[WANDERIDE® Case Study] Triggered by a partnership agreement with Shirahama Town, WANDERIDE® introduction progresses in the city center. A new activity to enjoy Shirahama at your own pace without a car.
Based on a comprehensive partnership agreement with Shirahama Town, Wakayama, glafit Inc. has started introducing the micro-sharing service 'WANDERIDE®' using specified small mopeds. It aims to improve secondary transportation for tourists and provide a new experiential activity.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 16, 2026 at 00:19
- 🔍 Collected: April 15, 2026 at 16:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 06:02 (86h 0m after Collected)
glafit Inc. (Headquarters: Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture; Representative Director and CEO: Teizo Narumi; hereinafter 'glafit'), which provides one-stop development, manufacturing, and sales of electric personal mobility, is advancing the introduction of the micro-sharing service 'WANDERIDE®' utilizing specified small motor-driven cycles (hereinafter 'specified small mopeds') in Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture (Mayor: Yasuhiro Ooe), where it signed a comprehensive partnership agreement regarding the utilization of electric personal mobility in March 2025. City excursions utilizing glafit's 'Electric Cycle NFR-01 Pro+ 4G LTE MODEL' (hereinafter 'NFR-01 Pro+') are expanding, originating from accommodations, shops, and tourist facilities.
Shirahama Town, which boasts a variety of tourism resources such as beautiful Shirarahama beach, Nanki Shirahama Onsen, Engetsu Island, Senjojiki, and Sandanbeki, is one of the leading tourist destinations in the Kansai region. On the other hand, improving mobility without a car has been a challenge due to traffic congestion, lack of parking, and insufficient secondary transportation typical of tourist spots. WANDERIDE® addresses these regional issues not only by supplementing transportation convenience but also by expanding Shirahama's experiential value as a new tourist activity that allows visitors to enjoy the town while stopping at favorite places at their own pace.
Furthermore, to make city tours with WANDERIDE® even more enjoyable, 'WANDERMAP Vol.1', which introduces recommended spots in Shirahama, has also been completed. By combining mobility and map content, the experience is evolving from merely moving to a destination into an experience of 'touring and enjoying' the town of Shirahama itself.
Introduction Background | Enhancing city excursions starting from the partnership agreement with Shirahama Town
In March 2025, glafit concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement with Shirahama Town to tackle regional issues such as tourism promotion, supplementing regional transportation, and realizing a decarbonized society through the use of electric personal mobility. This is the first time glafit has concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement with a local government for the purpose of solving regional issues, and this introduction of WANDERIDE® is one of the concrete realizations of that effort.
In Shirahama Town's regional public transportation plan, securing means of transportation for visitors, mismatches between the number of route buses and desired travel times, and a shortage of bus and taxi drivers have been identified as issues. Despite being an area with high tourism demand, there are mobility needs that cannot be fully covered by public transportation alone, creating a demand for new options that allow people to freely tour the town.
Reference: Shirahama Transportation White Paper 2023. glafit and Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, Conclude Comprehensive Partnership Agreement to Solve Regional Issues by Utilizing Electric Personal Mobility.
WANDERIDE® is being deployed as a micro-sharing service that is easy to introduce even from small-scale bases such as accommodations and tourist facilities to address these issues. By utilizing glafit's dedicated app and IoT-compatible vehicles, the feature is that a new mobility experience can be implemented in a form tailored to the region.
What is WANDERIDE®?
~Turning mobility into entertainment. Turning the town into a theme park.~
WANDERIDE® is a micro-sharing service that maximizes regional charm while enhancing circulation by utilizing the specified small moped 'NFR-01 Pro+' and the glafit app. Since the 'NFR-01 Pro+' can be used without a driver's license by anyone aged 16 or older, it is expected to be widely used by a range of demographics from youth to seniors. In addition, since it does not require a Japanese driver's license, it is a mobility option that strongly appeals to inbound foreign tourists. The freedom to 'stop by a place of interest immediately' and 'choose your own route without being bound by time' during a trip supports a town-touring experience unique to Shirahama.
Also, in March 2026, WANDERIDE® will be introduced to the new 'Safari E-bike Cruise' tour provided by Adventure World in Shirahama Town, leading to the creation of new experiential value within the theme park, going beyond touring tourist spots. In Shirahama, circulation experiences utilizing glafit's mobility are beginning to expand both in the town center and at tourist facilities.
