Photo/Illutration These face masks call for an “extension” of the Tokyo Tama Intercity Monorail line into the city of Musashi-Murayama, western Tokyo. (Provided by the Musashi-Murayama city government)

Brisk sales of face masks have given a city in western Tokyo an unexpected push in its campaign to bring a monorail section to the area.

All proceeds from the face masks created by the Musashi-Murayama city government will be saved in a “monorail fund.”

Musashi-Murayama is the only one of the 49 wards and cities under the jurisdiction of the Tokyo metropolitan government that has no railroad tracks.

The city has been asking for an extension of the Tokyo Tama Intercity Monorail line into its territory.

The original 347 sets of face masks were sold out within two weeks of their release last fiscal year.

The 2022 lineup, released on Jan. 7, offers colors of white, pink and navy blue (light blue for child size) and are available for 500 yen ($4.35) per set of two.

They feature a cartoon drawn by an artistic city government official.

The masks can be bought at the city hall and the Aeon Mall Musashi-Murayama shopping complex.

“Our products last fiscal year sold better than we had expected,” said an official with the city’s traffic planning and monorail promotion division. “That made us realize our citizens have high expectations for an extension.”

The official said some inquiries about the masks came from Shizuoka and Miyagi prefectures.

“Perhaps our products tickled the hearts of train buffs across Japan,” the official said.

The metropolitan government plans to extend the Tokyo Tama Intercity Monorail to cross Musashi-Murayama in an east-west direction. But studies are still being conducted on profitability and other issues.

If the extension receives the official green light, the monorail fund will be used to help build a station rotary, buy stakes in the monorail operator and cover other costs, the official said.

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