For those of you that haven’t seen it, K-On is a ‘slice of life’ anime adapted by Kyoto Animation; it follows five high school girls that join the ‘light music’ club at Sakuragaoka High School. It is both heartwarming and funny, and has maybe the best anime soundtrack of all time! |
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| After watching the anime I learned the school was based on a real life location, so in 2018 when I traveled to Japan, I knew I had to go! The school is located in the town of Toyosato in the Shiga Prefecture and it takes two hours by train from Kyoto. As we got off the train, we started spotting clues that we were at the right location in the form of characters dotted along the path that led us to the school. |
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| When we reached Toyosato elementary school it gave me such a warm feeling, it looked exactly as it does in the anime. The building itself was almost demolished a number of years ago, but instead they renovated part of the building to use as a public library, museum, day care centre and tourism office. |
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As we entered, we removed our shoes and put on a pair of slippers. We weren’t quite sure where to go, but we soon came across a staircase that had the brass tortoise and hare on. Once we reached the top it felt very familiar; light airy corridors, sliding doors to the classrooms and dark wooden floors.
In Japan, schools all follow a similar design and you can see this mirrored in most school scenes in anime. With another brass tortoise at the top of the staircase, I felt like Yui and Mio could run past me at any moment! |
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| The famous school club room is located next to the stairs and it was such a surprise to see the room set up as though it was being used by the girls. The chalkboard they write on, the chairs they sit on to practice guitar, and most importantly the table they eat cake at (complete with cake)! |
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| The room had so many little details, such as the girl’s shoes tucked under the chairs, a plush tortoise in a tank where their pet tortoise sits in the anime, and even a cassette player with the band's tape in it. The chalkboard and whiteboard are used by visitors to write notes and draw pictures, and there are stacks of old guest books you can read through. As you look around, you can find lot’s of K-On merchandise that has been left and donated by fans. |
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| Once we left the club room, we headed downstairs to the café and gift shop. Here you could buy the manga, anime DVD’s and lots of cute merch! I got a cute bronze enamel pin of the hare and tortoise from the stairs, as well as some art postcards. There was so much to look at, including posters of the characters and even their actual instruments! |
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There was also a section where fans had hung ema boards covered in hand drawn artwork, and a section of posters advertising meetups for characters birthdays.
Visiting Japan was incredible and getting to visit Toyosato Elementary School was definitely one of the highlights - I really could feel the magic, which is why I fell in love with the anime!
Thank you for reading and don't forget to react to earn yourself some Tomodachi Points~ See you next time! |
