Revitalize Tourism, Japan Frees Shinkansen Bullet Train Service For Children

Illustration of Japanese shinkansen bullet train. (Wikimedia Commons/Rsa)

JAKARTA - One of the sectors hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic since last year is tourism. The majority of tourist destinations in the world have been hit hard by the coronavirus.

Along with the increase in COVID-19 vaccinations and the virus being increasingly controlled, a number of countries have gradually relaxed their restrictions, revitalizing economic activity, one of which is tourism.

In Japan, children will be allowed to ride the shinkansen bullet train that runs through most of the country's largest cities for free, as part of a campaign to revive domestic tourism hit by the coronavirus pandemic, operators said Friday.

The program, which runs between last Wednesday and December 19, will include the Nozomi super-express service that stops at major stations, including Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Shin-Osaka, and Hakata, said Central Japan Railway Co. and West Japan Railway Co., citing Kyodo News Nov. 19.

To be eligible for the campaign, passengers must reserve seats through a members-only online system, with payments for adults and children made at the same time by credit card. Child rates will be refunded about two weeks later, the company explained.

The condition is that child passengers must be between six and 11 years old and accompanied by an adult. Interestingly, one adult passenger can bring up to five children traveling for free.

This will be the first campaign by two major rail operators, which in March will mark the 30th anniversary of the launch of the Nozomi service.

To note, following the recent sharp decline in coronavirus infections in Japan, the government aims to stimulate domestic travel demand by restarting its "Go To Travel" subsidy program sometime in February. Previously, this program was suspended in December last year due to the spread of the coronavirus.