"Survey on Hokuriku" The Hokuriku Shinkansen is about to open! We asked 440 people who live in Hokuriku, have been there, and want to go there! The hidden tourist spot recommended by residents is... "Chirihama Nagisa Driveway" (Ishikawa Prefecture)

2015.02.05 Press Releases
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.

- Express Hokuriku in one kanji character... "sea," "cold," and "snow." Top 3 must-see tourist spots... 1st place: Kenrokuen Garden, 2nd place: Kurobe Dam, 3rd place: Tojinbo.

Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce that it has conducted a "Survey on Hokuriku" using the "T Survey," an online opinion survey, targeting 440 T members, both male and female, aged 18 to 69, who live in Hokuriku (Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui prefectures), have been to Hokuriku, or would like to visit Hokuriku.

Hokuriku Survey Digest

●Hokuriku (Ishikawa, Toyama, Fukui) tourist spots: What do you recommend? Where would you like to go?
　・A hidden spot recommended by locals is "Chirihama Nagisa Driveway"
　・A hidden gem recommended by people who have been there is "Eiheiji Temple"
　・Top 3 tourist spots for people who want to go: 1st place "Kenrokuen Garden", 2nd place "Kurobe Dam", 3rd place "Tojinbo"　
●Hokuriku Gourmet Edition: What do you recommend? What food do you want to eat?
　・The gourmet food recommended by residents is "crab"
　・The gourmet food recommended by people who have been there is "white shrimp"
　Top 3 gourmet foods that people want to eat: 1st place "Firefly squid", 2nd place "Cold yellowtail shabu-shabu", 3rd place "Sushi"
●One Kanji character that evokes the image of Hokuriku
　1st place: “Sea” / “Cold”, 3rd place: “Snow”, 4th place: “Food”, 5th place: “Japanese”

●Hokuriku (Ishikawa, Toyama, Fukui) tourist spots: What do you recommend? Where would you like to go?

　・A hidden spot recommended by locals is "Chirihama Nagisa Driveway"
　・A hidden gem recommended by people who have been there is "Eiheiji Temple"
　・Top 3 tourist spots for people who want to go: 1st place "Kenrokuen Garden", 2nd place "Kurobe Dam", 3rd place "Tojinbo"

The Hokuriku Shinkansen is scheduled to open on March 14th. We conducted a survey of 440 people in total about Hokuriku, a very hot area that is expected to attract more and more attention in the future, including people who live in Hokuriku (Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui prefectures), people who have been to Hokuriku, and people who want to visit Hokuriku in the future.
First, the "Tourist Spots" section. We asked people who live in Hokuriku or have been to Hokuriku about "recommended tourist spots," and those who want to visit Hokuriku in the future about "tourist spots they would like to visit." The place that came in first place for all respondents was Kenrokuen Garden (Ishikawa Prefecture). Furthermore, when comparing the top 10 spots, there are some places where there are large differences in points between each ranking, highlighting some hidden tourist spots. The top three tourist spots listed by people living in Hokuriku were all ranked in the top 10 by people who don't live in Hokuriku, but the one that came out on top by a large margin was Chirihama Nagisa Driveway (Ishikawa Prefecture). Chirihama Nagisa Driveway (Ishikawa Prefecture), famous locally as the only driveway in Japan where you can drive on a sandy beach, ranked fifth, with a difference of 19.4 points between those who have been to Hokuriku and 30.3 points between those who want to go to Hokuriku. Meanwhile, Eiheiji Temple (Fukui Prefecture), chosen by those who have been to Hokuriku (23.9%), is a famous temple that serves as the head temple of the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism, and ranked fifth, 9.7 points ahead of those who would like to visit Hokuriku. The top three places that people who would like to visit in the Hokuriku region in the future are: 1st place, Kenrokuen Garden (Ishikawa Prefecture) (54.8%), 2nd place, Kurobe Dam (Toyama Prefecture) (50.3%), and 3rd place, Tojinbo Boulevard (Fukui Prefecture) (34.8%).

