A very special Japanese newlywed was on Prince Edward Island last month. This may sound like a fairly common occurrence, but this newlywed wasn't only here for a vacation. He was buying, you guessed it, Anne of Green Gables merchandise.
Teruhisa Watano manages the gift shop at the airport in Nagasaki, Japan. Following his marriage to Yuka Shimogomo on April 30, he was approached to travel to Prince Edward Island to purchase Anne of Green Gables merchandise for a Dutch village theme park. Needless to say his bride was thrilled. Not only were they travelling to Canada to see Niagara Falls for their honeymoon, they would also have a chance to travel to the "Land of Anne."
Huis Ten Bosch is a four-year old theme park located just outside Nagasaki in Southern Japan with an international theme, somewhat like Epcot Centre in Walt Disney World, Florida. It is modelled like a Dutch village and will be hosting a three-month long Canadian festival starting this month. Prince Edward Island is the only province in Canada where Watano was sent to purchased products.
The Canadian festival will take place in the World Bazaar section of the park and will feature gift shops with wares from around the world. Approximately 30,000 people visit the park each day. According to Watano, "It makes Disneyland in Tokyo look small."
Following his long 27 hour flight from Japan, Watano was immediately whisked away to meet Anne manufacturers from across the province. He spent the next two days on the Island purchasing different samples of Anne products to take back to Japan. Meetings were set up by Enterprise PEI with the companies ready to export their products to Japan. More than a dozen companies formally presented their products to Watano. He also had the opportunity to personally visit a few retail outlets, like the Anne of Green Gables Store in Charlottetown.
Now comes the waiting game for many of the manufacturers. Watano travelled back to Japan and presented the products to the gift shop and theme park owners and orders are now being placed. Promotion of this kind for many Island companies can mean more exports to Japan. Gaining visibility at these events and gift shops may lead to even more orders when other stores or attractions host events with a Canadian theme. After all, what is Canada to Japan without our darling red-haired girl from Prince Edward Island.