Funding & Investment in Travel
Japan Tourism: West Japan Train Offers Overnight Travel for Casual Travelers
The West Express Ginga heads toward Shimonoseki with the Seto Inland Sea visible from the windows.
13:22 JST, July 19, 2025
After the retirement of the cross-country long-distance sleeper trains known as “Blue Trains,” the West Express Ginga limited express began operations in September 2020 as an overnight train for casual journeys.
These days, tickets for scenic trains are usually sold as part of package tour products, and if they are treated as charter group trains, they often do not even appear on timetables.
However, the Ginga, operated by West Japan Railway Co., is listed on timetables as a special train which you can ride without being charged a sleeper fee. Passengers are required only to pay a surcharge for a reserved seat express fare or Green Car first class seat. We can say this is a night train with a completely new concept.
The Ginga train is a specially modified 6-car 117-series electric train that was manufactured before JR companies were privatized, and it is painted in a beautiful lapis lazuli blue.
Car No. 1 is equipped with Green Car reserved seats, and Cars No. 2, 3 and 5 have normal reserved seats that include couchettes, reclining seats and family cabins. Car No. 6 has Green Car private rooms, and Car No. 4 consists entirely of free space. Passengers can choose their preferred seat for a long, comfortable ride.
First-class seats that convert into beds in Car No. 1
The Ginga operates on three main routes depending on the season in the Sanyo, Sanin and Kinan (Wakayama) regions. This year, the Sanyo route runs between Kyoto and Shimonoseki stations until Aug. 9, and the Kinan route between Kyoto and Shingu stations in Wakayama Prefecture from Aug. 25 to Oct. 29.
One of the highlights of the West Express Ginga is its hospitality, which rivals that of package tour trains.
A premium room in Car No. 6 offers private space.
The Sanyo route Ginga departs Kyoto at 9:15 p.m., heading west along the Tokaido and Sanyo lines as night falls. The train arrives at Himeji Station at 11:48 p.m. on Fridays only, and departs again at 12:42 a.m., giving passengers time to enjoy Himeji’s famous soba noodles known as “Maneki no Ekisoba” on the platform.
The Seto Inland Sea glistens as the sun rises the next morning. The train stops for about 18 minutes at Yanai Station, where passengers can buy taimeshi, sea bream rice which is a local specialty in ekiben boxed meals, from a vendor on the platform.
A vendor carries a tray of ekiben boxed meals on a platform at Yanai Station. He sells boxes of local specialty taimeshi seabream rice, right.
Tourist information about the Yamaguchi cities of Yanai, Yamaguchi, Ube, Hagi, Iwakuni and Hofu is available in the train, and on specific days, local specialties are sold on board between Iwakuni and Shin-Shimonoseki stations.
The eastbound train departs Shimonoseki at 7:43 p.m. There are no long stops, but the onboard service is excellent. Local specialties from Shimonoseki, Hofu, Shunan, Yamaguchi and Iwakuni cities are sold onboard on specific days. Passengers can also enjoy local sake, beer and other alcoholic beverages as one of the perks of the journey.
Why not enjoy every part of the Sanyo Route while making the Ginga trip full of the excitement of an overnight train ride?
West Express Ginga Sanyo Route
The train runs on Mondays and Fridays from Kyoto to Shimonoseki, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays from Shimonoseki to Kyoto until Aug. 9, except for some dates. One-way fare is ¥12,950 for reclining seats or couchettes. Tickets are available through JR West’s online reservation system and at JR ticket offices.
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Japan Tourism is presented in collaboration with Ryoko Yomiuri Publication, which publishes Ryoko Yomiuri, a monthly travel magazine. If you are interested in the original Japanese version of this story, click here.
Funding & Investment in Travel
Banjul North NAM Blast Youth Ministry, Demands Accountability For U16 Basketball Travel Mishap – The Fatu Network
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By Alieu Jallow
The National Assembly Member for Banjul North, Hon. Modou Lamin B. Bah, has expressed strong solidarity with The Gambia’s U16 National Basketball Team following the recent road accident in Guinea that left several players and staff injured.
