“Meet” Da Nang
On a rainy day in 2012, Junko Nagai visited Da Nang for the first time. She was on a cruise ship that was visiting many Asian port cities for 30 days.
The sunny beaches of Hainan (China), the ancient buildings of Penang (Malaisia), the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City… along with the fatigue of a long trip made the sad and gloomy rainy season of Da Nang disappear. “That time I missed the opportunity to understand Da Nang earlier and more,” she laughed.
At that time, she worked for a large cruise ship company in Tokyo, so she had the opportunity to travel, experience and work with the authorities of many port cities around the world , to learn how they do tourism, and discuss opening international cruise tours.
But by chance, in August 2023, her destination was to become a volunteer for 2 years at the Da Nang Tourism Promotion Center.
This time she was surprised by the dynamic pace of life and the wonderful landscape here. Tourists, crowded tourist vehicles, shops, long beaches and green Son Tra made her amazed.
Then came the days of living and immersing herself in Da Nang, in Vietnam. Every weekend she went to every corner of Da Nang, ate new dishes, visited craft villages, found ancient houses, walked to Son Tra to welcome the sunrise...
She races against time, exploring other parts of Vietnam. She boasts that she just went on a weekend trip by bus to Hai Phong. Last week, she went to Ly Son to see the garlic fields. “There are so many things to explore in Da Nang and Vietnam, 2 years is too short for me. I will come back here many times!” - Nagai Junko confided.
Vietnamese is also one of the things that makes Nagai Junko more attached to Vietnam. She diligently studies every afternoon at a coffee shop with a Vietnamese teacher twice a week since she first arrived.
“Vietnamese pronunciation and tones are quite difficult for me. I really have to try very hard. Sometimes I have to practice a word for a whole week to get it right. Vietnamese helps me understand Vietnam better and connect more with the people and this country,” Junko said.
While studying intermediate level curriculum, she still regularly corrects her pronunciation every day with a reading book for Vietnamese children. The vegetable garden, fish pond, and family meals on each page of the book add colorful strokes to her picture of Vietnam.
Need more ways to promote Da Nang
“In just 2 years here, I have seen many changes in Da Nang, especially in the tourism industry. There are more traffic lights for pedestrians. Tourist areas, Han market, Con market… are cleaner, with more amenities and souvenir shops for tourists. I think not many tourist cities have had such impressive changes in just 2 years. The direct flight from Da Nang to Osaka, which will operate from July this year, will certainly bring many tourists from Western Japan to Da Nang,” she said.
In 2024, during a working trip with the Da Nang Department of Tourism to participate in the Tourism EXPO in Tokyo, she tried to conduct a survey on Japanese people's evaluation of Da Nang.
About 42% of more than 1,000 respondents said that they still do not know much about Da Nang. She thinks that a city like Da Nang deserves to be known more. She has connected, contacted and published an email newsletter about Da Nang tourism to many tourism professionals in Japan. She also translated more than 200 articles posted on the Da Nang Department of Tourism's information page.
“I think there should be more quality articles in foreign languages to introduce the city to international friends. Many articles on travel news sites have outdated information, and articles about upcoming events are not very timely,” said Ms. Nagai Junko.
“Da Nang has many attractive things for tourists to visit and remember. I think that in the short term, just providing correct and updated information about Da Nang as it is can attract more tourists. Although it is a famous and dynamic tourist city, it still retains many of the daily activities of the people and has its own culture. I and many other tourists will be attracted to a natural and confident Da Nang like that, rather than the simple tourism products that can be found at any tourist destination,” Junko added.
Nagai Junko's group of Japanese friends in Da Nang often go hiking on the weekends up Son Tra Mountain. She said she was very impressed with this peninsula. If there were more tourism products, Son Tra would be a particularly attractive destination for tourists.
Junko said that after completing her two years as a volunteer, she will return to Japan to continue working in the tourism industry. She will always keep an eye out for Da Nang, go with her friends to events featuring the city in Japan, and will return here many times to “meet” Da Nang in new corners of the city that she has yet to fully explore.
Source: https://baodanang.vn/nagai-junko-va-nhung-lan-gap-da-nang-3265586.html
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