“All of these souvenirs were gifts by fans, throughout the years,” said the man from the counter. His hand waved over the shrine of merchandises that saturated the room.

Five years had passed since K-On! finished its run, with its film concluding the series in 2012. A show that garnered fame for the Toyosato Elementary School: the architectural model of Sakuragaoka Girls’ High School.

There’s a history to this building; designed by William Merrell Vories, an American Christian missionary, in 1937, it served as a symbol to the modernization of the town. However, in 1999 it was planned to be demolished and replaced by a new school. Residents successfully preserved the building and currently use it as a library and daycare center. But that’s not the reason why people from all over the world visit the building.

It’s no secret that Japan has been having difficulty preserving its smaller municipalities; with the mass migrations from rural areas into urban ones. Today, the Tokyo metropolitan area currently hosts almost half of the nation’s total population. The problem has gotten so bad to the point that Prefectural Governments have now begun to form together clusters of villages and towns into cities, in order to counter their shrinking populations.

But in the recent decade, several towns have spotted the opportunity to become a part of a new tourist movement: the anime pilgrimage. It’s the use of anime as an incentive for fans of said anime to visit settings used in them. This has seen some very successful trends.

In 2016, Hida City, Gifu Prefecture saw a 18.5 billion gross in tourist revenue in correspondence to the release of Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name. Several sites in Hida City were used as inspiration for the film’s fictional town, Itomori.

The major publishing conglomerate, Kadokawa, is currently sponsoring a polling campaign, to help the Japan Anime Tourism Association name 88 official landmarks in Japan, due to their relevancy in anime.

This movement isn’t only exclusive to Japanese residents, as it has pulled in millions of revenue from foreign tourists as well; under the promotion of the “Cool Japan” initiative to increase foreign tourism, along with other events including the 2020 Summer Olympics.

For sure, anime has put several previously unknown towns on the map for tourists. Oorai saw a surge of visits after the airing of Girls und Panzer. PA Works relocated their headquarters to Nanto, Toyama Prefecture in order to advertise the rural area. Even previously unknown spots in Tokyo have now become flooded with visitors after Your Name.

But how long can the glory last for?

Unlike Tokyo, Toyosato is much harder to get to. Depending on where one is going there from, they will most likely need to take two or three trains that can add up to two hours in travel time, from the closest major city, Kyoto. The school is also located deep in the countryside, where the train that arrives in the town only does so once or twice every hour. The journey is understandably intimidating.

“We don’t get as many visitors as we did maybe two or three years ago,” the only man working at the building’s gift shop admitted. We were in the cafeteria of the building, which was empty of any tourists at the moment. “But on average, we see about ten to twenty people come on a weekly basis. That’s more than what the nearby towns see in two months, so we’re not complaining.”

In half a decade, the number of visitors have shrunk significantly, but the gift shop clerk was still hopeful. He claimed there’ll always be diehard fans of K-On! and that new people will eventually watch it and want to visit the real setting of a show they enjoyed. “Even if somewhere doesn’t get as many tourists as they used to, because of the anime getting older, people are still visiting and that’s what’s important.”

The school would also host events and parties, normally aligned with character’s birthdays or anniversaries for the show. This would bring them a stronger influx of people for a day, according to the man at the gift shop. That meant that the anime was still speaking to fans’ hearts even after five years, he thought. It’s a place that genuinely understands its fanbase and carries all the sentimental props one can remember from the show and more; housing items seen in the school, like a museum.

The school also hosts several items from other KyoAni shows, including Hibike! Euphonium and MaiDragon. If you find yourself going to the school, the gift shop sells pumpkin pudding, made from material produced in Toyosato, which is a delight to try.

Toyosato sits on the Ohmi Railway Main Line and is one of the most visited destinations on the line. Outside of the station, there is a convenience store where you can buy a quick snack if you’re hungry. The elementary school is a five minute walk away from the town’s station and has three spots open to the public as designated K-On! sights (the cafeteria/gift shop, the light music club room and the school auditorium). 

For those interested in ever visiting the Toyosato Elementary School, for their anime pilgrimages, I highly recommend it.