Machine Translation

Simply don't. It makes you look cheap, and can have the exact opposite effect desired.

Look at this website. Yamagata Prefecture, where I live, has declared that they would like to increase the number of overseas tourists, but somehow they think using a machine-translated site is going to do that. What that means is, they are not in the slightest bit serious about it. If they were, they would put money into creating content that their target market wants, stories from the prefecture that resonate with people and make them want to visit.

What we have now, is an atrocity. With an efficient site, like the Wakayama one, with well-researched keywords and attractive photos, they would be able to target people who search for experiences in Japan, rather than people who search specifically 'Yamagata prefecture'. Right now, if you do that search, the prefectural page isn't the first one to come up, although it is arguably filled with the most information, and it's simply unreadable. Anyone who came across it would think that they aren't really welcome. The prefecture can say they want overseas tourists all they like, but until they implement a proper website, nothing's really going to happen.

ENJOYED THIS? HAVE MORE.

MOUNTAINS OF WISDOM

Subscribe to my yamabushi newsletter

RECENT BLOG POSTS

Reacting vs. acting
Time to Breathe
New students and new places

YAMABUSHI BLOG POSTS

Three best mountains to hike in 2023
mosaic alien on wall
Don’t just toy with the idea
black and red typewriter on white table
Ideas that spread – My experience with plagiarism

RANDOM POSTS

body of water between green leaf trees
Constant consistency
Uncovering Japan’s Hidden Gems
Taking the initiative and building a better team
Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi

Tim Bunting Kiwi Yamabushi

Get In Touch

Sakata City, Yamagata, Japan 

tim@timbunting.com

Share this:

Like this:

Like Loading...
Scroll to Top