To clarify, that’s photos of the event, not the sweaty otaku.
Like a lot of Japanese people, this month our Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa headed back to his hometown, Osaka, for his summer vacation. While he was there, he got to see his family, and, arguably just as importantly to his unabashed otaku heart, he got to see a bunch of his favorite virtual YouTubers.
▼ Seiji, filled with so much otaku energy he can’t keep his feet on the ground.
Now, you might be thinking “Wait, virtual YouTubers are, well, virtual, right? Can’t you see them anywhere you have an Internet connection?” But this summer VTuber agency Hololive is holding the Hololive City event, with Hololive art panels, special merch, and even the agency’s performers themselves handling public announcement duties at theme parks across Japan. Last year only Tokyo Dome City got in on the fun, but for 2024 there are six parks in the set, and luckily for Seiji, one of them is Hirakata Park in Osaka, where the Hololive festivities kicked off on August 23 and run until September 16.
Unlike, say, Tokyo Disneyland, Hirakata Park charges a general admission price with additional fees for attractions you want to ride (though there’s also an all-access pass available). The upside of this is that the price to get in the gates is relatively cheap, at just 1,800 yen (US$12.15) for adults.
Each amusement park in the event features different Hololive performers, and at each park individual VTubers greet fans at certain attractions. Usually the art panels are right next to the attraction entrances, but a few took a little more searching, though not beyond what Seiji, as a true fan, was prepared to do. Natsuiro Matsuri, for example, was at the bottom of the stairs for the line for the Rowdy roller coaster…
…and Hakos Baelz was waiting in one of the inner walkways of the line for spinning coaster Crazy Mouse.
For the most part, though, the Hololive panels are out in the open and you’ll have no trouble spotting them.
▼ Seiji, posing for a “two-shot” with Sakura Miko
▼ Shirakami Fubuki
▼ Omaru Polka
▼ Amane Kanata
So if most of the Hololive art is displayed in easy-to-spot locations, that makes it easy to complete a full photo safari, right? Not exactly. While you won’t strain your brain trying to find them, visiting them all can be a test of your physical endurance…
…because Hirakata Park is built on some very hilly topography. Add in the fact that the event is taking place during one of Japan’s hottest summers on record, and, well, let’s just say that Seiji passed by a lot of fellow sweaty otaku during his day at the park.
But they were sweaty and happy otaku, and the “happy” part is really all that matters, right?
Related: Hirakata Park official website
Photos ©SoraNews24
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