Two actors from Silent Hill f revealed today that they have been appointed ambassadors of the real life location in Japan that inspired the survival horror game’s eerie setting.
Takeshi Masago, who plays Kanta Shimizu, the father of main character Hinako, and Tamami Hiraoka, who plays her mother, posted a YouTube short cryptically entitled ‘Important Announcement’ on February 2, 2026. The video begins like a solemn apology or serious announcement, with the two actors suddenly jumping for joy at the end of the video, while holding their tourism ambassador certificates.
The actors have both been made tourism ambassadors for Gero City in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture. Gero City, specifically the Kanayama-cho area with its quiet, narrow alleyways and old houses, served as inspiration for Silent Hill f’s fictional Ebisugaoka, a rural Japanese village in the 1960s.
Although Hinako’s father in the game is abusive, the actors who play her parents started uploading wholesome videos on YouTube last month of themselves going on “husband and wife dates.” The actors are not married in real life, but these videos have got some fans wishing they were. The solemn tone of the ‘important announcement’ video caught many viewers off guard, as did the ‘jump scare’ with the certificates. “I thought you were going to say ‘we’re getting married for real’ lol,” said one commenter about the tourism ambassador announcement video, with others echoing the same sentiment: “When they revealed the documents, I seriously thought for a moment that they were marriage certificates.”
As part of efforts to promote what Gero City has to offer, Masago recently visited the 300-year-old Okuhida Shuzo rice wine brewery in the area, as posted on X. Last month, the brewery released Silent Hill f themed sake and chocolates, the first batch of which quickly sold out.
先日、SILENT HILL fで雛子のお父さん役”深水寛太”を演じられた真砂豪さんが奥飛騨酒造に遊びにいらしてくださいました✨
とても気さくにお話しして頂き、嬉しかったです☺️
寒い中ありがとうございました！#silenthill #silenthillf pic.twitter.com/LajrwornFS— 奥飛騨酒造 (@okuhidashuzo) February 1, 2026
Since Silent Hill f was released, many of the Japanese actors involved in the production have livestreamed all or parts of the game, while sharing behind-the-scenes stories about what filming was like. This kicked off when Hinako’s actress Konatsu Kato began livestreaming her playthrough of Silent Hill f back in October 2025, amassing over 5 million views. Shortly after, Yuuka Iijima (who plays Rinko Nishida) and Natsuki Osaki (who plays Shu Iwai) also set up YouTube Channels and did their own livestreams of the game.
Although Takeshi Masago and Tamami Hiraoka are the first game-related tourism ambassadors for Gero City, this is not the first time that video games have been used to attract visitors to lesser-known parts of Japan. Back in 2020, the Tsushima Tourist Board partnered with Sucker Punch’s hit PlayStation game Ghost of Tsushima to promote the real life Japanese island. Not long after, fans banded together to raise funds to repair one of the island’s shrine gates, which was destroyed by a typhoon. The following year, Ghost of Tsushima lead developers Nate Fox and Jason Connell were made permanent tourism ambassadors to the island, for spreading its history to the world in “such a wonderful way,” according to Tsushima mayor Hiroki Hitakatsu.
Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.
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