Archive for 'Tochigi' Category

Common IC tickets for 10 ski resorts in Nagano

A brand ski resort group “Hakuba Valley” consisting of  ten ski resorts in Nagano prefecture started a new service of  issuing a common ticket for all of its member resorts(http://www.hakubavalley.jp/english/).  The president of the   group’s promotion board, Hikari Takanashi announced at the press conference in Tokyo on Nov.24.

This new ticket is called “Hakuba Valley Tickets” can be used at the members resorts by implementing  just one purchase procedure of  such a common ticket, namely,  Jiigatake,Kashimayari,Sanosaka, Goryu,  Hakuba47, Happoone,Iwatake,Tsugaikekogen, Hakubanorikura, and Cortina.

The primary purpose of this new service is to increase the number of  foreign visitors to those resorts. The number was 85,000 in 2005, but increased  up to 225,000 in 2015 which raised by 163.5%, which account for 15% of the total number of the visitors there.  The group has an intent to increase such international visitors’ number up to 300,000 which will account for 40% of the total number within 3~4 years. Currently, Australians are 60%, Asians are 30%, and westeners and others are 10%. The group especially would like to increase the number of Asians.  As for the prices of Hakuba Valley Tickets, the one-day ticket is ¥5,700(3,200 for a child), the two-day ticket is ¥10,000(5600 for a child), and the three-day  is ¥14,900(8300 for a child). The tickest are available at the tickt booths in the each resort and travel agents appointed by the Hakuba Valley.

 

 

 

resurrection of classic trains in Kinugawa

Tobu Railway announced  its project of  adopting classic trains in Kinugawa hot spring resort in Tochigi pref. in next summer 2017(http://www.tobu.co.jp/foreign/en/).

 

The types of planned trains are SL(steam locomotive) and DL(diesel locomotive). Those old types “retired” from service about 50years ago, but a lot of people still love those good oldies with nostalgic passions. Tobu decided to carry out this reinstatement in order to attract tourists to draw them in Kinugawa overcoming a bad image of the area caused by overflow of the river there last year ue to storms. the trains will run between Shimoimaichi station and Kinugaw-aonsen station (about 12.4km)on KinugawaLine. Each train will have capacity of about 400 passengers and 140 round travels a year at maximum.

 

Lighting-up of Nikko Toshogu

Nikko Toshogu shrine, the mausoleum of the Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first shogun of the Edo Shogunate started lighting-up service on the 30th.

This serivice of lighting up Toshogu, Rinnou-ji temple, and Futarasan shrine started 1995 and commemorating the 20th anniversary this time. And as it is also the 15th year of  the  registration of the  World Heritage site of those  Nikko religious fasilities. Therefore, this year they conducted a projection mapping show using  the stone torii-gate of Toshogu for the first. Last year during the service, 22,000 people visited those places in just three days.   This year the service is provided 18:00-21:00 everyday until Nov. 2nd. During the service, free walking tours in the areas of those facilities with guides  are available as well.

Visit Japan Travel Mart and JATA Toursim EXPO Japan 2014

Two huge international travel marts were held at Tokyo Bigsight in Tokyo. One was “Visit Japan Travel Mart 2014″(Sep.24-26)(http://www.vjtm.jp/) and the other was “JATA Toursim EXPO Japan2014″(Sep.25-28)(http://t-expo.jp/en/index.html).  

More than 310 foriegn buyers and about 390 Japanese sellers joined VJTM2014 and had passionate exchanges of information and ideas and hosted busines seccions.  Buyers from Asian countries were especially a lot and about the half of the Japanese sellers were municipalities or relating associations of such local governments.

On the other hand,  a lot of domestic and foreign sellers and buysers joined  JATA Tourism EXPO Japan 2014. Such participants were embassies, tourism bureaus, travel agents, food companies, municipalities, railroads, airlines, hotels. universities, guide associations and so forth.  The main targets were end users of travel services and a lot of  lay Japanese people visited there and the total number was 157,589.  Upon the opening of the event, an ward ceremony  of  good  services and efforts of related promotions was hosted and the Best Tourism Award was given to The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Embassy awards were for  Thailand and Mexico, the best transporatation award was for Japan Railways East, the domestic inbound award was for  the tourism department of Tokyo Metropolis, the publicity award was for a TV show of CXTV, and the chairperson special award was for Okinawa Convention Bureau. (http://t-expo.jp/en/program/cms.html)   I personally visited the two big events and collected a lot of interesting information and exchanged ideas with the participants, some of whom were my friends or those I sometimes work with. I enjoyed the delicious food provided by tourism- related restaurants and local specialities and impressed by the greatly enthusiastic atmosphere of energies of the expos as well.

