by Việt Dũng

HCM CITY — Over the years, many Japanese volunteers have been living in Việt Nam and promoting local tourism attractions to foreign visitors, as part of a programme by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). 

Kohei Unoki has been living in Con Cuông Commune, Nghệ An Province, since November 2024, and has gained a deep appreciation for the local culture and tourism attractions.

“Nghệ An has plenty of tourism strengths like its beaches, mountains, ethnic minority culture, and the revolution history,” he says in Vietnamese with the odd sprinkling of English.

“But there is not a lot of information about this region for foreign tourists.”

He wishes to introduce Nghệ An and Con Cuông Commune to Japanese and, generally, foreign visitors.

Kohei said he is inspired by Tetsu Nakamura, a famous Japanese physician from his hometown who worked in Afghanistan and helped improve the lives of people there.

His current volunteering duties consist of researching the local culture and community tourism products, producing online blogs in Japanese and English and helping local homestays register and use online lodging platform AirBnB so that they are more accessible to foreign tourists.

He communicates with local tourism staff and officials in Vietnamese, though he also often uses translation tools to get his points across. 

When asked if he found the language difficult to learn, it took him less than a second to say "Rất khó (Very hard)" with a smile.

"I attended a Vietnamese class sponsored by JICA before starting this position, and I am still taking online classes.”

Kohei is also working on a personal tourism promotion website in English, which he may transfer to the local tourism authority in future. 

​Ryosuke Sasaki is another volunteer assisting in tourism development in the mountainous commune of Sơn Điền in Lâm Đồng Province, having done so since August 2025. 

Speaking in Japanese, he told Việt Nam News that he researches the commune and province at the local People’s Committee, trying out farming activities to understand the local culture and putting together a blog highlighting its tourism potential.

He said he used to work for the tourism development department of the Aichi Prefectural Government Office back in Japan, and hopes to leverage his experience for the commune tourism industry.

Sơn Điền is limited in terms of tourism development thus far, but has plenty to appreciate, he says.

“Around 90 per cent of residents in Sơn Điền Commune are from the K’Ho ethnic minority, whose culture I find remarkable and want to share with more people.

“There is also the gong culture, recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage.”

He is contributing to the commune’s tourism development plan, and plans to create pamphlets in English and Japanese to be placed in hotels in HCM City and Phan Thiết, so that foreign tourists can learn more about Sơn Điền.

Both Kohei and Ryosuke also take part in promotional events such as the recent Japan – Việt Nam Festival in HCM City in March, where they were stationed at JICA’s booth for promotions.

The JICA's Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers Programme dispatches Japanese people to different countries around the world to facilitate development in various fields ranging from education to infrastructure.

They live in the countries for two years, working closely with designated local authorities.

In Việt Nam, a total of 777 volunteers have been sent to numerous provinces and cities since 1995, and as of April, there are currently 40 volunteers. 

​The Vietnamese charm

Since they spend so much time working closely with local people, it is little surprise that the two Japanese men have grown deeply fond of the Vietnamese warmth and sincerity.

Unoki says he enjoys eating phở, going to the gym and "đi nhậu" (going out for drinks) with his Vietnamese friends.

“Việt Nam has a rich culture and history, and I see many similarities with my own country. Vietnamese people are especially kind and caring,” he says with a smile.

Then he adds: “They also love treating you to beer and wine. I think my Vietnamese gets much better after a few beers!”

Ryosuke spends his free time playing football with local children at the park and visiting the library. 

He has participated in activities meant to teach students how to sort waste and keep their school clean. 

He, too, says the people of Việt Nam are kind and generous, and love inviting him over for beer and wine – well, hardly a surprise to anyone who knows the Vietnamese. 

JICA’s development programme is a great help to smaller localities around Việt Nam, which can benefit from international perspectives and skillsets.

But it is evident from Kohei and Ryosuke's experiences with local people that the localities are not the only ones gaining something from this arrangement. — VNS