Exploring the Travel Experience of Western Otaku Tourists: A Model-Based Approach

Abstract

Although Japanese pop culture was regarded as a niche market in the West, its popularity, especially anime and manga, has significantly increased in recent years. This has led to a parallel growth in tourism to Japan, particularly to locations linked with this subculture. Despite this trend, Otaku Tourism remains an under-explored topic for travel companies and an under-researched topic academically in the West, which results in the lack of tourism products and tailored information to this emerging niche market. This article aims to understand the travel experience of Western Otaku Tourists in Japan, proposing a tourism model based on established theoretical frameworks. This research adopts a qualitative methodology focused on two complementary studies in order to obtain results. Firstly, was used a travel autoethnography, in which the author explores their two Otaku travels to Japan with previous literature. Secondly, using a snowball sampling method, 12 Portuguese Otaku who had previously visited Japan were interviewed through a semi-structured model. This approach provided insight into the experience through a personal approach, understanding their motivations and behaviors. Findings reveal that Otaku primarily obtain information about the trip through peers and social media. Their key behaviors include photographing places related to Otaku culture and purchasing merchandise of their favorite content. The must-see places are those featured in beloved anime, known as anime sacred places, or associated with Otaku culture, such as shops, themed cafés, Otaku-centric neighborhoods, and temporary exhibitions. Overall, the Portuguese Otaku experience can be characterized as a profoundly personal pilgrimage, with a sense of immersion in their preferred media while visiting Japan, particularly through travel to locations directly associated with those works. Thus, this study develops academic groundwork that can be used by tourism promoters and tour operators in the marketing of this niche, supporting Portuguese travel companies in developing tailored-made packages that address their preferences.