Lady Gaga's wildly popular tour last month has inspired a group of geisha and female employees at "onsen" resorts, who have started referring to themselves as "Lady Kagas" after their local district, to launch a campaign to attract more tourists to Ishikawa Prefecture's hot springs.
The campaign kicked off Friday, with about 100 Lady Kagas lining up at JR Kaga Onsen station to offer visitors brochures and small gifts in a bid to promote "ryokan" inns and stores in the Kaga district, local tourism officials said.
A total of 180 Lady Kagas from four popular onsen spots in the district are taking part in the campaign, which runs through Sept. 30, according to the officials.
As part of the promotional drive, tourists will be able to collect business cards imprinted with images of Lady Kagas when they visit ryokan or stores where the women work. Those who manage to collect five cards will be presented with a special holder to store them.