120+ Real-Life Anime Locations Every Fan Must Visit!

Summary

  • The Anime Tourism Association identified over 120 Anime Pilgrimage sites from 100+ anime titles.
  • The association promotes “content tourism” by showcasing settings from manga, anime, and more.
  • The 2025 Anime Holy Sites list includes locations from classic and recent titles, chosen in a selection process involving fans.

This year, the Anime Tourism Association unveiled their list of “Anime Destinations Worth Visiting,” bringing the grand total of such sites to more than 120, derived from over a hundred unique anime series and franchises. The updated list for 2025 was revealed on January 2024, incorporating locations from fifteen fresh titles like “Natsume’s Book of Friends“, “Girls Band Cry“, “Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night“, “Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!“, and even the recently premiered film “The Colours Within“. The Association has been sharing this list annually since 2018, and it can be accessed on their official website.

On February 13, at 2 PM Japan Standard Time, the Anime Tourism Association plans to hold a press conference on their YouTube channel about their Anime Pilgrimage Sites 88 program.

What’s the Anime Tourism Association?

Facilitating Contents Tourism

Established in September 2016, the Anime Tourism Association is a collaboration between Kadokawa and significant figures from Japan’s anime and travel sectors. Their objective is to boost tourism stimulated by the cultural exports of anime and manga. The Association, located in Fujimi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, is currently led by Shoji Kawamori, a renowned mecha anime designer who took over from Yoshiyuki Tomino as president in October 2024. The Association’s goal is to foster what is known as “content tourism,” which encompasses travel to locations depicted in various art forms, including literature, anime, and manga.

Every year, I’m thrilled to be part of the journey through the “88 Anime Holy Sites of Japan,” a guidebook series launched in 2018. The number 88 holds a deep significance, as it represents the 88 temples visited by the revered Buddhist monk Kūkai during his Shikoku Pilgrimage. This guidebook is not just any travel guide; it’s a treasure map for anime enthusiasts worldwide!

The selection process behind these holy sites is a collaborative effort between Japanese and international anime fans, who vote on their favorite locations. A board of directors then reviews the results to ensure the chosen spots truly embody the spirit of anime. It’s a fantastic way for us, as fans, to celebrate our shared passion for this vibrant art form while exploring the rich culture of Japan!

The 2025 Anime Holy Sites

Classic Titles and Recent Hits Share the Spotlight

2025’s List of 88 Anime Sacred Sites offers an assortment of locations from both timeless series and newer ones, featuring gems like “Jellyfish Can’t Swim at Night” (2024), “My Deer Friend Nokotan” (2024), “SHOSHIMIN: The Path to Ordinary” (2024), “A Certain Scientific Railgun” (2009), “Digimon Adventure” (1999), “Hanasaku Iroha” (2011), and “Hyouka” (2012). For a comprehensive view, please refer to the table below. Titles marked with asterisks are fresh additions.

