【Member Update】 VisitNorway - A Walk in Edvard Munch's Footsteps

Kjell Ellefsen from Visit Norway presenting Oslo in the footsteps of Edvard Munch - and the vikings

Last week marked the opening of the Munch Exhibition in Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, and we at NCCJ had a busy week with Munch-related events. One of the highlights of the week was a seminar hosted by VisitNorway at the Norwegian Embassy, and as one of our Corporate Members we were present to facilitate for the occasion.

The Munch Museum’s Marketing and Communication Director Gitte Skilbred giving a presentation on Munch

The purpose of the event was to position Oslo as a must visit city in Norway, with Munch and his works as the spokesperson for Oslo. While most Japanese tourists visit Oslo, they mostly end up staying only for one night. Through the seminar VisitNorway wanted to show the travel industry in Japan that more time should be spent in Oslo, as part of their strategic shift to include more about Norwegian culture (art, architecture, food, design) in addition to pushing Norway's natural endowments. Munch is very much a part of this strategy, as not only the Munch Museum but also the area that provided backdrop for his famous painting “The Scream” can be visited while in Oslo.

It is believed that Munch got his inspiration for “The Scream” just outside Oslo at Valhallveien road on the Ekeberg hill.

A New Japanese VisitNorway Homepage

Another great news from VisitNorway is that their new Japanese web page finally has been launched! If you’re interested in tourist information about Norway in Japanese you can check out their new site here:
www.visitnorway.asia