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Encouragement of Climb Voice Actress Yoko Hikasa Takes on Mt. Kirigamine
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
August 11 is dubbed "Mountain Day" in Japan, a perfect day to rise to new, natural heights and take in the scenic views. That's exactly what Encouragement of Climb voice actress Yōko Hikasa will be doing that day in a television special for BS11.
Hikasa will attempt to climb Nagano prefecture's Mount Kirigamine, a 1,925 m volcano. The mountain is considered a pilgrimage site for fans of the show and appears in the second season's 14th episode when Aoi goes climbing there with her mother and father. Hikasa is a novice mountain climber with no prior experience, so the special will mark her mountain climbing debut.
Actor and mountain climbing enthusiast Takatoshi Kaneko (Animal Crossing film) will hike Mount Kirigamine with Hikasa and show her the ropes. Together, Kaneko and Hikasa will visit areas on the mountain that appear in the anime series.
The Japanese government added "Mountain Day" to the calendar in 2016. The characters from Encouragement of Climb were appointed as "Mountain Day Ambassadors" earlier this year. Aoi, Hinata, Kaede, Kokona, and Honoka are helping promote the holiday along with other ambassadors. August 11 also happens to be Kokona's birthday.
The third season of Encouragement of Climb premiered in July. Based on Shiro's Yama no Susume manga, the series tells the story of childhood friends: Aoi, a girl who prefers staying inside and who has acrophobia, and Hinata, a girl who loves mountains. The two decide to climb a mountain in order to once again see the Morning Sun from its peak as they did when they were young.
Encouragement of Climb is in the midst of a capsule hotel collaboration with the Nihonbashi Muromachi Bay Hotel just in time for this weekend's Comiket event.
Source: BS11
