2025/11/7

On Wednesday, November 5, students from the Department of Global Tourism, Faculty of Global Engagement, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (KUFS) carried out the research phase of their "Project to Make Train Stations More User-Friendly for Foreign Tourists." This was conducted jointly with the English-Language Service Dissemination Project Team of the West Japan Railway Company (JR West) Kyoto Station—a central station with operational jurisdiction over area stations.
Under the supervision of Associate Professor Eiko Iwata, participating students created questionnaires in multiple languages (English, Chinese and Korean), distributed them among foreign tourists and collected completed forms, and observed and investigated conditions throughout the station facilities.

JR West already provides various materials, signage and services for foreign tourists, but these were designed from the perspective of company and station management, so it has been difficult for them to reflect needs from the perspectives of actual users.
KUFS project members believe they can help to make meaningful improvements in this area by sharing with JR West insights and data obtained from a student perspective.
In addition, students were able to talk directly with a wide range of foreign tourists, putting their tourism-related English language skills and cultural knowledge to good use. Through these activities, they engaged in practical learning in a way that gave back to local society.

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