'One Piece' tour of statues starts in Kumamoto amid quake recovery
KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) -- The southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto has recently launched a two-day bus trip to tour 10 bronze statues depicting characters from megahit comic and animated TV series "One Piece," installed as part of efforts to promote tourism and recovery from the two deadly earthquakes in 2016.
The sculptures of Monkey D. Luffy and his nine crew buddies -- a creation by manga artist Eiichiro Oda hailing from Kumamoto Prefecture -- are scattered across nine municipalities, making the tour a chance to remember the disaster and see the progress of reconstruction.
The tour, which will be held once a month through September and five times during the school holidays in August, has been organized for domestic tourists. But the prefectural government will consider translation services if the tour draws many visitors from overseas, an official has said, with the One-Piece series also popular abroad.
The storyline of the cartoon centers on Luffy, who dreams of being the king of pirates, as he travels the seas with his buddies in search of the treasure called "One Piece."
Oda has served as a cheerleader for the recovery of Kumamoto, having sent a message to encourage locals in the immediate aftermath of the quakes with an illustration of Luffy saying, "Hang in there" and "I will definitely come over."
On April 14, 2016, a magnitude 6.5 quake struck Kumamoto Prefecture, followed by a M7.3 temblor two days later. A total of 278 people died in Kumamoto and adjacent Oita Prefecture and about 43,000 buildings were damaged. Kumamoto Castle, a major tourist attraction, saw stone walls crumble and roof tiles fall off the castle tower.
Starting with the statue of Luffy installed in front of the prefectural office building in Kumamoto in November 2018, all 10 figures of the "Straw Hat Pirates" were installed by July 2022.
The sculptures include that of Sanji, the crew's cook, in the hardest-hit town of Mashiki, and archaeologist Nico Robin in the village of Minamiaso, where a 200-meter-long bridge collapsed.
The tour is priced at 28,000 yen ($200) per person including two lunches but excluding accommodation fee. The tour will also take participants to a quake memorial museum and a disaster-hit local railway.
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