There's been a lot of photo albums from people making their pilgrimages down to Numazu & Uchiura but there's actually not been a lot in the way of practical advice. These advice are generally left on forums when people ask but it's not really been compiled into a post. This is partly because everyone's idea of a pilgrimage is different and advice is best catered to the individual, but it doesn't really help the people who don't wish to make posts on public forums. Here, I'll try to address the more commonly seen questions as well as compile relevant resources. As this is also a guide in progress, if anyone comes across anything useful that should be added in here, do drop a comment to let me know!
At the same time, this also won't be a comprehensive guide because a lot of things change on the ground frequently, so it's far better for me to link to the JP sites instead of trying to translate news that is easily outdated. If you're going to make a pilgrimage, you'll really have to put in some work yourself! Google Translate is your best friend for this.
This guide is split into two sections: The key questions around structuring a pilgrimage, and then reviews of the locations I visited in my recent trip. As the latter half is a personal view of these places, please take them with a pinch of salt.
FAQ[]
How long should I go?[]
This is one of the most common questions I've seen, and it really depends on the individual. For the average traveller, I would recommend 2 days 1 night. I've seen people recommend a single day-trip down from Tokyo and this is honestly not great advice as you are not making the most out of your money. A one-way train down from Tokyo already takes a couple of hours, and costs 2000++ yen. Even with a JR pass and shinkansen, the time wasted travelling isn't ideal. Of course, a day-trip is still better than not making the trip at all, but given the chance, do plan a night down in Numazu/Uchiura to save yourself some agony.
For a more relaxed pace or someone who wants to really visit every single site, you can try 3 days 2 nights. This was just enough for me to visit every single site in Numazu and Uchiura, as well as drop by Nebukawa and Kozu on the way back to Tokyo. This is most likely enough for everything until Season 2 hits and adds more localities to visit.
Where do I stay?[]
So given that you'll be lodging down in the area for a night or two, the next question is where to stay. Ideally you want to stay in either Numazu or Mishima due to the transportation options (more on that later), or perhaps even Uchiura for a night (more costly but other pilgrimage perks).
Numazu + Mishima options: A great place I stayed at this past trip was Numazu Grand Hotel, which can cost as low as 4500 yen a night and gives free breakfast, plus it's only 3 minutes walk from Numazu station. This is probably the best deal I could find at this point for Numazu. Airbnb might provide better options, especially for larger groups. There are also other lodging options in nearby Mishima. And of course for Yohane fans, you can consider Hotel Riverside, which is the hotel right next to Yohane's apartment. And if you stay there, there's also a special bonus item if you take the SHINY LINER tour. No shortage of options here, really, but finding the best deal can be difficult.
Uchiura options: The obvious choice here might be Yasudaya Ryokan, which is the very inn which Chika's family runs in the anime. Or if you're feeling a little more luxurious, there's also Awashima Hotel, the hotel which Mari stays in.
At the same time, there're also a bunch of other Japanese inns (called ryokans) involved in the LLSS promotions. There's an ongoing stamp rally until June 30, but aside from that, the participating ryokans are also selling their character hand towels if you spend above 1000 yen (either by staying, eating, or paying to use their bath). More details on the participating ryokans here. I stopped by Tosawaya ryokan for the Yohane towel by chance and will be reviewing that later too.
Do note that staying at ryokans is usually a more expensive option than a budget hotel if you have meals included (recommended because not much else to eat in Uchiura anyway). Yasudaya starts at 15120 yen a night, though the others can start as low as 9000 and be as high as 28000. Check out each ryokan's site using the link above and pick a place suitable for your budget.
When should I go?[]
There're pros and cons to going during peak periods: Peak periods you'll meet other LLivers which can be a fun experience, but on the other hand securing seating/parking can be an issue, especially in smaller places like Shougetsu. Peak periods include Japanese holidays (Golden Week in particular), as well as the week before and after a live concert (this is generally the period when both local and overseas concert attendees do their pilgrimages). Based on hearsay, Golden Week was particularly intense in traffic so it might not be the best of experiences.
During normal periods, there's the choice of weekends and weekdays. Unless you're aiming to do scenery photography and need your sights clear of people, I would recommend doing it on a weekend. The issue with weekdays are the shops and attractions' closing days. Despite what they publish online, some places have irregular closing days that happen as and when they need to. Shougetsu, for example, is supposedly only closed on Tuesdays, but actually closes on some Wednesdays as well. These shops expect traffic from Japanese fans to appear mostly on weekends so they won't close on those days. The ongoing Love Live! Kitchen Car also runs only on weekends so that's something you can't see on a weekday.
Where should I go?[]
There're no shortage of pilgrimage locations within this franchise and it's surprisingly hard to try and clear them all. These would be more personal decisions based on both what you value in the franchise (best girl etc), as well as prevailing situation on the ground. But here are how I split the areas into tiers based on accessibility.
