Sacred Places, Pilgrimage, and Tourism - Geography of Religion in Japan: Religious Space, Landscape, and Behavior - page 180

islands with Fukuoka and Nagasaki Airports, but the utilization rate was low as the
area was often covered in sea fog, and the aircraft were often affected by the wind
during takeoff and touchdown. When high-speed ships were introduced, the time
saving of air travel was reduced and the airline service between Kami-Goto and
Fukuoka and between Kami-Goto and Nagasaki stopped in March 2004 and March
2006. Kami-Goto airport no longer operates.
Kami-Goto is the only island among the major remote islands in Nagasaki
Prefecture (Iki, Tsushima, Kami-Goto, and Shimo-Goto) without an airline service,
and tourist numbers appear to be constant in contrast to tourism growth on other
islands. The problem of promoting tourism in future needs to be resolved. The
Tourism Department of the Division of Regional Development in Nagasaki ( 2002 )
has indicated the small number of repeaters as being a characteristic of the tourists
that visit the Goto Islands. When evaluated as a tourist site, tourists often cite incon-
venient transportation compared with Tsushima and Iki, although the beauty of the
natural scenery of the sea and mountains and the delicious local cuisine are consid-
ered selling points. The Goto Islands, especially Kami-Goto, struggle to attract
tourists compared with other remote islands in Nagasaki, such as Tsushima and Iki,
which have convenient transportation to Fukuoka.

4.3.3.1 Package Tours from Tokyo to Goto Islands

Most of the pilgrim tour packages are marketed to Catholics (Fig. 4.26a ). In March
2008, the package tours cost 138,000 yen for a 3-night, 4-day trip return from
Haneda Airport and 149,000 yen for a 4-night, 5-day trip. Tour parties around the
island churches are accompanied by a Catholic priest who celebrates mass at the
churches. Other pilgrim tours combine churches on the Goto Islands and in
Nagasaki. A standard package tour for tourists costs about 60,000 to 100,000 yen
for a 2-night, 3-day schedule departing return from Haneda Airport. A typical tour-
ist visits Kami-Goto from Sasebo, tours the museum, learns about whaling at
Arikawa Port (Geihinkan Museum), and visits churches and sea-salt plants on stay
one night and then travels on to Fukue Island (Fig. 4.26b ). Most tourists visit by bus,
and stop at Kashiragashima Church on Kami-Goto Island on the fi rst day, then visit
Christianity-related sites by ship, including the Christian cave (Fig. 4.27 ) and for-
mer Gorin Church (Fig. 4.24 )the next day, before moving on to Fukue Island.
Christianity-related facilities are an important tourism resource for package tours
of Kami-Goto. One specifi c tour emphasizes the selling points of a tour of two
churches (Kashiragashima Church and Aosagaura Church) that have been regis-
tered on the World Cultural Heritage site list, a guided Christian cruise that can only
be experienced from ships, and opportunities for tourists to listen to Christians at
Catholic churches. The Christianity-related resources include churches designated
as nationally important cultural properties. Tourist operators now plan to include
healing tourism strategies by combining local specialties, such as camellia oil and
Goto udon noodles, with the churches, targeting groups of middle-aged to elderly
women. The Shinkami-Goto Tourism Promotion Vision, promoted Shinkami-Goto