{"id":56004,"date":"2026-01-23T01:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=56004"},"modified":"2026-01-22T16:19:35","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T07:19:35","slug":"dragon-quest-creator-yuji-horii-appointed-japanese-citys-tourism-ambassador-after-revitalizing-its-popularity-with-his-1984-murder-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/dragon-quest-creator-yuji-horii-appointed-japanese-citys-tourism-ambassador-after-revitalizing-its-popularity-with-his-1984-murder-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii appointed Japanese city\u2019s tourism ambassador\u00a0after revitalizing its popularity\u00a0with his\u00a01984\u00a0murder mystery\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>On January 13, Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii was appointed as\u00a0Abashiri\u00a0City\u2019s tourism ambassador, not for his work on the popular RPG franchise, but for\u00a0his\u00a01984 murder mystery title\u00a0<strong>The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance.<\/strong>\u00a0The city,\u00a0which\u00a0serves as the setting for parts of the story, considers\u00a0the original 1984 game and its\u00a02024 remake, The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case The Okhotsk Disappearance ~Memories in Ice, Tearful Figurine~,\u00a0major contributors to\u00a0local\u00a0tourism, which is why Horii was awarded the title.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1513\" height=\"851\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1513px) 100vw, 1513px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56009\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-001.jpg 1513w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-001-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case is the second\u00a0game\u00a0in Yuji Horii\u2019s Mysteries trilogy,\u00a0nestled between\u00a01983\u2019s The\u00a0Portopia\u00a0Serial Murder Case (which inspired Kojima Productions head honcho Hideo Kojima to become a game developer) and 1985\u2019s Karuizawa\u00a0Y\u016bkai\u00a0Annai.\u00a0All three games are set in Japanese prefectures, with the majority of The\u00a0Portopia\u00a0Serial Murder Case taking place in Kobe (with some parts set in Kyoto and\u00a0Sumoto), The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case in eastern Hokkaido (which includes cities like Kushiro,\u00a0Abashiri,\u00a0Shiretoko, and\u00a0Monbetsu), and Karuizawa\u00a0Y\u016bkai\u00a0Annai in the resort town of Karuizawa, Nagano.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Going back to\u00a0Abashiri,\u00a0ever since\u00a0The\u00a0Hokkaido Serial Murder Case\u00a0was\u00a0released in 1984,\u00a0fans have been going to the city with the purpose of visiting the real-life locations featured in the game.\u00a0As such, the city has\u00a0come\u00a0up\u00a0with\u00a0several ways to capitalize on this long-running fad. JR Hokkaido\u2019s tourist train &#8220;Ryuhyo\u00a0Monogatari&#8221; features a collab with The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case. The\u00a0Nippopo\u00a0doll, which is an important key item\u00a0in the game, is a popular\u00a0souvenir\u00a0that sells well with tourists. Those eager to get the full experience can even join fan meeting tours, where like-minded enthusiasts can learn more about\u00a0Abashiri\u00a0and its connection to\u00a0The\u00a0Hokkaido Serial Murder Case (Horii and other members of the production staff even joined one of the 2024 tours to commemorate the release of the remake).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1518\" height=\"846\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1518px) 100vw, 1518px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-002.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-56010\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-002.jpg 1518w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-002-380x212.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260122-56004-002-768x428.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Upon receiving a letter of appointment as an&nbsp;Abashiri&nbsp;city tourism ambassador and an official business card&nbsp;stating&nbsp;his position, Horii had a few words to say:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Nothing makes me happier than hearing how an adventure game helped revitalize a region.&nbsp;I&#8217;m&nbsp;thrilled that fans are&nbsp;coming and buying&nbsp;lots of local items. Hearing that the game I developed has been useful in so many ways\u2014like bringing everyone joy\u2014makes all the effort worthwhile.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Back in 1983, when I went to Hokkaido to make an adventure game, my final destination was&nbsp;Abashiri. There, I toured the&nbsp;Abashiri&nbsp;Prison and&nbsp;encountered&nbsp;the&nbsp;Nippopo&nbsp;doll. This became a key item in&nbsp;The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case: The Okhotsk Disappearance. Years later, when I revisited&nbsp;Abashiri&nbsp;for the remake, it was interesting to see how much had changed. The&nbsp;Abashiri&nbsp;Prison Museum&nbsp;didn&#8217;t&nbsp;exist&nbsp;when I first went. When I went on&nbsp;a previous&nbsp;fan meeting tour, there was a beautiful museum. The food is incredibly delicious,&nbsp;too, and it feels like a place&nbsp;out of a&nbsp;dream. I think&nbsp;Abashiri&nbsp;is a wonderful town.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/dragon-quest-series-creator-yuji-horii-entertains-possibility-of-making-a-brand-new-adventure-game\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dragon Quest series creator Yuji Horii entertains possibility of making a brand-new adventure game<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/chrono-triggers-original-supervisor-yuji-horii-says-i-cant-talk-about-it-dont-ask-and-ill-get-in-trouble-when-asked-about-new-developments\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Chrono Trigger\u2019s original supervisor Yuji Horii says \u201cI can\u2019t talk about it,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t ask,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019ll get in trouble\u201d when asked about new developments<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yuji Horii was appointed\u00a0Abashiri\u00a0City\u2019s tourism ambassador, not for his work on Dragon Quest, but for\u00a0his\u00a01984 murder mystery title\u00a0The Hokkaido Serial Murder Case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":56007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-56004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - 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