“SHINOBIDO” being run at theaters

“SHINOBIDO”(/忍道), the special movie to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Edo Wonderland  Nikko (http://www.edowonderland.net/) is being shown at theaters. http://www.shinobido-movie.com/

The story is about a tragic love between a shinobi(or Ninjya) girl and a samurai warrior of her enemy, depicting energetic and lively actions and battles of shiboi and warriors.The mainpart is played by a young and popular actor named Aimi Satsukawa(/佐津川愛美), and a young shinobi girl who longs for her is played by Ayaka Kikuchi(/菊地あやか), a member of AKB48.

 

The work is produced by Edo Wonderland which usually provides live  action shows of ninjya performances of the ninjya actors there.  Some important parts in the movie are played by famous actors, such as Toshio Kurosawa(/黒沢年雄), Naoko Ken(/研ナオコ), Ryouichi Eki(/エキリョウイチ), Mayuko Iwasa(/岩佐真悠子), Hatsunori Hasegawa(/長谷川初範),and others.

In Mashiko, anyone could be a potter

Mashiko (益子町 ) , a town located in Tochigi Prefecture., is known for its pottery, called mashikoyaki (益子焼).

Although pottery pieces have been found in Mashiko that date back to the Jomon Period (14,000-600 B.C.), modern Mashiko pottery, known as mashikoyaki, begins in the early 1850s when a potter from nearby Kasama named Keizaburo Otsuka noted the quality of the clay and decided to set up a kiln. Read the rest of this entry »

A new idol group project “T!P” launched from Tochigi

 A new project of a young female idol group has launched from Tochigi Pref. The name of the new group is “T ! P”, which stands for “Tochigi Idol(unit) Project” (“I” is expressed as “!”). http://profile.ameba.jp/gto-idol/

The project started  in the radio program of  CRT Tochigi Broadcasting Corporation in this May with the concept of “aiming to be a major idol group from Tochigi”.  And  the first stage of the  first generation’s audition’s opening was May 20th-June 30th, and  at the final stage by July 27th, three members  out of  eleven candidates have been successfully chosen to the first generation members.   

   Tohicgi is home to a lot of  popular tourist destinations, such as Nikko, Kinugawa, Ashikaga, and others, however, due to the radiation problem in Fukushima, the prefecture has suffered from a sharp decrease in number of tourists after the disaster in this March, though the number is rising again these days.  The group will make much of  close relationships with the locals and local culture of the area, yet aiming to become a popular group nationwide, according to its producer.      Tochigi  already has an girls idol group named “Tochiotome 25”, which debuted at  the Shanghai Expo in China in 2010, whose primary concept is “promoting popular strawberry Tochiotome from Tochigi and other Tochigi’s agricultural produces and local culture to the domestic market as well as to China and other international markets ” . http://tochiotome25.com/sub4.html

 

I do hope these cheeful and energetic young girls will be a reliable trigger and energy source for Tochigi and whole of Japan to regain power and vigor so soon.

Sunflower festival in Nogi town

Nogi is a town located in Tochigi Prefecture. A girl on her father’s shoulders looks through a maze of sunflowers growing in a field during a sunflower festival.

AFPBB News
A total of some 200,000 sunflowers welcomed guests for the summer festival, an annual draw for the small town.

 

Maze of sunflowers entrance fee is 200yen


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Burberry Blue Label Utsunomiya Tobu

Burberry Blue Label Utsunomiya Tobu
バーバリーブルーレーベル東武宇都宮百貨店
At Tobu Utsunomiya store, 5-4, Miyazono-cho, Utsunomiya-shi, Tochigi
028-637-4834
Ladies
MAP:Burberry Blue Label Utsunomiya Tobu Read the rest of this entry »

Parco Utsunomiya

Parco Utsunomiya

宇都宮パルコ

3-1-1, Babadori, Utsunomiya-shi, Tochigi 320-8566

028-611-2111

http://www.parco-utsunomiya.com/web/

Since1997

PARCO Co.,Ltd.

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