Report! "Asia esports tourism in OKINAWA 2019 with Ashibina Tournament"

Event

We went to cover the e-sports event "Asia e-Sports Tourism in OKINAWA 2019 with Tomishiro Ashibinaa Tournament" held in Okinawa.

With support from Okinawa Prefecture, this event is being held to revitalize the local community during the off-season for tourism, and will be held on Miyako Island again this February.

The event was held at the "Ashibinaa" outlet mall.

The event was held at the "Okinawa Outlet Mall Ashibinaa", located about 15 minutes from Naha Airport by car or bus.
The location is ideal, close to Naha Airport, and the vast site attracts a large number of tourists.

Outlet mall "Ashibinaa"
Saiga NAK

The event venue is located in a corner of the large outlet mall "Ashibinaa".

The game titles used for this year's tournament were as follows

  • Gran Turismo SPORT
  • Knives Out (KNIVES OUT)
  • eFootball PES2020 (Winning Eleven)
  • Puyo Puyo eSports (Puyo Puyo eSports)

Guests for this event included professional gamers Genki Hashimoto (@Genkihashimoto1) and Genki Morita (@pes_progamer).

Atmosphere of the venue

Supercar Exhibit
Saiga NAK
Supercar Exhibit
Saiga NAK

Flashy supercars were on display. Perhaps because the game title is Gran Turismo?

Gran Turismo
Saiga NAK

Little kids battle it out in Gran Turismo.

Puyopuyo
Saiga NAK

This is the Puyopuyo corner. They seemed to be competing with their friends.

Interview with the organizer!

Today was the last day of the event. Unfortunately, we were unable to interview any of the players, but we were able to talk to Mr. Matsunaga, the president of the Okinawa eSports Association, the organizer of this event.

Mr. Matsunaga, Representative Director of the Okinawa eSports Association
Saiga NAK

Mr. Matsunaga moved to Okinawa from Tokyo four years ago and started the association with the hope of establishing e-sports as an industry in Okinawa. Many Okinawan players are very strong, but they don't have a chance to be in the public eye, so I want to do my best to support them." he said.

Okinawa has a lot of exchange with Asian countries. I hope more and more players who can compete on the world stage will be born in Okinawa in the future!