New facilities being introduced include new prayer rooms and more halal food options for Muslim tourists, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
The northern slope of Japan’s Mount Fuji, which has been receiving a surge in Muslim tourists, has responded by rolling out more Muslim-friendly facilities.
Last year, more travellers from Indonesia and Malaysia visited the region, with 47,990 and 42,990 visitors that represented large increases of 18% and 55.5% respectively, according to the Yamanashi prefectural government.
New facilities being introduced include new prayer rooms and more halal food options for Muslim tourists, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
The Fuji-Q Highland amusement park in Fujiyoshida has opened a new Muslim prayer room measuring 16sqm on February 4.
It is equipped with a Qibla compass, indicating the direction to face Mecca for prayers, as well as a place for washing hands and feet before praying.
Fujiten Snow Resort in Narusawa also opened a prayer space last year. Efforts are underway to offer hospitality to Muslim tourists in terms of food options.
On February 15, a restaurant in Oshino Shinobi no Sato, a tourist facility featuring ninja in Oshino, acquired a halal certification. The restaurant does not use pork or alcohol in its food, and has set aside special spaces for cooking and ingredient storage.
Sylvans, a microbrewery restaurant in Fujikawaguchiko, began offering a “Muslim Welcome BBQ” in October last year. The restaurant added a barbecue dish using Halal certified meat to its menu.