JTB Releases Otaku Guide For Locals

[Mulboyne]

It's not just foreigners who need a guide to Akihabara. Travel agency JTB has just released a mook called "Cool Japan - Otaku Nippon Guide". The blurb supporting the publication (in Japanese here) says that otaku culture has taken the world by storm and is spreading out beyond Akihabara so the guide aims to be an introduction to the world of maid cafes, cosplay and comic conventions. Features include maps of satellite otaku areas like Ikebukuro and reviews of canned oden. All in all, really nothing more than you can find for free on the web.

[Kuang_Grade]

The term mook (a hybrid of a magazine and book) has been around at least for a few years (Nerd DIY magazine, Make magazine has referred to itself as a mook since its launch several years ago)...I've seen it used towards publications that are usually a thicker magazine that is printed on better paper and which may or may not be published less than monthly. Foreign Affairs, if launched today, would be considered a mook.

And while one would think that otaku would be tech savvy enough not to need this product, it has seemed to me that many J consumers are very text hungry when it comes travel...I've always been amazed at the depth of title selection and level of detail (ie, 'let's shop and eat in this 16 block area') in books in the travel sections of J bookstores as well as in various travel/consumption magazines.

[SuperGaijin]

Was looking around JTB for airfares the other day and saw that not only do they have the mook, but also offer a package tour centered around an Anime Faire March 29th in Akibara.
http://www.jtbusa.com/enhome/tour/otaku08/default.asp

Haha, they actually named the image moe.jpg

[Greji]

Was looking around JTB for airfares the other day and saw that not only do they have the mook, but also offer a package tour centered around an Anime Faire March 29th in Akibara.
http://www.jtbusa.com/enhome/tour/otaku08/default.asp

Haha, they actually named the image moe.jpg

If they provide maids, Mulboyne has already signed up for a tour!