【Summary Report 2018｜Hachijojima】

Many treasures including the vast natural landscape, specialty products, and unique traditions and cultures can be found in the 11 islands of Tokyo. The Tokyo Treasure Islands Project, which began in FY 2018, is an initiative carried out by the inhabitants of the islands that aims to brand the Tokyo Islands region through polishing and widely communicating these treasures.

In FY 2018, island meetings were held in Oshima, Kouzushima, Miyakejima, and Hachijojima, in which residents participated to discuss the branding of the islands.
The following is a reflection of the initiatives that Hachijojima took in FY 2018.

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What are Hachijojima's Treasures? A Consideration of the Island's Treasures
Setting Hachijojima's Target Persona
Hachijojima's Brand Concept and Action Plan
Presentation at the Tokyo Treasure Islands Museum
FY 2018 Hachijojima Initiatives
Participant Feedback

What are Hachijojima's Treasures? A Consideration of the Island's Treasures

The first island meeting began with a discussion of the island's treasures. The participants listed resources like Hachijofuji, shiitake, kusa-ya, kihachijo, sea turtles, ashitaba, and the rounded cobblestone fences, as well as the various people that work in the island as treasures.

In the second island meeting, the venue was moved to the capital and the meeting was held jointly with Oshima, Kouzushima and Miyakejima. The participants learned about branding through case studies presented by experts in regional branding and by visiting facilities and companies that have succeeded in branding in the capital. Using the knowledge obtained, the participants will polish the appealing individuality unique to Hachijojima from the third meeting onwards.

2Setting Hachijojima's Target Persona

In the third island meeting, the target persona was discussed. The target persona was set as a curious female creator in her 30's that can communicate and is thinking about refreshing and polishing her senses through interacting with the nature and people of Hachijojima.

In the fourth island meeting the participants discussed the island's treasures to communicate to the target persona. Treasures included food, the natural environment, and the lifestyle in the island. The action plan focused on experiences that put food at the core while allowing visitors to enjoy the climate of the island with the five senses, come into contact with the people and their cultures, and have fun while learning about the island.

Hachijojima's Brand Concept and Action Plan

In the fifth island meeting, the brand concept and action plan of Hachijojima were discussed.

Since Hachijojima has various species and treasures, the brand concept combined the treasures with the rainbow and was set was "A rainbow-colored island where you can restore your colors."

Compared to the peak seasons of spring and summer, the number of visitors in the autumn and winter seasons is varied, so a plan using this brand concept to create new Hachijojima fans that will visit and stay for a long time during the off-peak seasons was considered.

In order to let people in the mainland understand the appeals of Hachijojima that are varied like the colors of a rainbow and to have the visitors actually touch upon these appeals, an idea to create business cards and photobooks with the island's talents (business operators) printed on them to be placed in restaurants inside and outside of Hachijojima was considered.

Colored cards and photobooks have the role of connecting the island to the stores in which they are placed and will also serve as a communication tool for the restaurant and the customer and as an invitation card for those visiting. When the visitors visit, they will be given a colored card of another talent. Repeating this process will allow the visitor to fully experience the appeals of Hachijojima.

Presentation at the Tokyo Treasure Islands Museum

The Tokyo Treasure Islands Museum was held in Tokyo Midtown on March 22, 2019. Those that participated in the island meetings presented their brand concept and action plans to business operators in the mainland.

After the presentation, opinions regarding touching base outside of the island were exchanged with tour information websites and companies that operate store information web media and tools, making it a business matching opportunity for the future.

FY 2018 Hachijojima Initiatives

September 11, 2018 First Island Meeting | Consideration of the island's treasures
October 23, 2018 First Tokyo Treasure Islands Meeting (Comprehensive Meeting) | Joint ceremony with 11 islands
November 20, 2018, Third Island Meeting | Consideration of the target persona
December 21, 2018 Fourth Island Meeting | Creating the island brand and concept sheet; consideration of the action idea
January 29, 2019 Second Tokyo Treasure Islands Meeting (Comprehensive Meeting) | Interim presentation of the brand concept and action plan
February 25, 2019 Fifth Island Meeting | Brush-up of the brand concept and action plan
March 22, 2019 Tokyo Treasure Islands Museum | Presentation

The Tokyo Treasure Islands Project is continuing to further polish the rainbow-colored treasures in Hachijojima to allow more people to know its appeals.

Participant Feedback

We've individually appealed the island's strengths, but by thinking objectively and strategically through the island meetings, we were able to dig up new appeals and brush-up on them. We would like to continue this and further brush-up the ideas using perspectives from both inside and outside the island. (Tomoko Yamashita, Regional Coordinator, photographer)