Choshi Electric Railway: Turning Creative Ideas into Profit

Choshi Electric Railway is a small rural railway that operates in Chiba, the prefecture next to Tokyo.

The person in the driver's seat is Mr. Takemoto Katsunori, the president of Choshi Electric Railway.

Due to a shortage of staff, he also drives the train.

On this day, Choshi Electric Railway held a market event on a JR station concourse.

Try our "nuresembei!"

They're savory and tasty!

Mr. Takemoto leads the way, working hard to attract customers and increase sales of the company's products.

At another time, he even produced and appeared in a film to promote the railway.

All of these efforts are to keep Choshi Electric Railway in operation.

We've always been committed to providing hospitality
to visitors and seeing them off with a smile,

hoping that they will return to Choshi area again.

In today's program, we take a look at Choshi Electric Railway

and the many difficulties it has overcome thanks to the president's unique ideas.

Located east of the Tokyo metropolitan area, facing the Pacific Ocean,

Choshi Electric Railway runs through Choshi City in Chiba Prefecture.

The 6.4 km private rural railway connects with JR at Choshi Station, the first station on the line.

Starting service in 1923, this year marks the railway's 100th anniversary.

In the 1950s, the former Japanese National Railways, now JR, operated direct service on Choshi Electric Railway.

Up until 1984, the railway also carried produce from along the line,

such as vegetables, seafood, and soy sauce, a local specialty.

Until around 1990, the railway served as a means of transportation

for locals as well as tourists visiting scenic spots along the line.

However, like many rural railways,

an increase in the number of people driving cars and a declining birthrate saw ridership fall.

The railway was in jeopardy of being discontinued several times.

Currently, the railway runs three two-car trains with a total of six cars.

The secondhand cars were acquired from other railway companies and were built over 50 years ago.

About 65 employees work here, who operate a food sales business in addition to its railway business.

At the forefront of the company is Mr. Takemoto Katsunori.

Starting at the railway in 2005,

he first worked as a tax accountant and as an advisor to the company's management.

When the company faced bankruptcy in 2012,

he was asked to take over as president to turn the company around.

The first thing Mr. Takemoto did was expand the food manufacturing and sales business.

When he became president,

one of Choshi Electric Railway's side businesses with consistent sales was "nuresembei,"

which they had produced and sold since 1995.

"Nuresembei" is a chewy, moist rice cracker flavored with soy sauce.

The "nuresembei" sold well, thanks to the support from railfans and tourists worried about the railway's survival.

I hope I can be a little help.

I know they're trying their best,
so I'd like to support them.

Seeing a business opportunity, Mr. Takemoto built a self-owned factory in 2014 to mass-produce the "nuresembei."

With two production lines, they produce more than 6 million rice crackers annually.

That's 20,000 per day.

To keep the company alive, we must focus on
something other than the railway.

In our case, it's the manufacturing
and sales of food products.

We saw an opportunity to compensate
for the deficit in the railway division.

In 2015, Choshi Electric Railway started selling the station naming rights to companies.

The original name of this station was Kasagami Kurohae Station.

In Japanese, the "Kuro" in "Kurohae" means "black."

The "hae" means "grow."

A shampoo company bought the naming rights and changed the station's name

to "Kaminoke Kurohae Station," which means "to grow black hair."

Currently, ten companies, including pharmaceutical and construction companies, serve as sponsors.

The station naming rights generate approximately 10 million yen in revenue annually.

In addition to its financial struggles, Choshi Electric Railway also suffered from a labor shortage.

So, in 2017, Mr. Takemoto obtained his train driver's license.

To reduce the burden on drivers, he works one to two shifts a week, driving the trains.

When Mr. Takemoto noticed a decline in "nuresembei" sales, he started developing a new product.

This snack released in 2018 is called "Mazuibou."

A parody of a famous Japanese snack, "Mazui" means "bad."

The name is a self-deprecating joke that encompasses both "bad taste"

and the "bad business condition" of the company at the time.

Try our "Mazuibou." Our business is in bad condition,
but the snack tastes good.

"Mazuibou" became a hit, and now sells 1 million units annually.

In addition to these two successful products,

Choshi Electric Railway has produced many food products using local ingredients.

These products are sold at Choshi Electric Railway's stations, directly managed shops, and on their website.

In 2020, the pandemic hit, affecting Choshi Electric Railway.

The company worried that their business, which had been gradually improving, would decline again.

However, the food sales business saved Choshi Electric Railway from the crisis.

Online sales increased as more and more people began working from home.

