Tourist trains give passengers taste of local attractions

Tasty local produce, uniquely designed trains and a leisurely ride through the scenic countryside - this is how some train operators are trying to attract passengers and get local economies back on track.
The growing popularity of these train trips has even started a new word to describe the positive economic impact the business brings: "tetsunomics," a play on the words Abenomics and "tetsudo" (railway).

Since 2014, East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) has operated the Koshino Shu Kura train on the Iiyama and Joetsu lines in Niigata Prefecture. A major attraction of this three-car train is that passengers can sample several kinds of local sake. The train's interior resembles an old Japanese house, and the window shades are designed to look like shoji sliding paper doors. Through the window, the view of the Chikumagawa river stretching into the distance had a distinctive charm. Onboard announcements were prerecorded by actor Fujio Tokita, known for his voice acting in the long-running anime "Manga Nippon Mukashibanashi," and attendants wore traditional monpe baggy trousers.