Denenchōfu 田園調布

Every year, from late March to early May the cherry blossom front (桜前線 sakura zensen) moves in a wave across Japan from southwest to northeast. Blue tarps and picnic lunches blanket the best viewing spots as the full bloom arrives in each location. For anime seichijunrei fans and butaitanbou practitioners, this also means a precious and short window of time to capture the location models for favorite works before the blossoms drop. In cases where sakura were depicted in the work, this is a brief opportunity for the perfectionist to capture images of locations as they appeared in the series. Otherwise, its a fun and fleeting chance to see these places with an extra dusting of pink and white.

I followed anime pilgrims as they visited sites during this time period and curated some of the best images from each location. New spots this year include Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture for Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara; and Denenchōfu, Ōta Ward, Tokyo Metropolis for Fruits Basket (2019). Returning favorites include Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture for Tamayura; Uji, Kyoto Prefecture for Hibike! Euphonium; Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture for Koe no Katachi; Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture for Tsuki ga Kirei; Nerima Ward, Tokyo Metropolis for Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso; Denenchōfu-honchō, Ōta Ward, Tokyo Metropolis for Clannad; Noto Railway stations in Ishikawa Prefecture for Hanasaku Iroha; Takayama, Gifu Prefecture for Hyōka, and Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture for Flying Witch.

Part 1 (this post) covers Kyūshū, Shikoku, Chūgoku, Kansai and earlier blooming parts of Chūbu. Part 2 covers Kantō, later blooming parts of Chūbu, Tōhoku and Hokkaidō.

The featured image of Denenchōfu at top was graciously provided by Furabā (フラバー @flyingbird1124).

Comprehensive

Several butaitanbou-sha that travel extensively have compiled their own collections of photographs covering multiple regions.

@tianlangxing published a collection of images spanning 2011 to 2018.

@Bf109K1 published a collection of images spanning multiple years, and a cycling tour of Satte, Kuki and Kawagoe for 2019.

@flyingbird1124 published a collection of favorite images from Kawagoe, Tokyo and Uji for 2019.

Yatsushiro and Sagara-mura, Kumamoto Prefecture

Natsume Yūjin-chō

Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture

Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara

@626shin updated a previous pilgrimage with cherry blossom photos from Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture for Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara Episode 1. He published a new pilgrimage, also including blossoms, to Nagasaki for Episode 2 and Episode 3.

Etajima, Hiroshima Prefecture

Kantai Collection

Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture

Tamayura

Kan’onji, Kagawa Prefecture

Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru

https://twitter.com/lidges/status/1114790183952506881

Marugame Castle, Kagawa Prefecture

Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru

Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture

Yūki Yūna wa Yūsha de Aru

Shōdoshima, Kagawa Prefecture

Karakai Jōzu no Takagi-san

Iwami, Tottori Prefecture

Free!

Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture

Suzumiya Haruhi

Kyoto

Tamako Market

https://twitter.com/tama_nekonyan/status/1114375574531653632

https://twitter.com/jpd_mam23/status/1115206773793677312

Hibike! Euphonium

https://twitter.com/high__k/status/1114375917453725696

Uji, Kyoto Prefecture

Hibike! Euphonium

@offtama made a cherry blossom pilgrimage to Uji, Kyoto Prefecture for Hibike! Euphonium.

The tree on the private property facing Keihan Rokujizō Station was completely removed in the past year, for unknown reasons. Now the springtime scene as it was depicted in the first season exists only in memory.

https://twitter.com/01hum/status/1114746785266724864

Liz to Aoi Tori

https://twitter.com/01hum/status/1114738999086571521

Kashihara, Nara Prefecture

Kyōkai no Kanata

Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture

Chunibyō demo Koi ga Shitai!

Hino, Shiga Prefecture

Chunibyō demo Koi ga Shitai!

Toyosato, Shiga Prefecture

K-On!

Hikone, Shiga Prefecture

Yagate Kimi ni Naru

Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture

Koe no Katachi

@hoe0808 made a cherry blossom pilgrimage to Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture for Koe no Katachi.

https://twitter.com/allora1207/status/1114430930146304000

Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture

Yurucamp

@Bf109K1 made a cherry blossom pilgrimage to Minobu, Yamanashi Prefecture for Yurucamp.

Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture

Love Live! Sunshine!!

Itō, Shizuoka Prefecture

Amanchu!

@ad_motsu made a cherry blossom pilgrimage to Izu Kōgen, Itō, Shizuoka Prefecture for Amanchu!