Overseas tourists can travel by bus between Osaka and Tottori for just 1,000 yen ($9) in a campaign to bring more visitors to the prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast.
Nihon Kotsu Co., a Tokyo-based taxi and limousine service company, last month started offering the bus tickets, which are more than 70 percent off the usual price of 3,700 yen. The Tottori city government is covering the difference of 2,700 yen per ticket.
“We want foreign passengers to enjoy the nature and food, which cannot be found in the city, to their hearts’ content and to have a relaxing time by using the bus,” said Naoto Nakagawa, section chief of the city government’s tourism strategy division.
The express bus runs between the Tottori station bus terminal and the Nanba Osaka City Air Terminal (OCAT), with 16 trips bound for Osaka and 15 trips bound for Tottoti daily.
The tickets, which will be effective until the end of March next year, are only available for those staying in Japan within 90 days. They can be bought at the Tottori station bus terminal and other places.
The main targets are passengers from Taiwan and Hong Kong who travel independently.
Tottori city has teamed up with a Taiwanese travel agency to promote the bus tickets on a TV travel show and through social networking services.
The city included 3 million yen in this fiscal year’s budget to cover the discounts for about 1,000 passengers as well as advertising expenditures.
Source: Asahi Image: Archieve
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