TOKONAME, Aichi -- Famous samurai and ninja are entertaining tourists at Chubu Airport, as part of a project launched by the airport's operator earlier this month.
"Samurai/Ninja Airport" is aimed at attracting more inbound foreign tourists to Chubu Airport by introducing the attractions of the region, which contains many historic sites from the Sengoku period (from the late 15th century to the late 16th century), ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. The airport's operating company, Central Japan International Airport Co. based in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, is also considering using the project's name as a nickname for the facility.
Sengoku-era military commanders and ninja are popular among foreign tourists as representative of the "Cool Japan" initiative to share Japanese culture with the rest of the world. Decorations featuring military commanders and ninja travel on Chubu Airport's baggage turnstiles amid passengers' luggage.
The operating company has also made it look as if ninja are running around various parts of the airport, through such means as hanging ninja mannequins in the air at the departure lobby.
Information boards now resemble the kosatsu notice boards used during the Sengoku period, and restaurants at the airport are offering special items such as hamburgers with ninja stars stuck in the bun and onigiri rice balls shaped like samurai warriors with topknots.
The airport is already nicknamed Centrair, and there are plans to also dub it "Samurai/Ninja Airport." The operating company plans to ask airlines to make on-board announcements such as "We're now arriving at Samurai/Ninja Airport" before landing, and to ask Nagoya Railroad Co. to put ninja and other stickers on arriving and departing trains.
The government has set a goal of increasing the annual number of inbound foreign tourists to 40 million by 2020, and competition among airports is intensifying. In fiscal 2017, Narita Airport recorded a total of 40.93 million terminal passengers and Kansai Airport recorded 28.8 million, while Chubu Airport had only 11.53 million terminal passengers.
There are many historic battlefields and castles around Chubu Airport, such as the Sekigahara battlefield in Sekigahara, Gifu Prefecture; Nagoya Castle in Nagoya; and the national treasure of Matsumoto Castle in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture. There are also sightseeing areas related to the Sengoku period, including Iga, Mie Prefecture; and Koka, Shiga Prefecture, both of which are famous as home to ninja.
The airport operator hopes to increase its terminal passengers to 15 million in fiscal 2019 by promoting tourism in cooperation with various municipalities.
"We want to appeal to tourists through cooperation between the airport and municipalities, to differentiate the airport from those in Tokyo and Osaka," a senior official of the company said.
Nicknames abound
Various airports are using regional symbols as a nickname to raise their profile and attract more tourists.
Tottori Airport in Tottori Prefecture began calling itself "Tottori Sakyu (Sand hill) Conan Airport" in 2015, at the suggestion of the author of the popular manga series "Detective Conan," who hails from the prefecture.
The airport is filled with characters from the Conan manga series, with original drawings and dolls of its characters displayed inside. Many fans have visited the airport, which saw a record high of 388,000 terminal passengers in fiscal 2017.
Other examples include Kochi Airport's "Kochi Ryoma Airport" in Kochi Prefecture and Tokushima Airport's "Tokushima Awaodori Airport" in Tokushima Prefecture.
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