Anime pilgrimage in Japan: a respectful guide to seichi junrei
Across Japan, ordinary staircases, level crossings and shrine steps have quietly become seichi — "sacred ground" for fans of a particular anime. Visiting them is called seichi junrei (聖地巡礼), anime pilgrimage. This guide covers what it is, the real, well-documented locations behind famous works, how fans verify them, and — most importantly — how to visit without making locals regret that their town ever appeared on screen.
What is seichi junrei?
Seichi junrei (聖地巡礼) literally means "pilgrimage to sacred places." The words are borrowed from religious pilgrimage — like the Shikoku 88-temple route — but fans use them for a secular trip: visiting the real-world places that appear as backgrounds and settings in anime, manga, or films. A seichi (聖地) might be a single staircase, a whole town, a school, or a stretch of coastline. Half the fun is standing where a pivotal scene was framed and lining up the real view with the drawn one.
It is now a genuine slice of Japan's tourism economy. A 2024 Japan Tourism Agency survey found roughly 11–13% of inbound visitors cited visiting movie- and anime-related sites — a share that has been rising year on year. (Different official tables report 11.8% and 13.1% for 2024, so treat it as a range, not a single figure.)
How it started, and the "Anime 88 Spots"
The modern phenomenon is usually dated to 2007, when the comedy series Lucky Star sent a sudden wave of fans to Washinomiya Shrine in Saitama, whose torii appears in the opening. Visitor numbers there reportedly climbed from around 90,000 to 450,000 over three years — a figure repeated widely enough to be illustrative even if it's a media estimate rather than an audited count.
In 2017 the Anime Tourism Association launched "Japanese Anime 88 Spots" (アニメ聖地88), an annual, fan-voted list of anime locations and facilities designed to form a nationwide pilgrimage route. The number 88 deliberately echoes the 88 temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. The roster is refreshed every year — the 2026 edition was presented in February 2026 — so the official site, not any blog, is the source of truth for the current list.
The Anime Tourism Association keeps the official, always-current "Anime 88 Spots" list, refreshed annually and chosen partly by a public fan poll. Use it to confirm which works and places are featured this year — then come back here for the travel and Japanese-phrase context.
Famous, well-documented spots by prefecture
These pairings are widely documented and fan-confirmed. Most are public places — shrines, parks, stations — but treat the etiquette section below as part of the itinerary, not an afterthought.
| Work | Real spot | City · Prefecture | Why fans go | Free guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your Name君の名は。 | Suga Shrine staircase (Otokozaka) | Shinjuku, Tokyo | The final-reunion stairs — arguably the world's most famous anime pilgrimage spot | Tokyo → |
| Your Name君の名は。 | Hida-Furukawa Station & city library | Hida, Gifu | Real-world model woven into "Itomori"; where Taki's search begins | Gifu → |
| Slam Dunkスラムダンク | Kamakurakōkō-mae railway crossing | Kamakura, Kanagawa | The Enoden crossing with the sea behind it, from the opening | Kanagawa → |
| Lucky Starらき☆すた | Washinomiya Shrine | Kuki, Saitama | The shrine that started modern seichi junrei in 2007 | Saitama → |
| K-On!けいおん！ | Former Toyosato Elementary School | Toyosato, Shiga | Model for the clubroom; the building is preserved for fans | Shiga → |
| Free!フリー！ | Uradome Coast & Tajiri port | Iwami, Tottori | The coastal model for fictional "Iwatobi" | Tottori → |
| Love Live!ラブライブ！ | Kanda Myōjin (Kanda Shrine) | Chiyoda, Tokyo | μ's "home" shrine near Akihabara; fans leave themed ema | Tokyo → |
| Anohanaあの花 | Chichibu Bridge & old town | Chichibu, Saitama | Faithfully recreated townscape; the tourist office gives out maps | Saitama → |
| The Garden of Words言の葉の庭 | Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden | Shinjuku, Tokyo | The rainy-morning meetings of Takao and Yukino | Tokyo → |
| Hanasaku Iroha花咲くいろは | Yuwaku Onsen | Kanazawa, Ishikawa | Model for the "Kissuisō" inn; it inspired a real lantern festival | Ishikawa → |
| Laid-Back Campゆるキャン△ | Lake Motosu & Minobu-area campsites | Minobu & around, Yamanashi | Mt. Fuji camping settings; the prefecture runs official tie-ins | Yamanashi → |
One caution often repeated online: Your Name's "Itomori" is a blend of several real places (Gifu and Nagano elements), so no single town "is" Itomori. And atmospheric inspirations — like Taishō-era Asakusa for Demon Slayer — are moods, not exact screen-matched spots. When a guide claims one precise building "is" a location, check it against the official Anime 88 list or a local tourist office.
