Shiga Prefecture Deepening Ties with Austrian National Tourist Office; Cooperation to Be Expanded by Running Collaborative Booth at Music Event

- International Exchanges Start After Finding: Austria and Lake Biwa Similar in Shape -

OTSU,Japan,March 29,2022 -- Shiga Prefecture has been promoting tourism and cultural exchanges with the Austrian National Tourist Office (ANTO) since last year. It is planning tointroduce Austria's charms by setting up a sales booth for Austrian specialtygoods during the "Omi Spring Biwako Classical Music Festival 2022" at theBiwako Hall Center for the Performing Arts,Shiga,in collaboration with ANTOon April 30 (Saturday) and May 1 (Sunday),2022 -- a coordinated effort toshare tourism information,sell specialty goods and so forth.

- Overview of Omi Spring Biwako Classical Music Festival 2022

Dates: April 29 (Friday) (pre-festival event),30 (Saturday),May 1 (Sunday),2022

Venue: Biwako Hall Center for the Performing Arts

Content: While taking thorough measures to prevent infection and spread of COVID-19,concerts will be held among distinguished artists and orchestras in large and small halls. Furthermore,sales of specialties are also planned atthe booth dedicated to Austria.

- ANTO's tweet a trigger:

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On "Lake Biwa Day (July 1)" in 2021,there was an interesting tweet from ANTO'sTwitter account saying,"Lake Biwa and Austria are similar in shape." It became a hot topic and appeared in newspapers,catching the attention of ShigaPrefectural Government officials. The exchanges between Shiga Prefecture andANTO started after the prefectural government officials,who felt it was a"serendipitous article," contacted the Austrian tourist office.

On July 9,2021,the Biwako Visitors Bureau in charge of promoting tourism andproducts of Shiga Prefecture presented Shigaraki-yaki ceramic "tanuki"(Japanese raccoon dog) ware,a product of Shiga Prefecture's traditionalpottery industry,to ANTO as a gift. ANTO sent a thank-you tweet and hosted avoting event to pick an Austrian name for the raccoon dog figurine. It wasnamed "Gustav" after Austrian painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918). It has appearedon ANTO's Twitter account time and again ever since,playing a part inbilateral exchanges.

According to a local media outlet handling information on Shiga Prefecture,thelocation of Vienna,Austria's capital,in the country matches that of ChikubuIsland in Lake Biwa. The island is one of Japan's scenic historic sites and isknown as a "power spot" (place of spiritual energy) with a mysterious temple. One cannot help but feel closer to Vienna and a fateful encounter withAustria's capital.

- Cheering for an Austrian athlete in the women's road cycling event at theTokyo Olympics

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After Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer won gold in the women's road cycling race atthe Tokyo Olympics on July 25,the Biwako Visitors Bureau invited ANTOofficials to visit "CocoShiga," a base in Tokyo's Nihonbashi district fordisseminating information on Shiga Prefecture,on Aug. 6 and presented abicycle-riding Shigaraki-yaki raccoon dog figurine named "Cycling tanuki-chan"to them. An Austrian section was set up there for a limited time. Similaritiesbetween Shiga Prefecture and Austria (beautiful lakes,cycling routes (e.g.Biwaichi),music and culture,pottery,lake-fish dishes,etc.) were displayedon a panel,and Austrian souvenirs and other items were introduced.

- ANTO officials visit Shiga Prefecture

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On Oct. 7 and 8,two ANTO officials visited the Shiga PrefecturalGovernment and Shigaraki in Koka City. They toured the Biwako Hall and aShigaraki ware kiln,and experienced Shiga Prefecture's charms such as cycling along Lake Biwa. Shiga officials who received the Austrian visitors conveyedtheir gratitude for wonderful discoveries and disseminating information on theprefecture. They pledged to cooperate in promoting tourism exchanges.

There is the Biwaichi Cycling Route (total distance of about 200 km) encirclingLake Biwa. It is popular among cyclists from Japan and abroad because they canenjoy cycling while feeling nature. Hoping to see the gold medalist cycling onthe route in the future,a "Biwaichi invitation" was sent to her. In Austria,there is a 135-km cycling road (part of it in Hungary) encircling LakeNeusiedl,a World Heritage site. It is hoped that exchanges will be promotedthrough cycling once the coronavirus goes away.

- Shiga vice governor visits Austrian Embassy

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In December 2021,Shiga Vice Gov. Koji Ejima visited the Austrian Embassy andexpressed his gratitude for starting exchanges following tweets posted on "LakeBiwa Day," introducing information on the prefecture and publicizing "Biwaichi"and so on. Confirming the shape of Lake Biwa,Stephan Heisler,Deputy Head ofMission at the Austrian Embassy in Tokyo,said with a touch of surprise that the lake and Austria look similar in shape. Ejima sounded him out about holdingevents featuring common themes on forthcoming "Lake Biwa Day." In reply,theAustrian envoy said the two sides should go ahead and discuss specific plans.Efforts will be made to expand cooperation toward fiscal 2022 by discussingwhat types of exchanges can be possible.

- Event in Tokyo to share Shiga Prefecture's charms

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In a bid to increase the number of individuals interested in Shiga Prefecture,an event was held in Tokyo's Minato Ward from March 9 to 13 to advertise theprefecture's charms. In the PR booth,exchanges between Shiga Prefecture andAustria and relevant efforts were introduced,while Omi beef,a pride of ShigaPrefecture,was cooked in the style of Austrian cuisine called "schnitzel" andserved in a cafe booth.