●Hokuriku Gourmet Edition: What do you recommend? What food do you want to eat?

　・The gourmet food recommended by residents is "crab"
　・The gourmet food recommended by people who have been there is "white shrimp"
　Top 3 gourmet foods that people want to eat: 1st place "Firefly squid", 2nd place "Cold yellowtail shabu-shabu", 3rd place "Sushi"

Next is the "Gourmet" edition. We asked people who live in Hokuriku or have been to Hokuriku about their "recommended gourmet foods," and those who would like to visit Hokuriku about "food they would like to try." The gourmet foods recommended by residents were 1st place "sushi" (60.8%), 2nd place "crab" (51.5%), and 3rd place "trout sushi" (50.0%), with the top three foods all being recommended by more than half of the respondents. In particular, "crab" had a difference of 19.3 points between those who have been and 11.6 points between those who want to go, showing that Hokuriku crab is a delicious gourmet food that even locals highly recommend. Additionally, the only gourmet food that ranked in the top 10 compared to people who do not live in the Hokuriku region was "Jibuni," a local dish from Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture (20.8%). The gourmet foods recommended by people who have been to Hokuriku were first "firefly squid" (45.2%), second "white shrimp" (34.2%), and third "masu sushi" (32.9%).Compared to the others, "white shrimp," a specialty of Toyama caught off the coast of Toyama, ranked in the top three. Additionally, when asked what gourmet foods people who want to visit Hokuriku would like to eat, the top three were firefly squid (41.3%), followed by cold yellowtail shabu-shabu (40.0%) and sushi (38.7%), with cold yellowtail shabu-shabu, made with cold yellowtail caught in Himi Bay, Toyama, ranking in the top three.

●One Kanji character that evokes the image of Hokuriku

　1st place: “Sea” / “Cold”, 3rd place: “Snow”, 4th place: “Food”, 5th place: “Japanese”

The results showed that the unique characteristics of Hokuriku were prominent in terms of tourist spots and cuisine, but when asked to give a free response to choose the one kanji character that evokes the image of Hokuriku, the combined total of people who live in Hokuriku, have been to Hokuriku, and those who would like to go to Hokuriku chose "umi" (sea) and "kan" (cold), which evoke the Sea of Japan and cold climate unique to Hokuriku. The third place was "snow," the fourth place was "food," and the fifth place was "harmony."Looking at the rankings for each, people who live in Hokuriku chose kanji such as "darkness," "rain," and "happiness," while people who have been to Hokuriku and those who would like to visit Hokuriku chose kanji such as "north," "beauty," and "taste," respectively.

■ Survey Overview
Survey method: Internet (T Survey)
Survey period: Friday, January 23, 2015 to Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Survey area: Nationwide
Survey subjects: Men and women aged 18 to 69 (T members)
Number of samples:
　People living in Hokuriku (Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui prefectures)...130 people
　People who have been to Hokuriku: 155 people
　People who want to visit Hokuriku...155 people

■What is the T Survey?
This is one of the largest online research services in Japan, with 9 million T Card users registered. All members who complete research and surveys will be rewarded with T Points. In addition, the responses you provide will be processed as statistical information and used by companies and media outlets for product development and service planning. Each and every opinion we receive from our members will be an important key point in creating a bright future for people, companies, and Japan.
CCC offers marketing solutions to companies, from planning surveys through "T Surveys" to compiling and analyzing them as a research program tailored to their needs.

Materials related to this matter

"Survey on Hokuriku" The Hokuriku Shinkansen is about to open! We asked 440 people who live in Hokuriku, have been there, and want to go there! The hidden tourist spot recommended by residents is... "Chirihama Nagisa Driveway" (Ishikawa Prefecture)

Inquiries regarding this matter
■Inquiries regarding the press release:
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Officer: Ando
TEL: 03-6800-4464

■Inquiries regarding the T Survey:
CCC Marketing Co., Ltd.
Sales representative: Itakura and Hirano
MAIL: dbwatch@ccc.co.jp
TEL: 03-6800-4561