Tourism expo promotes Japan's culture and heritage sites

At the recently-held "Tourism Expo Japan" in Tokyo, exhibitors from over 150 countries and 47 prefectures of Japan showcased their travel and business potential.

The expo provided an open place for networking with the world's travel professionals to build the concrete tourism related business as well as directly interact with general public.

Japan's bullet train, popularly known as Shinkansen, will start service to Hokkaido by linking the northern main island with Tokyo scheduled on March next year.

Visitors were thrilled with the service.

Evbuomwan Cambell Blessing, a Nigerian student, said, "I will be writing something about Hokkaido, so I want to go to Hokkaido and see how it looks like. So when I'm going, maybe I will use the Shinkansen."

The Shinkansen bullet train has started operations to the Hokuriku area, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan.

Known for ancient houses, traditional handicrafts and performing arts the region attracts some 8 million tourists every year.

Yasuhiro Yamaguchi, an official of the Nanto City Tourism Bureau, said, "This is a musical instrument used to play "Kokiriko", which is regarded as the Japan's oldest folk music. The music and dance has developed as a musical accompaniment to rice planting and was celebrated for rice planting performed by villagers. The instrument has roots in farming tools. The Hokuriku Shinkansen started operating to Kanazawa and the further increase in the number of foreign sightseers is expected in Takayama and Shirakawa area. International visitors are increased also in guest houses in Okayama village."

Huis Ten Bosch Park is a popular tourist spot in Kyushu area.

Noruyuki Kurokawa, a marketing official with Huis Ten Bosch Co,.Ltd, said, "Huis Ten Bosch Park is located in Sasebo city of Nagasaki Prefecture. It is spread in 1,520,000 square meters. Visitors can enjoy flower garden in all four seasons. We operate various events, such as the Kingdom of Illumination, which will start from October. Now H.I.S. company management, with the concept of "Only One, Number One", is organising various events. The numbers of the illuminations has increased to 13,000,000 bulbs this year. We have the largest numbers of the illumination bulbs in the world's theme parks. Almost the whole Huis Ten Bosch Park will be illuminated."

Henna hotel has been using robots to welcome guests.

Kurokawa further said, "As you see, the dinosaur will welcome the guest at hotel reception. There are also women android robots and three small robots that will assist the guest at the counter. The Porter Robot will autonomously guide the hotel guest to their rooms. Recently, there are increasing visitors from South East Asia, especially from Thailand and Indonesia."

The World heritage sites of Kumano and Koyasan at Wakayama prefecture attract more visitors.

Toshio Shima, an official of the Wakayama Tourism Bureau, said, "Wakayama has rich history and beautiful sea. There are many beautiful sites such as Koyasan in the north and Shirahama, Katsuura in the South. The sacred sites and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountain Range are the most popular destinations after they have been registered to UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. Wakayama has plenty of history, nature and great food such as seafood and fruits."

The Southern Island of Japan, Okinawa prefecture, also showcased its unique culture and the charm of beautiful seas.