It’s no surprise that with the economic recession tourismism has decreased drastically, so to keep the tourism industry afloat Japanese cities have resorted to unique but creative ways of helping bring in tourists. Full Story Here

Manga and anime are more than just forms of entertainment for several local governments that have recently revitalized their economies by drawing on the pulling power of works in these pop genres that have ties to their respective cities and towns.

Various anime titles have been exploited, ranging from classic stories to the latest popular hits, helping attract a wide range of enthusiastic fans to different areas.

Officials of municipalities in which anime scenes have been depicted have utilized various techniques–from car contests to robots to statues of gremlins–to attract more visitors.

As many famous manga artists and illustrators–including Reiji Matsumoto, Seizo Watase and Tsukasa Hojo–hail from the city of Kitakyushu, the city government announced a plan to open a manga museum in 2007 with the aim of utilizing the artists’ work to help revitalize the local economy.

The planned museum will feature a history of manga, themed exhibitions and many other events, such as classes in how to draw manga.

Currently, museum officials are collecting items to display in the museum. Though its opening has been delayed, an official of the city government’s culture promotion division said, “We want to open the museum as soon as possible.”

In addition to the planned museum, other manga-based tourist-luring measures have been adopted.

For example, a robot that looks like Maetel, a character in Matsumoto’s anime “Ginga Tetsudo 999″ (Galaxy Express 999), has been installed at a tourist guide booth in Kitakyushu Airport.

Local university students and others concerned manufactured the robot to help promote the airport.

Controlled by a touch panel on the counter, the 1.7-meter-tall robot informs visitors about the airport’s facilities and locations in the city using gentle tones similar to the voice of the character in the film.

Many fans of the anime say they visit the airport to see the robot.

As Kitakyushu’s economy is built on manufacturing industries it has been hard hit by the current economic slump. Local people have high hopes for the planned museum, with some saying they are optimistic it can act as a trigger to rejuvenate the local community.

Lucky Star, an extremely popular anime has already proven to be a tourism success. With one shrine in Saitama Prefecture receiving and increasing number of anime fan’s, from 120,000 to over 420,000 since the shows release. Because of the huge success Izumi Konata a fictional character from lucky star has had a special certificate of residency made by the city for her and her family.

As shrines across the nation prepare to welcome New Year well-wishers, one shrine in Saitama Prefecture is aiming to attract a particular group of people–anime fans.

Washinomiya Shrine in Washimiyamachi is a doubly sacred place for fans of “Raki Suta” (Lucky Star), a popular manga-based TV anime series, because it is said to be the model for a shrine that appears in the story.

The municipal governments of Washimiyamachi and Satte, the latter of which also neighbors the shrine, are planning to sell special “residency cards” with anime characters printed on them. They also plan to open public parking lots to people who visit the shrine in “itasha”–cars decorated with stickers and paintings of characters and other items related to the anime.

“Raki Suta” tells the comedic tale of high school girl Izumi Konata, who lives in a city apparently modeled on Satte. The serial manga, which also features Izumi’s friend Tsukasa Hiiragi, was made into a TV anime series in 2007 and has since won many die-hard fans.

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