Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on March 2011

Since its debut in 2004, the Minatomirai line has been popular with day trippers who want to explore Yokohama hotspots like Chinatown, Bashamichi and the MM21 waterfront area. Now, the rail spur—which connects to Shibuya via the Tokyo Toyoko line—is brandishing some serious geek cred as well. For a recently launched promotion dubbed Cannes-Miko: The Legend of God Strings, original anime characters have been created for each of the five stations. Visitors can buy tickets festooned with images of the characters for ¥210 (valid for one adult and one child), which allows access to the architecturally distinct Minatomirai line stations, though not a ride on the
trains. On February 26, officials unveiled a free iPhone app, DT Cannes-Miko, which includes a deck of electronic “playing cards” for users to collect and trade (¥100 each).

http://cannes-miko.jp (Japanese)