On December 11, 2025, there was a discussion related to Uma Musume at the Kasamatsu Town Council, so I am sharing it here.

Chair (Mr. Takao Fushiya):
We will now proceed to Agenda Item 1, General Questions.
Questions will be taken in the order in which notice was given.
Council Member No. 2, Ms. Yuri Ban.

Council Member No. 2 (Ms. Yuri Ban):
Good morning.
With the Chair’s permission, I will proceed with my general question in accordance with the notice I submitted.

I would like to ask about efforts to increase the number of visitors to Kasamatsu Town.

Since the second cour of the anime Uma Musume Cinderella Gray began airing, the number of people visiting the town for tourism, both from within Japan and from overseas, has continued to grow.

Overseas distribution has mainly been through streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. In particular, in North America and Europe, many viewers have connected with the heroine’s earnest and single-minded character through the story’s universal themes of effort and dreams, and have also become interested in the high quality of the work and in the history of Japanese horse racing. They have reportedly been taking advantage of long holidays to visit the town.

Of course, fans in nearby Asian countries such as Taiwan, China, and South Korea also appear to regard the town as an attractive destination for anime pilgrims. This is evident from the five pilgrimage notebooks kept at Furatto Kasamatsu inside the station, as well as from the large number of fan goods that visitors bring with them.

In addition, the town-wide efforts have been recognized through a nomination in the public voting for the 16th Location Japan Awards, and on November 5 of this month, a ceremony was held in front of the town hall to unveil a bronze statue of the distinguished racehorse Love Michan, who once helped energize Kasamatsu horse racing, with the owner, Dr. Copa, and his wife in attendance. It is now attracting attention as a new pilgrimage spot.

Kasamatsu Town and the Town Council have also included, among their requests concerning Gifu Prefecture’s initial budget for fiscal 2026, a request for the creation of a subsidy program to support an increase in the number of visitors. I believe that continued town development aimed at further increasing the number of visitors and creating vibrancy will lead to regional revitalization, and I would therefore like to hear your views on the town’s revitalization efforts and future developments.

That concludes my first round of questions.

Chair:
We will now hear the response to Council Member Ban’s question.
Mayor Furuta.

🧵1/5 Mayor:
Good morning once again.

In response to Council Member Ban’s question regarding efforts to increase the number of visitors, I would like to answer as follows.

Against the backdrop of the domestic and international popularity of the anime Uma Musume Cinderella Gray, I am very pleased to see that the number of people visiting Kasamatsu Racecourse and Kasamatsu Town is steadily increasing.

In addition to what the member mentioned about the pilgrimage notebook having already reached its fifth volume, the total number of trading cards distributed as purchase bonuses at local shops will soon reach 30,000. This has had a tremendous effect on the town’s economy, and the anime production company has even expressed surprise at Kasamatsu Town’s potential.

As for the 16th Location Japan Awards, they are organized by Location Japan, a magazine that features filming locations around the country. The award is presented to the work and the region that, among productions broadcast over the past year, generated the greatest local excitement and moved the greatest number of people. Among many highly talked-about works, it is a great honor that Kasamatsu Town’s efforts were recognized through this nomination, and we are currently encouraging residents and anime fans alike to vote in the hope of winning the grand prize.

This also provides an opportunity to reinforce Kasamatsu Town’s identity as a town of horse racing and to share anew, both within and outside the town, the history and appeal of Kasamatsu Racecourse.

Recently, thanks to a donation from Dr. Copa, a bronze statue of the distinguished racehorse Love Michan was erected on the town hall grounds. It is also drawing attention as a new stop on visitors’ route around the town, and this too is symbolic of the town’s horse-racing culture. In addition, at the Rekishi Mirai-kan, a special Year of the Horse exhibition titled “午・馬・ウマ展” will be held from the end of the year, featuring valuable personal items and photographs entrusted to us by the racecourse and related parties. I believe this will enable us to promote Kasamatsu, at just the right time, to racing fans across the country as a town of horse racing.

We recognize that the town’s role is to ensure that these developments do not remain a one-time phenomenon, but are instead linked to local vibrancy and sustainable town development.

We are currently planning a new collaboration project with the anime Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray aimed at generating even greater excitement than the first round of collaboration, and we would also like to further strengthen our PR efforts in cooperation with the prefectural government.

In addition, Furatto Kasamatsu, which has welcomed a truly large number of visitors from both within and outside the town this fiscal year, will begin offering cashless payment this December in response to many requests. Next fiscal year, we plan to renovate and expand the facility using national grants and other funding. Through this renewal, we hope to deepen cooperation with Kasamatsu Racecourse even further by enhancing foreign-language signage and merchandise offerings for overseas visitors and by installing facilities that make it easier for fans visiting on pilgrimage to spend time there, thereby enhancing it as a gateway to the town.

Kasamatsu Town will continue to place town development through horse racing at the center of its efforts, with the aim of creating a town that people from both Japan and overseas will want to visit again and again, and in which the resulting increase in the number of visitors helps revitalize the local economy.

That concludes my response.

🧵2/5

Lebensstil (Real Steel x Tokai Life(Tokai Teio)) won the Mainichi Okan (G2, Tokyo, 1800m)
He remains strong over non-core distances(those not divisible by 400)

His sire, Real Steel, never won a G1 in Japan but earned three graded victories at 1800m and a G1 win in Dubai.
That slightly off-mainstream tendency resembles Stay Gold, who sired Dream Journey, Orfevre, and Gold Ship with Mejiro McQueen-mares—all strong over non-core distances.

Lebensstil’s dam-sire, Tokai Teio, also belongs to the Herod line, the same as Mejiro McQueen. LEBENSSTIL also regained his form and won last year when he ran over a non-core distance

https://twitter.com/kontenasan_bf/status/1799702199091818658