Visit Anime Spots
Japan has many sightseeing spots relating to anime.
First, let's look at popular anime spots in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
 The Toei Animation Gallery located in Oizumi, Nerima Ward, is a must see place for young anime creators who are dreaming about being a future anime hit producer. The studio is the first fully fledged anime studio to have produced numerous big hits including the Dragonball, Sailor Moon, and One Piece series. Over 250 works of anime are created every year from this studio. The gallery spaced on the corner of such a prestigious studio exhibits various valuable materials, which have made Japanese anime history.
 The Suginami Animation Museum, in Kamiogi, Suginami Ward is Japan's first facility where visitors can enjoy learning about the entire process of creating anime, and they also can enjoy experiencing hands-on type exhibitions such as post recording. There they can realize the fun of anime production.
The Suginami Ward in Tokyo is also known as "Japan's heartland of anime." More than 70 anime studios are located in Suginami of some 430 anime studios located throughout Japan. Sunrise studio, noted for its production of Gundam, is also based in Suginami. Last year a Gundam monument was erected at Kamiigusa Station on Seibu Shinjuku Line. The bronze statue has become a new star attraction in this town.
 Akihabara is the Mecca of anime fans in Japan. When you want to buy anime goods, this town is a perfect area. The Tokyo Anime Center is one of the most popular spots in Akihabara. You can enjoy seeing new anime films, anime-related exhibitions, talk shows by voice actors, public recording of radio programs and other events. There are also an anime shop and a theater. Post recording like voice actors, by adding your voices to the visuals, can also be experienced. In addition to anime information, maps of the town are available. The Anime Center is something of a tourist information center for Akihabara, which is a deep and mysterious area itself.
 It is recommended that you go to the Karaoke Pasera Chain to sing anime songs. Among them, Karaoke Pasera in Akihabara features "fun menus" and "concept rooms" where some scenes from anime and manga are painted. Here you can enjoy singing your favorite Japanese anime songs.
 Another popular town with anime fans besides Akihabara is Nakano. The shopping mall at JR Nakano Station, "Nakano Broadway" has a lot of smaller outlets carrying anime celluloid pictures, goods, figures and models. "Mandarake" is worth visiting as it specializes in comics and anime and is very famous.
There are many anime sighseeing spots other than in Tokyo.
 One of them is the Tezuka Osamu Manga Museum, Takarazuka in Hyogo Prefecture, which celebrates the God of manga, Tezuka Osamu (1926–1989) who grew up in Takarazuka City. They exhibit valuable items such as manuscripts written by Tezuka himself, and 558 of his comic books including his first editions. At the anime workshop, visitors can experience some of the basic anime work creating your own drawings. They celebrate the 80th anniversary of his birth this year. In Hollywood, "Astro Boy," which is Tezuka's representative work and also Japan's first TV anime program will be made into a movie with SFX computer graphics. In Japan, his unusual work, "MW" will be made into a film with actors. This museum would be the best place to trace the footsteps of the so called God of Manga.
 The Kyoto International Manga Museum is Japan's first ever cartoon and comic book museum established by Kyoto Seika University and Kyoto City, one of the best tourist spots in Japan. This facility boasts approximately 300, 000 items of materials related to comics from both Japan and abroad. The museum holds various events and seminars, especially "the 9th International Manga Summit in Kyoto held in 2008," which drew many visitors from Japan and overseas, and which was extensively covered by mass media.
 The Mizuki Shigeru Memorial Museum celebrates the life and works of manga artist Mizuki Shigeru, a native of Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, who is best known for his horror manga, "GeGeGe no Kitaro." The street leading from JR Sakaiminato Station, aka "Kitaro Station" to the museum features the main character, Kitaro's statue and other 133 monster bronze statues. There is also the "Yokai Shrine," which is dedicated to yokai, Japanese monsters. Those who have an interest in yokai, monsters unique to Japan are highly recommended to visit there. Voice guide devices in English, Chinese, Korean and Russian are available free of charge.
 The year 2009 is the commemorative year of the popular anime "Cyborg 009." It was created by Ishinomori Shotaro. His hometown, Miyagi Prefecture, is now drawing increased attention. The late Ishinomori Shotaro is a legendary creator of Japanese comic heroes. He created Cyborg 009, Kamen Rider and other numerous comic books. The Shotaro Ishinomori Memorial Museum in Tome City is a chic building very close to his birthplace. The Ishinomaki Mangattan Museum in Ishinomaki City is a base for manga, cartoon culture, and promoting information about various exhibitions and events.
Not only museums, but also anime tourism, called "pilgrimage," where anime fans visit real sites that appear in anime has become extremely popular in Japan.
 The Washinomiya Shrine in Washimiya Town, Saitama Prefecture, which appeared in the comic Lucky Star, has been flooded with a number of anime fans recently. The number of people who visited Washinomiya Shrine during the New Year holiday period increased by approximately 420,000 visitors in 2009. The town planned an event related to the anime and made it big.
 Anime fans travel to shrines all over Japan for their pilgrimages. For example, they go to the Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine in Gifu Prefecture where the movie "Higurashi no Naku Koro ni" was filmed. The Ushitora Shrine and the Misode Tenmangu Shrine are models for the Raifuku Jinja Shrine appearing in the anime titled Kamichu! The Kamisuwa Shrine, Suwa, in Nagano Prefecture appears in the anime titled "Please Twins!." The Kaichu Inari Shrine in Shinjuku, Tokyo, is a model for the Maruho Shrine appearing in the anime titled "Kurenai."
 Johana, Nanto City in Toyama Prefecture, was a stage for "true tears," the anime for teens broadcasted in 2008. After the broadcast, many anime fans rushed to the local city in order to see the actual scenery, realistically depicted in the anime, which led to the Johana fad. The place being considered as a sacred place has been attracting many anime fans. In this way, it is recommended to visit the sites appearing or modeled in your favorite anime.
 Tokyo International Anime Fair
Anime Now
Voice Actors
Visit Anime Spots
Ghibli Museum, Mitaka
Study of Anime
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