Ghost of Yotei sparks tourism push in Japan’s Mount Yotei region
Towns around Mount Yōtei have launched merchandise and are planning tours
The real-life towns around Japan’s Mount Yōtei have kickstarted a tourism campaign designed to attract fans of PlayStation’s Ghost of Yotei game.
The Sucker Punch-developed action-adventure game, released last year, is set in the Hokkaido region of Japan in the 1600s.
The previous entry in the series, 2020’s Ghost of Tsushima, sparked a tourism boom on the real island of Tsushima, which began running tours and selling merchandise, and even made Sucker Punch’s creative directors permanent tourist ambassadors. In 2021, the popularity of the game led to fans helping raise more than $260,000 to rebuild a shrine on the island.
Now, seven towns and villages near Mount Yōtei, including Niseko and Kutchan, are hoping they can capitalize on similar interest in the PS5 sequel, which Sony claims is so far outselling its predecessor.
According to Nikkei (paywalled), Niseko Town has signed a partnership agreement with a major IP collaboration firm, so that it can sell Ghost of Yotei merchandise to tourists, in addition to collaborations with local businesses.
Kumagera Seisakusho, a craft shop that manufactures goods made from Hokkaido-grown timber, is selling a range of pin badges and magnets featuring the Ghost of Yotei, and there are reportedly plans to collaborate with other local businesses in the future.
Like Tsushima, Niseko is also considering introducing tours that visit locations featured in the Ghost of Yotei Story.
An official from Niseko said (via machine translation: “We hope that people will learn about the scenery in spring, summer, and autumn through the game, and that this will lead to them actually visiting the town.”
Speaking to VGC last year, Sucker Punch’s former studio head, Brian Fleming, shared his experience visiting Tsushima during the press tour for Ghost of Yotei.
“I was there a week ago and spent the day with a lot of the tourism folks, who were staying in a hotel named Hotel Jin – which is not an accident,” Fleming said. “You asked me at the start how I was feeling, and I said I was at peace, and I think part of that was that visit.”
He added: “Our tour guide brought tourists from UAE and Germany up to Kaneda Castle, which is mind-blowing, right? These people came all this way to do that. It’s just so fulfilling to feel that way and say, wow, this really touched people, both the travellers and people’s lives there.
“We met a mom from the island sitting on a plane going back to Fukuoka from Tsushima, who realized who we are. It was so exciting. And you’re like, man, this is just crazy. Like, how did this happen for us?
“It was incredibly fulfilling. We didn’t anticipate any of that. The fans fixed the shrine, this beautiful shrine that I got to go visit. And the old one is still there. It’s completely amazing. And the Tsushima fans raised money for that shrine. Will the same thing happen with Yotei? I’m not sure, but I’m excited for the game to launch and for those stories to be in.”
