Interview with The 58th ”Miss Uneme”：What is your ambition for the future?

The 6 competitors of the 58th “Miss Uneme” competition in 2022 have been decided. These six competitors will take part in “Uneme Odori Nagashi” which is an iconic event held in summer at Koriyama. They will also hold campaigns in and out of the prefecture to advertise the wonders of Koriyama.

Question
①What made you apply to the “Miss Uneme” competition?
②What is your ambition for the future?

◆Riona Sato

① Its only been a year since I came to Koriyama. I heard about this festival from my colleague and I wanted to share how wonderful this prefecture is through this competition.

②There are delicious cuisine and beautiful scenery in Koriyama, and I would like to take part in the actions to make the place more famous.

◆Yuka Nishimura

①I am currently in my 4th year at a university in Tokyo and I decided to challenge this competition when I thought that I could contribute something to my hometown.

②I would like to tell good places in Koriyama to a lot of people by learning about the things I don’t know about my home city, and enjoy the process.

◆Natsumi Okano

①I have participated in the Uneme Festival every year during my school years. During the festival, I was amazed by the gorgeous dances Miss Umene performed and thought I would like to be one of them.

②I have lived in Koriyama all my life and would like to liven up the city. It has been three years since the last festival, and I would like to unite with Miss Umene and the people of Koriyama to make the festival a success. There are a lot of places I haven’t been to in Koriyama yet and I would like to introduce these places to people in and out of the prefecture.

◆Kanon Sato

①My mother wants me to become a Miss Uneme and I have decided to compete since I am in my second year at university and have spare time.

②Ever since I left Koriyama and started living by myself, I have realized how outstanding the prefecture is. I would like to tell this to future generations and will do my best to do so.

◆Mao Tomita

①I am originally from Koriyama so I was surprised when I couldn’t explain about my hometown. So I would like to learn more about Koriyama, get involved with many people, and do my best to introduce the good points about my city.

②I believe that there are many good points about Koriyama that no one knows about. After the coronavirus have stopped spreading, I would like many people to come sightseeing, especially because there is a lot of nature and it is suitable for outdoor activities.

◆Konoka Kuwashima

①I applied to the “Miss Uneme” competition because I would like to get more confidence by overcoming the fact that I am not good at speaking in front of people.

②It has been three years since the last festival was held, so I would like to revive the Uneme festival because I become the administrator before I was a participant.

What is “Miss Uneme”?

“Miss Uneme” are the heroines in ”Uneme festival”, which is the most popular summer festival in Koriyama. They will only be active for one year and after retirement they play active roles for PR events such as participating in the official events in Koriyama and Chamber of Commerce and Industry, visiting Nara city that is twin city for Koriyama, and attending tourism campaign events throughout Japan.