Chiba City in Chiba Prefecture has served as a location for three popular anime series, which is rare even in all of Japan. The first anime series that has attracted attention is “Oreimo,” short for “Ore no imouto ga konna ni kawaii wake ga nai.” This series has had an enduring popularity for over ten years. Furthermore, for the 2025 edition of “Japanese Anime 88-Spots,” the “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU” series and the “Blue Orchestra” series have been selected, further fueling the anime pilgrimage phenomenon.
Here we focus on these two anime series to find out why Chiba City is beloved by anime, revealing attractive aspects of the city!
The “My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU” series
Based on a popular young adult work of fiction, this romantic comedy about high-school students has been made into a TV series three times since 2013. Many places along the ocean, including Inage Seaside Park and Chiba Port Tower, appear in the series.
For details of the places featured in the anime series, please check out the following articles: https://att-japan.net/en/34-2/
Why Chiba is loved by anime: 1.
There are lots of photogenic spots along the ocean!
Facing Tokyo Bay, Inage Seaside Park offers a gorgeous view of the sunset. It appears in this series as it is immersed in the sunset glow. With a stylish terrace and white-sand beach, this beach resort is accessible from Tokyo within an hour. Mihama Ohashi bridge nearby, which appears in the opening animation of the second season, offers a perfect photo-taking spot as well.
“Blue Orchestra”
This teen drama features Aono Hajime as a main character, who regains his passion for music among his friends in a high-school orchestra club. The first season is scheduled to be rerun from April 6, 2025, and the second season is set to air this autumn. The model for the series’ orchestra club is that of Makuhari Sogo High School, which often wins competitions and advances to the national-level competition. The original manga series was created based on the in-depth research of the high school by the author herself. One of the attractive aspects of this series is that it vividly depicts high-school students devoting themselves to club activities.
Why Chiba is loved by anime: 2.
It is at the same time both stylish and unpretentiously friendly!
The area around JR Kaihimmakuhari Station is a trendy area filled with various facilities, including “Makuhari Messe,” a world-scale convention center, along with large-scale shopping facilities. On the other hand, the area around JR Makuhari Station has an unpretentious shopping street, creating a homey atmosphere. The series features the actual footbridge which the characters use on their way to school, as well as a shop modeled after Tagawa Meat Shop, which is located near JR Makuhari Station. It also portrays the characters eating chicken cutlets on the way back home from school.
Why Chiba is loved by anime: 3.
The anime series brought new energy to the locals!
An interview was carried out with Mr. Ito, the teacher in charge of the Symphonic Orchestra club of Makuhari Sogo High School, which serves as the model for the school in this series.
It is very impressive that our lives are actually made into manga and anime series. As Akui Makoto, the author of the original story, came to visit us many times to interview us and collect information, the descriptions in the series are very accurate. As for the scene where Hajime and his friends eat chicken cutlets on the way back from school, it is actually part of the daily lives of my students.
I think many of my students have read and watched the manga and anime series versions of “Ao no Orchestra.” It is so special that their own club activities are shown in anime. I think they are happy about it. After the anime series was aired, I think the number of students who were influenced by the series and wanted to join us went up. I myself was very happy when people in my hometown, Fukushima, said to me that they watched the anime. I realized how influential being a setting for anime can be.
I am looking forward to watching the second season of the anime series. I believe that school club activities in Japan serve as a precious place where students can grow up. I hope that, through the manga and anime series, more people can get to know our club activity culture.
*Please do not enter the school premises without permission.
I am Ayumi from Chiba Prefecture. I love sweets. I majored in Japanese history in my university. I have visited many historic sites from the ancient days to the modern days on my trips. I have visited about 100 castles of various sizes. I am also obsessed with visiting “anime pilgrimage sites,” the locations featured in popular anime and manga.
