ANIME PILGRIMAGE
Quite a few anime and manga stories take place in real-world locations and borrow their scenery. Fans of these works regard these locations as “holy sites” and visit them frequently. Lucky Star (Raki☆Suta), a four-frame manga drawn by Kagami Yoshimizu, became an anime work in 2007 and won many fans inside and outside Japan. An anime version of the manga appeared on TV, using Washinomiya in Saitama Pref. as the setting of its story. As a result, sightseers spent more than a billion yen over three years to visit this location — the most financially successful anime pilgrimage yet.
This place appears as Takanomiya Shrine in the story. The father of two sisters (who are the main characters) of the Hiiragi family is the chief priest of this shrine. He is skilled at drawing illustrations on wooden plaques (ema) for dedication to the spirits.
This summer festival has been held for generations in Washinomiya. Since 2008, the Lucky Star mikoshi (portable shrine) has made its appearance, carried by fans. This mikoshi procession is accompanied with the rallying cry of “moe moe” instead of the regular “sore sore.”
An old-fashioned mom-and-pop candy store is filled with drawings from Lucky Star.
