Japan choosing 88 animation travel spots to boost tourism

Eighty-eight places in Japan are going to be designated "animation spots" to encourage tourism — using train stations, school campuses, rural shrines and other fairly everyday places where popular "manga" characters are depicted.

Such landmarks number in the tens of thousands, given the popularity and volume of "manga" comics In Japan. But this is being billed as the official list for any fan's animation "pilgrimage."

People around the world can vote on the landmarks through a website set up in several languages, including English and Chinese.

Officials behind the new Japan Anime Tourism Association said Friday they will compile a travel route of 88 animation spots by December, including where manga and animation works took place, as well as the homes of manga artists and museums dedicated to their works.