About 100 groups of Seiyu are tourism ambassadors! What souvenirs and sightseeing spots all over Japan do voice actors recommend?
More and more voice actors are being appointed as tourism ambassadors. As far as we have been able to ascertain, there are about 100 cases of voice actors being appointed as tourism ambassadors, including both individuals and groups. Although we cannot introduce all of them here, let us take a look at some of them!
| Table of Contents 1.Appointment of local voice actors. 2.Appointment of voice actors with local connections. 3.Appointment of character tourism ambassadors and voice actors. 4.Appointment of content groups. 5.Municipalities that are active in appointing voice actors as tourism ambassadors. 6.Voice actors from prefectures that may not have a single voice actor tourism ambassador. 7.Benefits of voice-over tourism ambassadors. |
1.Appointment of local voice actors
■ Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture Tourism Ambassador
Yuki Takada / Yuki Kaneko / Kaori Maeda
When Yuki Kaneko and Kaori Maeda, voice actors from Kitakyushu City, were appointed as Tourism Ambassadors, the commissioning ceremony was held at the “Kitakyushu Pop Culture Festival2022”. Yuki Takada, who has been appointed as a tourism ambassador since 2017, also participated in this event.
At the event, both voice actors shared their enthusiasm as tourism ambassadors and were also appointed as one-day lord of Kokura Castle. The stage event included a commissioning ceremony for the one-day lord of the castle and the unveiling of a handwritten scroll, which attracted a large number of fans. A live announcement was also made inside Kokura Castle, providing an opportunity to deepen exchanges with fans.
Kitakyushu Pop Culture Festival 2024″ will be held on November 30 (Sat) and December 1 (Sun). This event will feature many voice actors as well as these three.
In addition, Kaori Maeda is promoting Kitakyushu City as a tourism ambassador on her agency’s channel.
Incidentally, Sukesan Udon, which she is being introduced, is on the verge of entering the Kanto region!
■Hokkaido Chitose CityTourism PR Ambassador
Aina Suzuki
Ms. Suzuki was appointed as Chitose City Tourism PR Ambassador at the inauguration ceremony held on November 3, 2022 (national holiday).
She also served as Station Manager for a day at “Salmon Park Chitose,” a roadside station, on November 30, 2023, and attracted much attention when she announced at an animation presentation event at Chitose Aquarium that she is actually sisters with voice actress Mika Hanai.
Ms. Suzuki also narrates the audio guide for the “Chitose Aquarium, Home of the Salmon.
With this information alone, it is easy to see that salmon is a specialty of the Chitose!
■Aomori City Tourism Ambassador
Shiori Mikami
Popular voice actress Shiori Mikami, known for her role as Krista Lenz in the anime “Attack on Titan – Shingeki No Kyojin -“, is the tourism ambassador for Aomori City. She also appears on the official Aomori City channel.
Orrin Jonagold, a young sorcerer with an overpowering Tsugaru accent, and Regina Miles, a new healer with the skill [Interpreter], form a party of only two in the fantasy comic “Jyoppare Aomori no hoshi: A guild banished sorceress aims to be the strongest with her cheat Tsugaru dialect (no chanting)! Mikami-san has made a comment of recommendation on the occasion of the release of the book.
As seen in these examples, voice actors who publicize their hometowns and are appointed as tourism ambassadors are likely to have more opportunities to be featured in content and products related to their region!
2.Appointing voice actors with a connection to the area
In some cases, voice actors who are not from the area but have a connection to the area are appointed as tourism ambassadors.
■Iyo City, Ehime Prefecture Masumasu Iyo City Hometown Tourism Ambassador
Kensho Ono
Kensho Ono himself is from Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, but his father’s hometown is Iyo City, Ehime Prefecture, so he is serving as the “Iyo City Hometown Tourism Ambassador.
In “Kensho Ono to Koisuru Iyotobi” (Kensaki Ono and Iyotobi in Love), a video of his trip to Iyo City is available on the Ehime Iyo City YouTube channel.
■Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture Matsue Tourism Amb assador / Hometown Goodwill Ambassador “Kentoshi(遣島使)”
Chafuurin
(Reference) “Matsue, the hometown of ghost stories” 2018 | Yoshida’s Matsue Grand Operation
Shimane Prefecture Press Release
Chafuurin, who plays the role of Nampei Isono in the national anime “Sazae-san”, is from Saitama Prefecture. He is involved in activities to promote Matsue as the “hometown of ghost stories” in reference to Yakumo Koizumi, a ghost story writer who has a connection with Matsue City. With this connection, I was appointed Matsue City Tourism Ambassador in August 2016.
On October 28, 2023, he was also appointed by Matsue City as a hometown goodwill ambassador, “Kentoshi”.
