Residents of areas in southwestern Hokkaido close to Mount Usu, which erupted recently, kicked off a 10-day caravan tour across the nation Thursday to boost tourism there, local officials said.
In an inaugural meeting the same day, organizers said the caravan tour, which also aims to provide job opportunities for local residents, would be conducted by four groups and cover 22 areas, including Tokyo, Osaka and Kyushu.
The party includes residents of three communities near Mount Usu -- the city of Date and the towns of Sobetsu and Abuta -- who lost their jobs or businesses following the March 31 eruption.
Tour members, aged from their teens to their 60s, will hand out letters expressing their gratitude to people who helped, and distribute 20,000 leaflets at major train stations and department stores. , the officials said.
The tour members will also stage a dance performance to convey the message that Hokkaido is now safe, they said.
Expenses, such as lodging and transportation, will be covered by the prefecture and tour members will receive a daily wage of about 7,000 yen.
Caravan participant Yoshihiro Nishioka, 53, who was a hotel cook in a hot-spring resort near Lake Toya, said, "Although I have no work now because the hotel closed, I want to let people know we are fine."
Meanwhile, a group of 25 people -- including JR Hokkaido officials, owners of local inns and presidents of bus companies -- were to visit various JR companies across the nation to step up plans to promote tourism to Hokkaido, Hokkaido, late Thursday.
In late March, the 732-meter Mount Usu erupted for the first time in nearly 23 years. It erupted again in mid-April.