Photo/Illutration The Higashi Chaya-gai district of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, bustles with tourists on April 27. (Tatsuo Kanai)

KANAZAWA, Ishikawa Prefecture--Finally, a ray of sunshine for the quake-hit prefecture.

Tourists and families returning to their hometowns began arriving en masse April 27 as Golden Week kicked off, providing the first influx of visitors since the disastrous Noto Peninsula earthquake on Jan. 1.

The Higashi Chaya-gai district, one of Kanazawa’s most popular tourist spots, was bustling with visitors enjoying the spring sunshine and taking selfies. Many were walking around with ice cream in their hands.

“If people don’t come, the area will not be revitalized. I’m here to support the victims,” said Naotatsu Moriyama, who is 47 and self-employed. He was visiting with three family members from Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, which was rocked by the Niigata Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007.

A woman in her 50s who works for a company in Tokyo and was visiting with a friend, said, “I want to buy Wajima-nuri lacquerware and other items to support the disaster areas.”

Shunya Amatani, 26, an office worker from Hiroshima, who came with his wife on the Hokuriku Shinkansen train, said, “I hope the area recovers soon.”

The first phase of the government’s “Hokuriku Oen Wari” travel discount program kicked off March 16 when the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line was extended to Tsuruga Station in Fukui Prefecture.

Within the space of a month, applications poured in for about 230,000 overnight stays, for which approximately 2 billion yen ($12.64 million) in subsidies will be spent.

The second phase will begin on May 7, after the Golden Week holiday period, targeting accommodation facilities that accept secondary evacuees.

A 77-year-old volunteer guide in the Higashi Chaya-gai district said: “Please don’t hesitate to come to Kanazawa. Visitors will cheer everyone up.”

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