CHOSHI, Chiba, a local train operator in an east Japan coastal city recently launched one-day passes with special designs in collaboration with pop singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, as part of the entertainer's project to support regional industries and tourism affected by the coronaviruses.
Choshi Electric Railway Co. in Choshi, Chiba Prefecture, has begun selling one-day passes in two designs with photos of Kyary wearing goggles. The pass comes with a special photo sticker of Choshi Electric Railway President Katsunori Takemoto wearing similar goggles. The train operator expects this campaign will boost rider numbers, despite the fact that they have been struggling financially.
In the music video for her song Mondai Girl mondai meaning problem in 2015, Kyary wore goggles with the two Japanese characters for mondai. Mimicking that, she wears goggles with the Japanese characters for Choden, an abbreviation of the railway's name in the one-day pass photos. Takemoto, in contrast, wears Kyary's original goggles with the characters for mondai. Passes cost about $7.70 each at the railway stations Nakanocho and Inubou until the end of August. The sets of the two designs are available online for 2,000 yen.
Choshi Electric Railway has launched many original products in the past, including food items such as wet rice crackers, dumplings and curry, and apparel such as knit caps and T-shirts, and even oxygen canisters. Sales of the merchandise account for about 80% of the company's annual revenue.
A company representative said that the song Mondai Girl carries the message that everyone can have a different 'ordinariness, and that idea perfectly suits Choshi Electric Railway, which has gone its own way without thinking inside the box.