I really took my time walking as far along the beach as possible, it had been so long since I saw a beach/sea, it was very nostalgic and euphoric somehow. Also I was absolutely stunned by the lighting decorations on and around the sea candle and stuck around forever and then had to rush many of the locations to make it back for the last train (I actually managed to catch the very last monorail train back!!! And the surroundings were so dark and invisible!) so many aren't exact comparisons or places outside of Enoshima I've just happened to visit and had a picture of. Okay enough rambling, enjoy the post and go see my Japan daily travel report if you want more xD
Season 1 Opening
This one you'll undoubtedly know from the season 1 opening, and all the appearances throughout the show! Surprisingly from all the things in this list only Benny's/Denny's is really nearby.
On both the screenshot and the photo you see the sea candle, from a completely different angle though!
Season 1 Episode 1
The library where Sakuta first met Mai. Sadly I arrived after opening hours but still felt it was worth taking a picture from outside. If you enlarge the photo you'll see they put up a banner/poster of Mai, I love that!
Season 1 Episode 4
This is the famous Benny's (or actually Denny's!) restaurant where Sakuta works for much of season 1 and often visits in season 2. It was fortunately open until pretty late so I thought I'd head in and have some dinner here. Being mostly vegetarian I ordered the eggplant burger and it was super delcious! It had eggplant stuff on top, but I think the patty itself was actually meat 😅 But I didn't wanna be a karen and paid it no further thought. The staff was really sweet too!
Season 1 Episode 5
Here is the bridge leading to the island with the sea candle. A lot of the anime is true to real life so I was confused if this was correct since it didn't have the pretty patterns, but the shape was definitely correct! To the left is another bridge for cars and trucks to get across.
Shichirigahama beach, it felt very surreal being in this place after seeing it in the anime so many times. One of the rare moments where I stood still and enjoyed being right there in the present moment. It was so relaxing without all the crowds of people around.
Season 1 Episode 6
Here's the first part of the island. As you enter the shopping street you're greeted by a tall green torii. Then a bit further you'll find the stairway with the orange torii waiting for you! It looked awesome at night with the lighting. The gate behind it, not sure what it's called. It could've looked real pretty but it was under construction!
I think this wall stone carving is of one of the three main shinto goddesses Tagitsuhime no Mikoto.
And as you go up the stairs you'll find the main shrine. Nearby are some other shrines, the board with plaques, and a pond with a statue of the dragon Gozuryu where you can "cleanse" your coins and try to throw them into the donation box.
Season 1 Episode 8
The station of Katase Enoshima, it looks completely different so I walked around it a few times to make sure it was the right entrance, but apparently it was! They just did a reconstruction sometime after the anime aired.
Season 1 Episode 12
The Ueno zoo back in Tokyo. There are multiple gates but this one is the main entrance.
Season 2 Opening
The famous arena Nippon Budokan! I don't remember the significance it had in the series but if you've watched any music themed anime surely you've heard of this name before 😁
Season 2 Episode 2
These are the gates through which you can access the grounds and the venue.
Season 2 Episode 7
Zoo no Hana (elephant flower?) park in Yokohama. You'll find little elephant statues with flowers on them, and these vertical glass panels with these changing color gradients. Very unusual place with very pretty colors. It's one of those areas that really made me think, you will never find anything like this in the west. It serves no practical purpose, it's just pretty.
The famous Yokohama brick warehouse. Coincidentally I was also there in the time it was leading up to Christmas with lots of markets already set up. It was interesting that it looked exactly the same as in the anime, it's maybe a bit hard to see because of the different perspective. This particular one was very busy and had an entrance fee so I just walked by, but between China Town and here I found like two other Christmas markets that were also very cozy and I stopped by for a while. One of them had a performance of the Japanese Frank Sinatra. I sat there with hot cocoa and snacks for like an hour until he took a break from singing. I really regret not finding out his name, idk why I didn't make the effort.
Something really funny was that I was looking forward to buying some Japanese Christmas gifts for friends and family, but almost all the stands were German themed or inspired and mostly sold food, a few of them sold other Christmas related things but... the markets I'm used to back home are also very German inspired so they sold exactly the same kind of things here.
Season 2 Episode 10
This is the big torii you'll see immediately to the left when you exit the Kamakura train station. If you follow the path you'll eventually end up at the biggest shinto shrine in the area, Tsurugaoka Hachimangu.
The bamboo grove of Houkokuji. If you love Kyoto's Arashiyama but you'd prefer it just a little less crowded this is the perfect alternative.
Season 2 Episode 13
This stage you'll find right by the mall and bus stop when you take the north west exit of Tsujido Station. I know it was featured in earlier episodes as well but couldn't find it as I quickly skimmed through the episodes. It was an iconic place so it felt right to end the post with this!
Out and about
Here are some more appearances of the anime I found out and about in the real world! Most of them were on the island, one I'm not sure maybe it was near Fujisawa station, and the last one was very coincidental as I stopped by a konbini near Uguisudani on the way back to my accommodation and there were these acryllic stands calling out to me, figuratively! I couldn't justify buying them for that price tho... and the sad thing is that I didn't get any other AoButa merch either, so that will have to watch until next year! I did take a few grains of sand from the Shichirigahama beach to make up for it, don't cancel me! 🤣
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