Numazu
- City center: SUN! SUN! SUNSHINE!! Cafe, Marusan Bookstore, Gamers Numazu.
- Slightly further out: Yohane's Apartment, the riverside scenes, Cafe Orandakan (You's home), Senbonhama Beach
- Harbour: Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium, Numazu Burger, View-O (the harbour gate)
- Quite far (40 mins biking distance): Cafe Azumino, Cafe Mission Bay.
- Reaaally far (1 hr biking distance): Numazugoyotei Memorial Park (the area where Dia and Yohane had several art of them based)
Uchiura is a little more complicated to sort into tiers because it's all along one straight line. So rather than a distance thing, these are more of recommended spots to hit up.
- Not to miss: Yasudaya Ryokan, Shougetsu Confectionery, Sannoura General Information Center, Nagaisaki Junior High School
- Great places: Izu-Mito Sea Paradise, Awashima Island, Nagahama Castle Ruins
And then there's everything else that's on the map. Rarara Sun Beach is relatively far out by bus while Osezaki is so distant you'll probably want to take a ferry ride and enjoy the scenery while you're at it.
Each year also more or less has a location associated with it: If you're a first year fan, you'd want to spend more time in Numazu. Second years take most of Uchiura, while third years are focused on Awashima island.
How do I get there?[]
When getting around in Japan, HyperDia is your best friend. It's a site that helps you check all routes between your selected stations and calculates travelling time and cost. For those with a JR pass, hop onto a shinkansen and you can go from Tokyo to Mishima in under an hour. Mishima is the closest shinkansen stop to Numazu, as well as where the Izu-Nagaoka line connects to the JR line (There are multiple routes to proceed on with your pilgrimage here, check the next section for more details). If you're travelling cheaply, you'll have to take a local train down to Atami and then transfer- the whole journey will take you about 135 minutes on average. To see these options on HyperDia, scroll down and untick the Bullet Train, Nozomi/Mizuho etc and Limited Express options to display these slower routes.
Either on your way down from/back to Tokyo, you may wish to take the local trains just like the girls in Aqours did- this will let you stop at both Kozu and Nebukawa, which are important pilgrimage spots in the Love Live! and Love Live! Sunshine!! franchises.
How do I get around?[]
The guide above is a very detailed one explaining the different methods on how to get to Uchiura, all of which will likely still have some collaboration running in the near future. Be certain to look up the timings. The issue with some of the collabs are how they are not conducive to maximising the usage of your time. The LLSS Tokai collab bus, for example, only runs in the late morning and afternoon. Catching the Izu-Hakone Railway collab train can have you at Izu-Nagaoka an hour or two before the next collab bus (in which case you'll have to either wait or just skip the collab bus).
There's also the option of taking a ferry between Numazu (from the harbour area), Uchiura (the pier outside Chika's inn) and Osezaki (a very minor pilgrimage site but where you can do diving), but there's not enough data on that from us EN pilgrimage-doers just yet.
Getting around Numazu, you have a few choices. One is bus, which Google Maps is actually pretty decent at (it has bus stops, bus numbers and even bus timings all included). The second method is to rent a bike. There're actually quite a few places that rent out rental cycles for free, but you have to return them within 3 hours. This other map also has a detailed listing of places with rental cycles and rental cars. On my first trip I got my own rental bike from a shop in Numazu Central Park: It's 300 yen for 3 hours or 500 yen for the entire day (they open at 11am and close at 9pm). On my second trip I just used the Numazu Grand Hotel's bikes, which was free for staying customers- bonus for it being CYaRon! themed. Most hotels should have free rental bikes, so do check with the one you're staying at. Finally, there's also a special rental bike you can get from the SUN! SUN! SUNSHINE!! Cafe, at 1500 yen a bike for the entire day from their opening until 7pm. You'll need to ballot for this on their site beforehand however, so it's not guaranteed.
Anyhow, 3 hours is enough for you to hit up the harbour area and finish touring the spots there, but not if you intend to clear all the outlying areas in Numazu. Do note that biking is relatively easy all the way down to the harbour but the areas further south get harder due to narrower sidewalks and traffic.
Getting around Uchiura, not really much options here given that only the Tourist Info Center has Aqours themed rental bikes and that's subject to availability. For the most part you could simply walk, but keep in mind that walking times will stack up along the day. Preferably you'll want to start on one end and walk in one direction, probably from Awashima Island's connecting port and then southwards. Awashima Island is a good place to start because it takes longer than most other places, both with the Marine Park as well as the climb up to Awashima Shrine (more on this later). Just remember that most shops along the path tend to close by 5pm or so if you plan to visit them. If you start on the north end, the last relatively-worth-visiting checkpoint on the south end that has a time limit is the OH!MOS! Farmer's Market, which closes by 5pm.
