Local merchants attract new regular customers

Yokosuka, a Tokyo suburb with both American and Japanese naval facilities, is the setting for the spring 2016 anime High School Fleet , and much like the similarly themed Girls und Panzer 's setting, Ōarai, it is promoting the anime to attract tourists. So far, the efforts are paying off: the Yokosuka Tourism Promotion Committee has estimated that the revenues of participating stores has tripled since the promotion started.

"The weekends are especially busy," said Mari Nakanishi, a snack store owner in the Kinugasa neighborhood. She agreed that her sales are three times as high as usual. A fan from the much larger neighboring suburb of Yokohama came for the stamp rally and says "Thanks to the anime, I've become familiar with the store owners, and now I come to Yokosuka about two or three times a week." Mitsunori Shibuya, who runs the Yokosuka Shell restaurant in central Yokosuka, has attracted fans with his High School Fleet character birthday celebrations. The craze is now spreading to Kinugasa, where six businesses in the local shopping arcade will launch High School Fleet promotions in October, complete with exclusive lunch mats as prizes.

It's not just shops and restaurants that are benefiting from High School Fleet fever: on September 24, the Yokosuka Arts Theatre held a discussion with the anime's voice actresses that sold out all of its 3,600 seats. Since other fans came just to buy the merchandise on sale there, it is estimated that "close to 5,000" visitors came to the event.

Ōarai has seen its revenues increase 21 times thanks to its anime connections. That being said, sometimes High School Fleet 's militarism rubs people the wrong way.

Source: Town News