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Bah questioned the Ministry of Youth and Sports’ decision to allow the team to travel to Conakry by road, citing it as a serious lapse in judgment and a clear disregard for the safety and well-being of national athletes.
“These are national players representing our country. If cabinet ministers would never take such a risky road trip, why was it acceptable for our youth team?” he asked.
The accident has sparked national concern, especially following reports that a private jet was later chartered to fly the team back home, raising further questions about priorities and fairness.
“If they could afford a private jet after the incident, why couldn’t they secure a commercial flight from the start? This points to poor planning and misplaced priorities,” Hon. Bah said.
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He further encouraged the injured players and staff to consider legal action against the government.
“They must be compensated adequately and immediately. This was avoidable, and the state must take full responsibility.”
The Banjul North lawmaker stressed that young athletes deserve better protection, investment, and respect.
“We should be building a system that uplifts and protects our youth, not one that endangers them. They deserve better, and we must hold those responsible accountable.”
Funding & Investment in Travel
Fears of CHAOS at start of summer hols as major Spain airport ‘to be paralysed’ by staff protests on key travel day
CHAOS may strike Brits’ summer holiday plans as a major Spanish airport could be “paralysed” by staff protests.
Palma airport in Majorca is being targeted by furious staff who are threatening to bring it to a standstill on July 25th for four hours.
Staff have slammed “suffocating” working conditions there and are set to down tools as part of a strike by members of the UGT trade union.
Workers say they have their rights “abused” with “inhumane” work shifts, including stolen holidays, mistreatment, and no career progression.
They also say they’re given the wrong clothing for the hot summer temperatures on the island.
They’re not given rain coast for the rain and say their uniforms don’t “respect their dignity”.
Now they’re preparing to “paralyse” the airport threatening Brit holidaymakers with flight cancellation and delays.
Summer holidays begin next Thursday for most and many kids and their parents will be taking a hard earned break to the holiday hotspot.
The workers have accused some of the best known aviation companies of treating them badly, including: Jet2, Ryanair, easyJet, Swissport, Eurowings, and Menzies.
Staff have also taken aim at what they see if endless improvements at the airport.
They say the construction zone is bad for their health and also say it poses a risk to safety.
The UGT is also demanding free parking for workers and the opening of a new cafeteria with cheap prices.
Workers are pinning the airport operator Aena responsible for the shortcoming and said if it doesn’t make sure demands are met the “tone of the protest” will be raised.
The Balearic government last week demanded urgent action over the airport after admitting “the accumulation of incidents” is doing nothing for its tourism reputation.
Officials say delays, cancellations and overbooking at Palma airport in Mallorca are causing a growing volume of complaints and “generate widespread discomfort and project a very negative image of the islands.”
They have also complained about long waits at security controls and the continuing works at the airport, together with the “collapse in accesses and transit areas.”
Its the latest Spanish curveball hitting Brits holidays this summer with fuming locals also protesting.
Fuming locals are pushing back against what they see as “overtourism” by squirting holidaymakers with water guns.
Campaigners blame excessive levels of tourism for forcing locals out of affordable housing, raising the cost of living and making the city centres unusable.
Protests across Spain last month saw thousands take to the street and demand their cities “back”.
Around 100 noisy activists banging drums surrounded upmarket eatery Cappuccino Borne next to a McDonald’s in the centre of Palma after their protest finished.
Police moved in to ease tension as the demonstrators held up cardboard posters reading: “As You Come I Have To Go.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Strikes are also ongoing in Mallorca, Ibiza and Menorca with hospitality staff stopping work.
They’re also part of the UGT union and are demanding higher wages and fewer hours.
What is “overtourism”?
OVERTOURISM refers to the phenomenon where a destination experiences a volume of tourists that exceeds its manageable capacity
The term is often used to describe the negative consequences of mass tourism, which includes overcrowding and environmental issues
As a result, popular destinations have become less enjoyable for both visitors and locals
Local communities, in particular, bear the brunt, facing rising costs and a depletion of resources
In response, national and local governments have started to implement measures to reduce overtourism.
