A new attraction on the slopes

On January 19th, the Nasu Mt. Jeans Resort, operated by Tokyu Resort Service Co., Ltd., held their first Cosplay Festival.

According to English press release, "Tokyu Land and Tokyu Resort Service held the Cosplay Festival at Nasu Mt. Jeans for the first time to respond to the increasing demand for cosplay in recent years and to obtain new customers." Some of you may remember our report on cosplayers on the slopes at the Yeti Winter Resort in Mt. Fuji last year. As the Japanese winter resort industry continues to languish, operators have been actively searching for means of drawing new customers. Turning to the booming cosplay community makes sense, since it not only provides a new outlet for cosplayers themselves, it adds entertainment value for other visitors to the resorts and creates a new attraction that can help inject some much-needed excitement into the industry.

---

Photos from Nasu Mt. Jeans Cosplay Festival

The slopes of Nasu Mt. Jeans were bustling with cosplayers representing anime characters such as Yamatonokami Yasusada and Mikazuki Munechika from Touken Rambu, Sailor Moon, Naruto, Korosensei from Assassination Classroom, and Popuko and Pipimi from Pop Team Epic, game characters Eevee and Snorlax from Pokémon, personalities like Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger and KFC's Col. Sanders, just to mention a few:

In action

On the lifts

Posing on the slopes

---

Festival activities off the slopes

In addition to skiing and snowboarding, lucky cosplayers won awards for their efforts in a cosplay contest and there was a group photo session. The crowd was also treated to comedy performances by Naoya Tajima and Akihiko Miura of the manzai duo Identity, with Miura cosplaying Android 17 and Tajima impersonating voice actress Masako Nozawa, famous for her role as Goku in Dragon Ball, as well as skits by R Fujimoto and Banbanban Yamamoto, respectively impersonating Vegeta and Frieza.

---

A total of 32 cosplayers gathered for the event from all over Japan.

The event seems to have been deemed a success by Tokyu Resort Service Co., Ltd., who stated in their press release that "Nasu Mt. Jeans plans to repeat the Cosplay Festival in the future."