‘Is Japan Cool?’ Website is a dedicated site from Japanese carrier to promoting a funkier, trendier Japan. The third edition was launched on February 13.
TOKYO – All Nippon Airways, Japan’s largest airline group, today announces that its popular “Is Japan Cool?” website is back for a third season. The interactive website showcases traditional Japanese culture and new trends, along with places to visit in the country. Visitors to the site are invited to vote to rank the most popular sports and cultural trends. The site is designed to attract more visitors to Japan from overseas by highlighting the beauty and wonder of the country.
To mark the launch, ANA will launch a “Cool Campaign Season 3!” competition, where visitors to the site with residence outside Japan can win free round-trip tickets to Japan.
The third installment features brand new sections for visitors to the site to vote on, including ‘Traditions’ and ‘Kawaii’ (cute). “Traditions” focuses on the ancient Japanese culture, traditions, and beauty of the Kyoto area. Nothing does justice to Japanese traditions and culture like Kyoto. Kyoto has ranked No.1 as travel choice among Asian cities in 2011, in the Condé Nast Traveler’ magazine and ranked No.2 in 2012.
‘Is Japan Cool?’ is a project intended to revive interest in tourism in Japan by exploring Japan’s culture and appeal as a travel destination. Season 1 of ‘Is Japan Cool?’ was launched in February 2012, broadly showcasing the wonders found across Japan. Further content was added in the summer of 2012 when the campaign was renewed for Season 2 with a focus on two cities which each have their own unique fascination, titled ‘OKINAWA’ and ‘TOKYO’. Also included was additional content of Japan’s unique sub-culture of cosplay. The campaign attracted significant interest during Season 1 (February – October of 2012) achieving over 900,000 page views; 430,000 YouTube views; and 25,000 likes registered on the website itself. In the ‘Cool Campaign’, offering airline tickets to Japan as a prize, over 50,000 people from 152 countries (regions) applied.
Audiences can vote on the ‘Is Japan Cool?’ site simply by clicking the COOL button if they think the content is cool. Alternatively, they can click on the NOT SO COOL button if that is their choice. This participation gives us a closer look at Japan’s appeal through foreigner’s eyes. Interestingly, the results of COOL votes in Season 1 were somewhat surprising to the Japanese. In order of popularity they were: ‘Japanese hospitality’, ‘high-tech toilets’, ‘hot springs spa’, ‘Mt. Fuji’, and ‘next-generation vending machines’. The system also enables audiences to share on social media including Facebook and leave comments so others can see at a glance why they thought something was ‘cool’.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
