Japanese rail company asks passengers to roll the dice with its tickets to random destinations
- Osaka-based JR West has launched a ticket promotion in which travellers pay a flat fee and let a computer randomly pick which of 7 destinations they will go to
- Whether they end up in beach resorts or a hot-spring town, passengers enjoy big fare discounts. The campaign mimics a successful one Japanese airline Peach used
This summer, West Japan Railways is sending passengers on what is probably best described as a mystery tour.
JR West is based in Osaka and operates a network of lines throughout the western half of Japan’s main island of Honshu, as well as on parts of Kyushu – the large island just southwest of Honshu – including the Sanyo Shinkansen “bullet train” line between Osaka and the main city on Kyushu, Fukuoka.
From July 29, the company is launching the Saikoro Ticket campaign, with “saikoro” the Japanese word for “dice” and, as the name suggests, a traveller’s destination left to chance.
A customer wishing to travel from Osaka can access the dedicated JR West website, enter the number of passengers – a maximum of six - and the date of travel before paying 500 yen (US$3.70) to “play” and 4,500 yen per ticket. At the touch of a button, the website will roll computerised dice and let the traveller know where they are going.
Although a conventional dice has six sides, there are seven potential destinations, with the return tickets valid over a three-day period.