Chafubayashi also appeared as a voice actor in the animated film “Child of Kamiari Month,” which is set in the Izumo region of Shimane Prefecture. Knowing his connection to the area may open up the possibility of casting him in a subject with regional characteristics.
3.Voice Actors as well as Tourism Ambassadors
MatsueCity, Shimane PrefectureMatsue Tourism Ambassador
Marika Takano / Maazumi Tazawa
(Quote) “Uma Musume” voice actors became tourism ambassadors of Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture!
Marika Takano and Maazumi Tazawa became Matsue City Tourism Ambassadors on November 27, 2021. Although neither of them is from Matsue City, they are both voice actors for characters modeled on Shimane Prefecture in “Onsen Musume” respectively.
A talk event was held, during which the two actors performed an atereco (voice-over) performance in their own dialects, sharing the charms of local hot springs and tourist attractions.
In particular, the talk event held at Tamatsukuri Onsen sold out immediately, attracting fans from all over Japan. In addition, limited-edition goods were sold at the sales corner, where many fans formed a long line!
Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture Takatsuki Tourism Ambassador
Takatsuki Yayoi (CV. Mayako Nigo )
(Quote) Let’s celebrate together! Birthday event for Tourism Ambassador “Takatsuki Yayoi” | Takatsuki City Press Release
Takatsuki City in Osaka Prefecture has a tourism ambassador, Takatsuki Yayoi, a character from THE iDOLM@STER, and at a birthday event held in March 2024, a talk show by voice actress Mayako Nigo was held. At this event, a variety of plans were prepared, including sales of new goods and a tour of the city.
Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture Voice Tourism Ambassador
Hideyoshi-kun (CV. Kappei Yamaguchi )
Nagahama is where Hideyoshi first became a feudal lord with a castle and laid the foundation for his rise to power. Hidayoshi-kun is a local character modeled after Hideyoshi, and in 2017, Kappei Yamaguchi was appointed as a tourism ambassador along with Hidayoshi-kun’s character voice.
In addition to Hidayoshi-kun’s character voice, there was also a collaboration project with Mr. Yamaguchi, who himself plays the role of Hideyoshi in the anime “Nobunaga’s Ninja” in which he appears.
At present, the video has been viewed 42,000 times, more than any other video on the Nagahama City Tourism Division’s YouTube channel, indicating the power of the video to spread.
In addition, he seems to have drawn an illustration of a LINE stamp with Hideyoshi as a motif, and is actively promoting Hideyoshi and Nagahama City!
Wakayama City, Wakayama Prefecture Anime Tourism Ambassador
Kofune Ushio (CV. Anna Nagase )
The heroine of “Summertime Renda”, Ushio Kobune, has been appointed as Wakayama City’s first “Anime Tourism Ambassador” in 2022. Anna Nagase, the voice actress who plays the role of Kofune Ushio, also remotely participated in the event.
Ms. Nagase herself has also visited the anime stage and posted photos of herself and the panel on X.
*Term expires in August 2024.
Strawberry Ambassador, Miki Town, Kagawa Prefecture
Moezaki Ichigo (CV: Tomonori Nagaku )
(Quote) Berry! Miki Town
The character from the anime “Seiyu’s Life!”, written by Masumi Asano, a children’s literature author and voice actress, is a strawberry ambassador for the town of Miki in Kagawa Prefecture . character has been appointed as a Strawberry Ambassador to promote the town’s specialty, strawberries, and is used extensively on the Miki Town website. In the anime, the character is a rookie voice talents from Kagawa Prefecture who dreams of becoming an idol voice talents who can sing and dance, and her name, Ichigo, seems to have been chosen for the role. Yuki Nagahisa, the voice actress in charge of the character, also visited the talk show.
■Tourism Ambassador of Shimono City, Tochigi Prefecture
Ruri Urita (CV. Motoko Kobayashi )
Ruri Urita, the character from “marronni☆yell,” was inaugurated as the Shimono City Tourism Ambassador. Motoko Kobayashi, a voice actress, also attended the inauguration event wearing a kimono.
4.Appointing a idol group of contents
In some cases, groups active in animation and game content are appointed as tourism ambassadors, and some of the voice actors in charge of these groups are invited to events and other events.
Sansan NUMAZU Ambassador, Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture
Aqours (Aqua)
Aqours is a group that has participated in the anime “Love Live: Sunshine! Sunshine! Aqours, an idol group from the “Sunshine!” anime series, has been appointed for four consecutive terms since FY2017.
On June 10, 2024, Yusa Komiya and Ai Furuhata were appointed as one-day station masters at JR Numazu Station in Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture.
Saga Prefecture PR Ambassador
Frans Chouche
Saga Prefecture PR Ambassador On October 20, 2018, the zombie idol group “Franschouche” from the anime “Zombieland Saga” was commissioned as Saga Prefecture PR Ambassadors at the Saga Restoration Festival venue.
