Tourism Lost in translation? Tourists heading to Niigata end up in Akita

[thomas]

Paris, Texas?

A taxi driver recently brought three Australian skiers to the tourist information centre at JR Yuzawa Station, a scene that was all too familiar to the staff. The family, dressed for the slopes, clearly intended to go to JR Echigo-Yuzawa Station in Niigata Prefecture, a popular destination for international skiers. The problem? These two stations are hundreds of kilometres apart – not a minor error. The staff member explained that the trip from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station takes at least four hours. Foreign tourists often leave Tokyo in the morning and arrive at JR Yuzawa Station around 3 p.m., mistakenly thinking they've reached their destination. This kind of mix-up occurs multiple times every month.

Once at Yuzawa Station, the only way to correct course and get to Echigo-Yuzawa Station is to backtrack by boarding the Akita Shinkansen Line for Omiya Station in Saitama Prefecture and then transfer to the Joetsu Shinkansen Line.

There are no ski slopes in the city of Yuzawa. What it is famous for are its hot spring resorts that are lesser known among tourists from abroad. The staffer added it is not rare for inbound visitors to mistake Yuzawa Station for Echigo-Yuzawa Station. As for the Australian family who showed up on Dec. 9, she directed them to a hotel in the city. "I think the taxi driver and employees at the JR station were all kind to them. The family left Yuzawa Station the next day looking happy," she said. In the summer of 2023, a young French couple sought help at the tourist information center to find a hotel they thought they booked in "Yuzawa." They said they came to see the Nishimonai Bon odori dance festival, which is held in the neighboring town of Ugo and registered on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The employee helping them then discovered that the couple had made a reservation at a hotel in the Echigo-Yuzawa area in Niigata Prefecture. With all hotels almost fully booked during the Bon odori season, staffers called one accommodation facility after another to secure a room for the couple in the city. Staff also called the Echigo-Yuzawa hotel to cancel their reservation. The couple deeply appreciated their efforts.

Niigata-bound tourists keep ending up in Akita Prefecture | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis

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