Yokohama City Visitors Bureau launched a social media campaign encouraging attendees of the May 2025 ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems to discover and share the city’s inclusive, green, and sustainable aspects on social media. Attendees from all over the world participated, and YCVB was able to gain a deeper understanding of Yokohama through their eyes.

Background: A Conference Welcoming to Everyone

The ACM CHI conference held at PACIFICO Yokohama last May saw over 5,000 attendees from across the globe.

People from all age ranges, backgrounds, cultures, and gender identities presented their research on a vast range of topics from Generative AI, User Experience, to Psychology. As many attendees first conference, this was their first opportunity to engage with peers and veterans from around the world.

It was this diversity that made CHI attendees the perfect target for Yokohama’s social media campaign.

The Campaign: Snap & Sustain

Yokohama City Visitors Bureau set up a volunteer information desk at CHI 2025 where they welcomed all attendees to participate in its social media campaign.

Conference attendees were asked to share pictures of something in Yokohama they felt was sustainable—whether it be green space, a local dining option, an inclusive space, or culturally significant site on social media with the hashtags #CHI2025, #SustainableYokohama, and #YokohamaConvention.

The goals for this campaign were threefold.

1. Spread awareness about Yokohama as a sustainable conference destination.

2. Understand how overseas participants viewed the city from a sustainable lens.

3. Encourage participants to engage with the destination by visiting local sites and businesses.

 

The Results

Over 170 attendees took part in the campaign flooding social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, and X(Twitter) with photos from around Yokohama— green spaces, seaside walking paths, or PACIFICO Yokohama’s accessible overhead walkways.

YCVB interviewed Sarah, a PhD student from the University of Edinburgh about her experience and impressions of Yokohama as a sustainable destination. She praised the convenient public transportation and city’s friendliness—even when there was a language barrier, people were ready to help out. Coming to the conference stressed out about her presentation, she said exploring the seaside city helped her feel more at ease. She spent her time outside the conference wandering through the city’s many gardens, including the vast traditional garden, Sankeien Garden, as well as the numerous hiking trails in the neighboring historic capital Kamakura.

All participants of the social media campaign received eco-friendly complimentary prizes, most notably a ticket to ride the Yokohama Air Cabin. An iconic landmark in the city, this ropeway also is run with local renewable energy. When asked about her feelings from receiving an air cabin tickets, Sarah responded, “It makes me feel relieved to know that it’s sustainable”, as so many activities in our lives can unknowingly have a negative impact.

A Conference District for a Sustainable Future

With over 750 sustainably certified businesses and a plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Yokohama is actively working to preserve the city for future generations. While hosting large conferences can have negative environmental impacts, Yokohama strives to provide organizers with the environment and resources needed to hold events as sustainably as possible. The sustainably certified PACIFICO Yokohama convention complex boasts a wide range of sustainable measures, and its downtown location makes it easy for everyone to get around on foot or by public transportation. YCVB also offers a variety of sustainable suppliers as well as tour options that minimize environmental impact.

For more information about Yokohama’s sustainability initiatives, please visit the sustainability page.

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