How Japanese anime, manga and movies became global tourism magnet

When we talk about our favourite cartoons from childhood, most people from my generation never forget to mention Shinchan, Doraemon, or even Dragon Ball. We grew up watching these cartoons, which are in fact anime and always wished to visit those nostalgic houses and the streets of Crayon Shinchan’s Kasukabe and Nobita’s Tokyo house. We somehow believed these places weren’t real; it was only an animation. But what if you get to know these places exist and are the same as we have seen in the anime?

As we grew older, our preferences changed, but not our love for these anime, manga (Japanese comic books), their live-action adaptation, and further the Japanese movies. From Shinchan, we moved on to Jujutsu Kaisen, Naruto, Your Name, and Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away, and to movies like Alice in Borderland.

Now imagine a young fan from Mumbai, Seoul, or Paris arriving at Kasukabe in Saitama Prefecture and recognising the storefront in front of them - the real-life model for the supermarket in Crayon Shinchan’s hometown.

When the Ito-Yokado Kasukabe store (the landmark from the series) announced closure in November 2024, foreign visitors made a point of arriving before the doors shut, just to pause and reflect. The city’s government even created a 'Kasukabe Crayon Shinchan Strolling Map' in English, Chinese, and Korean, with local stores adopting extra payment systems for Chinese visitors.

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This emotional connection between fiction and place is typical of anime pilgrimage: it isn’t just about sightseeing, it’s about reliving the narrative.

Fans don’t just watch anymore - they travel. They take their fandoms seriously: visiting the train station where a scene played out, standing in the alley their favourite manga character walked, snapping a selfie at the cafe that inspired a manga panel. What once felt simply like entertainment now becomes a pilgrimage.

Over recent years, the phenomenon of fans travelling to real-world locations featured in anime or manga - known in Japan as Seichi Junrei (‘sacred-place pilgrimage’) - has evolved into a significant driver of tourism.

Japan’s Travel and Tourism sector has shifted its economic standing, moving from a niche industry to a primary national export engine. In 2024, inbound visitors’ spending reached approximately ¥8.1 trillion (USD 53.3 billion), making tourism Japan’s second-largest export sector. And the proportion of visitors citing ‘visiting movie and anime-related sites’ rose from 10.9 % in 2023 to 13.1 % in 2024.

Further, the government’s 'New Cool Japan Strategy’ has set a clear goal of generating over ¥50 trillion in economic effects by 2033 across related industries, with the Content sector itself targeted to generate a substantial ¥20 trillion.

Academic and government studies describe anime tourism as one of Japan’s most sustainable forms of soft power. In the 2023 Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards, Japan was ranked first as the World's Most Attractive Country, reflecting decades of cultural soft power projection now converting into tangible economic assets.

Additionally, in Tokyo, the bi-annual Comiket gathering brings tens of thousands of international fans into the capital’s fringe districts, many of whom then embark on a broader pilgrimage that takes them to multiple locales featured in anime.

Influencers such as Otaku In Tokyo on Instagram record their visits to real-life anime locations (linkable), guiding fans globally and launching organic tourism stories anyone can follow.

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Travel agencies like Japan Experience make exclusive anime site visit packages for Otaku (anime fans in Japanese) to visit their favourite places from the anime.

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Other regions are leaning into the trend strategically: the Anime Tourism Association (ATA) published a list of designated ‘88 pilgrimage spots’ and partners with local governments to manage tourism flows.

On the other hand, the survival thriller Alice in Borderland (AIB) noted a new era of stream-driven screen tourism. Global demand metrics confirm the series' popularity, registering 13.8 times the average demand for all TV shows in the United States and placing it in the top 2.7% among its peers. This global traction translates directly into fan pilgrimages to key filming locations, drawing parallels to the tourism impact observed after hits like The White Lotus drove tourism to Sicily.

The growth in tourism spend isn’t just about the number of visitors; content tourists usually carry higher margins - buying merchandise, staying longer, and engaging with niche experiences.

Meanwhile, India has emerged as one of Japan’s fastest-growing tourism markets, driven by a surge of cultural curiosity and the country’s growing love for Japanese pop culture, especially anime. To cater to this rising interest, Japan has increasingly localised its outreach with cultural collaborations across media and entertainment.

The launch ofCrunchyroll’s India site, the addition of titles like Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen on Jiostar, and growing participation in anime conventions across Indian cities have all helped deepen this cultural exchange. For many young Indians, visiting Japan today isn’t just travel - it’s stepping into the worlds they’ve grown up watching.

From Doraemon’s futuristic city to the demon-fighting alleys of Demon Slayer, these stories helped shape fan identities around the world. Now, those identities are driving travel. When a fan stands in the place their favourite character once crossed the screen, the fantasy becomes real. And for Japan, that bridging of imagination and reality isn’t just cultural - it’s economic.

As tourism remains a vital national asset, anime-pilgrims remind us that travel is increasingly about stories. And Japan, with its pop-culture heritage and real-world settings, offers one of the richest narratives of all.