Japanese Film Crew Shoots Travel Series in Arkansas
Zoie Clift, travel writer
Arkansas Tourism
A Japanese film crew passed through Arkansas at the end of October, starting the first leg of a filming journey slated to document traveling across America.
The crew made stops in Little Rock, Hot Springs, and Eureka Springs before continuing their journey to Mississippi and ending in New Orleans, LA.
The program, which is being created for Nihon TV, the third largest commercial network in Japan, is part of a series showing a side of the U.S. that most Japanese do not know well, sort of the undiscovered America. The station will air one 30-minute show for each of the 50 states. The focus is to show America’s attractions in a way that will entice Japanese to come experience them for themselves. Part of doing that is showing how Americans live and how Japanese could have "typically American" experiences if they visited.
“The Japanese travel industry is launching a campaign to promote fly/drive travel to the U.S. next year, so that should also be ideal for the region, especially states like Arkansas that really have to be experienced by driving.” said Marjorie Dewey, who helped coordinate the media project and represents Mississippi River Country USA in Japan. “The show will air at a time when Japanese are looking for more individualized, unique ways to visit the U.S. so the timing is excellent.”
Tetsuo Naruoka, a director for 20 years, was chosen for the project. His team consisted of a cameraman, coordinator and scheduled translators along the way. Highway 7 was high on their shot list because of the changing fall colors along the route and because it passes through the heart of both the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains.
This was not Naruoka’s first visit to Arkansas. He said via a translator he was here around a decade ago filming a documentary Bridges of the World, which showcased the Old Mill in North Little Rock and Hernando de Soto Bridge in West Memphis.
Naruoka’s project this time around will hone in on his country’s renewed interest in overseas travel. “Japanese travel to the South had steadily risen until 9/11 and was really poised to become a key travel destination with New Orleans at the center.” said Dewey. “That all changed after 9/11. Japanese stopped traveling everywhere, especially to the U.S. The market has just begun recovering in the last two years. Tour operators are just starting to sell New Orleans again, and once that happens, travel will pick up throughout the region.”
The station is planning to air the series next year on their satellite channel. After the program is aired, it will become part of a video library available to schools, tour operators, and Japanese communities who are planning travels to the state. The programs are being supported by the Travel Industry Association of America, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo and the Japan Association of Travel Agents.
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