×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
INTEREST: Kadokawa to Plan 88-Stop Anime Pilgrimage Tour for Foreigners




Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1822
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 4:00 pm Reply with quote
I'd like to see something like a web site where one could pick various anime and have locations displayed as an overlay on Google Maps, but with better listing of transport options than what Google Maps does.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
12skippy21



Joined: 25 Nov 2008
Posts: 785
Location: York, England
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 4:58 pm Reply with quote
While I am sure some might be interesting (temples etc) I wonder if a lot of these locations are just going to be some boring building/place/crossroads that happened to be a backdrop for an anime segment.

Not my idea of a holiday I'm afraid.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
H. Guderian



Joined: 29 Jan 2014
Posts: 1255
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 5:15 pm Reply with quote
I'm listening, Kadokawa.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1822
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 5:47 pm Reply with quote
12skippy21 wrote:
While I am sure some might be interesting (temples etc) I wonder if a lot of these locations are just going to be some boring building/place/crossroads that happened to be a backdrop for an anime segment.

Not my idea of a holiday I'm afraid.


It depends - if you watched the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya you might like a side trip from Osaka to Nishinomiya to see some of the familiar locations and if exploring Nagano prefecture, it can be fun to ride on the train from Ueda to Bessho Onsen as seen in Summer Wars, walk the Usui Pass as used in Initial D, and coincidentally on the same day I visited the railway museum in Yokokawa used for the cover shots of the Rail Wars OP single.

Another example would be the entire town of Ooarai, Ibaraki prefecture, made famous by Girls und Panzer.

A lot of the more recognisable places in anime are that way because the people picking locations wanted to find somewhere relatively interesting.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
grooven



Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 1424
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 5:51 pm Reply with quote
That wouldbe awesome. I'v ebeen to a few sites that were in animes. It's a surreal experience and would love this rather than taking the wrong shinkansen to a town with the same name *coughthatdidn'thappentome* Rolling Eyes
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1822
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 7:52 pm Reply with quote
grooven wrote:
That wouldbe awesome. I'v ebeen to a few sites that were in animes. It's a surreal experience and would love this rather than taking the wrong shinkansen to a town with the same name *coughthatdidn'thappentome* Rolling Eyes


There was an episode of You're Under Arrest, episode 3, "Love's Highway Stars" where there is confusion between spoiler[Katsuura, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture], and spoiler[Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture]. Not exactly close together.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
fencer_x



Joined: 28 Jul 2011
Posts: 277
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 8:01 pm Reply with quote
omiya wrote:
12skippy21 wrote:
While I am sure some might be interesting (temples etc) I wonder if a lot of these locations are just going to be some boring building/place/crossroads that happened to be a backdrop for an anime segment.

Not my idea of a holiday I'm afraid.


It depends - if you watched the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya you might like a side trip from Osaka to Nishinomiya to see some of the familiar locations and if exploring Nagano prefecture, it can be fun to ride on the train from Ueda to Bessho Onsen as seen in Summer Wars, walk the Usui Pass as used in Initial D, and coincidentally on the same day I visited the railway museum in Yokokawa used for the cover shots of the Rail Wars OP single.

Another example would be the entire town of Ooarai, Ibaraki prefecture, made famous by Girls und Panzer.

A lot of the more recognisable places in anime are that way because the people picking locations wanted to find somewhere relatively interesting.


The Iwami Tourism Bureau has actual pamphlets to give visitors listing places to go in the very small town that "Free!"'s Iwatobi was modeled after. Given that the designers were extremely faithful in recreating even tiny elements of the town in the anime, you really feel like you're right there, so they are totally embracing their position as a Mecca for fans of the series.

I'm sure others have similar ideas as well, and that's something I bet fans would love to see.

Maybe this will encourage other series to use real-life settings as their backdrops to give the tourism industry a boost?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
samuelp
Industry Insider


Joined: 25 Nov 2007
Posts: 2228
Location: San Antonio, USA
PostPosted: Sun Mar 06, 2016 9:58 pm Reply with quote
12skippy21 wrote:
While I am sure some might be interesting (temples etc) I wonder if a lot of these locations are just going to be some boring building/place/crossroads that happened to be a backdrop for an anime segment.

