Discover Singapore on a tourist train in Japan

A tourist train connecting Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture will offer passengers a taste of Singaporean cuisine starting in early 2025.

This Singapore-themed train, where passengers can enjoy Singaporean culinary delights while taking in the seasonal scenery of Japan from their windows, will operate for three months.

The partnership between Seibu Railway and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) aims to promote awareness of rural Japan among visitors, while also encouraging more Japanese people to visit Singapore.

Attracting Tourists to Singapore

The initiative comes as Japanese arrivals in Singapore have slowed following the COVID-19 pandemic and have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.

STB stated that it hopes to attract more Japanese visitors through this culinary experience.

In general, outbound travel from Japan has remained sluggish, partly due to the weakness of the Japanese yen.

In July of this year, Japanese visitor arrivals in Singapore totaled nearly 300,000, according to STB.

STB saw an 80% increase in the number of visitors between January and July of this year, compared to the same period last year, said its regional director for North Asia, Serene Tan.

“Because our goals are similar, the customer segments we are trying to target are similar.”

Seibu Railway attracts approximately 1.6 million passengers daily on a rail network of nearly 180 km spanning Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture.