Did you like the new Mamoru Hosoda film Wolf Children? We sure did.
One of the most interesting things about the film was its setting. Early on in Wolf Children, the main characters move out of the city and into the countryside, which is rendered in amazing detail in the film’s backgrounds.
As it turns out, the countryside in the film was based on a real place in Japan: Kamiichi, a town in Toyama Prefecture, about 200 miles west of Tokyo. Kamiichi, which boasts about 23,000 souls, has a population density of about 250 per square mile. For reference, Tokyo’s is 16,000.
Japanese travel agency JTB Corp. has created a travel package to appeal to those who saw Wolf Children and thought Kamiichi might be a nice place to visit. The package tours, which are taking place during two weekends in November, will take travelers to the real house that inspired the one in Wolf Children, allow them to practice farming and view other Toyama sightseeing spots.
A chance to get away from it all, check out the Japanese countryside, and have it all tie back to a great anime film? Sign me up.
source: Asahi Shinbun
This story originally ran in the 11/5/13 issue of the Otaku USA e-News
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Hear all about Wolf Children from the creator himself, in our exclusive interview with Mamoru Hosoda, and don’t miss our report on his Q&A session at the New York International Children’s Film Festival.