Development of a Virtual Reality System for Experiencing Rides on Sightseeing Trains of the Noto Railway

Abstract

The “Noto Satoyama Satoumi Go” is a sightseeing train operated by the Noto Railway. This train operates on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays through the world agricultural heritage site of “Noto Satoyama Satoumi” in the Noto Peninsula. Although this service is availed by a considerable number of group tourists in partnership with travel agencies, the number of individual tourists on this train has been decreasing annually, thereby posing a challenge to disseminate information to individual tourists. Promotions conducted using pamphlets and videos in the past have not been sufficiently effective. Therefore, more presence and memorable means of disseminating information should be realized. To address this requirement, we developed a virtual reality system to boost tourism by simulating the train-ride experience. The results of this study imply that the information provided by the system will be remembered by the users. Furthermore, this system increased users’ intention to use the sightseeing trains.