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Japan Makes English Evangelion Tourism Map, Poster

Not-So-Daily Links of the Day: The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the government entity created to promote tourism from overseas, announced on January 25 that it co-created an English Evangelion tourism pamphlet and "Cool Japan Poster: Hakone." JNTO is collaborating with the Hakone Tourist Association to highlight Hakone, a town just west of Tokyo that is known internationally for its hot springs, tranquil vistas, and historical sights.

JNTO cites the overseas popularity of anime as the reason it worked with the Evangelion creators at the anime studio Gainax to create the "Evangelion Hakone Instrumentality Map: English Version." The Japanese "Evangelion Hakone Instrumentality Map" (pictured at left) that inspired the English version was already released last June. For the English version, the JNTO translated the original map and re-edited the information to include points of interest for overseas anime fans. Gainax placed Tokyo-3, the fictional setting of Evangelion, in the Hakone area.

In addition to the map, JNTO also created a "Cool Japan Poster: Hakone" (pictured above) with the Evangelion character Rei Ayanami against the backdrop of Hakone's Lake Ashi and nearby Mount Fuji.

JNTO notes that Anime Expo (in Los Angeles with about 40,000 attendees), New York Anime Festival (New York, 21,000), Otakon (Baltimore 27,000), and Japan Expo (Paris, 165,000) demonstrate that there are many people overseas who became interested in Japan through anime.

In a separate development, White Rabbit Press is publishing Tokyo Realtime: Akihabara, a multimedia guide to Tokyo's otaku shopping district from Otaku Encyclopedia author Patrick Galbraith. The CD guides English-speaking visitors through Akihabara ("Akiba") with an MP3 audio tour, a 20-page full-color booklet, and a waterproof map. The tour features interviews with Patrick Macias (Cruising the Anime City, Otaku USA), Morikawa Kaichiro (Meiji University professor, Learning from Akihabara), Stormtrooper-cosplaying blogger Danny Choo, and others. An audio preview is available from Tokyo Realtime's website.

[Via Annex (Evangelion)]