Location Reviews[]
This is meant to be a brief location review of all these pilgrimage locations. As such, I won't be posting a lot of pictures, only enough for people to get a feel for the area. Plus honestly my camera and photography skills aren't great so I'm sure others can get much better photos.
And of course as I mentioned, this is just a personal view of these places, so keep in mind that everyone's experiences may differ.
Numazu[]
City Center
| Numazu Station |
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 This is a place where you'll most likely be passing by anyway, so just some pointers not to be missed. The station appears at multiple points in the anime, since it's where they connect to Tokyo.  The station is also one of the easiest points to find Noppo Pan, the beloved bread that Hanamaru is often chewing away on. They are stocked at the convenience store on the station's south end, for 160 yen apiece. The one which comes with an Aqours wrapper is salted caramel, but all of the other flavours are uniquely delicious! Be sure to grab a few for your travels.  This point just across the first crossing is where Yohane poses and makes her Fallen Angel speech while she and You are waiting for the rest of Aqours to arrive in episode 7. Of course, the nude statues were replaced with a stone block of fish carvings in the anime itself.  Past the second crossing is where the bus stands are. The Tokai bus leading down to Uchiura, bus number 8, has its stand helpfully marked out very distinctively so you can't miss it. |
| SUN! SUN! SUNSHINE!! Cafe |
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 One of the first things you spot once you leave Numazu Station, the SUN! SUN! SUNSHINE!! Cafe is located so nicely it is possibly the easiest pilgrimage spot aside from Numazu Station itself. The cafe is actually a simple street cafe within tentage, so I wouldn't expect this place to be very comfortable during summer or winter. During peak periods (Golden Week for example) waiting times can go up to 2 hours, but normally you'll be shown in with barely any wait. So of course, one of the main reasons to eat here is for the decorations, most of which have been signed by visiting seiyuus. Most of the signs currently belong to Anchan, Rikyako and Suwawa, who visited while they were shooting for DIVER May 2017. And of course, a small collection of Shukashuu's photos along with a post-it note from her, when she visited the day before You's birthday. As this is a cafe, you can visit anytime you want during its opening hours, but it's probably best to visit during meal-times since you'll be spending on a meal otherwise anyway. The menu is split between character drinks, main courses and desserts, and each type comes with its own set of coasters chosen at random. The menu refreshes every month or two, stay updated on what they're offering at their main page. I ate here twice. The first time I ordered a Yohane drink, a Fallen Angel Yohane's ABYSS Risotto, and a Step! ZERO to ONE parfait. The second time I had a Dia drink and the Fallen Angel's Tears, while my companions had an AQOURS PIZZA and the Takami Household's Meal. So to keep this straightforward, I'll just state that the only reason to eat here is for the decorations, and the coasters. The food is mediocre by most standards and clearly made with cheap ingredients. I'm not a gourmet, but this place charges the same prices as the SEGA Collab cafes in Akiba and it's of a far lower standard. Of course, this is simply because there's far fewer traffic and the fact that this place is a long-term cafe, but it's a little disappointing when one can't even find joy in eating the food. Out of all the main courses I sampled, the Fallen Angel's Tears were the best, by which I mean they were pretty standard for takoyaki. The drinks were mostly decent, except Yohane's which was a pretty badly diluted chocolate water. My parfait sample size is only one but the bread and biscuit topping it were stale while the ice-cream tasted of cheap strawberry. I saw someone else order a Sunshine Pikka Pika Ondo parfait though and it came with a lit sparkler, which was amusing. If you're getting a parfait go for the most special looking one on the menu- there's likely not much else inside that's worth your money.  On another note, even their coasters are of a lower quality than all the other ongoing collabs. Everyone else uses a thin plastic while this cafe uses plastic-coated cardboard- you can even feel the uneven cutting of the plastic as though it was peeling off on the edges. Be sure to take good care of them! And of course, another good reason to go on weekends and mealtimes: Trade your drink coasters with other patrons for your best girl. Weekdays have very few customers which make it very hard for you to trade. Verdict: Definitely worth at least one visit given its prime location and decorations. Keep your expectations low where the food is concerned, and try to go for safer-looking choices. |
| Marusan Bookstore |
