With an eye on strengthening its position in the market, Airbnb Japan has launched a campaign that illustrates its shift in strategy — building links with communities outside of the well-beaten tourist pathways and enticing travelers to rural areas seeking an economic boost.
Offering a glimpse of that approach is a location that looks like something out of a fairytale: large thatched-roof wooden homes, a stream rippling through grassy surrounds, birds skimming the tops of trees, dramatic rolling mountains all around. The scene at the World Heritage-listed village of Suganuma in Toyama Prefecture’s Gokayama region is pristine and perfectly preserved.
AirBnb’s connection comes via a home that will open for two guests for a two-night stay in July as part of the company's “Only on Airbnb” campaign, which takes notable spaces and offers them for low prices or, in this case, free.