Hi, this is Izumitani from the Ehime Film Commission (Ehime FC)!
In my last post, I shared my experience at TIFFCOM 2023, but right after returning from TIFFCOM to Ehime, I was off to Osaka the very next day!
This time, I attended the Tourism EXPO Japan 2023, one of the largest tourism and travel exhibitions in Japan, featuring 1,275 companies and organizations from all 47 prefectures of Japan and 70 countries and regions.
The event lasted four days and attracted a total of 148,062 visitors:
・49,160 people attended during the business days (B2B)
・98,902 people attended on the general admission days
It was a massive event, and I could definitely feel the scale and excitement of Japan’s largest tourism exhibition.
National Location Map Fair 2023
Amidst all this, I participated in the National Location Map Fair 2023, which was co-hosted with the event organizers. Just like at TIFFCOM, I attended representing both Japan Film Commission (JFC) and Ehime FC.
During the business days, Ehime Prefecture shared a booth with the Shikoku region’s four prefectures, promoting filming locations and even sports training camps. Additionally, Ikata Town had its own independent booth.
The overall theme of the expo was “Expo 2025 Osaka” and boosting inbound tourism, and there was a lot of enthusiasm and energy in the exhibits and PR activities.
The National Location Map Fair has been held since 2018 in collaboration with the event organizers. Even though it’s a business-oriented event, we received great reactions from visitors, with comments like “Wow! Location maps?” and “Oh! VIVANT!”
Two Types of Location Maps
There are two main types of location maps:
1）Single-Project Location Maps – These focus on one specific film or drama, making them incredibly popular among fans of that particular work.
2）Comprehensive Location Maps – These cover all the productions filmed in a region, allowing visitors to see an overview of all the filming locations in one place.
Both types of maps were very well received at the event!
New Opportunities and Connections
Companies approached us with new ideas and inquiries, such as:
・”Can we create a stamp rally using these location maps?”
・”Our technology can help promote film-related tourism.”
・”A location-based channel sounds interesting!”
Additionally, a nearby university specializing in tourism studies showed great interest in film commissions, with comments like “I had never heard of film commissions before, but they seem like a great match for tourism!”
Ehime and the Netflix Drama Let’s Get Divorced
Ehime gained significant attention due to the Netflix drama “Let’s Get Divorced,” which was filmed there.
We received many interesting questions and comments, such as:
・”Was that heavy rain scene created with CGI?”
・”Is Yakibuta Tamago Meshi (roast pork and egg rice) a real dish?”
・”I’ve been to Oyamazumi Shrine before!”
Final Thoughts
With film tourism expected to grow even further, location maps are proving to be an effective tool for helping people “learn, see, and experience” a region.
However, simply providing maps isn’t enough—coming up with creative ways to utilize them can significantly increase the likelihood of people actually visiting these locations.
Attending the National Location Map Fair 2023 reaffirmed the importance of strategic film tourism and gave me plenty of ideas for future initiatives in Ehime! 🎬✨