The virtual cycling competition around a Japanese UNESCO World Heritage Site

Dentsu West Japan, the Japanese advertisement company, has teamed up with ROUVY, the augmented reality platform, to host an open virtual cycling race around the World Heritage Site in Himeji. To support the local annual marathon, the race will take place on November 7th with the guest pro-riders from the UCI Continental Team, MATRIX POWERTAG.

International travel to Japan continues to have multiple restrictions because of the current global pandemic. The city of Himeji in Hyogo Prefecture which is home to Himeji Castle, Japan’s first World  Heritage Site, normally holds the annual ‘World Heritage Himeji Castle Marathon’ in February. This Marathon event attracts many tourists from Japan and abroad every year, but it has been hit hard by the continuing uncertainty with the pandemic situation.

To support and present the world-class historic location to the global audience, Dentsu West Japan has joined hands with the local authorities and the AR specialist, ROUVY, to develop a digital version of the marathon course with Japan’s tourist attractions in the background. Hosting a virtual cycle race, that can be attended from anywhere in the world, will help to promote various Japanese cities. This time, it is Himeji City, visited by many tourists from overseas every year.

World Heritage Himeji Castle Course

A course with an elevation of 341m and a length of 24.3km starts from the World Heritage Himeji Castle. It passes through Sakuramonbashi, Otemon, and the Sannomaru Square, and heads north from Kisaimon to the Himeji City Museum of Art. It then goes west past the Himeji Racetrack, to pass through the Himeji Dokkyo University, and then goes past the Yumesaki River, which is also the course of the World Heritage Himeji Castle Marathon. After passing through Himeji Junior High School and Hyogo Prefectural University, it goes north along the Sugou River and finishes through the mountainous ‘up and down’ course of the “Shishi Awakoji Line”.

In-person and virtual event

World Heritage Himeji Virtual Cycle Race 2022

Venue: Arcrea HIMEJI

November 7, 2021 (Sunday) 16:00 JST (8:00 CET).

※ The demo event starts from 15:00.

Guest Riders

Daiki Yasuda | Team Matrix Powertag

Kanzaki High School Bicycle Club

Dancho-Yasuda

The race will be streamed live on YouTube here.

Registration is open HERE.