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 Another site with a prime location, it would be a shame to miss out on Marusan's bookstore, especially for any first year fans. More so if you happen to be looking for any books! In the anime, this was the same bookstore frequented by the first years. The staff have faithfully replicated the scene by leaving the same cart that Hanamaru pulls out at the same bookshelf on the second floor. Amusingly, this is right next to the programming shelves- where the Ruby coding section is. Ruby's seiyuu Aiai also visited here during a photoshoot for Photo Technique Digital April 2017, and they've left her photos both on the cart as well as the reading couch where she posed. Surprisingly, it's up on the third floor is where the majority of the Love Live! stuff is displayed. The staff have created a corner for fans to communicate and leave messages and fanart. Beyond that, an entire shelf displaying all books and magazines related to Love Live! as well as the seiyuus, and assorted merchandise and posters for display purposes. What really surprised me here was the level of effort displayed by the staff: Books listed by Maru as her favourites in Dengeki G's Magazine have been picked out and displayed here, each wrapped with a label indicating Maru's recommendation. Furthermore, magazines have been labelled with the characters whose seiyuus appear within. The level of effort here is really above and beyond, and makes searching through the seiyuu magazines much easier if you have a favourite in mind. There's also a second Love Live! corner at the back of the third floor which could be possibly missed, so be sure to check that out too. The shop also runs some freebie promotions- in the past they gave postcards of anime scenes, when I visited they were letting people choose a character bookmark for each book they purchased. It's nothing really substantial, but a nice touch. Verdict: It's a free visit and in the center of the city, so why not? Drop by and you may even find yourself buying a book after all, especially with how easy they've made it for Love Live! and Love Live! Sunshine!! fans to find what they want. |
| Gamers Numazu |
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 The Numazu branch of Gamers stands out from other Gamers branches as it was declared a Love Live! Sunshine!! official tie-up store even before it had opened. After a voting period with Dengeki G's Magazine, Yohane emerged as the shop's poster girl, making this the Little Demon Store.  The intentions of the store are pretty obvious from the outside but it really hits you when you walk in, because half the store is devoted entirely to LLSS merchandise. And just as always, the cruel reality of idols is pretty obvious when you look at the assortment of goods remaining on shelves, where the popular girls are always out of stock. It's tough being a little demon in little demon central. Same for You fans. And at the back of the store is the usual TV looping their PVs, along with some goods displays. There are also books for fans to sign- except the Yohane and You books were completely filled while others had pages remaining. And of course, just as Shukashuu mentioned in her blogpost, she took one of the very last entries in the You book on the last page. Between the Gema and Yohane doll on the display, there's a stack of leaflets for Awashima Marine Park. Grabbing one of these will entitle you to 200 yen off the ferry ticket, a pretty good discount. At the doorway to the shop they also have a stack of leaflets that are free pilgrimage guides to both Numazu and Uchiura- basically a blown up map along with anime screenshots. Very useful to have one of these on hand so you don't have to keep referring to a digital map or app. The map is made by this person who also made this Google Map complete with photo comparisons of scenes if you want a digital version. There's also some info on the taxis if you wish to charter one for a tour. And there's also Noppo Pan and bottles of Aqours water to keep you well-supplied on your trip. Verdict: Another city-center spot so one you should definitely visit, but what's important is the order. Most people would visit the merch shop at the end of their trips but Gamers Numazu actually provides a wealth of information that make it a very useful stop. Be sure to grab the free pilgrimage map and discount coupon for Awashima Marine Park before heading down to Uchiura, if possible. |
| Other city center spots |
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| There're a few other interesting spots in the city center, also marked out on the map.
Yaba Coffee is at a pretty central junction of the shopping arcade close to Marusan Bookstore. Since it was only featured in one scan, I didn't take the time to capture it properly. Prices here seem pretty standard for a coffee shop- no real additional influx of LLSS customers so no real need to cater to them.  Kimura Dollhouse is the same dollhouse where Yohane is in at the beginning of the HAPPY PARTY TRAIN PV. Unfortunately, it was closed for a few days during the time I was there, but from what I could peek through the sides, it didn't seem like it had a real LL presence. |
Inner City
| Numazu Central Park + Kano Riverside (Yohane's Apartment) |
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| This is a relatively broad area but I'm combining all of these sites as they're along the same walking path southwards from the city center, all within a few blocks of each other. My photos were a little dull because of the weather that day- it started drizzling early in the morning and wouldn't stop until late morning.
