Thank you for your time today. Amidst numerous anniversaries and promotional periods, what was the primary goal in launching a major event on Kokusai Street—where countless tourists gather—starting specifically from "Black (Kuro) Day" on September 6?

As the Okinawa Prefectural Brown Sugar Countermeasure Council, we have focused on promoting Okinawa brown sugar for about four months, from "Brown Sugar Day" on May 10 to today's "Black Day." We chose the vibrant Kokusai Street as the culmination of this effort and as a venue where we could directly approach numerous tourists.
While our target demographic spans all ages from children to seniors, we are particularly mindful of tourists, including inbound visitors. We decided to hold the event at this timing so that visitors can take home not only travel memories but also accurate knowledge and the appeal of Okinawa brown sugar.

Feature highlights like the first-day-only sampling and a speed lottery to win original T-shirts are generating a lot of excitement. What kind of surprise or experience do you hope visitors will take home?

First and foremost, we want visitors to feel the surprise that "Okinawa brown sugar has such a deep and profound world." We want them to see, touch, taste, and enjoy the excitement of the event as part of their memories. We believe this is the first step toward building future fans.

This time, it's a multi-layered approach involving the entire city—product sales at specialty shops, menu offerings at restaurants, and digital signage spanning about 1.6km. What were some of the hardships or ingenious points when enlisting participation from numerous stores and media outlets?

Above all, our greatest effort was put into "raising awareness and gaining empathy" for this initiative from as many people as possible. Creating a sense of unity within the large shopping street of Kokusai Street was the key.
Kokusai Street welcomes a vast number of tourists from Asian regions such as China and Taiwan. Among them, visitors from Taiwan already have a close affinity with brown sugar. By carefully communicating this background and the mutual benefits—such as "Let's liven up the appeal of Okinawa brown sugar together"—we were able to gain forward-looking approval from many business owners.

The "differences in personality and flavor" of brown sugar produced in each of Okinawa's eight outer islands (Iheya, Ie, Aguni, Tarama, Kohama, Iriomote, Hateruma, and Yonaguni) are a major attraction. Through this event, how do you want people to experience that diversity?

The biggest charm of Okinawa brown sugar is its diversity: "the taste, flavor, and texture are completely different across all eight islands." Unlike ordinary honey or white sugar, sugarcane juice is boiled down as-is, which means it is rich in minerals.
Another vital point not to forget is that all of these are made in small sugar-making factories on remote islands. Brown sugar production is directly linked to the agriculture and culture of those islands, and ultimately to "protecting the islands." We would be thrilled if people could feel the individuality of each remote island along with that background.

Rather than ending as a one-off event, how do you plan to connect travel memories to future repeat purchases and fan creation? Please share your future outlook.

We are handing out brochures introducing the brown sugar of the eight islands at the event venue, but this is not the end. Going forward, we are establishing an environment where people can purchase anytime, anywhere through our official website and various social media platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, etc.).
We hope to continuously share content—including entertaining pieces—so that visitors to Okinawa can incorporate Okinawa brown sugar into their cooking, baking, or as gifts for loved ones at home. Our goal is to use this encounter on Kokusai Street as a springboard to increase fans of Okinawa brown sugar worldwide.

感谢您今天抽空接受采访。在众多纪念日和促销期间，为什么会选择以9月6日的“黑糖日”为起点，在游客穿梭如织的国际通上大举推出这样一场大型活动？其最大的核心目的究竟是什么？

作为冲绳县含蜜糖对策协议会，从5月10日的“黑糖日”到今天的“黑糖日”，我们在大约4个月的时间里一直大力推进冲绳黑糖的销售促进工作。而充满活力的国际通，正是这一系列成果的集大成者，也是我们能够直接接触广大游客的绝佳场所。
我们的目标受众涵盖从儿童到老人的全年龄段，但特别关注的是包括入境游客在内的广大游客朋友们。我们希望在为大家留下旅行美好回忆的同时，也能让大家把冲绳黑糖所蕴含的正确知识与无穷魅力带回住所，正是基于这样的想法，我们才决定在这个时间节点举办。

首日限定的样品派送以及抽取原创T恤的幸运抽奖等亮点活动现场非常热闹呢。您希望大家带走怎样的惊喜与体验呢？

来到现场的朋友们，首先希望能感受到一种“冲绳的黑糖竟然有着如此深奥的世界”的惊喜。通过看、触、品尝，并连同活动的火热氛围一起作为回忆珍藏。我们坚信，这是未来转化为忠实粉丝的第一步。

本次活动包括物产店的商品销售、餐饮店的菜单提供，以及长达约1.6公里的数字标牌运用，形成了全城动员的多层次推广模式。在争取众多店铺与媒体参与的过程中，有哪些煞费苦心的地方或巧思呢？

说实话，我们最费心思的还是如何让更多人“周知并共鸣”这一举措。如何在国际通这样一个大型商业街内营造出整体凝聚力，是关键所在。
在国际通，有来自中国和台湾等亚洲圈的大量游客。特别是台湾的朋友们，平时就与黑糖有着极佳的契合度，非常熟悉。通过真诚地向大家传达这种背景以及“要不要一起把冲绳黑糖的魅力推向高潮”的互惠共赢点，我们最终获得了许多商家的大力赞同与支持。

冲绳县八个离岛（伊平屋岛、伊江岛、粟国岛、多良间岛、小浜岛、西表岛、波照间岛、与那国岛）各自制造的黑糖有着“个性与风味各异”的巨大魅力，通过这次活动，您希望如何让大家切身体会到这种多样性呢？

冲绳黑糖最大的魅力，莫过于“八个岛屿的滋味、风味和口感完全不同”的多样性。与普通的蜂蜜或白糖不同，它是将甘蔗榨汁直接熬煮而成，因此富含矿物质也是其一大特征。
而且不容忽视的是，这些全部是由小型离岛上的制糖工厂生产的。黑糖的制作，直接关乎当地的农业与文化，进而与“守护海岛”息息相关。如果大家能在了解这些背景的同时，感受到各个离岛的个性，我们会感到无比欣慰。

不让活动止步于单次庆典，而是如何将旅行的回忆转化为日后的重复购买与粉丝化，请谈谈您对未来的展望。

虽然我们在活动现场发放了介绍八岛黑糖的宣传册，但这并不是终点。今后，我们将通过官方网站以及各大社交媒体（TikTok、Instagram、YouTube、X等），营造一个随时随地都能购买的环境。
我们希望通过包含趣味性内容的持续传播，让前来冲绳旅游的客人在回到家中后，也能在日常料理、做点心时使用冲绳黑糖，或者将其作为伴手礼送给亲朋好友。以国际通的相遇为契机，在全球范围内增加冲绳黑糖的粉丝，就是我们的目标。