The schoolgirl comic strip sparking surge in Japanese tourists to world's most beautiful village: Bizarre Tokyo animation studio uses Bibury as location for its 'Manga' TV series

Being known as 'the world's most beautiful village' is bound to attract a flood of tourists – both foreign and domestic. 

Bibury in Gloucestershire has witnessed a phenomenal rise in sightseers ever since it was awarded the epithet by Forbes magazine. 

And it has become such an international sensation that it is, somewhat bizarrely,  welcomed a stampede of visitors from one country in particular – Japan. 

Differences with the home of JPop, sushi and technological innovation could not be more stark. 

But it is the East Asian nation's love of 'manga' that has turned Bibury into a must-see location for the well-travelled Japanese, brought up on a diet of their own special brand of animation on television. 

The Cotswold village features in Kin-iro Mosaic, a popular anime series whose devoted fans travel thousands of miles to visit locations from their favourite programmes.

Indeed, a Japanese animation company has even adopted the village's name, calling itself Bibury Animation Studios, according to research by local resident Steve Morton.

'They nicked our name - Bibury Animation Studios - and are based in Japan. We had no idea. It just shows the global reach of Bibury's fairytale image,' Mr Morton told the Daily Mail.

Bibury features in Japanese comic Kin-iro Mosaic, a popular anime series whose devoted fans travel thousands of miles to visit locations from their favourite programmes 

A Japanese travel blogger visited Bibury on June 15, 2019, determined to track down locations featured in the series

The studio produces Japanese animated television series and films, while Kin-iro Mosaic, which translates as Golden Mosaic, follows British and Japanese schoolgirls and features settings in Japan, Bibury and the neighbouring Cotswolds village of Castle Combe. 

Created by Yui Hara, the original manga comic strip follows schoolgirls navigating friendship and cultural differences. It ran from 2010 to 2020 in Manga Time Kirara Max, a prominent Japanese magazine, completing 11 volumes and 148 chapters.

The television adaptation, directed by Japanese film-maker Motoki Tanaka, first aired in 2013. An animated film followed in August 2021.

For Japanese fans, Bibury is therefore more than a beautiful English village. It is part of the world inhabited by characters they know and love.

A Japanese travel blogger demonstrated just how powerful that connection can be when he visited Bibury on June 15, 2019, determined to track down locations featured in the series.

His itinerary took him to Arlington Row, the celebrated collection of historic weavers' cottages whose honey-coloured stonework has made them among the Cotswolds' most recognisable landmarks.

In Kin-iro Mosaic, the picturesque surroundings feature in scenes involving Alice Cartelet and her friends Shinobu Oomiya and Karen.

The blogger also identified a small bridge associated with the characters, an ice-cream shop near the bus stop, a bench and a traditional red telephone box appearing in the series' closing sequence.

Despite the miserable, rainy weather, he bought a double ice cream from the shop and declared it delicious.

Coachloads of tourists visit Bibury every year. This otherwise sleepy English village has become an international sensation in recent years 

Tourists take pictures of the scenic views in Bibury. This is unfolding in a village of just 600 people which has become a magnet for tourists from across the globe

The picturesque buildings and surroundings in Bibury feature heavily in the anime series

Kin-iro Mosaic, which translates as Golden Mosaic, follows British and Japanese schoolgirls

For Japanese fans, Bibury is therefore more than a beautiful English village. It is part of the world inhabited by characters they know and love

Created by Yui Hara, the original manga comic strip follows schoolgirls navigating friendship and cultural differences. It ran from 2010 to 2020

There was one amusing disappointment: Alice's fictional family home is not actually in Bibury. Its real-life inspiration is Fosse Farmhouse, elsewhere in the Cotswolds. 

The blogger joked that the spot where Alice's house might have stood in Bibury was occupied by a public toilet.

Such detail illustrates the lengths to which dedicated anime enthusiasts will go to experience the settings of their favourite stories.

In Japan, the practice is known as seichi junrei, or pilgrimage to a sacred place. Fans travel to real-world locations depicted in animated series, recreate scenes and photograph familiar landmarks.

For these visitors, a bridge or cottage is not merely an attractive backdrop. It is somewhere their favourite fictional characters have appeared on screen.

The connection offers a fascinating insight into the international forces drawing visitors to Bibury, where the village's traditional English charm has found an unexpected audience among Japanese animation fans.

But the influx comes at a cost for those who call the village home.

Recent reports have highlighted residents' growing frustration with overtourism. Despite having a population of around 600, Bibury can reportedly attract as many as 20,000 visitors on busy weekends.

The pressure on its narrow roads, historic buildings and private properties has prompted mounting concern. 

Residents have complained about blocked driveways, trespassing and tourists photographing homes at close quarters. 

Some visitors have reportedly peered through windows or climbed walls and fences to secure the perfect picture of Arlington Row.

For those living in the famous cottages, the constant stream of strangers can mean sacrificing the privacy most people take for granted.

Bibury Post Office is also features in Kin-iro Mosaic. But recent reports have highlighted residents' growing frustration with overtourism

The connection offers a fascinating insight into the international forces drawing visitors to Bibury, where the village's traditional English charm has found an unexpected audience

The River Coln and surrounding countryside have also come under pressure, with concerns about visitors disturbing wildlife and treating the landscape as an extension of the tourist attraction.

Against this backdrop, the Kin-iro Mosaic connection offers a striking explanation for another dimension of Bibury's international appeal.

While some visitors arrive to admire its architecture or capture the perfect social-media photograph, others may have travelled thousands of miles to follow in the footsteps of Alice, Shinobu and their friends.

For Bibury's unsuspecting residents, the next tourist posing outside Arlington Row might appear to be just another visitor with a camera. Yet they could be an anime enthusiast fulfilling a long-held ambition to visit the real-life setting of a beloved Japanese series.

As residents struggle with the crowds, another fan somewhere in Japan may already be planning their own pilgrimage to the village where Kin-iro Mosaic brought the English countryside to life.