Washimiya, the Kuki City neighborhood that is home to the "Lucky Star anime shrine," has announced on Thursday that it will host a "Ota-Konkatsu" matchmaking event for otaku on November 28. The local chamber of commerce and industry's youth division is producing the "Ota-Konkatsu Washimiya Deai-Hen ~San-jigen no Kimi ni Todoke~" (Otaku Matchmaking: Washimiya Dating ~Reaching You in 3D~) event.

Male applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 40 and "otaku of some kind of hobby." Female applicants must be between 18 and 35 and "be otaku, be tolerant of otaku, or be sympathetic to otaku." There is a 8,000-yen (about US$100) entrance fee for men — but women can enter for free. A maximum of 40 participants will be randomly selected from the applicants. The chamber's home page will begin accepting applications in mid-October.

Washimiya is the home of Washinomiya Shrine, which was used as the basis for a location in Kyoto Animation's 2007 television adaptation of Kagami Yoshimizu's manga Lucky Star. It has since become a popular destination for anime fans, who make "pilgrimages" to the shrine. The concept for the dating event originated in 2009, when many visiting fans who filled out surveys said that they were interested in marriage.

source:crazy anime wholesale