Japan’s Island Paradise Okinawa Expands EV Role in Eco-Tourism

OKINAWA, Japan – February 20, 2012: The name Okinawa means “rope in the open sea,” and the island archipelago in southern Japan offers tropical beauty that lassos in more than 5 million tourists annually.

Over the past year, the Japanese prefecture has offered a new lure for visitors: Nissan LEAF electric cars.

Setting its island-style pace aside, Okinawa touts one of the country’s most aggressive EV infrastructures, with 220 Nissan LEAF rental cars and 27 quick-chargers at 18 locations.

Starting this month, Nissan and JTB Travel are jointly offering a tablet application called “Camploo — Okinawa! Campaign 2012”. The app highlights spring training activities for some of Japan’s most popular baseball teams.

With it, rental customers transform their holidays into virtual sightseeing tours.

The application communicates directly with the LEAF and is operated by GPS. It helps drivers to navigate a 60-kilometer course on the island to popular destinations and to quick-chargers in the area. Those quick chargers are located along the highway at rest stops or at FamilyMarts, usually about 30km to 40km apart. Operating the tablet means that someone else should drive.
More theautochannel.com

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