Japan Times: Pop Tourism Gains Traction

Above, Astro Boy (known as Mighty Atom in Japan) adorns a Niigata bank.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Japan's pop culture is gaining traction in luring foreign visitors.  But the problem is that, until recently, this aspect has really not been tapped into to attract visitors.

The Japan Times reports:

Tourism has long been a fiscal conundrum for Japan, the country’s potential cash cow stifled by its resistance to foreigners and xenophobic anxieties, and hampered by a reputation for overblown prices — a crude hangover from the bubble years of the 1980s. The 3/11 disasters and ongoing plight of Fukushima only exacerbate the problem. 

Worse, the nation’s soft-power selling point often seems stuck in centuries past. Those of us who live, work and travel here know well the virtues contemporary Japan boasts. But for years, Japan has promoted itself overseas as a bastion of bygone traditions — demure kimono-clad girls and stoic samurai boys cowering beneath a volcano called Fuji, with raw seafood and grass mats for comfort. 

In the face of its 21st-century reality, this hoary image of Japan wears thin fast. The “Pokemon” and “Naruto” generations might dig the temples of Nara once they get there, but they need a reason to get there first.

The Japanese tourism industry is now promoting their pop culture in their "Cool Japan" and All Nippon Airways has their "Let's Do Japan!" campaign.

There are anime-related travel guides (above) (and I have my own travel guide that focuses on Japanese monster movie locations and landmarks, right) that are enticing people with such interests to visit Japan.

To read the full article, go here.