Since Mr. Takemoto became president in 2012, he has expanded the retail business,

making up for the deficit of the railway operation.

Of the company's approximately 530 million yen in revenue in 2021,

sales from the railway, the primary, business made up just 80 million,

whereas retail sales made up 450 million which is a 13.3% increase on the previous year.

Now, 85% of the company's revenue comes from food production and sales.

In 2021, for the first time in six years, the company made a profit.

On February 28th, Mr. Takemoto visited Choshi City Hall for the company's monthly business update.

In 2014, Choshi City established a support fund, utilizing donations from citizens,

to maintain the operation of Choshi Electric Railway and its various activities.

Assuming revenues are about the same as last year,
we expect to exceed 600 million yen at this pace.

Mr. Takemoto reported that retail sales were doing well

and that the company expected to make a profit again this year, following the previous year's success.

We couldn't have made it
without people's support.

Many people have purchased our goods online
and ridden our trains to support us.

Thanks to all of this, the company
was able to turn a profit.

I'm surprised that over 80% of the sales of Choshi Electric Railway are actually from food items such as the rice crackers.

At this point in time, it sounds like they're more like a food manufacturer with a side business of having a railway.

Actually Choshi Electric Railway has been like that for decades

so that means that the pandemic, especially the decreasing ridership didn't have as much of an impact

on the overall situation of the company as you might think.

Nevertheless it's really impressive to see the non-ticket sales of the company grow during the pandemic

pulling the company back to a profit.

Yes, since you mentioned tickets, I used to think I have to go to the railway,

ride the train, buy a ticket to support them but at this point in time, I can just buy goods.

Some of those goods are marked higher than a ticket

but I know it's something for me to take home or give my friends and at the same time, I'm supporting the railway

and I don't even have to go there, I can just buy it online as well.

Yes indeed.

Those various ideas plus the president of the company himself are making us want to support the company even more, really.

Yes, his passion definitely showed.

Naming rights, food items but there are many more bright ideas that the president has.

Let's go and find out what they are.

In addition to food, Choshi Electric Railway has planned and sold various railway-related goods.

These cans contain "railway stones" known as ballast.

Usually found beneath the track, the canned stones are sold as novelty items.

These, too, became a hit.

In addition, they also sell souvenirs that don't cost anything in materials,

such as cross-section slices of rails and dog spikes.

It's a trial-and-error process. We discontinue
the product if it doesn't sell.

We're willing to merchandise products
when we come up with any ideas.

In 2019, they began selling...

"railway sounds," such as trains running, crossings,

doors opening and closing, etc.

as ringtones through music distribution services.

Their slogan is "we're running out of things to sell, so we're selling sounds."

Also, they released a photo book of Ms. Sodeyama,

a train conductor who works at Choshi Electric Railway and is popular among railfans and passengers.

In total, they sold out 700 copies.

In addition to being a conductor, Ms. Sodeyama currently drives the trains as well.

President Takemoto aims to secure the railway by making Choshi Electric Railway the "most entertaining railway in Japan."

To that end, Mr. Takemoto produced a horror movie called "Don't Stop the Train" in 2020.

The movie's title reflects his determination to keep the trains running despite the crisis.

The film, which was shown nationwide, helped increase recognition of Choshi Electric Railway.

In 2022, he was asked by the local tax office to direct a short drama-style film.

The film, which was about properly paying taxes, was set on the now profitable Choshi Electric Railway.

The video aimed to promote tax awareness among citizens.

We were interested in the ability of Mr. Takemoto and
Choshi Electric Railway to disseminate information.

Therefore by collaborating with them, we thought
it would be a good PR for tax agencies.

Cheers!

Various special event trains, such as the "Beaujolais Nouveau Train"

and the "Theater Train" have been run by Choshi Electric Railway.

One of the most popular themed trains operated by Choshi Electric Railway is the "Haunted Train,"

which has run during the summer months since 2015.

Gaining attention in the media, the popular train has come to represent the railway.

It is now a summer tradition at the railway.

Recently, the railway has received many requests from companies in different industries wanting to collaborate.

This train, a collaboration with famous singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, has been running since 2022.

One of her signature songs is "Mondai Girl."

In Japanese, the word "mondai" means "problematic."

The collaboration is a response to the problems faced by Choshi Electric Railway.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu designed the interior decoration to help people overcome their problems.

The train runs every day.

In addition, her voice can be heard making the onboard announcements.

"Thank you for riding with us.
This is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu."

"The train will run through the most popular
section called the green tunnel."

