Local Japanese Railway Offers Chances to Stream Original Music

Funahashi, Toyama Pref., May 12 (Jiji Press)–A local railway operator in central Japan has been selling the right for people to have their originally created music played in its trains, as part of local revitalization efforts. In a project launched in response to a request from a related local municipality for new tourism resources, Toyama Chihou Tetsudou Inc., based in the city of Toyama, the capital of the namesake prefecture, has been streaming since May 1 a piano piece composed by a 27-year-old Tokyoite when its trains arrive at Etchu-Funahashi Station in the village of Funahashi. Toyama Chihou Tetsudou offers its train services as transportation for workers, students and tourists, with one of its lines linking the city of Toyama and the Unazuki Onsen hot spring resort in the eastern part of the prefecture. Falls in the number of passengers and the aging of facilities have weighed on the train operator in recent years, causing the company’s railway business to suffer a net loss of about 838 million yen in fiscal 2024. The situation has led to a proposal for scrapping some sections of the lines. The railway operator and seven municipalities, including Funahashi, are holding discussions. A bedroom community for the city of Toyama, Funahashi has a population of about 3,300. With the total area of some 3.47 square kilometers, it is the smallest village in Japan. Toyama Chihou Tetsudou provides the only public transportation connecting the tiny village and the neighboring prefectural capital. In autumn last year, the Funahashi municipal office asked the railway company for cooperation in creating a new tourist attraction. Hoping to bring some positive news to the local community, Toyama Chihou Tetsudou in January this year started selling the right to stream in-train music for 250,000 yen. The music must be up to 20 seconds long, not be a rendition of an existing song, and not have lyrics. Each melody will be played for four months in all cars when trains arrive at Etchu-Funahashi Station. Those buying the right will also be given a photo of the inside of Toyama Chihou Tetsudou’s train depot. The Tokyo man whose 18-second piano piece is now being played was the first buyer of the right. An information technology engineer in the Japanese capital’s Suginami Ward who lives along a train line operated by Seibu Railway Co., he has felt familiar with Toyama Chihou Tetsudou since secondhand cars from Seibu Railway are used for trains of the local railway firm. After learning about the train melody project on social media, the man created the piano piece, gaining inspiration from Funahashi’s countryside landscape. He played the piece himself and recorded it. For the creation of a second melody under the project, Toyama Chihou Tetsudou has received inquiries from a company for its potential purchase of the right. “Train stations serve as activity hubs,” Koji Honma, chief of the Funahashi village office’s general affairs department, said. “We hope that people will be interested in the project and come to our village.” Kyohei Shimoda, an official at Toyama Chihou Tetsudou, said that the train melody project could “attract a lot of attention as a unique approach for regional revitalization.” “We hope that the project will catch the eye of a wide range of people and encourage them to ride our trains,” Shimoda added. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]