Lodging, Transport Hurdles for Rocket Launch Spectators

Tanegashima, Kagoshima Pref., Feb. 17 (Jiji Press)--For people visiting Tanegashima to witness the launches of rockets, securing accommodation and means of transportation to take them around the southwestern Japan island have been the biggest issues.

The island in Kagoshima Prefecture hosts the Tanegashima Space Center of the state-affiliated Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA.

With local authorities no longer needing to make COVID-19-related requests for people to refrain from visits to the island, the number of people coming to Tanegashima to watch rocket launches is on the rise again.

But hotels and rental cars are increasingly unavailable. While a large hotel has gone out of business, demand for lodging is growing following the full-fledged construction start last month for a new Self-Defense Forces base on the Kagoshima island of Mageshima, located just west of Tanegashima.

Local governments on Tanegashima, which lay weight on tourism featuring rocket launches, have started discussing measures to cope with the situation.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]