"At the front, we will see a fairy-take view,
as if we're running through a forest."

Choshi Electric Railway has also been able to attract visitors

through events held in collaboration with major game and animation companies.

We've been running many fun projects
and various event trains.

With new ideas, we are actively trying to attract
people who have never been to Choshi area.

On February 25, Choshi Electric Railway ran a special train to commemorate its 100th anniversary.

Twenty people from Tokyo and other areas participated in the event.

At Choshi Station, the nostalgic two-car train is waiting at the platform.

This event train is called the "Food Tasting Train."

It was created to promote the charm of Choshi City.

The idea is to enjoy the cuisine from local produce and scenery from the train.

Mr. Takemoto wanted to support the local economy which was affected by the pandemic.

At Nakanocho Station where Choshi Electric Railway is headquartered,

Mr. Takemoto boards the train with special boxed lunches.

These special bento boxes contain food made from seasonal local produce and freshly caught fish.

At this station, the owner of a seafood restaurant brings onboard sushi featuring mackerel caught at Choshi port.

And at this station, a local farmer boards the train to talk about locally produced cabbage.

To the right and left are my fields.

Surrounded by the sea, Choshi produces very sweet
cabbage with minerals brought in from the sea.

Next, the sushi chef brings out sweet omelets called "datemaki."

The "datemaki" from Choshi, which has a smooth and rich texture, is known as "Fisherman's Pudding."

Choshi's "datemaki" is made by sushi chefs. That's
why there is a sushi roll in the middle.

Then, to finish things off, an original local beer is served.

We brewed this beer to go well with fish from Choshi.
It retains the flavor and removes the smell of fish.

I didn't expect to be able to try so many
specialties of Choshi on the train.

The producers spoke directly to us and gave us
a better understanding of each food.

To take part in the event, participants were asked to promote the "Food Tasting Train"

and the tourist attractions of Choshi City on social media.

The aim was to promote the charm of Choshi and to attract more visitors.

If the region declines, the railroads
will also decline, and vice versa.

It is the mission of railroad companies, especially
rural railroads, to work together with communities

to prevent the further decline of the region by running
events and spreading information online.

I'm blown away by the president's ability to turn any ideas he has

into a business straight away and becoming an entertainment railway that it is now.

Who thinks of horror movies and trains together? It's brilliant.

And also the thought of what do we have here that we can sell,

what can we make that we can sell, what can we hear that we can sell.

That's clever.

Yes indeed and all the most it's surprising that many of these ideas come out during the pandemic

which probably would be the most difficult times for a company.

And I also saw that Choshi Electric Railway company is now becoming a hub of information for the local community

and behind the scenes is probably the determination or unity, if you like, of the local community to support Choshi Electric.

Yes, I think unity is a great word to also describe the Tasting Train.

It brings the passengers, the railway but also the locals all together

and then the locals can then talk about for example the cabbages that you're driving passed,

that they are making by themselves so it's a wonderful place to bring everyone together, like you said as a hub.

Indeed, I hope that through these efforts, Choshi Electric Railway will survive

and my personal hope is that through the efforts and through the survival,

Choshi Electric can get a facelift somehow

so that more modernized services can be provided to the passengers so that people,

more people I mean, want to use the railway line as their own day-to-day means of transport.

Of course not without losing too much of their entertaining tastes.

Yes!

Railway Topics.

On February 9, Kagoshima City welcomed its "Magma Yakiimo Tram."

While riding this streetcar, passengers can enjoy eating yummy sweet potato.

"Yakiimo," or baked sweet potato, is a delicacy in Japan during the fall and winter months.

On the train, four kinds of sweet potato from Kagoshima Prefecture are prepared for passengers to taste and compare.

The train, which had been out of action for two years due to the coronavirus pandemic, attracted many passengers.

Please enjoy riding the tram filled
with Kagoshima's charms.

We hope visitors would experience
and spread the word.

The Magma Yakiimo Tram runs through Kagoshima City in about an hour.

On February 14, at Tosa Kuroshio Railway's Gomen-Nahari Line's Train Depot in Kochi Prefecture,

a train was decorated to promote Japan's "Hinamatsuri" or Girl's Festival.

Traditionally, "Hinamatsuri" is dedicated to praying for girls' health, growth, and happiness.

It is celebrated by displaying dolls called Hina Dolls.

Each community has its own unique
and beautiful "hina" dolls.

This is such a great "Hinamatsuri" Train.

The "Hinamatsuri Train" ran until March 5.