Airlines have proved unable to stop declines in passenger volume between Tokyo and the Hokuriku region on the opposite coast of Japan in the three months that they have had to contend with high-speed trains.
The Hokuriku Shinkansen, a new bullet train line jointly run by East Japan Railway and West Japan Railway, connects Tokyo with the city of Kanazawa in as little as 2 1/2 hours.
The line opened March 14. In April, 686,000 passengers rode between Joetsumyoko and Itoigawa, a segment used to measure ridership on the entire line. This marked a jump of 220% from a year earlier on conventional express service, according to the railway operators. The tally for May 1-18 came to 531,000, an increase of 230%. And the gains appear to be holding strong into this month.
When it comes to travel packages, "we're selling as many as we put out," JR East Executive Director Tsukasa Haraguchi said. Kagayaki, the fastest service on the line, basically operates 10 round trips per day but has gone up to 18 during peak times, such as the Golden Week holidays, reducing missed opportunities to pick up travelers.
So far, the faster connection to Tokyo has been a boon for region's tourism and hospitality industries. Attendance at Kenrokuen, a famous garden in Kanazawa, was up 24% from March 14 to May 31. Visitors to the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route in neighboring Toyama Prefecture were up 5% in April and May despite some technical difficulties at the mountain sightseeing destination. Kagaya, a venerable inn north of Kanazawa, reports increases of roughly 20% in guests and sales since the line opened.
Meanwhile, airlines are struggling to fill seats on Hokuriku-bound planes. From March 14 to April 30, Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways saw passengers on flights between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Komatsu Airport, which serves the Kanazawa area, decrease 34% to 144,000. May brought a roughly 30% drop at JAL and a 43% plunge at ANA. About 40% fewer people flew ANA between Tokyo and Toyama, another Hokuriku hub, from March 14 to the end of May, according to the carrier's Toyama office.
Both airlines have tried more aggressive discounts, offering fares lower than for reserved bullet train seats. But "travelers' reaction has been tepid," an aviation industry source says. ANA says it will maintain its current number of flights between Tokyo and Hokuriku until the end of October; JAL plans to do the same through the fiscal year ending next March. But if the slump continues, they may yet have to reduce service.
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