West Japan Railway Company

Mobility & Hospitality

Places & Real Estate

Japan is one of the world’s top destinations for Western travellers. Yet most follow the same “Golden Route” between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.
Just beyond it lies Setouchi. Home to art islands like Naoshima, historic port towns and Hiroshima’s powerful legacy, the region offers remarkable experiences. What it lacked was a clear, unifying story.
Together with West Japan Railway Company (JR West), we saw the opportunity to position Setouchi as Japan’s ‘Third Destination’ — not a side trip, but a destination in its own right.

DEFINING A DESTINATION

JR West physically connects the region. Our role was to connect it strategically.
The challenge was to articulate what makes Setouchi distinct: a slower, more soulful side of Japan. Less crowded, more considered. A natural choice for modern luxury travellers seeking authenticity, calm and discovery.
By bringing coherence, character and meaning to the experience as a whole, we shaped a brand-led travel proposition that feels as thoughtful and balanced as the region itself.

Uncovering Setouchi

Eight days. Four prefectures. Thirteen cities. Five modes of transport. Over 80km travelled — and a region revealed along the way.
To truly understand Setouchi, we needed to see it from every angle. We went to Japan and immersed ourselves in the whole region for eight days — from major cultural destinations like Hiroshima, Naoshima and Miyajima to smaller towns like Tomonoura that rarely make the tourist map. We experienced it as real visitors would: guided tours, temple visits, museums, aimless walks through streets and shorelines.  Our journey made us realise that JR West has the potential to serve a much bigger role for travellers beyond transportation. The train rides themselves become part of the experience: a chance to sit back, watch landscapes unfold, observe the rhythms of local life passing by, and simply breathe in the moment. They're a gateway to the unforgettable memories of local scenes, encounters, and flavours, connecting people with the land and seascape so integral to the Setouchi identity.

LAYING THE FOUNDATIONS

By experiencing the region first-hand, a shared truth emerged: Everything exists in harmony with the rhythm of the sea. Art, nature and everyday life are intertwined with one another. The result is a place where there’s no need for the extraordinary to announce itself — it hides in plain sight.
This insight shaped the brand strategy. The uniqueness of this region comes from the Seto Inland Sea that shapes everything around it. Everyday discovery becomes a ritual and ordinary life is the stage for wonder. The brand reflects what's genuinely there, framing experiences around presence, belonging, and discovery.
From this emerged ‘Connected Memories’, a guiding idea that captures the welcoming spirit of Setouchi. It was inspired by the connection between land and sea that is so integral to the region. This influenced the brand identity focussing on not just where you go but how you go; gently.

EXPERIENCE OF SETOUCHI

The brand strategy cemented the foundations for us to design a uniquely Setouchi experience. We started by mapping the entire customer journey, which we then used to translate brand strategy into a complete system of blueprints for the experience, orchestrating how the brand would live across the entire traveller journey. From the moment someone discovers Setouchi online to how they move through the region, engage with local culture, and carry memories home, every interaction was designed to embody the Setouchi spirit. JR West became more than just a transport provider; it became the steward of an entire experiential ecosystem, ensuring the brand shaped real journeys, not just communications.

<h2>Designing the Journey</h2>
But the ecosystem keeps growing. From large-scale station displays to the intimate messaging within train carriages, JR West is shaping a travel experience that reflects the character of Setouchi and the people who pass through it. Each touchpoint is considered, personal and purposefully designed to move at its own pace. The result is a cohesive identity that unites diverse places under one narrative. A destination defined not by spectacle, but by subtlety.

OSAKA STATION TAKEOVER

The vision moved from strategy to reality with the unveiling of an animation film at Osaka Station — the first tangible expression of ideas first shaped in the blueprint stage. Rather than a conventional destination advertisement, the clip invites travellers to “move at your own pace” – an outward expression of the brand’s narrative. The sea shapes the narrative, not a fixed destination — a collage of detours, reflections and fleeting moments that capture the rhythm of the region. It marked a turning point: the brand was no longer describing Setouchi. It was allowing travellers to feel it.

Setouchi is no longer hidden. It is recognised for what it has always been: extraordinary in plain sight.

<a href="https://www.creativebloq.com/design/branding/this-japanese-railway-company-rebrand-envelops-you-in-calm">Creative Bloq</a> <a href="https://travel.yahoo.com/news/articles/japanese-railway-company-rebrand-envelops-090000271.html">Yahoo Travel</a>, <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/this-japanese-railway-company-rebrand-envelops-you-in-calm/ar-AA1YTHxD">MSN</a>, <a href="https://www.inkl.com/news/this-japanese-railway-company-rebrand-envelops-you-in-calm">Inkl</a> <a href="https://roastbrief.us/west-japan-railway-company-and-saffron-unveil-brand-strategy-and-identity-positioning-setouchi-as-japans-third-destination/">Roastbrief</a> <a href="https://d1s1.com/studio/Saffron/west-japan-railway-company">D1S1 Design Spotlight</a> <a href="https://www.creativebrief.com/bite/fuel-your-imagination/west-japan-railway-company-unveils-visual-identity-for-setouchi-region">Creativebrief</a>

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The extraordinary in plain sight

West Japan Railway Company

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