Hello everyone! We're Momoka Tanaka, Manaka Nakatani, and Moe Sakurai, fourth-year Global Tourism students. On September 13th, we held an event for “Mio Ramen”—a local ramen developed in collaboration with Mihama Town, Wakayama Prefecture—at the Canada Pavilion of the Expo 2025 Osaka! We were joined by third-year students Suzuha Domoto and Rino Masui, and second-year students Yuta Tsuboi and Yeonwoo Park. For the background story of how Mio Ramen came to be, please read this article.

This Expo event was conducted in conjunction with the internship program held this summer in the Mio district of Mihama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, which was implemented by our university's Career Support Center. It also linked with activities from the seminars led by Professors Goto, Hirata, Hara, and Kawakami of the Global Tourism Department. Additionally, Nodoka Okada and Boonyakida Day Chanikarn from the Global Studies Department participated as interpreters.

Why “Mio Ramen” at the Canada Pavilion?
Actually, the Mio district has a history where many young people emigrated to Canada as migrant workers starting from the Meiji era. Even today, Japanese Canadians visit Mio to trace their ancestral roots. The region also hosts the Canada Museum as a hub preserving this history, keeping the connection between Mio and Canada alive.

Through our connection with Professor Sachiko Kawakami, who has researched this history of emigration from Mio, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies and Mihama Town has established a partnership agreement. “Mio Ramen” was born as part of the regional revitalization effort. This bowl, featuring Mio's local specialty, spiny lobster, was also enjoyed by Consul David Perdue of the Canadian Consulate in Nagoya during the limited time offering we had two years ago.

Furthermore, through the connection that the grandfather of Lisa Domae, President of our partner institution North Island College in Canada, was originally from Mio, we even served Mio Ramen in Canada last year. These ties between Mio, Canada, and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies led to this Expo event.

Expo Event Highlights
We held a talk event with students from Hidaka High School in Gobo City, adjacent to Mihama Town, followed by a Mio Ramen demonstration. We served a limited run of 300 sample bowls of Mio Ramen. For this special occasion, we used chashu pork made with “Canadian Pork.” Furthermore, thanks to the dedicated efforts of Professors Toshihiko Goto and Masayasu Hirata, and with the cooperation of the NPO Kyoto Take/Ryuiki Kankyo Net, we crafted and used bamboo cup holders made from bamboo harvested from Kyoto's abandoned bamboo forests. It was a day that truly embodied the connection between Mio, Kyoto, and Canada.

The event was successful, with over 200,000 visitors flocking to the Expo for the day! The venue filled up quickly, and we were able to introduce Mio Ramen to many people. Mio Ramen began with the desire to “increase the number of people interacting with the community of Mio” and to “strengthen our connection with Canada through its local emigration history.” It was a very special day where we could give shape to those aspirations.

Acknowledgements
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the many individuals who made this event possible. First and foremost, we sincerely thank Ms. Laurie Peters, Pavilion Commissioner General, Mr. Matt Fraser, Pavilion Deputy Commissioner General, who served as our host, and the entire Canadian Pavilion Culinary Team whose dedicated support made the event successful. Furthermore, We would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt gratitude to our coordinator, Ms. Jeanine Tartarian, who provided tremendous support on the operational side, and to Ms. Ngoc Thao Vy Hoang, who handled public relations and media for us.

From Mihama Town, the following individuals graciously attended: Mayor Miwako Yabuuchi, along with the former and current staff of the Bosai Machizukuri Mirai-ka of Mihama Town Hall; Mr. Ryosuke Oe, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the NPO Hinomisaki Americamura; Vice Chairman of the Board, Ms. Hifumi Ando; Director of the Canada Museum, Ms. Takae Mio; Mr. Kotaro Onoue, Manager of “Men to Mukatte Mio,” and Mr. Naoki Kidoji from Restaurant L'Albero. Their warm support was truly heartening.

Additionally, thanks to Mr. Atsushi Iwanaga, the generosity of Wakayama Prefecture's Expo Promotion Division and Hidaka Promotion Bureau, we received publicity support. We were also honored by visits from the mayor of neighboring Gobo City and some other local assembly members. From our campus also, we received support from faculty, staff, alumni, and students in the process of getting ready for this big event. It was only through everyone's support that we were able to hold this event successfully. Thank you all very much. We are planning to have a food stall on campus at the Gaidai Festival on November
2nd and 3rd! We'd be thrilled if you could come try Mio Ramen.