The Twitter account "Tayanaoki" moved to Hirosaki on March 31st, triggered by the manga "Flying Witch" set in Hirosaki.

"Flying Witch" has been serialized in "Bessatsu Shonen Magazine" (Kodansha) since 2012, and 9 volumes have been published so far. Makoto Kibata, a 15-year-old witch who came to Aomori from Yokohama, depicts the daily life of spending time with her relatives, and the scenery and customs around Hirosaki are introduced during the work. It was animated in 2016 (Heisei 28).

Taya is from Kansai and got a job in Tokyo after graduating from university. His hobbies are anime and manga, and he also enjoyed the "sacred place pilgrimage" around the stage under construction. Mr. Taya recalls, "I visited Hirosaki for the first time when it was animated. In 2015 (Heisei 27), I thought that it was only one of the sacred places that I had visited in various ways."

"I used to jokingly say that I should move, but I never thought I would really move," said Mr. Taya. The number of fans has increased due to the animation, and many people have done "pilgrimage to the sacred place", but the boom has settled down after the animation broadcast, and it is said that it is no longer a fan to be quiet as it is.

The "Witch Church Hirosaki Branch" was launched after the anime was broadcast. A civic group established with locals, such as launching the "Flying Witch" Neputa at the Hirosaki Neputa Festival and exhibiting snow lanterns at the Snow Lantern Festival held at Hirosaki Park in winter. , "Flying Witch" Every time I wanted to continue my passion, I visited Hirosaki and deepened exchanges with local residents through my activities.

In my private life, I had been fulfilling my work for nearly 10 years, but I was having a hard time keeping my motivation. "There were Hirosaki and Aomori that I liked through" Flying Witch "when I reconsidered what I wanted to do and what I wanted to continue," says Taya.

The emigration was scheduled for the summer of last year, but it was put on hold due to the new coronavirus, but on the contrary, the feeling of emigration pushed her back. "The Sakura Festival and Neputa Festival have been canceled, and there are more plans for locals to support local restaurants, but I was sick of being in Tokyo and not being able to do anything," he said.

Currently, while helping an apple farmer work, he starts by getting used to networking and living. On the way back from farming in the fields, I saw the scenery of Aomori such as Mt. "It could be an anime or a manga. It was enough for me to feel the charm of the land and the people who live there and decide to move," said Mr. Taya.

The future goal is to create tourism content using "Flying Witch" and to make use of pop culture to liven up Aomori. Taya says, "I have a lot of ideas, but it's still a dream story. I want to think about what I can do one by one and put it into shape."