Prayer Rooms for Touring Moslems in Nikko

Tourism is now a central sector of industry for Japan, as Prime Minister Abe places a marked emphasis on the importance of furthering inbound tourism toward the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020 and beyond.

"Kekko" means in Japanese "much satisfied" and when you ever visit Japan, be sure to tour Nikko, as they say - "Don't you ever say kekko unless you've visited Nikko".

Nikko is, of course, one of Japan's symbolic scenic spots once cultivated by none other than foreign tourists themselves. It's a package of scenic charms with gorgeous mountains, a serene lake, a snaky mountain road and a magnificent shrine with a historic gate that one need spend one full day to appreciate its rich ornaments.

Now, the Theme Park in Nikko offers a new feature for the convenience of visiting foreigners - this time the Moslems. The park now has installed Prayer Rooms for visiting Moslem tourists to pray while touring Nikko.

The Tobu World Square in Nikko is popular among foreign tourists where all kinds of structures of the world are displayed in miniature. An increasing number of Moslems from Southeast Asian countries visit the square in recent months. Moslem students have often expressed wishes to have suitable space for prayers installed somewhere within the park. 

So, here were, a set of two prayer rooms, for men and women, 10 square meters each, are built for Moslem tourists to come and offer prayers. On the ceiling is an arrow pointing to the direction of Mecca; outside is a washing basin to cleanse before prayer.

The local tourist agent says the park is the first ever to install prayer rooms in the city of Nikko.

Japan is home to hundreds of traditional rituals and the New Year's Prayer facing the first sunrise of the year is something we never miss for anything. Dear Moslem friends, rest assured - you now have the space for your peace of mind in Nikko.