Japan’s Manga Pilgrimage That Tourists Haven’t Found

Anime fans fly to Tokyo for Akihabara and to real-life film locations across the country — yet almost none of them reach the prefecture that produced two of manga’s most influential creators. Tottori is the home of Mizuki Shigeru, father of the yokai classic GeGeGe no Kitaro, and Aoyama Gosho, creator of Detective Conan (Case Closed) — and both are honored with full pilgrimage towns.

Sakaiminato: The Street of 100+ Yokai

Mizuki’s hometown port turned its 800-meter station road into Mizuki Shigeru Road: over a hundred bronze statues of yokai spirits line the pavement, shops sell eyeball sweets, the streetlights are shaped like Medama-oyaji, and at night dedicated lighting makes the spirits’ shadows move. The Mizuki Shigeru Museum anchors the far end with original art and the artist’s remarkable biography — he lost an arm in the Pacific War and drew his way back. Stamp-rally sheets turn the whole street into a treasure hunt locals do with their kids.

Hokuei: Conan Town

Across the prefecture, Aoyama’s hometown of Hokuei rebranded itself entirely: Conan Station, Conan Bridge, bronze scenes from the series on every corner, and the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory with original drawings and trick exhibits you solve yourself. For fans of the series — enormous across Asia — this is sacred ground with zero Western tourists.

Make It a Yokai-and-Mystery Day

The two towns bracket the prefecture nicely: Conan’s Hokuei sits on the main San’in Line near Kurayoshi, while Sakaiminato occupies the western tip near Yonago — reached by a branch line whose trains are themselves wrapped in Kitaro characters, with yokai voice announcements. Between them, Yonago and the Daisen foothills fill the gap.

Practical Notes

  • Sakaiminato: 45 minutes from Yonago on the Sakai Line’s Kitaro trains
  • Hokuei: Yura “Conan” Station on the San’in Line; the Manga Factory is a 15-minute signed walk
  • Stamps and photo ops are free; museums a few hundred yen each
  • Weather note: statues shine in rain — this is Japan’s best wet-day pilgrimage

Japan’s manga tourism doesn’t end in Tokyo — it just moved to the coast where its creators grew up, and it is waiting there almost entirely unvisited by the fans who would love it most.