"Rainbow Forecast" Started in Japan

There is such a thing as "Rainbow Land" - a place where you can see more rainbows than anywhere else. Shiga is one of those rainbow-rich lands and the prefectural government will shortly put digitalized rainbow data on the internet - the first "Rainbow Forecast" in Japan.

Shiga is a wetland with a heavy rainfall. Hills surround Lake Biwa and visibility is generally good and wide - an ideal stage for rainbows to show frequently. So, an idea flashed to make a colorful business of rainbows: Come Visit the Rainbow Land.

An affiliated organization "Biwako (Lake Biwa) Visitors Bureau" proposed to run a rainbow forecast on the internet in collaboration with a private company Japan Meteorological Corporation.

They first divided Shiga into 7 regions and collected data on the amount of sunshine after abrupt rainfalls. Then the feasibility of rainbows after rainfall was graded from 0 to 7: 0 very low, 1-3 seldom, 4-6 possibly and 7 very likely. Every morning at 6:30 a special site "Go on a Trip, Girls! Rainbow Colors Emotion" will forecast graded rainbow feasibility for the day and day after.

Biwako Visitors Bureau is former Shiga Tourism Federation renamed in April, 2003. It is geared not only for tourism but for functional support for participants in various conferences and business events in Shiga.
The bureau also provides information through its homepage various events in Shiga Prefecture: "Onioi Shiki" of Hieizan Enryakuji Temple, "New Year's Bell Tolling" at Miedera Temple,  "New Year's Bell Tolling" at Hikone Castle, etc.

The "Rainbow Land" project is a fresh concept woven into the prefecture's general tourism promotion program. The very idea of making rainbow a specialty of Shiga is in itself original and so daring. Tourism experts are watching with keen interest how Shiga's rainbow forecast will help play up the prefecture's tourist features.