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Japan’s rail operators leverage local attractions to draw tourists

Friday, March 16, 2018

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Trains of Yamanote Line of East Japan Railway (JR East) run in Tokyo on June 18, 2013.  The rail company is offering one lucky couple the chance to get married aboard one of Tokyo's busiest commuter trains as it encircles the Japanese capital, it said on June 18.     AFP PHOTO/Toru YAMANAKAThe railway operators of Japan are leveraging the local sightseeing spots along their routes with an aim to lure more tourists and social media has been proving to be a competent promotional tool in this regard.

 

At Gotokuji Temple based at Tokyu Corporation’s Setagaya Line in Tokyo, foreign visitors clicked photos of a group of ‘Maneki-neko’ beckoning dolls.

 

The temple is renowned for its impressive collection of the beckoning cats and this is a good-luck charm believed to usher in prosperity to shop owners in Japan. After visiting the Setagaya-Hachimangu shrine close to the temple, the tourists seemed to enjoy their time in the residential area of the capital and some people said that they had felt like they had obtained a unique of ‘ordinary Japan’.

 

Tokyo has promoted the regional sightseeing spots in cooperation with Huber Inc. that is a technology venture offering a service that complements tourists with Japanese guides.

 

Noticing social media posts by foreigners, Japanese tourists to this region has also risen that is in turn raising the overall number of Setagaya Line passengers as per the operator.

 

The official then went on to add that visits to the quiet areas that are somewhat similar to old Japan have been catching fancy with tourists appreciate the contrast between those locales and the popular scramble crossing in the busy Shibuya district that can be reached in 30 minutes.

 

Railway companies in western Japan are also making a pitch to international travellers.

 

Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., a train operator in the Kansai region, has been selling one-day and two-day passes for foreign tourists since 2012.

 

He has been providing unlimited travel on all lines operating in the Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe areas. Sales had increased from about 20,000 passes in fiscal 2012 to some 440,000 in fiscal 2016.

 

Leisure facilities in Mt. Rokko in Kobe can be easily accessed from downtown.

 

They are expected to attract more inbound tourists. Nankai Electric Railway Co., which runs trains between Osaka and its neighboring prefecture of Wakayama is getting ready to launch a new hotel and shopping mall adjacent to its Wakayama City Station in 2020.

 

Furthermore an open-air bath would be constructed on the top floor of the planned hotel providing tourists a view of the local river while they relax.

 

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