Know an online game called Ingress? It involves two teams of players walking around town, using their smart phones or tablets to capture portals for their team. To do this, you need something called “Exotic Matter,” which according to game sources is “a trans-dimensional substance discovered as a by-product of Higgs boson research at CERN,” and is commonly found near the portals. An event for people new to Ingress was held in Ichinoseki on the first Saturday of May, and I reported for duty.

Introducing the ILC

After the opening ceremony and introductory seminar, I had the opportunity to give a brief introduction about the ILC, and handed out folders and flyers to the 48 participants, some three quarters of which came from other cities in Japan. A display of ILC illustrations by Rey Hori was also up at the venue, alongside the Ingress items on display.

Figuring out a plan of attack

The teams then hit the streets and headed to locations designated as portals on the Ingress map. On the way I pointed out the ILC flags stretching down a main street, banners and signs, posters in shop windows, and other messages of support for the ILC. We passed through a local market where we ate German sausage and an Ichinoseki specialty called “mochi,” which are small balls of pounded, sticky rice covered with various toppings. After that we stopped to take a break and have some green tea while sitting on “tatami” mats, overlooking a traditional garden.

On the street

In the afternoon, the last Ingress battleground for the day was at the top of a nearby park, where the new leaves were a brilliant green. About half of the participants went on to a hot spring at a “ryokan” or traditional inn, enjoying a nice meal and quenching the thirst worked up during the day with local beer and “sake.”

Article about the event and Ichinoseki taking top spot

Ten days after the event, results came out that of the 78 cities in 29 countries that hosted Ingress events on the first Saturday of May, Ichinoseki had finished first worldwide for level-ups that day. Local newspaper Iwate Nichinichi covered the result in detail, in which was a quote by Mr. Ichiro Yoshida of the Ichinoseki Civic Center, who organized the event. “It was good PR for Ichinoseki. You can see people on the internet celebrating the top finish on blogs, and their impressions about Ichinoseki. We hope to keep things exciting by holding Ingress events in conjunction with large events.”

I thought it was great how people play the game and battle it out, while trying local food, seeing some sights, posting on social media, and so forth. An Ingress event in the neighboring world-heritage town of Hiraizumi will be held on the first Saturday of July, where I’ll take part again. As with the first Saturday we did in May, I’ll briefly chat about the ILC, and illustrations will be on display again. Flyer for the event is below.

*Please click the pics for larger versions.