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As Japan continues to explore innovative ways to promote local tourism, one unique project is capturing attention by merging tradition, culture, and digital technology. At the center of this movement is Shian Onikiri, a locally born VTuber (Virtual YouTuber) from Kushiro City in Hokkaido. Recently appointed as the official tourism ambassador of Hokkaido, she’s using virtual platforms—especially YouTube—to showcase the beauty and hidden gems of her hometown and beyond.
In an era where physical travel remains challenging and the digital world becomes increasingly immersive, Hokkaido is embracing the “metaverse” to rekindle its tourism appeal. This article dives into how virtual representation, driven by the passionate work of a single creator, is helping reposition Hokkaido as a destination of interest, especially to younger and tech-savvy audiences.
the Original
VTuber Spotlight: Shian Onikiri is a VTuber who uses platforms like YouTube to spotlight Hokkaido, especially Kushiro City, where she was born and raised.
Cultural Ambassador: In spring, she became the first VTuber ever appointed as a tourism ambassador for Hokkaido, marking a significant milestone in how regions adapt to digital influence.
Local Pride in Virtual Form: Shian infuses her videos with charm and deep local insight, often beginning with her signature greeting: “Minasan, kon-shian deshi\~!” (“Hello everyone, it’s Shian here!”).
Content Strategy: Her channel features travel vlogs, virtual tours, and original songs, all designed to promote the natural beauty and culture of the region.
Tourism Reinvention: This VTuber-led campaign forms part of a broader effort to reimagine tourism in Hokkaido through immersive digital experiences and virtual storytelling.
Target Audience: Her fan base includes anime fans, tech-savvy travelers, and young people unfamiliar with Hokkaido—precisely the audience traditional campaigns often struggle to reach.
Unique Selling Proposition: By leveraging virtual personas and digital platforms, the project reaches global viewers without needing physical infrastructure or large-scale travel campaigns.
Metaverse Utilization: Hokkaido is experimenting with virtual environments, allowing people to “visit” and explore landmarks digitally through VTuber-led experiences.
Growing Recognition: Her appointment as tourism ambassador reflects institutional support for this strategy, acknowledging the role of creators in modern branding.
Community Engagement: Shian regularly incorporates user feedback and cultural elements from her fans, fostering a vibrant digital community rooted in regional identity.
Emotional Connection: Her local roots and personal tone create a strong sense of authenticity that resonates more deeply than generic promotional material.
Language Accessibility: Some of her content includes English subtitles, broadening the campaign’s international reach.
Local Partnerships: Collaborations with businesses and municipalities further expand the content ecosystem, showcasing regional products and events.
Economic Impact: These efforts may not directly replace traditional tourism revenue, but they open new avenues for cultural exports and merchandise sales.
Global Trend: Hokkaido’s case mirrors a growing global trend of digital tourism, especially post-pandemic, where immersive storytelling replaces physical travel.
Virtual Representation: VTubers personify a region’s spirit while staying flexible and scalable—ideal for destination branding in a digital-first world.
Youth Engagement: Platforms like YouTube offer unprecedented access to young audiences, encouraging interest in areas they might otherwise overlook.
Innovation in Marketing: This marks a shift from poster campaigns to content-driven, character-led promotional models.
Sustainability Factor: Unlike physical tourism, virtual engagement has a minimal environmental footprint—an appealing point in modern tourism ethics.
Cross-Media Synergy: The initiative blends anime aesthetics, music, and interactive media, reaching across interest groups and demographics.
Seasonal Highlights: Videos often focus on seasonal events and landscapes, keeping content fresh and relevant throughout the year.
Regional Revitalization: This form of digital marketing helps combat the depopulation and aging population issues many rural areas in Japan face.
Fan Culture Integration: Fans of VTubers contribute to buzz, merchandising, and even user-generated content, multiplying the campaign’s reach.
Authenticity Over Production Value: Audiences respond more to the emotional honesty and love for the region than to polished production.
Monetization Avenues: Through Super Chats, merch, and collaborations, VTubers like Shian help create a sustainable micro-economy tied to tourism.
Trendsetting Potential: If successful, this could inspire other prefectures and cities to explore similar models for local revitalization.
Gender Representation: Female digital personalities like Shian play a role in reshaping how women are perceived in tourism and tech.
Digital Identity for Regions: Instead of just being places on a map, regions gain a persona, a voice, and a face—transforming passive spaces into interactive experiences.
Expansion Possibilities: There’s potential for augmented reality apps, gamification, and even travel planning integrations using VTuber guidance.
Platform Diversity: While YouTube is the main stage, future extensions could include TikTok, VRChat, and other social virtual worlds.
What Undercode Say:
The fusion of virtual personalities with real-world locations isn’t just clever—it’s disruptive. Shian Onikiri’s rise from a local content creator to Hokkaido’s digital tourism ambassador represents a seismic shift in how destinations build identity in the attention economy.
This strategy plays on multiple fronts. It appeals to emotional storytelling, taps into fan culture, and leverages the scalability of the internet to reach demographics traditional tourism boards rarely reach—especially Gen Z and digital-native millennials. Japan is already known for embracing subcultures like anime and otaku culture as soft power tools, but this campaign formalizes that dynamic into a government-endorsed strategy.
What makes this unique isn’t the VTuber itself—it’s the way Hokkaido is letting a virtual persona become its face. That’s fundamentally different from traditional influencer marketing. VTubers are not simply people behind avatars; they are characters with crafted lore, aesthetics, and emotional resonance. Shian doesn’t just promote Hokkaido—she embodies it.
From an SEO and digital branding perspective, this campaign nails several key components:
Keyword integration: “Hokkaido tourism,” “VTuber,” “Kushiro travel,” and “virtual Japan” are all high-intent, low-competition niches.
Video-first content: Preferred by younger demographics and more likely to be shared across platforms.
Emotional engagement: Emotional storytelling through a character people love builds brand loyalty.
Scalability: The model can be replicated across other prefectures or even internationally.
This also opens the door for Web3 integrations. Imagine NFTs tied to digital Hokkaido landmarks or AR filters that let you explore Shiretoko or Kushiro wetlands from your living room. The metaverse isn’t just hype here—it’s a tool for cultural preservation and economic revitalization.
There’s also the underlying story of local identity being preserved through digital means. In rural Japan, many towns are struggling to retain population or relevance. A character like Shian becomes both a nostalgic memory and a beacon for the future, helping locals and outsiders alike reimagine what these places can mean in a new context.
Ultimately, this approach to tourism—through digital embodiment—is something that could define not just the next phase of Japan’s regional revitalization efforts but become a blueprint for global tourism innovation in the 2030s.
Fact Checker Results:
Shian Onikiri is officially recognized as a tourism ambassador for Hokkaido (verified via regional press).
Hokkaido tourism boards are actively experimenting with metaverse-related projects.
VTubers have previously collaborated with municipalities, but Shian is the first official tourism ambassador in this domain.
Prediction:
By 2027, we’re likely to see a surge in regional tourism campaigns across Japan that rely heavily on VTubers and virtual mascots. As travel continues to hybridize—merging digital discovery with physical experience—prefectures will increasingly build their own “digital idols” to promote everything from history to cuisine. Hokkaido may well become the benchmark for virtual tourism in Japan, with other regions rushing to replicate the success of Shian Onikiri.
References:
Reported By: xtechnikkeicom_f1960e8a1dbf64f953342de0
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