A self-service Wi-Fi rental "WiFiBOX" that allows you to easily rent a mobile Wi-Fi router without contact will be installed in the arrival lobby on the 1st floor of the domestic terminal of "Painushima Ishigaki Airport" (hereinafter referred to as "Ishigaki Airport"), and will open in July 2024. The service will start from Wednesday, March 12th. This is the second "WiFiBOX" to be installed on Ishigaki Island, following the "Smartphone Repair Workshop Ishigaki Island Store" in June last month. Ishigaki Airport, which is popular as the gateway to the Yaeyama Islands, will now be available to many people including tourists.
The installation of "WiFiBOX" at "Ishigaki Airport" is the 240th facility and 251st location nationwide.
Installation overview
Installation location
Ishigaki Airport Domestic Passenger Terminal Building 1st Floor Arrival Lobby Next to "General Information Center"
Available pick-up/return times
6:30～22:00
It follows the opening hours of Ishigaki Airport.
Painushima Ishigaki Airport official website
https://www.ishigaki-airport.co.jp/
Installation background
Ishigaki Airport is widely known as the gateway to the Yaeyama Islands. There are 11 domestic routes, including seasonal flights, and although international flights are currently suspended, there are two routes to Hong Kong and Taipei. It is easily accessible from the airport to the remote island terminal, where high-speed boats depart from and arrive at the city center and surrounding remote islands, taking about 30 minutes by car or 30 to 40 minutes by bus. Many tourists (including foreign visitors to Japan) enter Ishigaki Island as a transit point for sightseeing on Iriomote Island, which is part of the "World Natural Heritage Site", and in March 2024, Okinawa Prefecture announced the "Yaeyama Area Tourism". The number of customers is over 110% compared to the same month last year. With the end of the rainy season and the tourist season in full swing, the service is available in six languages, including English as well as Korean, to stabilize the communication environment for inbound tourists and domestic tourists, who are expected to increase in number. We have decided to install a ``WiFiBOX'' and start the service.
We will continue to install them at major airports, stations, tourist information centers, commercial facilities, etc. across the country, and improve customer convenience by meeting the needs of domestic and international travelers, business, tourism, and the shortage of gigantic gas in Japan. We will continue to pursue this.
※source:
Ishigaki Airport https://www.ishigaki-airport.co.jp/
Okinawa Prefecture Official Homepage / Announced on May 20, 2024 / Overview of statistics on the number of tourists visiting Yaeyama (estimate) / ( https://www.pref.okinawa.jp/_res/projects/default_project/_page_/001/011/861 /gaikyou202403.pdf )
