Pilgrimage tourism is not just for religious devotees and fans of game of Thrones more: The phenomenon is now available to players of the most popular new open-world game on PlayStation 4, thanks to Ghost of tsushima Tourism Association. The samurai showcase developed by Sucker Punch is based on the real-life Japanese island of Tsushima and the Mongol invasions that ravaged it in the 13th century. That’s an excellent opportunity to promote local activities and sights, and the Nagasaki Prefectural Government and the Tsushima Local Promotion Association have partnered with the game to encourage people to visit.
To that end, they have put a little informative Ghost of tsushima Tourism page that highlights the real places that are reflected in the game. Also available in Japanese, the page offers some brief background on the game and focuses on notable locations. Those places include places like Komoda Beach (the site of the Mongol landings during the invasion), Mount Shiratake, Watatsumi Shrine, Banshouin Temple, and the ruins of Kaneda Castle. All of these locations and more appear on Ghost of tsushimaThe approach of the island, and in the case of Kaneda Castle and other historical buildings, are recreated in detail.
the Ghost of tsushima The tourist site also highlights suggested activities for potential visitors. Tsushima’s natural landscapes make hiking and outdoor sports such as kayaking and diving particularly attractive. The site even highlights local cuisine and delicacies like Iriyaki-nabe (a hot fish and chicken dish), Rokube noodles made from sweet potato starch, Anago eels, and Taishu soba, a bowl of buckwheat noodles. Taishu soba in particular is interesting, as the site claims that it may be the first version of soba brought to Japan, due to Tsushima’s status as a close trade point between Japan and the Asian mainland (“Taishu” is an archaic reading of name “Tsushima”).
All this and more can be found on the site itself. Although international travel and tourism is currently restricted in many countries due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, one can at least make plans or take some indirect walks in Ghost of tsushima.
Ghost of tsushima is now available on PS4. Learn a little more about the Mongol invasions of Japan here.
