DISCOVER FUKUI

Sabae Osekkai: Ms. Mutsumi Ueshima

What are your main activities?

  We are a volunteer group in Sabae City that provides directions to Sandome Fukui and introduces local restaurants. At night, we place tulip-shaped lights along the path to guide visitors back from Sandome Fukui.

Number of members: Approximately 15

Location: Sabae Station area

Activity Period: Days when live events are held at Sandome Fukui

・Look for our yellow T-shirts!

・They wear handmade bags featuring Sabae's PR items like glasses and red pandas!

・We start activities early in the morning to coincide with the live event's merchandise sales time!

・On snowy concert days, we also shovel snow along the route from Sabae Station to the Glass Museum to Sandome Fukui!

・Tulip lights feature hand-drawn glasses!

What do you keep in mind during your activities?

First, we make the initial approach. Then, we avoid being pushy or insistent. Ultimately, the decision rests with the customer. And we show up for every live event at Sandome Fukui. Skipping certain events would feel like ranking artists, which would be unfair to their fans.

What inspired you to start this activity?

I love traveling abroad alone, but once I missed the last train while traveling. A local caught a taxi for me and warned the driver not to overcharge me, so I made it safely back to my hotel. I wanted to repay that kindness to tourists in Sabae. At first, I worked alone, handing out disposable hand warmers to people waiting for the JR train at Sabae Station on snowy days. One day, I caught a taxi for a girl from Kanazawa who was running late for a live event. When she returned, she came to me, hugged me, cried, and thanked me. People who happened to see that activity are now my companions. The name "Ossetsukai" was actually given to us by a young person who saw our activities. We started our activities under the name "Sabae Osekkai," hoping the spirit would spread to other areas in Fukui Prefecture, like "Fukui Osekkai" and "Takefu Osekkai"!

What gives you a sense of fulfillment?

There are tough times, like when our Twitter account gets flooded with criticism, but hearing words of thanks from customers or seeing messages on Twitter saying "I want to come back to Sabae" really energizes us.

What are your aspirations for the upcoming Shinkansen opening?

By continuing our Osekkai activities, we want people to say, "I want to come back to Sabae," and actually take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to visit us again.

A message for all tourists visiting Fukui Prefecture!

Make lots of fun memories in Fukui!