Reference: [WANDERIDE® Case Study] Speeding right next to the animals on an electric bike! Adventure World's new tour 'Safari E-bike Cruise'.
・Comment from Shirahama Town Mayor Yasuhiro Ooe:
In Shirahama Town, to further enhance the appeal of our tourist destinations, we have set improving visitor mobility and enriching regional transportation as important themes. The introduction of WANDERIDE®, proceeding under the comprehensive partnership agreement from last March, is a new approach to these issues...
Shirahama Town, which boasts a variety of tourism resources such as beautiful Shirarahama beach, Nanki Shirahama Onsen, Engetsu Island, Senjojiki, and Sandanbeki, is one of the leading tourist destinations in the Kansai region. On the other hand, improving mobility without a car has been a challenge due to traffic congestion, lack of parking, and insufficient secondary transportation typical of tourist spots. WANDERIDE® addresses these regional issues not only by supplementing transportation convenience but also by expanding Shirahama's experiential value as a new tourist activity that allows visitors to enjoy the town while stopping at favorite places at their own pace.
Furthermore, to make city tours with WANDERIDE® even more enjoyable, 'WANDERMAP Vol.1', which introduces recommended spots in Shirahama, has also been completed. By combining mobility and map content, the experience is evolving from merely moving to a destination into an experience of 'touring and enjoying' the town of Shirahama itself.
Introduction Background | Enhancing city excursions starting from the partnership agreement with Shirahama Town
In March 2025, glafit concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement with Shirahama Town to tackle regional issues such as tourism promotion, supplementing regional transportation, and realizing a decarbonized society through the use of electric personal mobility. This is the first time glafit has concluded a comprehensive partnership agreement with a local government for the purpose of solving regional issues, and this introduction of WANDERIDE® is one of the concrete realizations of that effort.
In Shirahama Town's regional public transportation plan, securing means of transportation for visitors, mismatches between the number of route buses and desired travel times, and a shortage of bus and taxi drivers have been identified as issues. Despite being an area with high tourism demand, there are mobility needs that cannot be fully covered by public transportation alone, creating a demand for new options that allow people to freely tour the town.
Reference: Shirahama Transportation White Paper 2023. glafit and Shirahama Town, Wakayama Prefecture, Conclude Comprehensive Partnership Agreement to Solve Regional Issues by Utilizing Electric Personal Mobility.
WANDERIDE® is being deployed as a micro-sharing service that is easy to introduce even from small-scale bases such as accommodations and tourist facilities to address these issues. By utilizing glafit's dedicated app and IoT-compatible vehicles, the feature is that a new mobility experience can be implemented in a form tailored to the region.
What is WANDERIDE®?
~Turning mobility into entertainment. Turning the town into a theme park.~
WANDERIDE® is a micro-sharing service that maximizes regional charm while enhancing circulation by utilizing the specified small moped 'NFR-01 Pro+' and the glafit app. Since the 'NFR-01 Pro+' can be used without a driver's license by anyone aged 16 or older, it is expected to be widely used by a range of demographics from youth to seniors. In addition, since it does not require a Japanese driver's license, it is a mobility option that strongly appeals to inbound foreign tourists. The freedom to 'stop by a place of interest immediately' and 'choose your own route without being bound by time' during a trip supports a town-touring experience unique to Shirahama.
Also, in March 2026, WANDERIDE® will be introduced to the new 'Safari E-bike Cruise' tour provided by Adventure World in Shirahama Town, leading to the creation of new experiential value within the theme park, going beyond touring tourist spots. In Shirahama, circulation experiences utilizing glafit's mobility are beginning to expand both in the town center and at tourist facilities.
Reference: [WANDERIDE® Case Study] Speeding right next to the animals on an electric bike! Adventure World's new tour 'Safari E-bike Cruise'.
・Comment from Shirahama Town Mayor Yasuhiro Ooe:
In Shirahama Town, to further enhance the appeal of our tourist destinations, we have set improving visitor mobility and enriching regional transportation as important themes. The introduction of WANDERIDE®, proceeding under the comprehensive partnership agreement from last March, is a new approach to these issues...