The closest site to the city center here is Numazu Central Park, which isn't as significant as other spots comparatively, but it's the site for the cover of CYaRon!'s single, Kinmirai Happy End. Heading south of that, you'll hit the river. Stay on the same side and head down the stairs/slope to walk along the riverside...  This of course, is the scene where Dia talks to the girls after they return from their first trip to Tokyo. No idea how it looks like at night, but it could be pretty romantic. Maybe. Walking along the river on the same side will bring you to the next site, which is Yohane's apartment. As seen in Episode 5, this is the same apartment complex Yohane lives in, right next to Hotel Riverside. The alleyway between the two is also where Yohane dumps her Fallen Angel goods. There's a shrine here just outside the alleyway, which is also shown in the backdrop when the others confront her over it. Crossing the river to the other side brings you to a grass patch bordering the river, which is technically another park. This is the same site where Yohane takes a selfie and it begins pouring out of nowhere- so in a sense it was lucky(?) that it was raining that morning so I could replicate this shot. Incidentally, this river is also where the girls set up their stage for Mijuku DREAMER, though it's not possible to replicate any of the shots given that there's no actual stage. Verdict: Just a short walk away from the city center, it's easy enough to be worth a trip. The road along Yohane's apartment is also the same road where the Tokai bus towards Uchiura runs, so you can always board/alight here and walk to the city center. |
| Cafe Orandakan (You's Home) |
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 Cafe Orandakan is a little bit further out of the way as it's halfway between the city center and the harbour, twice the distance from Yohane's place. It's basically 1.5km away from the station, and a good 20 minutes walk. I took a walk down myself in the morning since the bicycle rental shop I was planning on using still hadn't opened, but walking can feel like a bit of a waste of time, since you'll be biking past this same area if heading down later. It looks relatively normal from the outside, but once you enter the front door, the mass of You goods just smack you in the face. It's amazing just how much they've gathered, it's probably as close to completion as anyone can get. There was just so much goods that pictures alone can't do it justice, so here's a video I took of all the stuff in there. There was also a bunch of balloons left over from her recent birthday celebration back in April. There're also a whole bunch of guestbooks by the door for fans to sign. Like most restaurants in Japan, there's both smoking and non-smoking sections, but there's lesser chances of people lighting it up in the mornings. It seemed relatively popular with the locals while I was there- there were about another 5-7 non-LLivers just having breakfast during the time I was around. Speaking of breakfast, I had their morning service set, basically some buttered toast, salad, an egg and coffee/tea. 630 yen including tax, which is a relatively decent price. This isn't one of those places where they've gone full-out in milking fans, they're still just running the same business they had before LLSS came around. Yet they've taken the effort to decorate the place full of You's goods, which was a nice touch. And of course, being able to have breakfast with one of the Aqours girls is always priceless anyway.  The staff here are actually pretty friendly, if they aren't busy and you manage to communicate with them. The lady who was handling most of the service was curious where I was from and approached me to ask. Had a good conversation with her about their business and clientele- apparently a lot of pilgrimage doers are from Taiwan and Korea these days. And she even pulled out her phone to show me pictures of Shukashuu from when she dropped by the day before You's birthday when I hadn't brought it up- you could tell how proud she was of it and how knowledgeable she was about the whole thing. Verdict: Decent prices, awesome decorations, great service. Might need a bit of planning beforehand to optimize the travelling route, but no reason not to swing by. |
| Senbonhama Beach |
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 Senbonhama Beach is a bit of a low priority place given that it never actually had a prominent place within the LLSS fandom- so far. The amusing thing is it's actually shown up multiple times in Dengeki G's Magazine for voting contests but never won the votes so it was never featured. There's really not much to say about this place. It's a rocky beach, so it's all pebbles as far as the eye can see. The name senbonhama comes from the park by the side, where supposedly a thousand pine trees are planted. What's nice about the place is how clean it is- there's hardly any litter, and the pebbles are smooth and clean with no organic matter on the surface. It's a place where you wouldn't have any qualms about sitting down and just listening to the waves. The water is fantastically clear, allowing you to see quite far out. It was relatively deserted on a weekday, not sure about weekends. Personally this was just kind of an important spot to me because for an entire year ever since the Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM single was previewed/released, I wanted to come to this beach and just sing Mattete Ai no Uta with the waves in the background. It felt really great to finally strike that off my bucket list, and the experience itself was every bit as emotional as I had expected it to be. Of course, I still wouldn't have come out all this way if it had never been featured in anything, so here's a scene that replicates a very old magazine scan where Chika did some training here. Honestly though, it does look like a fantastic spot so I'm expecting this to come up again in the franchise eventually. Verdict: Relatively unimportant to LLSS fandom (as of now), but still a great place to find some private space. If that's what you're looking for, then you could try this beach. |
Harbour Area
| Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium |
