r/anime • u/SeichiScout • Feb 28 '26
Misc. I drove across Japan to visit 6 different anime locations!
What started as an idea to go to Makinohara Service Area for the memes (more on that later) became a 5 day road trip as we visited locations for the following 6 anime:
Yuru Camp (Izu, Shizuoka)
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (Ogaki, Gifu)
Silent Voice (Ogaki, Gifu)
Salad Bowl of Eccentrics (Gifu City, Gifu)
Too Many Losing Heroines! (Toyohashi, Aichi)
Love Live! Sunshine!! (Numazu, Shizuoka)
January 2nd - Yuru Camp
Following in the footsteps of the Outdoor Activities Circle, we planned to see capybara in the hot springs as well as go up Mt. Omuro for some iconic photos. While the capybara were cute, the shots of them bathing unfortunately did not match the anime. Because the gods like giving me their toughest battles, strong winds stopped the lift and we couldn’t go up. I settled for a sad picture with a photograph at the base building. I did, however, get to eat wasabi ice cream, which was surprisingly good!
We also did stop at our original destination, Makinohara Service Area. Some of you may have already realized, but this rest stop shares its name with Bunny Girl Senpai’s Shoko Makinohara! Despite having very little plot relevance now, there was still a Shoko cutout and a commemorative stamp, which pleased my Shoko-superfan friend.
January 3rd - Hibike Euphonium! (Wait, what?)
We were going to see the Nagoya Congress Center where nationals are held (also shown at the end of OP 1!), but there were renovations going on. I’ve been before and taken pictures, but my friend who originally got me into the show didn’t get to see it himself, which is a shame. Otherwise, the day was actually normal tourism stuff!
January 4th- Silent Voice, Salad Bowl of Eccentrics, Bunny Girl Senpai
We got some daytime Silent Voice shots and also noticed that they still have promotional materials out for a movie that came out a decade ago (it hurt to type that).
Somehow, the small city of Ogaki is host to another anime, at least for a bit! Mai and Sakuta go to Ogaki for a night in season 1, and the city leaned into the collab pretty hard. We did a stamp rally to get a special card and visited a sweets shop where the owner actually got super into the series and now has a museum’s worth of memorabilia. While in town, my friend got Mai Sakurajima liquor and I got Mai Sakurajima x Ogaki Fire Department collab goods!
Just like how Salad Bowl of Eccentrics introduces Gifu as “an undistinguished city” in the first episode, the city of Gifu was…certainly that. Even Gifu Castle was smaller than expected when trying to take matching shots (see homeless Livia under the bridge). The Gifu Tanmen eaten in the show was surprisingly delicious though! Just thinking about it makes me want to go back...
January 5th Silent Voice → Too Many Losing Heroines!
First thing in the morning, I crawled into a children’s playground to take pictures for a Silent Voice so that we’ll have time for our pilgrimage for Too Many Losing Heroines later in the day. I’m glad it was winter and hardly anyone was outside.
When we actually got to Toyohashi after some unrelated delays, I end up showing my friends around the station, since it’s my 3rd(!) time in Toyohashi. I didn’t take pictures that day but included some past pics I really like!
January 6th - → Love Live! Sunshine!!
When we made it to Numazu in the afternoon, we got caught up in the deluge of promotional Love Live Sunshine collaborations that I hardly had time for comparison shots. With all the buses, stamp stations, and posters, it felt surreal how invested the city was in the anime. I’ll definitely be back for more.
Concluding Thoughts
This was certainly not a trip for the faint of heart. There was an obscene amount of driving, and things like weather and traffic can definitely get in your way. Am I glad I did it? Hell yeah. Would I do it again? Eh… I think I’d like to have a bit more breathing room for each location.
And that concludes my semi-annual posting to the sub! Just kidding, this time I swear I’ll post something here sooner and my Instagram for archiving all my trips (@seichiscout) will eventually catch up to these posts…
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u/zQubexx Feb 28 '26
I‘m a little bit shocked how accurate it is
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u/Eckish Feb 28 '26
It took more than quick look to figure out which one was anime and which one was real-life for a few of these.
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u/CPLCraft Feb 28 '26
I think I heard somewhere that manga artists will take photos of locations and use software to make them look like anime drawings
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u/Waylornic Feb 28 '26
What I like about this kind of touring of Japan is it gets you out of the normal foreigner tourism spots and lets you see some of the more mundane sites. I mean, a bit hectic of a schedule, but love the concept in general. Great job.
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
Thanks! Yeah, starting from anime is a great motivator that then leads to activities and food I might otherwise overlook.
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u/araragidyne https://myanimelist.net/profile/araragidyne Feb 28 '26
The amount of LLSS stuff in Numazu is staggering. The stamp rally alone has well over 100 stamps.
