably the start, but the Onomichi we know today owes itself to Nobuhiko Obayashi. Through his films, I was charmed by Onomichi all over again,” said Fukumoto-san. “I get the sense that a lot of people who grew up watching his “Onomichi Trilogy” have gone on to use Onomichi as the setting of their own films and commercials.

Q: Of the many works that have utilized Onomichi as their setting, which do you feel best encapsulates Onomichi’s charm and spirit?

That has got to be I Are You, You Am Me. When I entered university, I told a friend of mine that I was from Onomichi. He said he was jealous, which came as a real surprise to me. Apparently he had become an Onomichi fan after watching I Are You, You Am Me. Right then and there, I went and found a theater playing the film and gave it a watch. In truth, I didn’t have much interest until then and had yet to see the film. Later on down the line, I invited that same friend to Onomichi and guided him around the shooting locations from the film.

On Onomichi's Abandoned Houses

Q: Could you tell me your thoughts on the nationwide abandoned house problem?

It’s a serious problem that every town in the country has to deal with. I feel that it’s an issue that must be addressed with the highest priority, alongside the declining population problem. We’ve got to avoid a situation where we fight over the limited pieces of the domestic pie and instead consider having people move in from abroad.

Q: How does Onomichi figure into all of this?

The Onomichi Vacant House Revival Project has been tackling the akiya problem for longer than most other organizations in the country. I’ve met foreigners staying at Miharashi-tei, the guest house I work at, who were searching for homes in Onomichi. One individual I know stayed at Miharashi-tei, then decided to become a staff member, and finally took over as manager. They actually live in my old family home, which had become an akiya. I feel like I’ve really experienced Onomichi’s akiya revival firsthand.

Q: What sort of effect do you think the Onomichi Vacant House Revival Project has on the town? From the perspective of a citizen, do you think the Project is producing real change?

They’re breathing new life into the old homes that form Onomichi’s unique “miniature garden-style city,” which has been registered as a Japan Heritage (a system by which certain historical and cultural properties are officially recognized by Japan’s Ministry of Culture.)

Q: You’ve mentioned that you work at a guesthouse, Miharashi-tei, which was refurbished from an akiya. Could you tell me about the guesthouse?

Quoting from the official website:

It is a villa with a magnificent view built in 1921 (Taisho 10). Although used as an inn for a short period after WWII, it has been out of use for nearly 30 years. We came across Miharashi-tei through the Akiya Bank, i.e. a database for “abandoned” houses.

In 2009, we took over operation of the bank from the city of Onomichi. There were 56 houses registered　and available through the bank, and Miharashi-tei was one of them.

The owner loves the highly cultured city Onomichi and wanted to prevent further dilapidation. Moved by the owner’s wish, we started taking measurements of the inn and making estimates for renovation. Around the same time, we gained confidence renovating a machiya style house and making it a successful guesthouse. By the beginning of 2015 we had a fairly solid plan for funding so started work renovating it ourselves – the very first step of a year and a half renovation project.

The term Saen usually refers to tea plantations. But in Onomichi, it has historically referred to villas used for enjoying tea and welcoming guests. Onomichi prospered as a port town from the Edo period (1603-) to early Showa (-1930s). Wealthy merchants and successful business owners built villas on hilltops. Such villas were elaborately designed and showcased the owners’ success. In such a beautiful environment where the sea and mountains are three-dimensionally “intertwined,” Onomichi’s unique Saen culture flourished.

Many Saen culture style villas were gone or dilapidated, but Onomichi still has unique and elegant properties with characteristics of Edo, Meiji, Taisho and Showa architectural styles.

Fukumoto-san noted the following:

Foreign guests make up about half of the customer-base, and a cafe is also attached the guesthouse. The sunrise is particularly spectacular. It’s one of the big draws here. One thing I’ve gotta mention is the “helper system,” where both Japanese and foreigners alike can work short-term as live-in employees. I think this ultimately leads a lot of people to consider moving to Onomichi for good.

Q: Are there any other refurbished akiya that you think are particular successes?

The first project of the Revival Project, Guesthouse Anago no Nedoko, often called the Gaudi House, as well as many other attractive properties.

On Onomichi Tourism

Q: Are there any particular restaurants you’d like to recommend?

I like a ramen joint in the arcade, by the name of Miyachi. Their curry ramen is a real gem. As for places to drink, I’ve recently been into this place called 5 (Five).

Q: When you guide guests around Senkoji Temple and Neko-no-Hosomichi, what points do you make sure to communicate to the guests?

While the guests savor the view from Senkoji Park’s observation deck, I try to get them to be conscious of the three Japan Heritages in view (Miniature Garden Style City, the former domain of the Murakami Pirates, and former path of Kitamaebune trade route).

Q: When you conduct walking tours, are there any places you bring your guests to absolutely every time?

The view from Mount Senkoji is the most famous, but the Onomichi Three Mountain Route that also includes Mount Saikokuji and Mount Jodoji is also attractive. I always bring my guests to the rooftop observation deck of Onomichi City Hall, which is reminiscent of the deck of a ship.