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 So far, Numazu Deep Sea Aquarium appears only in the Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM drama track, where the first years scout the place to figure out where to shoot their PV. It is a relatively unique place in that there aren't actually that many aquariums which focus on the deep sea. Entry here will cost you 1600 yen- a pretty hefty price for a rather small place that only has two floors. Still, deep sea research and exhibit maintenance is expensive, which may be the key reason for this. Being part of the bunch of sites down in the harbour area, it's advised to either bus or cycle down here. Visitors by bike should park by the Numazu Minato Shinsenkan- it's marked on the map for convenience. The first floor consists of exhibits of deep sea creatures. The first section consists of comparisons between deep sea and shallow sea counterparts, which is relatively interesting to see the differences. What is nice about this place however, is that a majority of the important captions have decent English translations on them. There is no real language barrier on the first floor, except for the talk shows which occur every hour or two. While I was there I watched one of the staff give a talk on the edibility and taste/texture of deep sea creatures- pretty amusing and informative stuff but I would've been lost if I hadn't known JP. There appear to be experience sessions (likely petting deep sea creatures?) at 2pm on weekdays and 1pm on weekends, those should have less of a language barrier. Fun fact, Anchan listed this aquarium's lanterneye fishes as one of her favourite things about Numazu! Anchan has always been an aquarium fan and it seems this place's unique exhibit stuck with her. No pictures here because those don't really do it justice- it's basically a curtained-off area where you can see the fishes flash in the dark just like fireflies. The entire place is a little small, but it's decently informative. Despite being a student in life sciences who has studied aquatic biology, I still felt like I learned some new things in this place. Deep sea science is not an area one comes across commonly, so it can be a new experience. The second floor is mostly devoted to a coelacanth museum. The signage here is a little more lacking- many of them do not have English translations. But for the most part it focuses on the history of the coelacanth- how it was thought to be extinct, and subsequently rediscovered. The centerpiece of the second floor are a couple of massive coelacanths that are preserved in a freezer- they're actually a lot larger than one would think! There's another scale model where I placed my own coelacanth plushie (25cm) for scale. And of course just like any other attraction, there's the souvenir shop. There's a wide variety of stuff, but the coelacanth plushies would be what's important to LLSS fans. Not only does Maru get one for Ruby in the radio drama, the first year seiyuus own one of each size- with King owning the gigantic one. The gigantic one is only available here exclusively! Buying it can be a tough decision however, as it costs a whopping 10,000 yen. Consider both your finances as well as your luggage capacity carefully before making the decision. Something I also noticed was that their coelacanth plushies looked a little different from the one I had gotten in Tokyo's Natural History Museum- theirs are a little flatter and rounder. Maybe I'll come back to buy that LL size coelacanth someday after all. On the way out, there's a noticeboard showing advertisements for the area's shops. Turns out having purchased a ticket for this aquarium entitles you to 10% off for many of the surrounding shops, including Numazu Burger. A good combination of two LLSS pilgrimage sites! It's not a huge discount, but always take what savings you can get. Verdict: No actual physical LL presence and potentially pricey for what is a relatively short experience, but still eye-opening. Be sure to come here before Numazu Burger if you intend to drop by both. |
| Numazu Burger |
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 Numazu Burger is located down south in the harbour area, along with a few other sites. In the anime, the girls run past this in Episode 5 while chasing Yohane, making her the protagonist of this site. The menu both has English and pictures, making this an easy site for anyone to visit. It even has recommendations for what's famous (naturally, the more expensive choices), which are the burgers made with deep-sea fishes. The burgers with the blue tag on their image here indicate they were made with local ingredients. Ever since the first years visited for their episode of Strolling With Aqours, the shop has also started selling Fallen Angel Orbs, which are spicy pieces of fried octopus. Buying one of these for 750 yen entitles you to pick a clear file from 4 kinds: either chibis of a year, or one of Fallen Angel Yohane. As you can see, they've also put in some effort to decorate the interior with Yohane goods, some of which are relatively unique in creativity. Though it's a little amusing that the only available space for that was the rubbish point. I ordered the Deep-sea fish burger along with the Fallen Angel's Orbs, and took the Yohane clear file. Fans should aim to sit in the alcove decorated with LLSS stuff- in this case the table I was at still had remaining posters from You's birthday. As for the food, the Fallen Angel's Orbs were pretty great. Not too spicy, but still had a kick to them, along with delicious flavour. Perhaps a little small in quantity, but when you consider the clear file, the price is alright. But what really blew me away was the burger. I had been expecting some typical fast-food restaurant fare but as it turns out, Numazu Burger isn't that kind of place. It's an actual burger restaurant, and that much is apparent from the first bite. The bread is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, and so fragrant- it was a pretty amazing experience eating that burger. There was a mother with her child at this other table at first but they vacated it soon after sitting down- I only realised belatedly it was out of consideration for me. The two pairs of tables in this alcove were basically where the first years had sat during their filming session here, and I had been sitting opposite where Aikyan would be sitting. I shifted over to the other table to take these photos, which placed me opposite where King was. Eating lunch with your beloved seiyuus, albeit out of time, is always priceless. For the record, the burgers they chose during Strolling with Aqours were the Fried horse mackerel burger (King), the Red bream burger (Aikyan) and the Deep-sea fish burger (Aiai). Verdict: Really great burgers made with rather unique ingredients, within an acceptable price range. Worth dropping by for lunch or even just a snack of Fallen Angel's Orbs if passing by. |
