Seichi junrei

The "Seichi" prefix is often included in order to make a distinction between this secular fan behavior and religiously significant Japanese Buddhist or Shinto Junrei (巡礼).

Using the language of seichi junrei – along with anime tourism and contents tourism – Japan's central government, local chambers of commerce, business associations, and private interest groups have promoted the practice as a measure to increase the number of tourists visiting Japan, to attract visitors from seichi to the surrounding conventional regional tourist resources, and to stimulate local consumption spending.

On the other hand, in the case of manga and anime, there are fewer examples of locations being publicly announced, and seichi are usually first "confirmed" during or after release based on the subjective opinions of fans who have conducted on-site or digital Google Street View surveying trips.

Many other series belonging to NHK's World Masterpiece Theater time slot also inspired outbound overseas tourism, such as Dog of Flanders and Anne of Green Gables.

[2] The 1991 OVA of Kyūkyoku Chōjin R is an early example of a work that did not hide the names of locations and other specific places and instead incorporated them into the narrative in a metafictional way, resulting in the creation of destinations by fans.

series is often regarded as an early representative example of linking fictional locations to the places from which they were named, appealing to the audience as seichi and inducing tourism demand.

On the other hand, in the case where the media does not directly encourage fans to find and visit the locations, the Sailor Moon series can be cited as the origin of this type of activity.

[19] When a famous work is set in a place or the author's hometown, it becomes a valuable tourist resource, as many people visit to experience the thoughts and feelings of the characters.

[21] Local restaurants, stations, shrines, and stores might display posters featuring the media, or maps of filming locations and other related points of interest, and notebooks are often set up to allow visitors to leave mementos, comments, or fan illustrations.

The city developed a region called "Shigeru Mizauki Road" lined with statues of Mizuki's yōkai illustrations and successfully promoted itself as "Kitaro's Hometown".

In Kasukabe, Saitama, the Nohara family, the main cast of Crayon Shin-chan, have been given a special resident certificate (特別住民票) to support child rearing and education.

Although the total number of people moved by these series is smaller than more general-audience dramas and films, they are characterized with a high turnover rate in sales of related goods, and in some cases, they have revitalized local shopping districts.

[34] In October of the same year, a giant statue of the robot from Tetsujin 28-go was unveiled outside Shin-Nagata Station, Kobe, in honor of hometown mangaka Mitsuteru Yokoyama.

[39] In addition to the economic benefits, it also has the effect of broadening human ties, such as creating attachment from the fans of content to the area and deepening exchanges among local businesses through tie-up projects.

Most TV anime have a broadcast period of roughly three months to one year, and seichi junrei is usually most popular during and after airing, a trend that was also observed in tourism behavior among fans of NHK Taiga dramas.

Some more extreme fans might violate the unwritten rules of meiwaku (迷惑) or commit outright illegal acts such as trespassing to access seichi in secluded and private spaces.

[46][47] In This Corner of the World director Sunao Katabuchi posted a strong warning in 2017 ahead of expected seichi junrei, pleading for enthusiasts to avoid visiting the quiet neighborhoods depicted in the film.

[50] Persona 5 developers Atlus made a post on their website regarding fan behavior causing inconveniences, particularly when visiting a particular laundromat in Sangenjaya "for purposes other than using its services".

In response, GuP producer Kiyoshi Sugiyama strengthened relations with the local community by first turning a blind eye and then later signing official contracts.

The name Kamogawa, landmarks of the city, and its meibutsu (culturally significant regional goods) appeared frequently in the anime, but fans were critical of the fact that the attempt for a tie-in felt like blatant product placement.

[59] While the planned collaborative revitalization behavior is mostly domestic to Japan, fans may choose to visit international destinations such as featured seichi brought about by research and scouting trips in wider Asia, Europe and North America.