Japan's Tourism Industry Is Neglecting Kaiju "Sacred Places"

Above, the clock tower of the Wako Dept. Store in Ginza. The tower
was featured in "Godzilla" in 1954.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Tokyo Times carried the article about the Japanese government and the Japan External Trade Organization encouraging tours to "sacred" places in the world of anime.

I blogged about this subject a few days ago.  Since then, more news outlets are picking up the story, including the Tokyo Times.

Above, the Saikai Bridge was
featured in "Rodan" (1956).  Photo by
Armand Vaquer.

I responded to the Tokyo Times article with:

It is a tricky concept that "sacred" anime places are promoted in this manner. Whereas, in kaiju movies during the past 59 years, they actually used locations and landmarks in Japan and edited miniature versions in with the real places. The tourism agency should also target fans of Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, Rodan and others in this manner.

It is probably safe to say that anime fans vastly outnumber kaiju fans. The question is, Who has the money to make a trek to Japan? I would guess that kaiju fans are generally older, as they became fans of the genre in their youth back in the 1960s and 1970s. I would also guess that anime fans are generally a lot younger. I would also say that the older kaiju fans are more likely to have the "disposable income" to afford to go to Japan.

The Japanese tourism industry is missing the boat in neglecting kaiju fans in their tourism promotions.