There are many kinds of people visiting Japan, some are attracted to the country’s unique culture or history, others to its cuisine. However, it is modern Japan and its pop culture that have been inspiring many foreigners to travel to Japan in recent years.
Manga, Anime, games, and Cosplay are all part of Japan’s popular culture and have quickly spread around the world creating a huge community of fans, or Otaku, everywhere.
Visiting real Anime spots in Japan is a unique way to explore the country. This form of discovering the country is getting more popular among adventurous travelers tired of the typical tourist places.
Here we have compiled a list of Anime series taking place in Nagoya and its surroundings including instructions on how you can visit the real-life locations by yourself.
You will be quite surprised by the things that await in Nagoya!
Article Contents
A Whisker Away (Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu) – Tokoname
A Whisker Away is the story of a loud and energetic middle school girl called Muge who transforms into a cat to get closer to her crush, Hinode. However, she faces a tough decision: Is she a better cat than a human?
The sole location in A Whisker Away is Tokoname City, a small and traditional city in the southern peninsula of Chita. This city is famous for Tokoname Ware, one of Japan’s more ancient ceramics, and its traditional climbing kilns.
You can visit most of the locations from the movie, such as the school and the park where they have their first en-cat-ounter. You can take it a step further and even experience making your own ceramics in Tokoname-style which Hinode loves so much in the movie!
Location: Tokoname (常滑市)
Address: Sakaemachi, Tokoname, Aichi 479-0836
Anime Location Map
Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) – Nagoya
Your Name was an international success simultaneously becoming one of the highest-grossing Japanese movies and also one of the highest-grossing animation movies of all time.
This movie portrays the story of two high schoolers, a girl, Mitsuha, from a traditional small town in Hida, and a boy, Tori, from the busy city of Tokyo, who switch bodies when they wake up.
One of the locations for this moving teen love story is Hida, located in the north of Nagoya in Gifu Prefecture, which means that for Tori to meet with Mitsuha he had to stop at… can you guess it? Yes, Nagoya!
Nagoya Station appears in the movie and you can see Tori eating one of the food specialties of the city, Miso Katsu, a pork cutlet topped with Miso sauce.
You can try following Tori’s trip from Tokyo to Hida, stopping in Nagoya for a foodie tour and other adventures!
Our tip: get your own Miso Katsu at the stores in Nagoya Station or go to Misokatsu Yabaton, a popular restaurant specializing in the dish with multiple locations around the city.
Location: Nagoya Station (名古屋駅)
Address: 1-1-4 Meieki, Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, Aichi
Google Maps
Seraph of the End (Owari no Seraph) – Nagoya
This dark apocalyptic Anime showcases an uninhabited and ravaged Japan where only children under the age of 13 survived a virus.
In fact, one of these devastated locations is Sakae, Nagoya’s city center. What was Japan like for our protagonists in the series, when adults went about their lives and vampires remained hidden?
Visit Sakae, especially the Hisaya Odori Park, and discover what remained of the area in Owari no Seraph’s world.
While Sakae is great for some brand shopping, if you want to buy Anime and Manga merchandise we recommend visiting the Mandarake shop, a very popular Anime, Manga, and Doujinshi shop chain in Japan. You can find its Nagoya store in Osu, only a few minutes walk from Sakae. Find more Nagoya Anime shops in this article.
Find out more about all the best shopping options in Nagoya in this article. And if you are feeling adventurous, join us on our best-selling Street Food Walking Tour Of Osu. Click in the banner below to learn more.
Location: Sakae (栄), Nagoya
Address: Nishiki, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0003
Google Maps
Haganai (Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai) – Nagoya
This Anime depicts high school students lacking social skills who decide to create a club for people like them, the Neighbors Club, to practice making friends. They will encounter various adventures while honing their social skills.
In episode 7 of this anime, you can find a very popular meeting spot in Nagoya: the Golden Clock inside Nagoya Station.
Feel like a local and meet up near the Golden Clock for a stroll around the Nagoya Station area.
On the opposite side of the station, you will find the Silver Clock, another popular meeting point in Nagoya. If you exit the station on this side, you will find the Animate and Toranoana stores where you can shop around for Manga and Anime merch!
Location: Nagoya Station (名古屋駅)
Address: 1-1-4 Meieki, Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, Aichi
Google Maps
My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) – Nagakute
We believe most Japan-lovers are familiar with Studio Ghibli’s movies. If you haven’t seen them yet, hurry up and watch Totoro! We are sure you will fall in love with Satsuki and Mei’s charming house and the peaceful yet mischievous Totoro.
Well, you can actually visit Satsuki and Mei’s house in Nagoya! Located inside the newly-built Ghibli Park, you can take a tour of the iconic house as well as many other Ghibli movie sets where all the magic happens.
For more information, read our full article on the World’s First Ghibli Park.
Ghibli Park (ジブリパーク)
Entry Fee: See the prices above
Opening hours: weekdays 10:00 – 17:00, weekends and school holidays 9:00 – 17:00, closed Tuesdays
Address: 1533-1 Ibaragabasama, Nagakute, Aichi
Access: From Nagoya Station take the Higashiyama Line to Fujigaoka Station, transfer to Linimo Line and get off at Ai-Chikyuhaku-Kinen-Koen Station.
Website | Google Maps
Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki – Nagoya
This might be the Manga and Anime that most accurately portrays the city of Nagoya. The protagonist of this story moves from the bustling city of Tokyo to Nagoya, where he meets the peculiar Yatogame, a girl with a strong Nagoya accent.
Together with the rest of the photography club they visit different spots in Nagoya and learn everything about the city, including its quirkiest and most comical secrets.
Follow their path and visit many locations around Nagoya, such as Nagoya Station and its surroundings, Osu, and the popular Nagoyan coffee chain called Komeda’s Coffee.
Location: Nagoya (名古屋)
Website (Japanese only)
Detective Conan: The Lost Ship in the Sky – Sakushima (Nishio)
Detective Conan is one of the anime classics, and this film is the 14th installment of the Conan film series released in November 2010.
The story finds our young sleuth trapped on a Zeppelin with a group of terrorists armed with a deadly virus. His only ally is his arch-nemesis, the gentleman thief Kaitou Kid.
One of the locations of this film is in Nakushima, a small island off the coast of Nishio City, also known as “the island of the winds”. Sakushima is one of the three islands located in Mikawa Bay, which, together with Himakajima and Shinojima, form the Aichi Archipelago.
There are only a few people living on the island, and there are no traffic lights or convenience stores. It’s a truly beautiful place to cycle around and visit all the art spots.
In this film, many locations on Nakushima are featured, such as the “Hirune House”, a box structure painted black, with nine windows that offer nine different views of the Island.
Location: Sakushima (佐久島)
Google Maps
This post was last updated in October 2023.
Although we strive to provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date information possible, please note that changes may occur nonetheless. We recommend you confirm any relevant information such as event cancelations or changes, opening hours, or possible restrictions using a direct source. Please keep in mind that these sources might be in Japanese only.
If you know of any other Anime series that feature locations in and around Nagoya, let us know in the comments below!
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