Japan City of Kusatsu Uses Name Mix-Up as PR Opportunity

Kusatsu, Shiga Pref., Dec. 15 (Jiji Press)--The city of Kusatsu in the western Japan prefecture of Shiga, often confused for the famous "onsen" hot spring town in eastern Japan sharing the same name, is using the mix-up as a public relations opportunity.

Every year, the tourist information office and other related facilities in the Shiga city handle about 100 visits and inquiries from people confusing the city with the town of Kusatsu, Gunma Prefecture, which is about 300 kilometers away, according to the Shiga city's tourism and products association.

One day in October, a tourist from Taiwan visited the information office seeking an onsen facility.

The city, the second-most populous municipality in Shiga, faces the need to enhance its name recognition outside the prefecture to avoid the name confusion.

In a fresh approach to the problem, an official of the association suggested using the muddle-up as an opportunity, coming up with the "Onsen-nai Manju," or "onsenless manju," steamed bun with bean paste.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]