Take trains and cut emissions, Hokkaido tells HK visitors

Solo Hong Kong travellers should try to use more rail services and help Hokkaido reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a Japanese official said.

The call came amid an emerging trend of more individuals using rental cars on their holidays in Japan.

Hokkaido received more than 590,000 foreign tourists in 2006, almost double that of 2003. Of the total visitors in 2006, about 86,000 were from Hong Kong, which represented a 60 per cent rise over 2002 and was the third largest source of tourists for the prefecture.

Yasuo Imai, assistant director of the Hokkaido tourism bureau, said it was encouraging visitors to minimise driving and take the mass rail service which was more efficient and covered major sights.

'Hokkaido is so large that sometimes driving might become necessary. But it is much better to combine both car and rail travel to minimise the emission of carbon dioxide as far as possible,' he said.

A 143km, two-hour drive from Sapporo to the tourist spot of Furano - a destination for nature lovers and skiers - will generate about 20kg of carbon emissions from a private vehicle meeting the latest European Union emission standards.