Anime Title Local Government
Love Live! Sunshine!! Hokkaido Hakodate City
Hakuouki Shinkai
Kantai Collection – KanColle – Aomori Prefecture Mutsu City
Backflip!! Miyagi Prefecture Iwanuma City
Sanpei the Fisherman Akita Prefecture Yokote City
My Oni Girl* Yamagata Prefecture Yonezawa City
Hakuouki Shinkai Fukushima Prefecture Aizuwakamatsu City
Ultraman Series (Birthplace of Eiji Tsuburaya) Sukagawa City
Girls & Panzer Final Chapter Ibaraki Prefecture Oarai Town
5 Centimeters per Second Tochigi Prefecture Tochigi City
Narenare: Cheer For You!* Gunma Prefecture Takasaki City
Numata City
A Place Further Than the Universe Tatebayashi City
My Dress-Up Darling Saitama Prefecture Saitama City (Iwatsuki)
Tsuki ga Kirei Kawagoe City
Kamisama Kiss
AnoHana Chichibu City
The Anthem of the Heart
Her Blue Sky*
Wasteful Days of High School Girls Tokorozawa City
Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit Hanno City
Goodbye My Cramer Warabi City
How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend Wako City
Lucky Star Kuki City
The Anthem of the Heart Yokoze Town
Wataten!: An Angel Flew Down to Me Nagatoro Town
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Chiba Prefecture Chiba City
Blue Orchestra*
Amagami SS Choshi City
Trapezium* Tateyama City
BanG Dream! Tokyo Arakawa Line
Touch.* (Takadanobaba)
Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale Tokyo
STEINS;GATE Chiyoda Ward
Love Live!
Edomae Elf Chuo Ward
Digimon Adventure (1999) Minato Ward (Odaiba)
Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Minato Ward
Lycoris Recoil Sumida Ward
THE iDOLM@STER MILLION LIVE! Koto Ward (Toyosu)
Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club Koto Ward
Bocchi the Rock! Setagaya Ward
5 Centimeters per Second
Ultraman Series (Ultraman Shopping Street)
Love Live! Superstar!! Shibuya Ward
Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night*
My Dress-Up Darling Toshima Ward
BanG Dream!
How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend
Durarara!!
Digimon Adventure (1999) Nerima Ward (Hikarigaoka)
A Certain Scientific Railgun Tachikawa City
A Certain Magical Index
“SHIROBAKO” the Movie Musashino City
Laid-Back Camp Akishima City
Gegege no Kitaro Chofu City
Dropout Idol Fruit Tart Koganei City
My Deer Friend Nokotan* Hino City
Hakuouki Shinkai
Wasteful Days of High School Girls Higashimurayama City
GAMERA -Rebirth- Fussa City
Love Live! Superstar!! Kozushima Village
Bungo Stray Dogs Kanagawa Prefecture Yokohama City
Girls Band Cry* Kawasaki City
Slow Loop Yokosuka City
High School Fleet
Kantai Collection – KanColle –
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai Fujisawa City
Evangelion Hakone Town
Yowamushi Pedal
Do It Yourself!! Niigata Prefecture Sanjo City
Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki Toyama Prefecture Kamiichi Town
Hanasaku Iroha Ishikawa Prefecture Kanazawa City (Yuwaku Onsen)
A Few Moments of Cheer* Kanazawa City
Hakui City
Laid-back Camp Yamanashi Prefecture Yamanashi City
Minobu Town
Super Cub Hokuto City
Summer Wars Nagano Prefecture Ueda City
SHOSHIMIN: How to become Ordinary* Gifu Prefecture Gifu City
Hyouka Takayama City
Let’s Make a Mug Too Tajimi City
Higurashi When They Cry: Graduation Shirakawa Village
Monster cat Anzu-chan* Shizuoka Prefecture Izu
Laid-back Camp Hamamatsu City
Evangelion
Love Live! Sunshine!! Numazu City
Laid-back Camp Kawane Town
Shikizakura Aichi prefecture Nagoya City
Laid-back Camp
Shikizakura Toyota City
MakeIne: Too Many Losing Heroines* Toyohashi City
Nagi no Asukara Mie Prefecture Kumano City
Hakuouki Shinkai Kyoto Prefecture Kyoto City
Kantai Collection – KanColle – Maizuru City
Ikkyu-san (Shuonan Ikkyu-ji Temple) Kyotanabe City
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Hyogo Prefecture Nishinomiya City
Hinabita♪ Tottori Prefecture Kurayoshi City
Gegege no Kitaro Sakaiminato City
If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die Okayama Prefecture Okayama City
Kantai Collection – KanColle – Hiroshima Prefecture Kure City
Tamayura Takehara City
Shrine Maiden of the Morning Mist Miyoshi City
Evangelion Yamaguchi Prefecture Ube City
Yuuki Yuna is a Hero Kagawa Prefecture Kanonji City
Teasing Master Takagi-san 3 Tonosho Town
Ganbatte Ikimasshoi* Ehime Prefecture Matsuyama City
Dragon and the Freckled Princess Kochi Prefecture Ochi Town
Bull Buster Fukuoka Prefecture Kitakyushu City
Your Color* Nagasaki Prefecture Nagasaki City
Iroduku: The World in Colors
Your Color* Sasebo City
Kantai Collection – KanColle –
GAMERA -Rebirth- Tsushima City
Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion
Your Color* Goto City
Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm
Your Color* Shinkamigoto Town
Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm
Natsume’s Book of Friends* Kumamoto Prefecture Hitoyoshi, Kuma area, etc.
After School Fishing Diary Ashikita Town
5 Centimeters per Second Kagoshima Prefecture Tanegashima
White Sand Aquatope Okinawa Prefecture Nanjo City
Ultraman Series (Tetsuo Kinjo Museum) Haebaru Town

The official 88 Holy Sites lists of previous years can be found on the official website.

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2025-02-12 04:29