Three of the voice actors in charge of the group, Kaede Hondo, Maki Kawase, and Rika Kinugawa, took the stage at the event.
5.Municipalities actively appointing voice actors as tourism ambassadors
The list of ambassadors is available in PDF format and the number of ambassadors is large, so we picked up two prefectures that we felt were strategic and proactive in their use of tourism ambassadors!
Yamanashi Prefecture
(Reference) Yamanashi Prefecture / About Yamanashi Ambassadors: Ambassador List PDF
Minori Chihara, Sachika Misawa, Natsumi Takamori, Hiyori Kono, Mio Hoshitani, Aya Emori, Hidekazu Ichise, and other voice actors have been appointed as Yamanashi Ambassadors. The prefecture is also active in anime tourism, including “Yuru Can△.
The prefecture is also involved in a project called “Seiyu Yamanashi Kenjinkai,” a series of events held in Yamanashi by voice actors who hail from Yamanashi Prefecture.
The prefecture also features many hot springs and a beautiful view of Mt. Takeda Shrine, where Shingen Takeda is enshrined, makes the prefecture attractive to history buffs as well.
Tochigi Prefecture
Reference: Tochigi Prefecture / Tochigi Future AmbassadorCultural Section PDF
Tochigi Prefecture is also quite active! Hiro Shimono, whose name is linked to Tochigi, is serving as “Shine Shimono Yell Ambassador,
Toshihiko Seki, Toshio Furukawa, Hikaru Midorikawa, and other voice actors from Tochigi Prefecture have been appointed as Tochigi Future Ambassadors.
The wisteria flowers at Ashikaga Flower Park in Tochigi are so beautiful that they remind one of the world of “Blade of the Demon”.
There are also many hot spring resorts such as Kinugawa Onsen and Nasu/Shiobara Onsen, and the prefecture’s specialty, strawberries (Tochiotome, Skyberry and other varieties), are delicious!
6.Voice actors from prefectures that may not have a single voice actor tourism ambassador.
While there are such proactive prefectures and municipalities, there are some places that probably do not yet have a voice actor as a tourism ambassador.
Tokyo, Kyoto, and Kanagawa, where there is over tourism and well-known tourist attractions, may not need to be attracted by voice actors, but we picked up popular voice actors in another prefectures!
If you are involved in attracting tourism to your prefecture, city, town or village, why not consider appointing a voice actor as a tourism ambassador?
Here are the voice actors from each prefecture!
Akita Prefecture: Masumi Asano, Himika Akaneya, etc.
Mie Prefecture Wasabi Mizuta, Mikako Komatsu, Rika Abe, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Yuki Fujiwara, etc.
Yamaguchi Prefecture: Asami Imai, Hiroki Yasumoto, Kisho Taniyama, Shota Hayama, etc.
Kumamoto Prefecture Shigeru Chiba, Makoto Furukawa, Yuka Terasaki, Rie Kugimiya, etc.
Nagasaki Prefecture Fumihiko Tachiki, Toa Yukunari, Nozomi Furuki, etc.
Miyazaki Prefecture Haruki Ishiya, Saku Hyuga, Daisuke Hyuga, etc.
Kagoshima Chinatsu Akasaki, Mitsuhiro Ichirai, etc.
Proactive use of voice actors, as in Yamanashi and Tochigi prefectures, may lead to regional revitalization!
Perhaps future tourism ambassadors may be among them..!
7. Effects of Voice Actors as Tourism Ambassadors
We have found that the following effects can be expected from having voice actors serve as tourism ambassadors.
- Increased name recognition: Appointment of a popular voice actress can significantly increase awareness of and interest in the region.
- Attracting younger tourists: This can attract a younger generation of anime and game fans to the area. Especially in regional cities, there are fewer voice actor events than in the Tokyo metropolitan area, so having a well-known voice actor visit the area for an event is sure to draw a lot of attention.
- Increased media exposure: Voice actors’ activities will increase opportunities for the community to be featured in entertainment media.
- Activate local events: Events featuring voice actors can attract voice actor fans from outside the area as well as tourists, boosting the community as a whole.
- Strengthening the local brand: By combining the image of voice actors with local characteristics, a unique brand image can be created.
- Economic effect: The local economy can be revitalized with the increase in the number of tourists.
- Formation of fan communities: Fans of voice actors may become repeat customers of local restaurants and tourist attractions, creating ongoing interaction.
Similar to the pilgrimage to sacred places in anime tourism, the appointment of voice actors as tourism ambassadors can be an opportunity for voice actor fans to select new tourist destinations. With the current boom in “Oshikatsu(推し活)” activities, it is conceivable that voice actor fans will actively travel to various regions.
Appointment of voice actors as tourism ambassadors is attracting attention as a new strategy for regional revitalization.
