Destination Manga Kingdom: Tottori rolls out new-look Detective Conan train

It may have been cold and wet but the inclement weather couldn’t dampen a feverish mood among members of the media packed onto the platform at Kurayoshi Station in Tottori Prefecture, straining to get lenses into position ready for the arrival on Sunday of a recently decorated Detective Conan express train.

The train actually arrived empty, save for driver and crew, but this day was all about the departure, the first departure in fact, of the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train bound for Kyoto.

Along with the lucky first passengers the new-look Super Hakuto would depart from Kurayoshi Station carrying with it the hopes of a Tottori Prefecture wanting to spread word of its many charms, not least of which is as the home and birthplace of Detective Conan creator Gosho Aoyama.

And it’s hoped here that on the return journeys to come the train will be filled with passengers fresh from the Osaka Expo, when that eventually opens.

“Osaka will host the Expo in 2025 and people around the world know of Detective Conan. So, we wanted to present people with a train that can bring them to this region together with their beloved Conan,” said Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai speaking to the media after Sunday’s departure ceremony. 

“It’s with this wish that we have started operating this Detective Conan train.”  

There does indeed appear to be a lot of love here for Conan Edogawa, the genius boy detective and protagonist of Aoyama’s manga series which in Japan goes by the title Meitantei Conan. Enough love in fact, for the governor and other dignitaries to have attended the departure ceremony boasting large, brilliant red bowties, the same worn by Conan himself. 

(Tottori Governor Shinji Hirai addresses the audience during a departure ceremony for the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train.)

(Conan-kun himself greets guests at the departure ceremony of the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train.)

As for the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train, the exterior and interior of each of its carriages can now be seen sporting images of Detective Conan and friends as well as art inspired by the manga series.

Chizu Express Co.,Ltd, the train’s operator, said they wanted people to experience the world of Conan inside the train, too. Not just from the outside.

“Because of regulations the Conan-themed trains that are already in service in Tottori are only decorated on the outside and I know that some people still feel that this is not enough. With this train though, we’ve really put a lot of effort into enabling people to experience the world of Conan inside the train, too. If people are aware of this, we’re hopeful that many will want to get on board,” Chizu Express President Koichi Nishio told reporters during a preview of the train on Saturday.

“Personally, I’m really excited. We’ve spent so much time on this decoration project so finally to be at the point where everyone can see it, I’m so happy about that,” he said.

(A carriage exterior of the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train.)

(A carriage interior of the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train.)

That there is much love of Detective Conan should come as little surprise if we look at the numbers.  

Aoyama’s manga has been serialized in Japan’s Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine since 1994, pausing only for a four-month hiatus between 2017 and 2018 due to Aoyama’s health. The comic itself has sold over 270 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than two dozen languages. In English, the series goes under the title Case Closed. 

Case, err, closed then as to why the region would want to lean into developing anime tourism of which the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train is among the recent projects.

In Gosho Aoyama’s hometown of Hokuei, in central Tottori Prefecture, the local Yura Station in 2013 was given the moniker Conan Station. Today the traveler would have to look closely to realize that it is still, officially, Yura Station - eyes are more likely to be drawn to the station’s Detective Conan inspired decorations and fittings, of which there are many.  

(Conan Edogawa statue awaits arrivals outside Yura Station, also known as Conan Station in the town of Hokuei, Tottori Prefecture.)

Arriving travelers will step outside of the small station to be greeted with a large, full-color statue of Conan Edogawa. The station’s platforms feature Conan murals and steps leading to an overhead passage are covered in Conan art. In the Hokuei Town Tourist Information Office, located next door to the main station building, fans can find limited-edition Detective Conan character goods exclusive to the information office. A locker facility near to the station is covered floor to ceiling in Conan, even the locker keys come with Conan character keychains.

A point of arrival and departure in more ways than one, Yura Station marks the start and end of Conan Street, a 1.4-km long street that connects the station with the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory to the north.  

Along the street (and off it) Detective Conan-themed statues, panels, manhole covers and signposts await discovery. According to a map displayed in the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, there are 25 statues along the street and in the surrounding area. That’s just the statues. 

Heading north, Conan Bridge traverses the Yura River and on the other side visitors will find Conan’s House Beika Shopping Street. The roadside facility includes the cafe Conan’s Kitchen, Café Poirot (both cafe and menu items based on Café Poirot in the original comic), and the Conan Department Store, a specialty store stocking around 200 kinds of character goods, including over 70 original products exclusive to the store.

(Statue on Conan Bridge, part of Conan Street in the town of Hokuei, Tottori Prefecture.)

Well-versed fans might get a kick out of the Kudo residence gate where an intercom message features messages from Detective Conan characters played by voice acting exclusive to the facility.

Conan Dori delivers traffic to the front of the distinctive exterior of the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory. Inside, the “factory” is a celebration of the life, creative process, and works of Aoyama, across seven zones. One of the exhibits is a recreation of Aoyama’s workspace, something which a visiting foreign resident of Japan told us they felt was delightfully Japanese - the recreated workspace.

(Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory.)

At the time of visiting, adult admission to the factory was 700 yen. Some visitors might find the price worth it for the ticket alone, which could be a souvenir in and of itself. The Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory director speculated with us that they might be putting more energy and budget into their tickets than any other similar facility in Japan. 

Opened in 2007 the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory is scheduled for a revamp in 2027. 

The Detective Conan theme awaits travelers arriving in the region from the air, too. In Tottori City the local airport was renamed Tottori Sand Dunes Conan Airport in 2015, drawing on Aoyama’s manga and the city’s famous sand dunes for a number of displays and exhibits located around the facility. 

(Dusk comes to the Tottori Sand Dunes, Tottori City. Photo taken Dec. 2, 2023.)

Visiting these facilities and attractions, and others that draw on the region’s connections to celebrated manga artists including GeGeGe no Kitaro creator Shigeru Mizuki, it's perhaps not a huge leap of faith for the visitor to believe that they’ve arrived in the “Manga Kingdom” of Tottori’s anime tourism slogan. With the introduction of the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train, stakeholders will be hoping more visitors can make that leap in the near future.

The first departure of the Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train came as Aoyama’s manga series approaches next year, the 30th anniversary of its serialization in Weekly Shonen Sunday. 2024 will also mark the 30th anniversary of the Super Hakuto train service,

In a statement issued to mark the departure of the new-look train Gosho Aoyama (60) pointed out another example of the stars aligning to greet the occasion. 

“Actually, like our Conan, Super Hakuto is celebrating its 30th anniversary. I was born in the Year of the Rabbit, and Super Hakuto is also a white rabbit,” Aoyama said in a nod to “hakuto” in the train’s name. Hakuto can be derived from the Japanese myth, The White Rabbit of Inaba, which is set in Tottori. “White rabbit” and “Hakuto” can be written using the same kanji characters - 白兎. 

“And this year happens to be the Year of the Rabbit,” he continued, referring to the Chinese zodiac calendar used by the Japanese. “I hope this train, which we connect with in many different ways, will continue to be loved by us all forever.”

The Super Hakuto Detective Conan Ver. train connects Tottori Prefecture and the Keihanshin region in around two and a half hours. Station stops include Kurayoshi and Tottori in Tottori Prefecture, and Sannomiya (Kobe), Osaka, and Kyoto in Keihanshin. 

Departures have been scheduled almost daily and timetables are now available for December and January. Chizu Express plans to publish subsequent timetables at least one month in advance. Purchase of tickets for seats on the train can be made from one month in advance of the departure date, until the time of departure.