Instead of posing at the altar, Kosuke Nakamikawa, a junior high school teacher in Nishitokyo, and his wife, Mai, opted to go on a wedding photo tour featuring a World Heritage site with traditional wooden houses with steep roofs in Nanto, Toyama Prefecture.

"It is a rare occasion, being able to take photos at a historical site," the bride said with a smile during the August photo shoot. They held the wedding ceremony the following month.

The couple, both 28, were on a wedding photo tour organized by Seibu Travel, a Toyama-based travel agency trying to cash in on the March debut of the extended Hokuriku Shinkansen Line, which now links Tokyo to the Sea of Japan prefectures of Toyama and Ishikawa, along with Niigata. Customers have their choice of location.