Bit off topic but while on the train I realized I was going the exact route as Shizuru and the gang in Train to the End of the World, between Agano and Ikebukuro!!!
Anyway most of this post will be centered around Ikebukuro since that is where Gojo and Kitagawa often hang out, and the outdoor cosplay events are on the Sunshine City mall and the park next to it, which is really close! Gojo lives in Saitama Iwatsuki which is in between Oomiya and Kasukabe, I was kind of close to there but sadly in the moment it was very out the way to take pictures, maybe next time... Well let's get started!
(By the way, this post was also made entirely possible thanks to the convenience of AnimePilgrimage.com!)
Season 1 Opening
First off the Animate store right next to the square (or Inner Ikebukuro Park (it doesn't strike me as a park?)). They have so many floors with cool stuff, if you're an anime/manga otaku I highly recommend paying a visit! They also had a lot of the My Dress Up Darling manga (in Japanese of course!) I just bought the first book for now, it was like 800 yen. Somehow I struggled to find the right angle of the store and then while rewatching the episode realized the perspective was pointed towards the exit, so if I turned just 90 degrees it would've been perfect...!
This is the square/park that you will definitely recognize from the opening! It blew my mind how true to reality most of the scenes in the anime are.
Season 1 Episode 3
Right on the same square you will find this owl statue. If you've been to Ikebukuro you may know that there are many owl appearances around the area which is in part a pun because owl in Japanese is fukurou and without the consonant gradation the bukuro in Ikebukuro would be fukuro. Ikebukuro itself means pond bag, apparently there used to be a pond in the shape of a bag? But then the station was built over it. You can still find a smaller pond with an owl next to it in the Seibu part of the station (I read about this but didn't actually go see it, it's so crowded in there!).
Season 1 Episode 5
Then we skip to the park (East Ikebukuro Central Park) right next to Sunshine City, a few streets south east of the square. This is where all the outside cosplay events take place. You'll see more pictures of this in the season 2 part.
Season 1 Episode 8
This is at the Enoshima Katase beach. I happened to visit here one day before Ikebukuro (unfortunately way too late after exploring Kamakura and it got dark, at 4 PM already!!) Not the greatest pic but you can see the resemblance. Actually I forgot My Dress Up Darling also had some scenes here and my main anime reason was Seishun Buta Yarou wa Baniigaaru Senpai no Yume wo Minai, or Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (what a mouthful).
Season 1 Episode 12
This is the part with the festival at Saitama Chichibu! The resemblance is unfortunately hard to see except for the pillar. There was such a giant crowd and they covered the stone fences for some reason, maybe they were worried it would break. By the time I got here it was time to turn around and catch my train. It was 1km from the station but there were so many people to get through. Still I did not feel stressed or overwhelmed, there was something deeply soothing about experiencing a festival here with the traditional foods and music. Next time I want to visit a festival with a friend while wearing yukatas (while it's not freezing cold ideally 🤣)
Season 2 Episode 1
If this looks familiar you're not going crazy! It's a small street right in front of the Shibuya Mega Donki. Somehow I ended up here while walking at night without coordinating for it but did know it was somewhere in Shibuyaku. I was like, huh?? isn't this the place where they did the cosplays? Apparently the indoors area where they did the preparations also exists here but I didn't look into it if it's accessible or anything.
Season 2 Episode 2
This is back at the Sunshine City mall. On the very top floor you will find this beautiful aquarium. What really intrigued me about this is the lighting. Often the lighting style used in anime is very different from real life and it makese everything look completely different, but this was totally on point! The place had such a calming atmosphere. I still had time to hang out for an hour before I had to catch my train. This passed way more quickly than I realized and after visiting the souvenir shop halfway the aquarium I had to run back to the station! Here the only mistake I somehow made is that the first picture is taken from the opposite direction, but I kinda like it, they look connected, you can see what they were looking at in the anime! There was a big crowd here cause there was a an attendant swimming between the fish to feed them.
Season 2 Episode 3
Back to the Sunshine City outside part, and the park! Apparently they do cosplay events here every month irl too. I missed it by just a few days... but it felt special to be here. There were so many pigeons in one part of the park, I sneakily handed them a few crumbs. On my way back out there was suddenly a guy with a bucket of bird feed and there were pigeons all over him 🤣 Jealous! Anyway if you're ever in the area and you love cosplay, check out acosta.jp for the Kanto/Tokyo schedules! Their website is in English as well.
Season 2 Episode 8
Last one for now! This is in the far left corner of Sunshine City, on like the first elevated outdoor floor with the park/plaza. I feel like this is one of the few I got more or less exactly right and it was so satisfying! With many getting the perspective right was a challenge, but maybe I'm not patient enough. Either way it was exciting and it made me happy and I can show everyone that I was in these spots! How cool is that! If you've read until here, thank you for your interest 😊
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