Renting an Official Anime Car Made Our Love Live! Sunshine!! Pilgrimage Sensational!!!

Most anime fans have seen pictures of cars decorated in full or partial wrap-around stickers or paintwork featuring anime characters. A common sight in otaku-friendly neighborhoods like Akihabara, as well as anime convention parking lots and anime pilgrimage sites in Japan, these "anime cars," mostly unofficially made by fans, are a status symbol for a segment of the anime-loving population.

Although some enterprising individuals outside of Japan have also embraced the anime car culture, only a handful of foreigners living here in Japan can claim to have ever driven one, let alone having owned one. For that reason, dedicated otaku tourists or foreign resident anime fans going on seichi junrei (pilgrimages) to places like Ooarai (for Girls Und Panzer) probably look at the fan-made anime cars owned by Japanese visitors with admiration, soon followed by a tinge of sadness.

Fortunately for anime fans headed to Numazu, a ray of sunshine has just appeared! Since December 1st, Nissan Rentacar's Numazu branch began renting out an officially authorized Love Live! Sunshine!! anime car to allow pilgrims a chance to tour the locations of the anime in style. The Nissan Note e-Power hatchback is beautifully decked out in a colorful wave motif and features all nine members of Aqours in uniform, along with the logo of sponsor SUN!SUN! Sunshine Cafe, a Love Live! Sunshine!! collaboration cafe at the Yudai Festa cafe space.

To begin with, you can see the whole gang together on the backside.

The Love Live! Sunshine!! logo covers the roof, while the hood, and sides of the car are devoted to the three sub-units: You, Chika and Ruby of CYaRon on the hood, Kanan, Hanamaru and Dia from AZALEA on the left side, and Riko, Yoshiko and Mari from Guilty Kiss on the right.

Sensing a journalistic opportunity, our Grape Japan staff called Nissan Rentacar, only to learn that all weekends until the end of the year had already been reserved. Fortunately, there were still openings on the weekdays, so we reserved the morning slot on the first weekday available, Monday, December 4th.

Our pilgrimage to Numazu was confirmed.

We arrived at Nissan Rentacar's Numazu office and immediately noticed the Love Live! Sunshine!! posters outside and a row of Aqours plush toys above the counter.

(C) Grape Japan

(C) Grape Japan

The manager, Mr. Hayashizaki, was very friendly and helped us with the paperwork.

Here are the details to remember:

Rental Times: 6 hours from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm OR from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Rental Fee: 8,640 JPY
Gift: One of three special anime cards per rental
Limitations: You can only drive within Eastern Shizuoka Prefecture and Izu Peninsula. No time extensions allowed (late fee charged).
Note: Non-Japanese drivers need to show an international drivers license (US drivers can easily obtain one for $20 at any AAA office).

Paperwork filed and details understood, it was time to head out to the parking lot. Even before seeing our anime car, we got into a pilgrimage mood when we received the key attached to a chibi ise-ebi (tiny lobster) plush toy key holder made in collaboration between Love Live! Sunshine!! and Awashima Marine Park, one of Numazu's favorite tourist spots.

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Then, Nissan Rentacar employee Ms. Konno took us out to the parking lot ...

There it was in all its multicolored "moe" glory. Any smidgen of skepticism we still harbored evaporated into the crisp Numazu morning air.

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Behind the wheel at last...

(C) Grape Japan

(C) Grape Japan

And thus began our Love Live! Sunshine!! pilgrimage...

Naturally, we had a few anime locations we intended visiting, but first we needed to make a brief stop. This is when we made what would be one of several realizations during our pilgrimage in Numazu:

Owning an anime car is convenient when you're trying to find your car.

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We made our first stop in the seaside neighborhood of Uchiura where much of the action in the anime takes place.

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That's when we made our second realization:

Owning an anime car really gets you noticed!

(C) Grape Japan

(C) Grape Japan

(C) Grape Japan

(C) Grape Japan

One fan who had come all the way from Nagoya on his Love Live! Sunshine!! pilgrimage had this to say about the new anime car rental service:

I think it's great that local companies here in Numazu are coming up with campaigns like this to get people excited about the anime. I hope this kind of thing will bring more and more fans to Uchiura. Mr. Onishi, Love Live! Sunshine!! fan

We were just about to head out to our next stop when we made our third realization:

Anime fans aren't the only ones making pilgrimages in Numazu

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Since this monk from Shuzenji was kind enough to recite sutras for us while standing next to our anime car, we'll make sure to pay our respects at his temple the next time we're in town.

Resuming our tour, we made a stop at Kishoukanko Mikan Orchards in a nod to Chika Takami who loves mikan oranges.

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And we had to check out Japanese confectionery shop Shougetsu, which fans will remember from Episode 6 of Season 1.

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Of course, no Love Live! Sunshine!! pilgrimage would be complete without a visit to Nagaisaki Junior High School, the model for Uranohoshi Girl's Academy which the girls of Love Live! Sunshine!! attend. We drove up the narrow road leading up to the school and, after getting permission from a custodian, we briefly stopped in front of the main gate to snap a picture.

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On our way down, we enjoyed the beautiful view overlooking Uchiura Bay.

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Before we knew it, our time was up, and we regretfully had to return our anime car to the shop.

If you'd like to rent Nissan Rentacar's Love Live! Sunshine!! anime car in Numazu, please call the following number to make your reservation up to one month in advance: 055-951-4123.

You can also come in directly. The address is:

3-1-1 Otemachi Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture (静岡県沼津市大手町3-1-1)

Making an anime pilgrimage in an officially authorized anime car, suddenly being the center of attention and being able to immediately connect with local residents and fans alike -- all of it was surprising and deeply satisfying. We witnessed first hand how the car drew out members of the community and created opportunities for them to interact and make connections with visitors. As it turns out, renting this anime car in Numazu is not only a fun and exciting way for fans to express their enthusiasm, it's also an excellent way to pitch in with the city's ongoing efforts to use Love Live! Sunshine!! to revitalize its economy.

If you'd like to rent an officially authorized anime car adorned with your favorite characters, the current popularity of the rental in Numazu is a promising start. It's a definite possibility that similar official services will be offered at other anime pilgrimage sites in the future.

(Note: We'd like to thank Mr. Yutaka Yanagida for his assistance in this report on location in Numazu)

By - Ben K.