Interest
Yo-kai Watch Takes Over Kyushu Bullet Train
posted on by Eric Stimson
Japan Rail's Kyushu division is the latest company to fall under Yōkai Watch's spell. On December 20, a new bullet train was unveiled with Yōkai Watch characters painted on its exterior. It departed Kumamoto station bound for Hakata after an official ceremony attended by the Kumamoto station manager, Jibanyan (who was named station manager for the time being), and a crowd including the students of the nearby Kasuga Nursery School. The train will run back and forth between Kumamoto and Kagoshima in southern Kyushu until March 1.
Kumamoto Station has been rebranded as "Kemamoto Station" and decorated with yōkai as well. Fans can participate in a quiz by solving the mysteries presented by the yōkai around the station and win prizes like a certificate of completion, a clear file, and decks of cards. All players will at least get a Jibanyan sun visor. The "quiz rally" lasts until March 1 as well.
Above and below: The quiz contest prizes
Kemamoto Station features in the recent Yōkai Watch movie, Yōkai Watch: Tanjō no Himitsu da Nyan!, and is based on the real-life Kumamoto Station. The film opened over the weekend and sold a record 1,484,916 tickets.
[Via Chuugoku Shinbun and JR Kyushu; Images from Sports Hochi and Oyasumi-no Hi-no Ohiru-ha Ramen Desu]
