




TOKYO: Japanese animation has captured the hearts of many worldwide, and inbound tourists heading to the island nation have doubled in recent years. The Middle East is no exception, as many local anime enthusiasts have planned trips to Japan in search of unique pop cultural media.
Welcoming such avid fans is the “Anime & Manga Spot Summit & Expo” event, first hosted in November 2024 with the goal of attracting foreign visitors to regions around the country, many of which have unique ties with anime, manga and gaming.
While Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto remain popular destinations for Arab travelers, many hidden locations around the country remain unexplored. The aim of the expo is to bring together different locales and highlight their connections with anime, introducing unique culture and traditional crafts.
In the event’s first iteration, guests from various prefectures including Beppu, Tottori, Kobe and Nagasaki were invited. Different booths were set up in the Naka-ikebukuro Park adjacent to Animate, Japan’s biggest anime merchandise store.
Fans of anime may be surprised to find out that locations from their favorite series are actually based off of real-life areas around Japan. The hot spring town of Hita in Beppu Prefecture is the birthplace of Hajime Isayama, the author behind the hit-series Attack on Titan. The Hita booth in the expo reflected this connection, with many anime fans flocking to purchase exclusive Hita-themed merchandise drawn by the manga author.
Tottori prefecture is home to one of the most popular anime and manga of all time, Detective Conan. In Tottori prefecture, an area dubbed as “Conan Town” is a Conan-lover’s dream. Visitors can visit the series’ real-life locations with limited edition merchandise. The expo in Ikebukuro offered fans a limited chance to buy Conan-themed products as well.
Tottori is also famous for being the hometown of GeGeGe no Kitaro’s author Mizuki Shigeru, and products from the series were extremely popular as well.
At the Nagasaki booth was the island of Goto, a serene location home to many anime series including Barakamon and the 2024 hit movie “The Colors Within.” The island’s popular mascot character Tsubaki Neko made an appearance to take photographs of fans.
Other prefectures were Takarazuka in Kobe, the home of Osamu Tezuka, the genius behind hit series like Astro Boy. Kitakyushu’s booth was closeby, as the city has come to be known as the “Manga Town” in recent years, having one of the country’s biggest Manga Museums.
Visitors also engaged in workshops creating local crafts from the different prefectures. Three workshops were offered. Fans of the hit anime series Durarara, set in Tokyo, could make traditional handcrafts tied to the series.
Other workshops included an Attack on Titan-themed geta, or traditional Japanese sandals experience, where attendees used local Hita-produced wood to create their own products. Finally, the art of printing was brought over from Tottori prefecture in a colorful collaboration with GeGeGe no Kitaro.
The expo also featured various tie-ups with different anime and bands to entertain visitors. Popular voice actors like Megumi Ogata graced the stage, and anime singers provided the latest hit songs of 2024.
The expo was a big hit, entertaining both local and foreign fans. As the Middle East continues to attract local residents to Japan, events like the expo aim to invite fans to enjoy the many anime-related cultures of the island nation.