Newspaper Kushiro Shimbun introduced our company through their article
The Kushiro Shimbun published an article about our company on 2 August. Thank you very much for posting the article.
The article is based on my visit to the Kushiro Shimbun on 27 July. Some extracts are given below.
“While travel demand is shifting from ‘urban’ to ‘rural,’ large suitcases are not accessible for international travelers who wish to use public transport in rural areas. Accessible travel is important to the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). President Yamada says, ‘Large luggage stops the travelers going to the countryside.’
So this spring, President Yamada started a clothing rental business for overseas travelers. With even a little less luggage, traveling by train and local buses becomes more accessible. If the use of public transport in rural areas increases, this will lead to the keeping of routes. The reduction in the weight of checked luggage will also reduce the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of aircraft traveling between overseas and Japan by about 20%.”
Kushiro City and other East Hokkaido regions are famous for their many tourism resources, including nature, such as marshlands and lakes, and wildlife, such as red-crowned cranes and Ezo deer. However, as steps (no accessibility) remain at stations, traveling while carrying large luggage takes a lot of work. Therefore, many people travel by rented car, and the public transport system faces a declining number of passengers.
I am very aware of this public transport predicament. My concern is that the decline in the population of people living along the railway line has already started and will continue. If even travelers choose to travel by car, we can’t stop the downward trend in public transport passenger numbers. If we can’t stop the population decline, the only way to stop the decline in passenger numbers is to encourage travelers to use public transport instead of driving cars.
Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the size and weight of large luggage items through clothing rental and create a system that allows people to use public transport even if there are steps at stations. 94% of foreign visitors use railways and buses, and only 9% use rental cars (multiple responses, Foreign Visitor Consumption Survey 2019). Improving the convenience of public transport, therefore, meets the needs of foreign travelers.
In addition, public transport in rural areas and restaurants in tourist areas rarely have foreign language notices. Therefore, improving writing more foreign languages for foreigners is also necessary. Only by improving accessibility, both physical (e.g., removing steps at stations) and information (e.g., Japanese language signs), will foreign travelers be able to travel comfortably and stress-free in rural areas of Japan. We want to do our best to achieve this.
Current travel with ‘large suitcase’
Future travel without ‘large suitcase’
