Dear media representative

Press Release
September 28, 2011

ATPA “Akihabara Omotenashi Project” joins Visit Japan Year 2011 Autumn Campaign

FREE Walking Tour and SPECIAL Offers in AKIHABARA:ATPA gives Special Omotenashi to visitors
NPO Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association (ATPA)
Atsushi TAKARADA, Chairman
Tomio IZUMI, Secretary General
Participating in “Visit Japan Year 2011 Autumn Campaign” by the Japan Tourism Agency,
Non-profit Organization Akihabara Tourism Association (ATPA) offers “New Discovery of Akihabara
Official Tour” for free of charge from October 1. Also, participating stores of “Akihabara Omotenashi
Project” by ATPA join the campaign and offer special discounts and gifts to promote the town. The
information of the stores and their services is now on the campaign official site.

“Akihabara Omotenashi Project” joins Visit Japan 2011 Autumn Campaign:
ATPA promotes “Akihabara Omotenashi Project (AOP)” aiming to give omotenashi (hospitality) toforeign visitors to Akihabara and help them enjoy the town safe and comfortably.
The number of foreign visitors to Japan has decreased sharply since the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Akihabara is no exception. In order to attract more visitors to Japan, the Japan
Tourism Agency is currently running “Visit Japan Year 2011 Autumn Campaign” to give hospitality
to foreign tourists offering special discounts, service and gifts. ATPA calls for 33 AOP participating
stores to join the campaign. Those stores assent the project and display “Akihabara Omotenashi
Logo” plate, will offer special discounts or gifts during the campaign period. The information of thestores that have completed registration to the campaign could be found at the official site of the Visit
Japan 2011 Autumn Campaign.
The period of Visit Japan Year 2011 Autumn Campaign: September 1 to November 30, 2011
For further details: Visit Japan 2011 Official Site http://www.visitjapan.jp“New Discovery of Akihabara – Akihabara Official Tour” for FREE:
Akihabara has been receiving more attention around the world as a sightseeing destination (thesanctuary of pop-culture in Japan), in recent years. Most visitors, however, find the town is not soeasy to stroll around and do not know where to go and see to enjoy Akihabara. ATPA started
operating “New Discovery of Akihabara Tour”, charge-free walking tour for foreign visitors, inNovember 2005 to show how to enjoy the town. As part of Visit Japan Year 2011 Autumn Campaign,
ATPA offers the special walking tour by government certified tour guide members. The professionalguides entertain participants with the tour that introduces main spots of Akihabara such as
Parts-gai street (the origin of Akihabara Electric Town), figure shop and maid café, and show thehistory, culture and life of Japan and the town through the tour.

Organizer: NPO Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association (ATPA)Tour Guides: Government certified English Speaking tour guides
Operation: Mondays and Saturdays in October 2011
(1st, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 15th, 17th, 22nd, 24th, 29th, 31st)
Tour price: Free of charge
Gift: ATPA original coin-shaped chocolate and Akihabara Omotenashi Map*
*Created by ATPA as part of AOP to provide a useful guide to Akihabara.
Available at TICs in airports and Tokyo.
Language: English
Reservations: http://akihabara-tour.com
Departure time: 13:00 (Meeting time: 12:45 at Takarada Musen Duty Free)
Disband: Akihabara Tourist Information Center (Sofmap Main Store 2F)
For inquiries: info@akihabara-tour.com
Notice: ATPA offers this tour for foreign tourists visiting Japan. For Japanese who are interested in
the tour, please ask in advance by E-mail ( info@akihabara-tour.com ). No tour in Japanese.

Akihabara Omotenashi Project (AOP)

http://akiba-brand.com

AOP aims to build a strong local brand unique to Akihabara, and enhance the brandpower to promote the local industry. ATPA has been working on AOP, since it was
selected as one of the project-implementers of “Japan Brand contents fostering plan”,
which is supported by The Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (SMEA) in fiscal year
ending March 2001. AOP welcomes electronic stores, pop-culture shops and academic
institutions to participate in the project in a cross-sectional manner. The project gives
omotenashi (hospitality) to visitors to Akihabara and promotes duty-free products andJapanese pop-culture to attract not only Akihabara fans in Japan, but also to foreign
tourists as potential buyers.

Akihabara Omotenashi LogoⓒATPA

To dear media representatives
We do hope we can seek media attention for this event. Your coverage would be highly appreciated.
For further inquiries, please contact below.
Mr. Tomio IZUMI, Secretary General
NPO Akihabara Tourism Promotion Association (ATPA)
Phone：03-3251-5347
Email：info@npo-akiba.com
ATPA URL：http://www.npo-akiba.com
New Discovery of Akihabara Tour URL：http://www.akihabara-tour.com
AOP URL：http://akiba-brand.com