ANA to Feature Kyushu as Part of "Tastes of JAPAN by ANA - Explore the regions -"

All Nippon Airways (ANA) Japan's largest and only 5-Star airline, announced today that Kyushu will be the next region featured as part of its "Tastes of JAPAN by ANA - Explore the regions -" campaign.

Beginning in June, the airline will highlight Kyushu, widely known as the kingdom of hot springs and home to the well-known resorts of Beppu, Kurokawa, and Yufuin. Southwest of Japan's main island of Honshu, it also boasts picturesque views and natural surroundings as well as traditional architecture and local cuisine. This comes as Kyushu is celebrating its 150th year of Meiji Restoration, the revolution that restored practical imperial rule to the Empire of Japan in 1868.

Hokkaido was the first region explored as part of ANA's series, which began in December 2017 and is the second phase of its hugely successful "Tastes of JAPAN by ANA" campaign. It launched in September 2013 and showcased the best of Japan's cuisine, represented through ANA's in-flight meals and videos. The first phase focused on each of Japan's 47 prefectures, introducing the local foods and ingredients, as well as sightseeing locations.

Now, ANA will closely examine the eight regions of Japan over the course of six months, highlighting the culinary specialties and hidden gems across Japan. By focusing on broader areas of Japan, ANA's hope is that passengers will explore multiple prefectures in one trip and enjoy each of the regions' local specialties.

ANA will serve meals and desserts made from local Kyushu ingredients in the cabins and lounges. From June-August 2018, First Class passengers to North America and Europe will receive lightly smoked cuttlefish and eggplant tartar curry and lime flavor with Miyazaki Caviar 1983, and annoimo sweet potato cake. Also in the month of August, they can enjoy Wagyu beef ball and fried eggplant.

Business Class passengers to North America, Europe, Mexico, and Vancouver will be served marinated stir-fried Kinboshisagabuta pork, eggplant and cucumber in chopped Japanese leek and salt-based sauce. Additionally, ANA's Suite Lounge restaurant at Haneda International Airport will serve grunt meunière with fresh tomato sauce and garlic flavor pistou in June, grilled hairtail fish and shiitake mushroom in July, and sauteed chicken flavored with coconut "creole" in August.

Over the next six months, ANA will also serve 76 different types of kokushu (Japanese sake, shochu, and millet brandy) at the Haneda, Narita, and Kansai airport lounges. For Haneda International, Haneda Domestic, and Narita International Airport lounges, each will serve different types of kokushu every month for six months. As for Kansai International Airport, it will first introduce two types and change after three months.

As part of this campaign, ANA has created "SELECTRAVEL," an in-flight program introducing the beauty of Japan from a non-Japanese point of view, available in English, Chinese, and Japanese. It offers two itineraries for each local area, giving travelers options of what they would like to experience.

For the Kyushu series, a new episode will be uploaded every month featuring exciting travel experiences available within the region. The “SELECTRAVEL” program can also be accessed online at ana.co.jp/en/jp/tastesofjapan/hokkaido/kinai_tv.html.

ANA is also featuring Kyushu in its in-flight magazine, "WINGSPAN," to highlight the exciting travel experiences within the region. Available in both English and Chinese, the magazine first introduced the background of Kyushu in March. April and May's editions were dedicated to showcasing the events and sightseeing that travelers can actually experience in Kyushu. In the launching month June, content will focus on the history and culture of Kyushu.

ANA will integrate the "Tastes of JAPAN by ANA" into the "JAPAN TRAVEL PLANNER" websites to provide enhanced research and travel planning functions to passengers, making it easier to navigate to sightseeing spots. This website was created so that travelers can easily plan the very best trip to Japan based on their unique preferences. The current website can be found at www.ana.co.jp/en/tastesofjapan/kyushu/ and at the end of June, it will be accessible at ana.co.jp/en/us/japan-travel-planner/tastesofjapan/Kyushu.