West Japan Railway Company (JR West) has unveiled a new brand strategy and visual identity for the Setouchi region with the aim to position the area as Japan’s ‘third destination’ for luxury travellers alongside Tokyo and the Kyoto-Osaka region.

The new brand strategy and visual identity has been created by Saffron Brand Consultants. The work aims to strengthen Setouchi’s global tourism appeal and show how the railway company supports regional development as well as enabling exploration. While Japan attracts record numbers of international visitors, most travellers still follow the well-known ‘Golden Route’ between Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

Encouraging audiences to venture to new destinations, the new brand platform has been created looking to stories that connect travel, culture and everyday life across seven prefectures. The aim is to offer international visitors a slower, more considered way to experience Japan beyond.

Inspired by the beauty and rhythm of the Seto Inland Sea the brand platform builds on the promise: “Where the extraordinary hides in plain sight.”

Looking at the 700 islands that make up Setouchi, the work embodies a welcoming spirit shaped by the connection between land and sea.

The brand platform is made up of strategy, experience blueprints, audience personas and a full verbal and visual identity system, including logo, colour, typography, iconography, photography, motion, graphic language and layout system. All inspired by the Setouchi Palette Project, launched by JR West in 2018 to revitalise the Seto Inland Sea region. 

“We created a brand that works as an experience system, connecting destinations, communities and touchpoints into one coherent narrative. By unifying the region in this way, we’re helping travellers understand Setouchi as a holistic journey rather than a collection of separate places,” explained Jacob Benbunan, CEO and Co-founder of Saffron Brand Consultants.

He continues: “Through cultural storytelling, we aimed to reveal the true spirit of Setouchi: a place where the extraordinary hides in plain sight and where moments of wonder emerge naturally from everyday life.”

Physical executions will run across station environments, in-train messaging and digital animations, including a large-scale film installation at Osaka Station, one of the nation’s busiest.

Taking inspiration from nature and what makes Setouchi unique, the work aims to broaden horizons and open up audiences to new experiences.