Japan’s sluggish local economy could receive a much-needed boost through the recent introduction of luxury rail tours, which offer travelers the chance to experience lesser-visited places in luxury.
The development comes as Japan’s aging local trains and communities are under pressure from declining passenger numbers and population declines, with governments and private companies increasingly offering foreign tourists more off-the-beaten path destinations. I’m looking for ways to encourage people to find out.
The photo provided shows the interior of a Royal Express vehicle. (Photo provided by Tokyu Corporation) (Kyodo)
These tours include a ride on Tokyu Corporation’s luxury train Royal Express, which operates throughout Japan.
The tour, jointly run by Tokyu Corporation and JR Tokai in Shizuoka Prefecture in November and December, will see passengers spend four days and three nights in the Chubu region, enjoying views of Mount Fuji and tasting local eel dishes.
Tickets were expensive at 750,000 to 820,000 yen per person, but all six performances were sold out.
In western Japan, JR West’s Twilight Express Mizukaze transports passengers to sparsely populated routes and helps preserve local traditions.
At Higashihama Station, an unmanned station in Tottori Prefecture, local residents voluntarily performed folk songs from the area to welcome passengers.
The photo provided is of a Royal Express train. (Photo provided by Tokyu Corporation) (Kyodo)
Masuo Hamaguchi, one of the troupe’s dancers, said that thanks to the train, “more tourists came and the town became lively.”
Takeshi Sakimoto, a sociology professor at Edogawa University who specializes in tourism research, said the country’s under-explored regional tourist destinations have “considerable growth potential.”
“Luxury train tours have the potential to be a powerful catalyst for struggling local rail lines,” he said, adding that luxury train tours have the potential to be a powerful catalyst for struggling regional rail lines, and are expected to move away from urban areas such as Tokyo and Kyoto, which are struggling under the weight of tourists. He pointed out the possibility of alienating foreign tourists.
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