The government of Hita City in Oita prefecture in Northern Kyushu has designated Attack on Titan manga creator Hajime Isayama as the "Tourism Friendship Ambassador to the 'Beautiful Riverside Location of Hita.'" Isayama is from the Daisen-cho town within Hita City.

Isayama attended the "Shingeki no Satogaeri" (Attack on Returning Home) cultural event (pictured at right) in the town on November 1. Approximately 2,500 people attended the event. Isayama then gave a speech on November 2 at the Patria Hita cultural hall on November 2, and Hita City's mayor Keisuke Harada presented Isayama with a letter of appointment for the tourism ambassador position.

During the talk show at the cultural event on November 1, Isayama mentioned that he used his hometown, which is located in an insular basin surrounded by mountains, as the original inspiration for the scenery in his manga.

Isayama attended Daisen Elementary School and Daisen Junior High School before going to a high school in Hita City and then going to a vocational school in Fukuoka. At age 20 Isayama moved to Tokyo, and he made his professional manga debut at age 23 with Attack on Titan . The manga has since sold about 45 million copies worldwide, and has inspired several spinoff manga, novels, an upcoming live-action film, and a television anime series and two upcoming films.

Source: The Yomiuri Shimbun (Link 2)