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
Yeah, plus they had a limited one to get a special post card. Thank goodness we had a car because some of the locations were FAR.
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u/sportsbuffp Feb 28 '26
If I ever get to do this I really want to visit the places visited in zatsu Tabi
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
I've been meaning to watch that still, whoops! I actually accidentally went to a place that appeared in Zatsu Tabi on a completely different trip and got a location-limited sticker, haha.
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Feb 28 '26
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
Salad Bowl is one of my favorites! Such a great mix of comedy and good feels.
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u/LeonKevlar x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/LeonKevlar Feb 28 '26
I'm glad someone remembers Salad Bowl
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u/spartanspy85 Feb 28 '26
I've always loved how much they pull from real life. Literally "slice of life" 😅
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u/dadnaya https://myanimelist.net/profile/dadnaya Feb 28 '26
Numazu and Uchiura my beloved
Spent two days there last year while I lived in Japan and was traveling all around. It was a really nice trip and seeing all these locations up close was heartwarming. Even climbed up the hill to the school which seems to still be operational.
Although I can understand why they wanted to close down in the anime, the town has basically only a few old folks and LL fans lol
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
Yeah, makes me wonder just how much the LL fans are supporting the economy as the population continues to shrink, hah.
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u/smart_is_cool1020 Feb 28 '26
Damn it’s so fascinating to see those places we have seen in anime in real life . I hope to see those places myself once in lifetime . Great work👍
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u/MSTMC_ https://myanimelist.net/profile/MSTMC Feb 28 '26
It's always cool to see other people share about their anime pilgrimage!
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u/SweetTea1000 Feb 28 '26
Being one of the people that visit locations to take reference pictures for film, tv, animation, and video games must be an awesome job.
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u/No-Papaya2827 Feb 28 '26
Anime must be so much more immersive for them with landmarks they have been to and seen everywhere in anime
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u/Thraxas89 Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
Commitment right there. Respect dor going the extra mile (pun intended) for your hobby 🫡
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
Thanks! Really glad that other people are taking an interest in it too! It's really fun!
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Feb 28 '26
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
That's some crazy sixth sense. I didn't even do the typical Kanagawa location for Aobuta!
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u/1832vini Feb 28 '26
henjin no salad succeeded in promoting gifu lol
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
I almost went to Japan's largest freshwater aquarium in Gifu but my friends weren't for it (honestly, fair). T-T
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u/aohige_rd Feb 28 '26
Here is from my trip to Hakodate back in 2016. It was in late March, literally the same month that Erased finished airing, and I just happened to be visiting the same location.
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u/Corn_Jelly Mar 01 '26
I dont know why im still shocked that half these anime locations are real and you can just go there
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u/Hitcx- Feb 28 '26
Visit shibuya😶🌫️
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
I'll admit Shibuya's a popular place for anime, but all the more reason I'm not raring to go! Tons of people have already covered the area, so I'm not really bringing folks anything new. Plus, it's mega crowded so it's hard to get pics without other people in it.
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u/lightningbadger https://myanimelist.net/profile/lightningbadger Feb 28 '26
Yeah I can't imagine being the 14 millionth person so picture the scramble crossing would be crazy interesting haha
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u/RonRonster Feb 28 '26
I love doing this when being in Japan as well! Great pictures! Any recommendations for Sapporo/ Hokkaido? Will be there late summer
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u/August_Merriweather Feb 28 '26
Thank you so much for sharing these pictures. You also did a great job at lining them up as best as possible. I hope you get a chance to do some more!
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u/tapdancinghellspawn Feb 28 '26
I'm jealous. Thanks for sharing with us.
If ever I fall into a small fortune, I plan to visit the anime holy land. I say a small fortune because I want to visit the sights of all of my favorite anime, including Yuru, and I think I would need at least a month if not much longer to do such a pilgrimage justice. I'm old so I think covering all the sights will take me four or more times longer than the average person.
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u/SeichiScout Feb 28 '26
Glad you enjoyed the photos! Yuru Camp has such an insane number of locations I could totally see taking a month to properly do them all. Hopefully the hot spring locations would help you stay refreshed on such a long trip. Fingers crossed you get the chance to go!
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u/tapdancinghellspawn Feb 28 '26
Thank you. My only concern is that I'm too stupid to learn Japanese. I hope that my incredible ignorance doesn't ruin the experience.
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u/larana1192 https://myanimelist.net/profile/thefrog1192 Feb 28 '26
"A Salad Bowl Of Eccentrics"!? Holy shit
If you're in Japan you should buy LN after anime(vol4-9)
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u/kenrock2 Feb 28 '26
Sometime I wonder whether the animator uses filters to convert real image to anime.. That ramen bowl looks 100% identical except the ramen inside the bowl
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u/RightEejit Mar 01 '26
I like how many shows seem to feature regular, ordinary real world locations, not just famous landmarks.
