The other day, when I attended an event, someone from the Kurashiki City Tourism Division recommended an official LINE account called Kurashiki Fan Club.
Apparently, if you sign up, you’ll receive information about events in the city, making it easy to keep up with what’s happening.
I signed up right away, and found that the Kurashiki Fan Club is an official LINE account for tourists, with many benefits in addition to event information.
I looked into the benefits and recommended ways to use the account, and would like to share what I found.
The information presented here was current when this article was published in April 2024. Please note that it may differ from the current information.
What is the Kurashiki Fan Club?
The Kurashiki Fan Club is an official LINE account that shares tourist information and special offers in Kurashiki City. It is run by the Kurashiki City Tourism Division, and there are no annual or membership fees.
Here are some of the benefits and information you can get:
- Coupons for participating Fan Club businesses
- Information about upcoming events and popular businesses
- Information about congestion at tourist attractions and parking lots
- Directions to tourist attractions using a digital tourist map
- Direct links to the hometown tax donation website
With the Kurashiki Fan Club, you can quickly find information about tourist attractions and check congestion levels during your stay.
You’ll also receive information about upcoming events and can easily access the hometown tax donation website after your trip, so it looks useful in all kinds of situations—before, during, and after your trip.
Signing up is easy.
Just add the Kurashiki Fan Club account as a friend and enter information such as your age and where you live to start using it.
The Kurashiki Fan Club was launched just recently, at the end of January 2024.
I interviewed Koji Makino of the Kurashiki City Tourism Division about how it came about and what it offers.
Interview with the person in charge
How did the Kurashiki Fan Club come about?
Makino (honorific omitted)
Kurashiki City had long faced the challenge of visitors spending only a short time here.
There are many tourists around Bikan Historical Area, which is close to JR Kurashiki Station, but many just stop by briefly and then leave. Kurashiki City has attractions and points of interest throughout the city, so we wanted to create a way for visitors to explore the whole area.
Two years ago, in 2022, the national government announced grants under its Digital Garden City Nation initiative, and we began considering whether we could use LINE to share information. Developing a tourism app was another option, but LINE is the most widely used social media platform in Japan, so we thought it would be easy to sign up for and use.
Local governments often use LINE to share information with residents, but this was the first time Kurashiki City had created an official account for tourists. To coincide with the launch of the Kurashiki Fan Club, we also revamped the official Kurashiki tourism website, “Kurashiki Tourism WEB.”
Ideally, we’d like visitors to explore other areas in addition to Bikan Historical Area. We launched it as a tool to help people enjoy sightseeing around Kurashiki City even more, with coupons for shops in Kojima and Tamashima and model itineraries for other areas.
How do you recommend using it?
Makino
The benefit I’d most recommend is the coupons.
For example, you might get 100 yen off the regular 500-yen admission fee at a tourist attraction, or 10% off at a souvenir shop, helping you enjoy sightseeing and shopping around the city for less.
I also recommend the “Tourist Attractions” feature, which lets you find popular model itineraries, restaurants, and tourist facilities.
It links to Kurashiki Tourism WEB, where you can see popular tourist attractions ranked by page views, so you can tell at a glance which spots are popular right now.
Once you’ve picked out places you’d like to visit under “Tourist Attractions,” you can also create your own travel plan using the “Tourist Map.” It’s linked to Kurashiki Tourism WEB, too; enter your destinations and it will show you the best route and estimated travel times.
You can also quickly check congestion at parking lots and tourist attractions through the Kurashiki Fan Club, which should help you enjoy a smooth sightseeing experience on the day.
I hope you’ll use the Kurashiki Fan Club to find information before your trip and get the information you need while you’re there.
I live in Kurashiki City. Can residents use it, too?
Makino
Yes, of course.
For residents, their hometown is the closest tourist destination, so I hope you’ll visit local attractions and enjoy outings at a discount.
We plan to add more coupons in the future, so I hope you’ll use them at nearby businesses.
We also send push notifications about upcoming events, so if you’re interested in local events, please sign up.
We hope it’ll give you an idea for an outing when you’re thinking, “Where should we go as a family next weekend?”
Do you have a message for our readers?
Makino
If you’re even a little interested in Kurashiki or have visited before, I hope you’ll sign up.
I’d be delighted if you used the Fan Club benefits to explore Kurashiki conveniently and affordably, and became a fan of Kurashiki.
We hope you’ll visit Kurashiki again and again, so please sign up.
From the Writer
While preparing for this interview, I tried out various features of the Kurashiki Fan Club, and there were many moments when I thought, “Yes, this is exactly the kind of information I want when I travel!”
Using it from a tourist’s perspective, I found it easy to search for popular spots, which made planning a trip much easier.
I live in Kurashiki City, but I thought it would be fun to look through the Kurashiki Fan Club when I’m wondering where to go.
Whether you’re visiting or live locally, make the most of the upcoming outing season and enjoy Kurashiki City conveniently and affordably.
Account: Kurashiki Fan Club
▼The easiest way is to use the “Add Friend” button below
What would you like to know about Kurashiki?
Enter a word to search articles on this site
Account: Kurashiki Fan Club
▼The easiest way is to use the “Add Friend” button below