Official Ishikawa Travel Guide

On-the-ground research reveals Ishikawa’s broad appeal
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Client

Ishikawa Tourism League

Year

2019

The challenge

With a shinkansen link to Tokyo and increased flights to Komatsu Airport, Ishikawa is poised to position itself as a must-visit area for travelers to Japan. The city of Kanazawa is the most popular destination in Ishikawa, but international visitors rarely venture further into this diverse prefecture. Ishikawa approached us to create a website that would drive international visitor numbers and elevate the prefectural brand beyond that of Kanazawa.

We explored every corner of Ishikawa in order to uncover its most appealing attractions and provide authentic recommendations. Through the on-site research, we devised a strategy that appeals to a wide variety of traveler interests and gives equal focus to the prefecture’s three main areas.

Promoting the diversity of Ishikawa’s regions

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Experiencing Ishikawa firsthand

Exploring Ishikawa was crucial in informing our content strategy and writing perspective. We spent two weeks researching the region with our client, connecting with local experts, including professors, monks, priests, and craftspeople. We saw firsthand how the area’s history and rich traditions have influenced modern Ishikawa, helping us better convey those stories to an international audience. Working closely with the client on-site created a sense of trust that allowed us creative freedom in the framing, structure, and content of the website.

We worked closely with a partner photographer to create original images for the website that capture the true traveler experience.


Helping visitors discover their own Ishikawa

Ishikawa is naturally divided into three main areas: Kanazawa, Kaga, and the Noto Peninsula. We structured our site around these areas and their distinct characteristics. Kanazawa is the gateway to the prefecture, with rich culture, history, and art. The Kaga area is famous for hot springs and Mt. Hakusan, while the Noto Peninsula is rugged and rural.

Between the three regions, Ishikawa captures nearly all of Japan’s main draws: traditional culture, history, cuisine, outdoor activities, hot springs, seasonality, rural landscapes, mountains, sea, luxury, and urban liveliness. We structured the website to encourage users to explore Ishikawa through their own interests, inspiring them with article-style stories under the heading “Find Your Ishikawa.” We included interviews with foreign residents in each of the three areas to provide local knowledge and authentic recommendations.

While the primary target audience was English-speaking travelers, Taiwan and Hong Kong are among the region’s key markets. To maximize the reach among Ishikawa’s most important markets, we localized the entire website into Traditional Chinese.


The Official Ishikawa Travel Guide inspires visitors to explore every corner of the diverse prefecture.
Ishikawa
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Helping travelers discover their own Ishikawa
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