Sales skyrocket unexpectedly for unlimited rail pass in Shikoku

[bill937ca]

TAKAMATSU--Sales of the unlimited All Shikoku Rail Pass for the main island in western Japan far exceeded expectations following a price change and the opening of a direct air route from Hong Kong.

Shikoku Railway Co. (JR Shikoku) sold 18,476 of the passes last fiscal year, nearly double the total the previous fiscal year and representing an increase in revenue of 70 million yen ($615,000).

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201705120007.html

 

[railsquid]

"main island in western Japan" is an odd way of describing Shikoku.

[JR 500系]

Well done, seems like the direct air flight route helped! 

 

Those tourist trains are also definitely helping a lot, looking at those occupancy rates!

[bikkuri bahn]

"main island in western Japan" is an odd way of describing Shikoku.

I suspect it was a clumsy English addition to the translation of the original article, as it would be odd to have such an explanation in the original Japanese.

Edited May 16, 2017 by bikkuri bahn

[velotrain]

It seems particularly odd stating that it's the "main island" since Wiki says:

 

"Shikoku (四国^?, "four provinces") is the smallest (225 km or 139.8 mi long and between 50 and 150 km or 31.1 and 93.2 mi wide) and least populous (4,141,955 as of 2005^[update]) of the four main islands of Japan"