| View-O (harbour gate) |
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 The View-O is actually a harbour gate of sorts, where the lower slab of concrete beneath the viewing bridge descends to block off the ocean from the harbour in case of tsunamis. In the anime, this appears in two separate scenes: The foot of the right side is where Yohane is finally confronted by the other girls in Episode 5 and they resolve her episode there. And in Episode 11, the viewing bridge is where Mari and You have their talk. Taking the lift up this building will cost you 100 yen, a pretty small price but with no real benefits aside from the scenery either. It's simply a viewing bridge where you can cross to the other side of the harbour. And of course, it is also the same building in the backdrop of the LLSS Anime Blu-Ray Volume 4. To get this shot you'll have to be on the outdoor deck on the 2nd floor of Numazu Fish Market INO. The white building on the right in the harbour picture is where that is, with the wooden deck visible from View-O itself.  If you come at sunset, you could probably reenact the same Mari & You scene. Though the lighting would be pretty hard to get right. The view is great but not fantastic, given that it's mostly looking out over the harbour. Plus, a lot of the windows aren't very clean, making it hard to take good photos out of. It is pretty cool though, that one can actually see the machinery used to hoist and lower the floodgate. Though one won't really get to see it in operation- those emergency drills only take place once every so often, but the floodgate can descend in the space of two minutes. More than fast enough to block off an incoming tsunami. Verdict: Decent view and a pilgrimage site, but your mileage may vary. During day-time, it may only be worth it on clear days. Coming close to sunset would snag you both the sunset scene as well as night-time lighting, which may be a better experience. |
| Numazu Minato Shinsenkan |
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| Not a pilgrimage spot, but it's conveniently close to the others, plus this is also where you'll park your bike if you were riding one. It's actually a collection of shops selling seafood and local produce, and many of the shops here have taken the effort to appeal to LLSS fans with decorations.
The very first store near the main entrance, a store run by the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives, has really gone all out with the decorations. The store is plastered in LLSS stuff, and also offers a brochure on how to charter one of the LLSS taxis. Meanwhile Marukan, both a store specializing in dried goods as well as a restaurant, has taken full advantage of their shop's name to plaster it in Maru drawings and prints. For some reason there's a meme among JP fans here where they hashtag tweets about this place with #丸勘ゆるさない. Maybe an English equivalent would be #ICannotForgiveMarukan? I suppose they're too delicious... ... Don't look at me, I have no clue either.  And restaurant Ajiya puts in no small effort to declare their love for Mari, with plenty of goods within. Verdict: Neither a pilgrimage spot nor anything fantastic, but still worth dropping by if you're already in the harbour area. Many of the stuff here make for good souvenirs unique to the locality too! |
City Outskirts
| Cafe Azumino |
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 Cafe Azumino isn't really a site within the LLSS franchise per se- it only appeared once when Anchan, Rikyako and Suwawa came by for DIVER May 2017. Despite not being a coffee person, Rikyako loved it here... and so I came to find out why. First off, this is not an easy place to reach. It's about 40 minutes to an hour by bike, so hopping on a bus may be a better option. It's a really long cycle down, especially because the sidewalk turns narrow outside of the city center, so you're squeezing on sidewalks about 1.5m wide alongside the occasional pedestrian. Whether you're driving or cycling, be sure to park at the front of the coffee shop- the huge parking lot behind it isn't part of it. The thing that really stands out about the place is firstly the decor. Despite this being a coffee shop, it is not the smell of coffee that lingers in the air but the fragrance of flowers. It's relatively dark compared to the outside- the windows are closed and shaded by the bushes outside, with the interior lamps providing the light. What light passes through the windows falls upon the many plants on the windowsill. The furniture looks ornate but not old, yet what struck me about them was how haphazard it all looked. Chairs at the same table do not match. The chair I sat on and by my side was half-backed while the ones opposite me were full-backed. The chairs at the next table over were of a different design. Over on the bar, there was a mass of cutlery, far more than this small tiny shop would ever need- yet no two cups were the same. It was one of those places that seemed incredibly messy yet organized, and it was clear that the shop's master wasn't just doing this for a living but also out of passion.  