Tokyo's Ikebukuro has opened "Anime Tokyo Station" on October 31st as a base for spreading Japanese anime.

"Anime Tokyo Station" is a facility where the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, in an effort to attract many tourists from overseas to Tokyo, rents a building near JR Ikebukuro Station and collaborates with the Japan Animation Association to hold exhibitions related to anime.

The facility houses and exhibits approximately 50,000 items including cels and scripts from popular anime, and the venue regularly holds themed exhibitions of popular anime, with scenes from "NARUTO" being featured.

The opening hours are from 11 am to 7 pm, and the facility is closed on Mondays.

When it comes to the "Anime Town," Akihabara in Tokyo has become well-established, but in recent years, Ikebukuro has also been showing its presence as a "New Anime Town" with a number of shops and facilities related to anime and manga opening one after another.

The catalyst was about 10 years ago when "Animate," a store that sells anime and manga merchandise, relocated its main store near Ikebukuro Station, and now it boasts an expanded sales area, calling itself the "world's largest anime shop."

Since then, Ikebukuro has gradually become a town where pop culture such as anime can be enjoyed, with large-scale cosplay events held annually to coincide with Halloween, mainly driven by private initiatives, and the number of related shops has increased to at least 50 stores.

In response to this trend, the local Toshima Ward has appointed a "Manga and Anime Utilization Manager" five years ago, and three years ago, they restored the "Tokiwadai Apartments," where renowned manga artists including Osamu Tezuka spent their youth, to its original size to create a base for promoting manga culture.

Furthermore, they have created maps that compile related shops in collaboration with the private sector, and produced anime videos to promote Ikebukuro overseas.