Efforts are being expanded to revitalize local communities by combining locally relevant content with facilities. In recent years, so-called "pilgrimages to holy places" have become popular, where fans of manga and anime works visit the areas where the works are located. In response to this trend, Tokyo's Katsushika Ward is developing a tourist facility with the theme, ``This is Kochikame Police Station, Katsushika Kameari Koen-mae Ward.'' Tokyo's Toshima Ward, which has opened the Tokiwaso Manga Museum in 2020, looking to encourage people to visit the surrounding area and solve the problem of empty houses. How can we spread the effect and create continuous excitement? An investigation has been initiated by those involved.
Image of completed Kameari area tourism infrastructure ((c) Osamu Akimoto/Atelier B-Dama/Shueisha)
□ Popular content x Pilgrimage to the Holy Land□
Content depicting real places has existed for a long time and people have visited the locations, but it wasn't until the 2000s that the scale expanded significantly. Kyoto Animation (Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture, President Hideaki Hatta) has produced a series of late-night anime works with detailed background descriptions, such as ``Lucky Star'' (2007) and ``K -On!'' (2009) ) Pilgrimages to holy places quickly became popular.
Ryo-san statue in front of Kameari station
"N-ON!" is a work about a high school band. The setting is the former Toyosato Elementary School (Toyosato Town, Shiga Prefecture, completed 1937), designed by American architect William Merrell Vories (1880-1964) and built by the Takenaka Corporation . The school building beloved by fans is still preserved as a town complex and since 2011 has played a role in revitalizing the area, including hosting the high school band competition nation.
Nagashima Dam appears in the famous anime “Yurukyan”
In recent years, the camping-themed anime "Yuru Camp" (2018) produced by Sea Station (Kunitachi City, Tokyo, president: Ryoji Maru) has become popular and Yamanashi, Nagano and Shizuoka prefectures The place where the movie took place is also very famous. Serving large-scale tourism, functioning as an axis. This project is also unique in that civil construction projects such as dams and tunnels, including the Nagashima Dam (Kawamoto Town, Shizuoka Prefecture) are important features.
□ Kochikame × Tourist facilities □
Katsushika Ward is building a new tourism facility related to manga and anime. The ward is known nationally for Kochikame, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump, and in 2005, a statue of Ryotsu Kankichi (Ryosan), the main character, was installed in front of JR Kameari Station, and efforts Another effort was made to revive the area associated with Kochikame. After the series ended in 2016, construction on the permanent facility began.
The site is planned to be on the shortest route from the south exit of Kameari Station to the ``Ario Kameari'' shopping mall and is usually crowded with pedestrians. It is also close to the shopping district that runs south from the station and it is hoped that this facility will help attract more customers to the shopping district.
The entire exhibition is connected by a single story, and visitors can follow the story from the first floor. The building is five stories high and the appearance of the first floor is identical to the police office you often see in manga. However, from the 2nd floor up, the rooms are shaped like comic strips stacked irregularly. It is said that Ryo built his own memorial museum on the police station without permission. At the request of the boss, Director Ohara, tourists follow Ryo around the museum after he runs away.
As visitors ascend the floors, they can enjoy museum exhibits showcasing the attractions of the surrounding area. The ward is planning to organize an exhibition that makes extensive use of gaming elements and digital content, allowing visitors to use their five senses to gain a deeper understanding of the Kameari area. While maintaining Kochikame's worldview, we also paid attention to universal design and multilingual support.
The building under construction is a 5-story RC/S structure with a total area of 540 square meters. Basic design and implementation were led by Kume Sekkei. Construction work will be undertaken by Toyo Construction, mechanical equipment work will be undertaken by Horatanuki Seizo Kogyo (Katsushika ward), and electrical equipment work will be undertaken by Takano Electric Kogyo (Katsushika ward). The aim is to complete construction by October and open in 2024.
□ Tokiwaso x Town Development □
Tokiwaso Manga Museum (Minami-Nagasaki 3-9-22) is the base for Toshima Ward's manga-based town development. Visitor numbers have reached approximately 128,000 in the three years since opening in July 2020.
Tokiwaso is the legendary apartment where many manga artists, including master Osamu Tezuka (1928-1989), spent their youth. The original building was demolished in 1982 due to deterioration. The ward rebuilt the building in a nearby park as part of cultural measures. During the development of the building, we worked closely with designer Tanseisha and builder Watanabe Construction, and carefully studied documents and images. Details such as dirt, rust, and rickety stairs on the outside are all faithfully reproduced.
The first floor has a special exhibition room and a comic room. The museum has about 1,500 comics in its collection that visitors can view for free. The second floor is a permanent exhibition room that recreates the manga artist's four-and-a-half tatami living room and shared kitchen.
The ward is also focusing on revitalizing the surrounding area and taking advantage of empty houses, using the facility as a base. On Tokiwaso Street (Minami Nagasaki Street) across from the facility, there is the ``Tokiwaso Street Rest Area'' where you can purchase museum goods and the ``Tokiwaso Manga Station'' where you can view related books. In 2022, the Tokiwaso Showa Retro Museum opens, hosting special exhibitions themed on manga, anime, and the Showa era.
Both facilities will be renovated to existing buildings in the surrounding area, including vacant stores. The aim is to solve many problems simultaneously, including utilizing empty houses, promoting circulation in surrounding areas and ensuring visitor retention. In December 2023, a new ``Tokiwaso Manga Museum Shop'' opened. A restaurant and information dissemination/interactive space have been built on the empty storefront. It will become a new facility where visitors can relax and learn about a variety of information.
Manga and anime are content that Japan is proud of to the world. There is significant potential to partner with the construction and infrastructure sectors to enhance city attractiveness and solve local problems by combining it with existing local resources. Expectations are rising from all over the country for the cutting-edge efforts of those involved.
