~Infinity Castle is depicted in the manga as the lair of the demon mastermind, Muzan Kibutsuji. The online buzz about the hotel’s likeness to started around the time of the coronavirus outbreak~
Fans of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba have found a striking resemblance between a scene from the manga and an area of Okawaso Hotel in Ashinomaki Onsen Hot Spring Resort in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture. The manga series has become a cultural phenomenon with its record-breaking animation film.
A Red Floating Stage
Proceed through the Okawaso Hotel’s entrance and lobby to find a spacious skylight-covered area from which the first basement level can be viewed. Descend the stairs to the landing to find a prominent red stage, called the “floating stage,” where shamisen performances are held every day between 4 P.M. and 6 P.M., when many overnight guests arrive at the hotel.
“I’m impressed. It feels like I’m in the Infinity Castle”, said an enraptured guest who had come with his family upon finding out about the hotel on social media.
The Infinity Castle is depicted in the manga as the lair of the demon mastermind, Muzan Kibutsuji. The shamisen performances at the Okawaso Hotel bear a resemblance to a scene from the manga where Muzan’s aide, a female demon, plays the biwa in the Infinity Castle.
The online buzz about the hotel’s likeness to the Infinity Castle started around spring this year when the coronavirus outbreak began. The hotel had to close temporarily for more than two months due to the pandemic, but its reopening was received by unwaning enthusiasm.
The hotel does not promote its connection with the manga or anime. Instead, it has been limiting the number of overnight guests to avoid crowds during the pandemic.
“We are fully booked until the end of next January, especially during the weekends. I hope that the effect of Demon Slayer continues for a while. I’m truly grateful,” said the hotel’s general manager Fukuo Tamagawa, 66. “But we will always cherish old customers,” he added.
The hotel has been interviewed by Taiwanese media and is eager to welcome inbound tourists when the pandemic is over.
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(Read the original article here, in Japanese.)
Author: Nobuo Serizawa