Not my idea of a holiday I'm afraid.

Well, much like the actual 88 temple/shrine pilgrimage this is referencing, it's not about the destination, but the journey!
Pilgrimages are about proving one's devotion, after all.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Greboruri



Joined: 09 Jul 2003
Posts: 373
Location: QBN, NSW, Australia
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 2:59 am Reply with quote
omiya wrote:
I'd like to see something like a web site where one could pick various anime and have locations displayed as an overlay on Google Maps, but with better listing of transport options than what Google Maps does.


I found this. Not sure how often the English version is updated though. I did Toyosato Elementary School on my last trip. It's not something I'd usualy do, but I was in Osaka and decided to go. I was a bit disappointed at the club room itself. Looks like they've moved all the musical instruments and most of the other stuff people have bought (figures, merchandise and other stuff) into the cafe in at left side of the school building.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
omiya



Joined: 21 Sep 2011
Posts: 1822
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 10:42 am Reply with quote
Greboruri wrote:
I found this. Not sure how often the English version is updated though.


Thanks, I'll have to look through the http://en.anime-tourism.com/ site when planning my next trip.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Touma



Joined: 29 Aug 2007
Posts: 2651
Location: Colorado, USA
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:19 am Reply with quote
12skippy21 wrote:
. . . some boring building/place/crossroads that happened to be a backdrop for an anime segment.

For the pilgrims it is the fact that the location was used in the anime that makes it interesting.
If it is also interesting for other reasons that is just a bonus.

Quote:
Not my idea of a holiday I'm afraid.

A pilgrimage is definitely not for everybody.
I would do it if I had the time and money, but I would look for those places that had some other attraction in addition to being an anime pilgrimage destination.

ANN had a similar article last year.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
SaitoHajime101



Joined: 31 Mar 2013
Posts: 280
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 11:24 am Reply with quote
I would love to go on a trip that has stops used for reference material in Makoto Shinkai films along with some of the more historical locations that were referenced in Rurouni Kenshin Cool
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
q87



Joined: 07 Mar 2016
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 1:42 pm Reply with quote
omiya wrote:
Greboruri wrote:
I found this. Not sure how often the English version is updated though.


Thanks, I'll have to look through the http://en.anime-tourism.com/ site when planning my next trip.


anime-tourism.com seems to be a good starting point. Seems like some of the maps are from rimatai, dotproducer or habusan. I've been using their maps for one of my "pilgrimages" too, so I can assure you they are pretty accurate.

There are a lot more sites out there, like http://seichimap.jp/. Unfortunatelly (for non-japanese fans), most of these sites are japanese blogs.

It's not like "anime pilgrimages", or "seichi junrei" (聖地巡礼), are common activities in Japan, but there seems to be a small and very active (net) community. Normally no anime studio/producer will tell you from where they got their "inspiration", so the fans have to track back the real world locations based on the anime footage.
Some of the work of the community members is really impressive, like this Field Guide for a AnoHana pilgrimage in Chichibu, Saitama.

btw: The easiest way to find anime location maps is actually a google search. Just type the name of your favorite anime (preferably in japanese) + "聖地巡礼マップ".
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Tenchi



Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 4462
Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer.
PostPosted: Mon Mar 07, 2016 2:57 pm Reply with quote
I'd love to visit Hyogo prefecture, not just for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya locations in Nishinomiya but also, from what I've read, some places in Asahigaoka village in Non Non Biyori are based on locations in the much more rural areas in the northwest of the prefecture, near Tottori and Okayama prefectures (although the school itself is based on one in Ogawa, Saitama prefecture).

I'm not sure if my own personal anime pilgrimage would be to locations famous enough to organize tours to, though, like how I want to visit Hamamatsu City in Shizuoka prefecture because of Strawberry Marshmallow or Onomichi outside Hiroshima because of Kamichu!.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group