Welcome to this week’s review of notable instances of public transit use and urban design, as well as discussion of place identity and culture, through anime currently broadcast or screening in Japan and simulcast internationally via the web. This review also documents seichijunrei (聖地巡礼 sacred site pilgrimage) and butaitanbou (舞台探訪 scene hunting)—on this website referred to collectively as anime pilgrimage—which are forms of place-based engagement induced by the use of real locations in show settings.
Media and General Interest
Chichibu Anohana events
As part of multiple activities in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture celebrating the 10th anniversary of Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. (Anohana), for one day only on August 1 the steam locomotive SL Paleo Express (SLパレオエクスプレス) ran with a head mark featuring the anniversary illustration. Fans visited Chichibu to ride and take photographs of the train. Media coverage: Saitama Shimbun. Photos: tweet 1, tweet 2, tweet 3, tweet 4, tweet 5, tweet 6
Anime Regional Development School
There is a new free seminar in a series of online panel discussions from the Anime Regional Development School (アニメ地域おこし学校). A live stream featuring Kanda Myōjin (神田明神) head priest Kishikawa Masanori (岸川雅範) is scheduled August 28 at 13:00 JST. Kanda Myōjin is a shrine in Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo Metropolis that has a long history of collaboration with pop culture media, particularly anime and live action TV drama. As with the rest of this series, the talks will be hosted by “seichijunrei producer” Kakizaki Shundō (柿崎俊道) and Oda Yasuo (小田恭央). Oda is the CEO of SSS, the company that manages local character and vocaloid Tōhoku Zunko.
Hamamatsu Evangelion collaboration
With the consent of Shin Evangelion Gekijōban rights holders, Tenryū-Futamata Station in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture replaced all 21 of its enamel-coated wood or iron station name signs with new ones reading “Daisanmura,” the name given to the station modeled on this location in the film. The idea is said to have come from an employee of the Tenryū Hamanako Railroad (天竜浜名湖鉄道) who is an Eva fan. The signs will remain installed until September 26. Media coverage: Chūnichi Shimbun, Crunchyroll News
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S
(小林さんちのメイドラゴンS Kobayashi-san Chi no Meidoragon S)
Fan Pilgrimage Update
@york21c made a pilgrimage to Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture and published notes and Street View links for now closed Toshimaen amusement park in Nerima Ward, Tokyo Metropolis for Episode 4.
Episode 4
Higashi-Nihonbashi intersection (東日本橋交差点) in Nihonbashi-Hisamatsuchō (日本橋久松町), Chūō Ward, Tokyo Metropolis
Undetermined. Though I found many streets that look somewhat like this in Higashi-Nihonbashi and Nihonbashi-Yokoyamachō, I haven’t yet been able to make a definitive match. I’m certain it is not Amazake Yokochō, which we saw briefly in Season 1.
The model for the izakaya is Shōfukuan (招福庵), a soba shop on Kiyosubashi-dōri (清洲橋通り) in Nihonbashi-Hamachō (日本橋浜町), Chūō Ward, right here.
Undetermined
Residential neighborhood in Nishikata (西方), Koshigaya (越谷), Saitama Prefecture
We know that this position exists in Koshigaya, outside the west exit of Koshigaya Station, right here. The facade of the cafe on the right comes directly from the location. However, the buildings are different and there is no shōtengai. Some of us are still following leads, but I figure that if a real world model for the shopping arcade existed somewhere, it probably would have been found by now. I still like my Karahori Shōtengai theory.
Tōru and Elma walk east along the south side of the Motoara River (元荒川) in Sagamimachi (相模町), Koshigaya, approaching and eventually arriving at the Shirakobato-bashi intersection (しらこばと橋交差点).
Residential neighborhood in Nishikata
Toshimaen (としまえん) was an amusement park in Nerima Ward, Tokyo Metropolis that has appeared frequently in anime. The park operated from 1926 to 2020 August 31. Part of the site will be converted into a Harry Potter theme park, planned to open in 2023. The remainder of the land has been purchased by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which plans to turn it into a park, the Nerima Joshi-kōen.
The El Dorado carousel was built in Germany in 1907. It moved to Coney Island and later Steeplechase Park in the US, eventually ending up at Toshimaen. It was dismantled and put into storage when Toshimaen closed. Though still fully functional, at the time of writing there are no known plans for reassembling it at a new location.
The Aquatope on White Sand
(白い砂のアクアトープ Shiroi Suna no Akuatōpu)
Episode 4
The small shrine is modeled on Iri nu kami nu yā (西ノ神之屋 イリヌカミヌヤー), found at Cape Zanpa (残波岬) in Yomitan (読谷村), Okinawa Prefecture. @Harahara1238 kindly confirmed this reading is indeed Okinawan language. Iri is west. Worshipers are said to come here to pray for safe sea voyages (航海安全) and “continued luck in the fortunes of war” (武運長久). More information: Nippon Tabi Magazine
Azama Sun Sun Beach (あざまサンサンビーチ) in Chinen (知念), Nanjō (南城市), Okinawa Prefecture. Except where noted otherwise, the rest of the Aquatope locations in Episode 4 are in Chinen.
Undetermined
Iri nu kami nu yā grafted into Chinen
JA Okinawa Chinen branch (ＪＡおきなわ知念支店)
I think the distant land we often see from Azama Sun Sun Beach is the peninsula that comprises the southern part of Uruma.
Like everybody else, I misread the name of the restaurant as “Kameichi” until someone spoke it. Kamee is the Okinawan word for eat.The precise location is “parking lot next to the paragliding school on the opposite side of National Route 331 from the Chinen Post Office.” (I might need a shorthand for this.)
Azama Sun Sun Beach
Hanashiro Beach (玻名城ビーチ) in Yaese (八重瀬町), Okinawa Prefecture is south of Nanjō. [Credit: @fragments_sue, Twitter]
Azama Sun Sun Beach
Iri nu kami nu yā
Azama Sun Sun Beach
Other Current Season Pilgrimage
@flyingbird1124 made a pilgrimage to Ōji and Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture; Kudoyama, Wakayama Prefecture; Tondabayashi, Kanan and Minō, Osaka Prefecture for Bokutachi no Remake OP, ED and Episode 1 through Episode 3.
@flyingbird1124 made a pilgrimage to Takarazuka, Hyōgo Prefecture for Kageki Shōjo!! OP, Episode 1 through Episode 3.
Past Season Pilgrimage
@fureshima2223 published a report on information boards and exhibitions of scooters and other Super Cub related items organized by the Hokuto Anime Tourism Council in Hokuto, Yamanashi Prefecture.
@flyingbird1124 made a pilgrimage to Kyoto for Fruits Basket (2019) Season 3 OP.
@flyingbird1124 made a pilgrimage (updated post) to Kyoto for Go-Tōbun no Hanayome ∬.
@flyingbird1124 made a pilgrimage (updated post) to Tenryū-Futamata Station in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture for Shin Evangelion Gekijōban.
@626shin made a pilgrimage to Ashikita, Kumamoto Prefecture for Hōkago Teibō Nisshi Episode 7, Episode 8 and Episode 11/12.
@kimamanidance made a pilgrimage to Kichijōji, Musashino; Igusa Hachimangū in Zenpukuji, Suginama Ward (both Tokyo Metropolis) for Hinako Note.