Some solutions include:
- Safeguarding historical and heritage sites
- Promoting off-peak travel
- Tourism caps and regulations
- Promoting lesser-known destinations
Funding & Investment in Travel
The little-known way to travel across Spain by train for FREE this summer
FOR anyone travelling across Spain, there is a clever hack to get train journeys for free.
Trainline has revealed a handy tip on how to travel through parts of Spain for absolutely nothing this summer.
To get journeys for free, visitors can buy a combined Cercanías ticket, which is called the Combinado Cercanías in Spanish.
The ticket essentially is included free of charge with tickets for some long-distance trains – these are run by Renfe and include AVE trains.
Travellers who have already bought a long-distance ticket won’t need to buy another one to take a connecting local train as it is free with the combined Cercanías ticket.
The only condition is that you travel within four hours of when the booked train departs or leaves.
So if you’re heading into the likes of Madrid or Barcelona by train, you will need to buy an actual ticket.
But from there, if you want to head out of the city to see mountains, lakes and other more tourist-free areas, you can do so by using the secondary and free ticket.
Sarah Helppi, UK Country Director at Trainline, added: “This nifty feature means that in many cities you can get to the train station where your journey starts, or onto another location when you’ve reached your final stop, completely free of charge.
“For those keen to explore Spain, it means you can go beyond the main tourist hubs without the need to spend more.”
You don’t have to faff around with printed tickets either as you can get a PDF on your phone – which you can do on the Trainline app.
If you want to buy a physical ticket, you can input the 5-digit code on the ticket into a ticket machine on the Cercanías train station platform.
This will print out the Combinado Cercanías ticket so you don’t have to worry about your phone running out of charge.
Here are some of the best ways to see Spain via train, according to Trainline.
You can reach Madrid on high-speed trains from the cities of Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Malaga and Toleda.
One Sun Travel writer visited Madrid last year where they discovered amazing art galleries, swanky bars and £22 flights.
To then explore out of the city, hop on the Madrid Cercanías train network where you can go out into the Guadarrama Mountains.
Up there, there’s a medieval monastery and traditional restaurants.
From Seville, you can pick up a commuter Cercanias train from Santa Justa station.
That will take you out to the hill towns of the Sierra Norte, Aljarafe, Dos Hermanos and Utrera.
Have a look before you travel at train routes and where a free ticket out of the city can get you for your next holiday.
Sun Travel’s favourite train journeys in the world
Sun Travel’s journalists have taken their fare share of train journeys on their travels and here they share their most memorable rail experiences.
Davos to Geneva, Switzerland
“After a ski holiday in Davos, I took the scenic train back to Geneva Airport. The snow-covered mountains and tiny alpine villages that we passed were so beautiful that it felt like a moving picture was playing beyond the glass.” – Caroline McGuire
Tokyo to Kyoto by Shinkansen
“Nothing quite beats the Shinkansen bullet train, one of the fastest in the world. It hardly feels like you’re whizzing along at speed until you look outside and see the trees a green blur. Make sure to book seat D or E too – as you’ll have the best view of Mount Fuji along the way.” Kara Godfrey
London to Paris by Eurostar
“Those who have never travelled on the Eurostar may wonder what’s so special about a seemingly ordinary train that takes you across the channel. You won’t have to waste a moment and can tick off all the top attractions from the Louvre to the Champs-Élysées which are both less than five kilometres from the Gare du Nord.” – Sophie Swietochowski
Glasgow to Fort William by Scotrail
“From mountain landscapes and serene lochs to the wistful moors, I spent my three-hour journey from Glasgow to Fort William gazing out the window. Sit on the left-hand side of the train for the best views overlooking Loch Lomond.” – Hope Brotherton
Beijing to Ulaanbatar
“The Trans-Mongolian Express is truly a train journey like no other. It starts amid the chaos of central Beijing before the city’s high-rises give way to crumbling ancient villages and eventually the vast vacant plains of Mongolia, via the Gobi desert. The deep orange sunset seen in the middle of the desert is among the best I’ve witnessed anywhere.” – Ryan Gray
Before you go, check all the travel rules in Spain, from where to wear bikinis to beach games.
And from someone who visits Spain at least 8 times a year – here’s how to avoid the common tourist mistakes that cost you money.
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