USUKI, Oita -- Two foreign staff members have been stationed with Japanese staff to offer information to tourists at a renovated tourist information office at JR Usuki Station in Usuki, Oita Prefecture, as the number of foreign tourists is expected to increase for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, among other events.
The prefectural capital city of Oita will host three pool-stage matches and two matches in the knockout tournament at the Oita Bank Dome, which has a capacity of 40,000 people, for the World Cup in October next year. Usuki is about 35 kilometers southeast of Oita.
The two foreign staff members who live in Usuki are Jonathan Finger from Australia and Heimo Gratzl from Austria. They take turns manning the office, and can provide services in both English and German.
At the top of the 4-square-meter prefabricated office, a signboard features Hottosan, a tourist mascot of the city. The city government negotiated with Kyushu Railway Co. to move the office to the front of the ticket gates from the corner of the station, which was hard for tourists to find. The cost to move the office was about 4.4 million yen.
The office is operated by the Usuki tourism information association entrusted by the city. The association hired the two foreigners as temporary employees.
About 20 people attended the opening ceremony of the renovated office on Oct. 5, with a "kusudama" decorative ball hanging from the platform's ceiling opened up to celebrate the event.
"The number of foreign tourists is increasing year by year. We want to welcome them with the courtesy and kindness of Japanese traditional omotenashi hospitality," Usuki Mayor Goro Nakano said.
The tourist information office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, call the office at (0972) 63-2366.
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