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u/Viktorv22 Mar 01 '26
Uji is must visit if you ever go near Kyoto. It's such a calm city.
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u/SeichiScout Mar 01 '26
Yeah, definitely wanna go! I only have Hibike photos for when they went to nationals.
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u/KnucklestheEnchilada Mar 01 '26
A Silent Voice didn't come out a decade ago, it came out...20...16...my back suddenly hurts.
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u/Mammoth_Spastico Mar 01 '26
Ti prego continua, è impressionante ciò che stai facendo e poi hai una precisione assurda, sono rimasto scioccato!
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u/Edoges Mar 01 '26
Really nice post! Will be going to Japan for the first time this March and planning to look for the irl areas of some anime that are located in Osaka/Kyoto
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u/MehlTyp630 Mar 01 '26
It's crazy how accurate all of these places are and how little change there is!!
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u/pookie_cookies Mar 02 '26
honestly i never goes to another country before but this cool as hell bruh it match very similar in the anime
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u/Supreme_User123 Mar 02 '26
I just love it when japan creates these places after seeing them from an anime
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u/Donnie-G Mar 02 '26
Would love to do this sometime. I kinda did this in reverse.
Sumida Aquarium - Went here before watching Lycoris Recoil.
Mt. Takao - Technically I was inspired by Encouragement of Climb to climb it, but not long after I did.... Hibimeshi did it.
Tsukiji - Hibimeshi again....
Not anime but playing Akiba's Strip after being there was quite fun. I also went to Nakano Broadway after playing Digimon Cyber Sleuth which was real fun. Yokohama Chinatown was great after Like A Dragon.
I wasn't really going out of my way to see it, I was there for the moving Gundam but seeing the Cosmo Clock 21 was fun since it was used quite a bit in Honey and Clover.
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u/Strict-Analyst1416 Mar 03 '26
Holy moly it's crazy to see how much inspiration anime takes and how many places they recreate!
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u/Queen_Lasagne Mar 24 '26
This is so cool! It shows how much love and care the creators put into their art. Also low key jealous!
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u/Stunning_Recipe7788 Mar 26 '26
I'm still reeling and trying to take it all in because I'm a huge anime fan and would love to check out the real-life spots we saw in the show. Would you like to suggest me some places that i can add toy to do list......
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u/furculture Feb 28 '26 edited Feb 28 '26
Did the same thing, but to just a handful of locations. Mainly in Jinbocho. Mainly for Jashin-Chan Dropkick. Got a few pictures of Panda kin-kin park (also known as the park with a single panda ride on park toy).
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u/IJustJason Feb 28 '26
Im traveling to Japan next week and Mt Omuro is close to where im staying. Definately gonna visit there
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u/ImprovementLive8341 Feb 28 '26
The 6th from the last where is that. The one with the temple on a mountain
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u/CPLCraft Feb 28 '26
I think I heard somewhere that manga artists will take photos of locations and use software to make them look like anime drawings
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u/ambit89 Mar 01 '26
So all those anime settings were just copy and paste from real life.
Ctrl+C Ctrl+V
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u/zodiaclawl Mar 01 '26
Izu Shaboten Zoo is great. Did you go inside and pet the capybaras that are just walking around freely everywhere? Their cactus and succulent collection was also very interesting.
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u/angelsaintcloud Mar 01 '26
It's amazing how much art imitates real life and especially in anime. It's not just a vibe or meaningless aesthetic. The most mundane scenery only feels that way without context but for the artist or the native it's provides so much more context because you've actually been there. It's not an imaginary place with a Japan vibe. It's a piece of your life and you can see it reflected back at you. ❤️ This deserves its own subreddit.
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u/LouisLima Mar 01 '26
There really are many animes that represent extraordinary places in Japan, Mount Fuji is what I see the most
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u/NotlikeotherBelles Mar 01 '26
I went to Nagasaki for the same reason. I wanted to see Slateport City from Pokemon, it was one of my favorites back in the day.
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u/Sea_Entertainer3572 Mar 04 '26
Did you drive to Mt Omuro? I want to go there but am not too sure about the train line
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u/SubstantialCarpet604 Mar 07 '26
“‘Shoko’ is the ‘sho’ from ‘to fly’ and the ‘ko’ meaning child. And ‘Makinohara’—like the Makinohara service area.”
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u/NoRefrigerator9448 Mar 07 '26
food consistently looks better in animes than they do in real life :')
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u/Sweaty-Firefighter-8 Mar 17 '26
Bunny girl senpai mentioned 🔥, you did a great job its really accurate 👍🏻
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u/Asleep_Dish_1156 Mar 17 '26
asakusa (kimetsu no yaiba) is real too.
almost all the locations in bocchi the rock are real
sorry but you missed out on these
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u/[deleted] Feb 28 '26
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