USUI Rie | APU RESEARCH SEEDS - Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Exploring sustainable tourism from a multispecies perspective, where humans and nonhumans coexist

My research explores how tourism reshapes relationships between humans and nonhumans. My work focuses on wildlife tourism in Japan, with particular attention to its sustainability.
Wildlife tourism generally refers to travel undertaken to encounter wild animals. Broad definitions sometimes include consumptive forms such as sportfishing, but my research specifically addresses non-consumptive experiences. Classic examples include observing rare wildlife in the wild, such as tours to the African savanna to view lions and giraffes or whale watching. However, in recent years, new forms of wildlife tourism have emerged that extend beyond these conventional frameworks.
A recent phenomenon is the rapid rise in popularity of destinations driven by social media. Ōkunoshima Island, widely known as “Rabbit Island” in Hiroshima Prefecture, is one of the cases. Once relatively unknown, the site gained global attention when images of free-ranging rabbits circulated online, resulting in a sharp increase in both domestic and international tourists. Parallel examples include Japan’s so-called “cat islands” and international destinations known for their population of feral pigs. This phenomenon could be described as tourist-driven or tourist-led wildlife tourism. These cases are particularly intriguing because unlike traditional wildlife tourism, which often emphasizes rare or charismatic species, they highlight rather familiar animals such as rabbits, cats, and pigs. Understanding why people travel to encounter such ordinary species is important in rethinking sustainable wildlife tourism. It provides insight into tourist motivations, management challenges, and the shifting dynamics of human-animal relations. My research examines this diversifying relationship between people, animals, and tourists, while investigating the management and sustainability issues they raise. More recently, I have been exploring how a multispecies approach that emphasizes reciprocal relationships between humans and nonhuman others can inform the practice of sustainable tourism.

The relationship between people, animals, and tourism is diversifying. On Ōkunoshima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, social media fueled a surge of domestic and international tourists eager to see the free-roaming feral rabbits.

Approaching tourism through an interdisciplinary and multispecies lens

What makes this research distinctive is its grounding in my interdisciplinary background. As an undergraduate, I studied anthropology and ecology. My master's research in ethnoprimatology examined monkey tourism in China. My doctoral work focused on how tourism reshapes human and nonhuman relations on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture and Yakushima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, combining animal geography with tourism studies. Across these projects, I have consistently bridged multiple disciplines to investigate how tourism mediates encounters between humans and nonhumans.
Building on this foundation, I now approach tourism through the lens of multispecies sustainability. This perspective moves beyond the human-centered point of view to consider how humans and nonhuman others co-shape worlds of coexistence. In parallel, I am examining the potential of “convivial conservation,” a framework proposed by Büscher and Fletcher, which emphasizes coexistence with familiar nature and challenges conventional conservation models. For example, I am studying flying-squirrel-watching tours in Saiki, Oita Prefecture, to assess how convivial conservation might be applied in practice.

Bringing new perspectives into tourism education

A key social role of my research lies in education. In Japan, very few scholars currently apply a multispecies perspective to tourism. By integrating it into both academic research and educational practice, I aim to contribute to tourism studies while fostering broader social awareness.
Sustainable tourism requires not only ecological and economic considerations, but also ethical reflection. To this end, I have been developing teaching methods in collaboration with a colleague at APU. One initiative involves experiential learning through games, encouraging students to think critically about human and nonhuman coexistence.
If such approaches were adopted in tourist interpretation programs, they could help visitors better understand animal welfare and conservation issues while exploring pathways toward more sustainable tourism practices. Looking ahead, I hope to collaborate with tour operators and local governments to embed these perspectives into on-site initiatives.
Internationally, I am working to expand networks of wildlife tourism researchers. Much of the existing scholarship remains Europe-American in focus. Yet destinations like Ōkunoshima Island are increasingly drawing global attention, which highlights the need for research grounded in Asian cultural and social contexts. By contributing perspectives from Japan and Asia, where relationships with nature and nonhuman animals differ significantly, I aim to enrich and diversify global debates on wildlife tourism.

Hands-on learning through games. The activity creates opportunities for students to explore human and nonhuman others' coexistence through a multispecies lens in tourism education. (Photo credit: APU Office of Institutional Planning)