Privacy Policy

Miyagi Prefecture (the “Prefecture”) handles information processed in connection with your use of this website (the “Site”) appropriately and in accordance with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information and other applicable laws and regulations.

1. Information Handled by the Site

The Site does not include an inquiry form, account registration, comment posting, or any other feature that asks users to enter their name, email address, or similar information.

However, the following information is processed when you browse or use the Site:

• Usage information, including page views, views of cards (spot information), expansion of card descriptions, clicks on category, tag, and photographer page links, and clicks on external links
• Information about your browsing environment, including browser, operating system, device, referrer, approximate location, and display language
• Post IDs used to identify spots saved to Favorites
• IP address, access date and time, request details, HTTP status, data transfer volume, referrer URL, and User-Agent information recorded in web server access logs

2. Purposes of Use

• To operate the Site and provide its functions
• To understand how the Site is used and to improve its content and usability
• To measure the effectiveness of the Site and related tourism promotion initiatives
• To operate the Site, investigate technical issues, and implement security measures
• To save and restore user-selected settings, such as Favorites and display language

3. Cookies and Browser Storage

The Site uses cookies and browser localStorage for analytics, to retain the selected display language, and to provide the Favorites feature.

Information stored

• GA4 cookies (_ga, _ga_<container-id>, etc.): Used to distinguish users and sessions. By default, these cookies expire after two years, although the actual period may be shorter depending on browser settings, specifications, or other factors.
• Display-language cookie (discover_miyagi_language): Stores only a language identifier for Japanese, Traditional Chinese, or English. The expiration period is one year.
• Favorites: A list of post IDs identifying spots added to Favorites is stored in localStorage. No expiration period is set. No device identifier, user ID, or other information that identifies the user is stored.

Users can delete cookies and localStorage data through their browser’s cookie and site-data settings. Doing so may remove saved Favorites, display-language settings, and other stored information.

4. Use of Google Analytics

The Site uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to understand how the Site is used, improve its content and functionality, and measure effectiveness. GA4 is implemented via Google Tag Manager (GTM). The Site does not use any analytics service other than GA4, advertising features, or integrations with advertising services.

In addition to page views, GA4 records card views, expansion of card descriptions, additions to and removals from Favorites, clicks on external links, and clicks on category, tag, and photographer page links. When these events are recorded, information identifying the content or feature being viewed or used—such as card ID, spot name, display language, category, tags, photographer, and external-link type—is transmitted. The Site is not configured to send names, email addresses, member IDs, or similar information as custom events.

The retention period for event data and user data collected by GA4 is set to 14 months.

For details on how Google handles information, please refer to the following official information:

• Google Analytics Terms of Service
• Google Privacy Policy
• Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on

5. Favorites Feature

The Site’s Favorites feature allows users to save spots they are interested in and view them again later in a list. Favorites data is stored in localStorage in the user’s browser and is not stored in a server-side database.

When a user removes a spot from Favorites, the corresponding information is deleted. Favorites data is also deleted if the user clears the browser’s site data. As a general rule, Favorites are not transferred when the user changes device, browser, or browser profile.

This feature is for personal use only. It does not post content to social media or make saved information visible to other users.

6. Web Server Access Logs

The Site’s web server records access logs for purposes including operating the Site, troubleshooting, and security. Access logs include IP address, access date and time, request details, HTTP status, amount of data transferred, referrer URL, User-Agent information, and similar data. Access logs are retained for 48 weeks.

7. External Services and Resources

The Site uses Google Fonts and retrieves font CSS and font files from Google servers when pages are displayed. It also loads jQuery 3.7.1 from Google Hosted Libraries (Google CDN). When these external resources are requested, standard web request data, such as IP address and browser information, may be transmitted to Google.

Google Maps is not embedded in the Site and is provided only through external links. Simply viewing a page on the Site therefore does not automatically transmit information to Google Maps. The Site also does not embed videos or other external services. For details on how Google handles information, please refer to the Google Privacy Policy.

8. Information Management, Third-Party Disclosure, and Service Providers

If any information handled in connection with operating the Site constitutes personal information, the Prefecture handles it appropriately within the scope of the stated purposes and does not provide it to third parties without the individual’s consent, except where permitted by law.

If operation, maintenance, or other work relating to the Site is outsourced to an external service provider, that provider may handle information only to the extent necessary to perform the relevant work. In such cases, the Prefecture takes necessary measures to ensure that the provider manages the information appropriately.

The Prefecture also implements necessary and appropriate security measures to prevent leakage, loss, damage, unauthorized use, alteration, and similar incidents. Information that no longer needs to be retained is appropriately deleted in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

9. Social Media and External Websites

The Site does not provide social-media sharing buttons, but users may share the Site’s URL on social media or similar services. When sharing a URL on social media, or accessing the Site through a link posted on social media, please refer to the privacy policy of the relevant service provider for information on how that service handles data.

External websites linked from the Site, including websites operated by tourism facilities and transportation providers, handle information in accordance with their own privacy policies. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information handled independently by those external services.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

The Prefecture may revise this Privacy Policy in response to changes in laws or regulations, changes to the Site’s functions or services, changes to external services used by the Site, or other circumstances. Any revisions will be announced by posting them on the Site or by another appropriate method.

11. Contact

For inquiries about the Site, please see the Tourism Strategy Division page on the Miyagi Prefecture website.