Some financial institutions and other businesses are teaming up with municipalities to attract more foreign visitors to rural Japan, by offering unique tours and useful information.

On one such tour organized by Japanese credit card company JCB Co., local banks and the local government last year, about 30 travelers from Taiwan visited a local fishermen's cooperative near a bay in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, to sample sashimi.

The tour, operated by travel agency JTB Corp., is promoted mainly to JCB credit card holders in Taiwan.