The etiquette that keeps fans welcome
This is the part that matters most. Many "sacred grounds" are ordinary neighbourhoods where people live, commute, and run businesses. When pilgrimage tips into overtourism, towns push back: the Slam Dunk crossing in Kamakura now has multilingual warning signs, 24-hour cameras, and a 2025 etiquette ordinance after years of fans blocking the road and railway and photographing residents. The whole hobby depends on visitors behaving well.
- Never block roads, level crossings, or train doors for a photo. Wait your turn; step fully clear of traffic and rails.
- Don't photograph residents, their homes, license plates, or children. Frame the scenery, not people's private lives.
- Keep your voice down and don't gather in large noisy groups, especially early morning or late evening.
- Don't trespass. Schools, private homes, and shop interiors are off-limits unless there's an official tie-in inviting visitors.
- At shrines, worship properly before treating it as a photo spot — it's a place of faith first, a seichi second.
- Spend a little locally — a meal, a drink, a souvenir. It turns "the fans who clog our station" into "the fans who keep our shops open."
Fans confirm locations through butaitanbō (舞台探訪, "scene-hunting") — comparing anime frames against real scenery — and many tourist offices (Chichibu, Nerima, Iwami) now hand out official location maps. Starting from those maps, rather than wandering into someone's back garden, is both more accurate and more respectful.
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The Japanese you'll actually use
Pilgrimage takes you into small towns where a few words go a long way — and where station staff and shopkeepers genuinely warm up when a foreign fan knows the vocabulary.
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 聖地巡礼 | seichi junrei | anime pilgrimage — literally "sacred-place pilgrimage" |
| 聖地 | seichi | "sacred ground" — a fan-revered real location |
| 舞台 | butai | the setting / stage a story takes place in |
| 舞台探訪 | butai tanbō | "scene-hunting" — matching real spots to a work |
| 背景 | haikei | background — the drawn scenery fans compare to reality |
| 絵馬 | ema | the wooden wish-plaque fans decorate at shrine seichi |
| 撮影してもいいですか？ | satsuei shite mo ii desu ka? | "May I take a photo?" — the polite way to check before shooting |
Want these to stick? The free JLPT battle quiz drills travel and culture vocabulary like this with spaced repetition.
Seichi junrei chains naturally with other location-based hunts: Pokéfuta (Pokémon manhole covers) →, free manhole cards →, and Gundam manholes →. Many fans tick off all four in one prefecture.
Common questions
Q. What is anime pilgrimage (seichi junrei)?
A. It's visiting the real-world places that appear as settings or backgrounds in anime, manga, or films. The Japanese term seichi junrei (聖地巡礼) means "sacred-place pilgrimage," borrowing language from traditional religious pilgrimage.
Q. When did anime pilgrimage become popular?
A. It went mainstream in 2007, when fans of Lucky Star flocked to Washinomiya Shrine in Saitama — widely cited as the first major modern case.
Q. What is the "Anime 88 Spots" list?
A. An annual list of anime locations chosen by the Anime Tourism Association, partly through a public fan poll. The number 88 references the 88 temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. The current roster lives at animetourism88.com.
Q. Where was Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) set?
A. Real models include the Suga Shrine staircase in Shinjuku, Tokyo (the final reunion stairs) and Hida-Furukawa in Gifu. Note that the fictional town "Itomori" blends several places, so no single town is literally Itomori.
Q. What are the most famous anime pilgrimage spots?
A. Among the best known: the Suga Shrine stairs (Your Name), the Kamakurakōkō-mae crossing (Slam Dunk), Washinomiya Shrine (Lucky Star), Kanda Myōjin (Love Live!), and Shinjuku Gyoen (The Garden of Words).
Q. Is it OK to visit these places?
A. Yes — many are public shrines, parks, or stations. But they're also real neighbourhoods. Follow posted etiquette: don't trespass, don't block roads or crossings, don't photograph residents, and keep noise down. Kamakura even passed an etiquette ordinance and installed cameras after Slam Dunk overtourism.
Q. How do fans know a location is "the real one"?
A. Through butaitanbō (scene-hunting): comparing anime frames against real scenery. Communities crowd-document maps online, and some tourist offices (Chichibu, Nerima, Iwami) provide official location maps.