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Joshiraku Rickshaw Service Offered in Akihabara, Asakusa
posted on by Ko Ransom
Six rickshaws featuring designs inspired by Kôji Kumeta and Yasu's Joshiraku comedy manga and its anime adaptation will service Tokyo's Akihabara and Asakusa areas from September 5 to 9. While rickshaws are a relatively popular tourist attraction in Asakusa, as is the district's Engei Hall rakugo theatre, the human-powered carts are exceedingly rare in Akihabara.
The carts feature drawings of characters from the title on their sides, along with an overall color design inspired by the character they feature. A roughly ten-minute ride will cost fans 3,000 yen (about US$38), in line with a standard rickshaw ride. The rides will follow fixed courses, and up to two people can ride in one cart at a time. Banners advertising the series will also be put up in Asakusa's Rokku Broadway shopping district for a month, and advertisements in Tokyo's Toei Asakusa Line trains for the series will also be displayed for a week.
Both the manga and the anime follow the behind-the-scenes dressing-room conversations of a group of female (joshi) Japanese verbal show (rakugo) performers. The manga launched in the inaugural issue of Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in 2009. It was recently announced that the fifth volume of the manga would bundle an anime DVD reuniting the cast and staff of the television series.
[Via Comic Natalie]
