National Route 9 runs 638 kilometers from Shimonoseki at the western tip of Honshū, all the way to Kyōto. For much of its course, it follows the wild Japan Sea coast, through most of Shimane and Tottori. In Tottori, Route 9 passes through the small town of Hokuei, and close to the highway, just one block inland, is the Gōshō Aoyama Manga Factory, a museum celebrating the life and work of cartoonist Aoyama Gōshō.

Aoyama Gōshō may not be a household name everywhere, but his animations are available in forty countries around the world, and many people have learned Japanese by reading and watching his Detective Conan series, featuring a talented child who solves mysterious crimes using a portfolio of peculiar devices. Conan was developed into a very popular animation.

Aoyama was born in 1963 in Hokuei. From an early age, he had a talent for drawing and painting, winning various prizes in his youth. He studied at Nihon University College of Art in Tōkyō, and had a part-time job at Tokyo Disneyland, painting backgrounds for the Pirates of the Caribbean feature. Aoyama debuted as a manga artist with Chotto Mattete (Wait a Minute) in the Weekly Shōnen Sunday comic. Shortly after, he introduced Magic Kaito. Other works include Yaiba, a samurai story, Third Baseman No.4 with a Faustian theme, Gosho Aoyama’s Collection of Short Stories, and Case Closed featuring Conan Edogawa. Aoyama got help with the scientific gizmos in Conan from his two older brothers, a scientist and a doctor.

Outside the museum is a VW Beetle ‘driven’ by one of Aoyama’s characters, Professor Agasa. Inside are exhibits showing Aoyama’s early prodigy, a recreation of his workspace, three-dimensional visualisations of his characters, and original drawings.

Whether or not you’re a fan of Aoyama or manga in general, this museum offers interesting insights into the production and psychology of this massive phenomenon.