I ordered a single cup of coffee, the shop's recommendation, for 550 yen. Needless to say, this price point registers as one of those overpriced hipster experiences. But still, that was some pretty good coffee. Just like Rikyako, I don't drink coffee normally- but this was both light and smooth so it went down quite well. I'm not a coffee connoisseur so this place is best left to those for that kind of review. But the final piece of the experience of this place, is the classical music. At the back of the shop is a gigantic speaker set-up (complete with vacuum tube amps) hooked to a vinyl record player, with a selection which the master curates himself. While I was there, there was a pair of women at the back of the store just listening to the music and examining his records. It felt as though the shop was completely silent except for the loud, warm classical music blaring out of the speakers. It was an intensely immersive and regal experience. All in all, it felt like an experience I was... absolutely not ready for. In the first place, I'm not an expert in either coffee or classical music, plus I was a bit tired after having cycled all the way down here. It felt like the experience was slightly wasted on me, that I wasn't really getting everything out of it. But I felt like I understood how she felt about this place- why she described this as a place where you can really relax. There's just something about this space that feels isolated in time, and you could spend an entire afternoon here just relaxing or reading or doing homework- it has quite the pleasant atmosphere to it. Verdict: Pretty far out plus higher-than-average prices, it's a place best left to coffee and classical music experts. Still if you're passing by on your way south for a complete pilgrimage, may be worth dropping in for a breather. |
| Numazugoyotei Memorial Park & Beach |
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 The furthest pilgrimage point from the city center, this place is as far south as it gets without getting into Uchiura itself. It's an hour away by bike, and getting here alone feels like an accomplishment given the winding roads at the end. Though this never appeared in the anime proper, this area appeared in four separate magazine scans, mostly centered around Dia. The first is the house where Dia appears in her original introduction photo. Quite unfortunately, it's in an inner section of the park which closes at 4.30pm each day, so I wasn't able to assess the location. Be sure to plan accordingly if attempting this.  The AZALEA beach shot was also taken here, but given that it's mostly water, it doesn't make for much of a pilgrimage photo. Aaand then there's this. This moment felt pretty meh being here- I mean I wasn't expecting a great scene without the sunset, but I certainly wasn't expecting black dirt. Not sure if it was because of the rain earlier that day, but it wasn't a fantastic looking place. There's another spot where Yohane did her initial intro photo further down, but I didn't bother given how much of a disappointment this already was. Unlike Senbonhama, the place was a lot more deserted, and there was more litter as well. All in all, it didn't feel great. Verdict: Wouldn't bother unless you're aiming for a complete pilgrimage, but this sector was all entirely magazine scans and never even mentioned in name anyway. Not really worth the trip down, and certainly not if it rained. |
Uchiura[]
The locations here will be ordered from north-east to south-west respectively- basically what it's like if you walked down along the road.
| Awashima Island |
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 Awashima Island is home to two of Aqours: Kanan's family runs a diving shop here, as well as Mari whose family owns the hotel. Despite looking rather small, it's pretty time consuming: my compaions and I spent a good 2.5 hours between reaching the pier and leaving the island. Out in the parking lot of the pier is the Shiny Liner as mentioned earlier in the FAQ, which offers a full-day tour. Buying a ticket to the island will cost you an entire 1800 yen- but 200 yen off if you had managed to grab one of those discount coupons (they're in Numazu Gamers as well as supposedly some in OH! MOS!). And of course, they know their clientele well, with the ticket office and waiting room decked out with LLSS merch and adverts. There's also a guestbook for visitors to write in. There's actually two ferries here at this pier: The first one is smaller and it's for a cruise around Awashima island. The second one is the one we ride over to Awashima island, and it runs every 15 minutes. And of course, the ferry is decked out in seiyuu signatures. For some reason Guilty Kiss and AZALEA left signatures but there was no CYaRon! subunit signature area... Fun fact: Awashima island used to be connected to the mainland by a ropeway as well as ferry, but the ropeway was suspended and subsequently abolished in 2008. The cables still remain connected however, and are drawn on Google Maps as well. The existence of those lines was something I had always questioned until I stumbled upon this fact while looking up haikyo (urban abandoned spaces) in this area. Once you get off the ferry, you'll be on the boardwalk connecting the island as well as Restaurant Rikyuu, which has an ongoing collaboration with Aqours ricebowls for 1800 yen. This was promoted both in DIVER May 2017 as well as Strolling With Aqours with the third years. ... And unfortunately, I won't be able to review this, simply because it was an unannounced closing day for them. It was a little irksome that there were completely no notices about this back on the mainland. My companions and I had been looking forward to eating here, only to have that dream shattered once we left the boat. The other cafe on the island looked just meh in comparison, and I made the call for us to eat elsewhere after we left the island- even though that would be pretty late. The first part of the island you run right into is... the souvenir shop. Well given that one would also leave the island from this same pier, it makes sense to place it here. Here you can find the plushies for 5 of the characters: Yohane's shark, Dia's penguin, Kanan's dolphin, Mari's seal and Maru's They're all above 3000 yen, but decently priced for their size. Aside from those, they also sell tapestries and clear files of the art that's unique to their island and marine park, along with some of the pass cases. And of course, Aqours water for the long hike ahead. If you're planning to hang an ema (the wooden prayer board you write your wishes on) up on Awashima Shrine, be sure to buy one here! There's no other place to buy them up ahead. The park's attractions are a little lacklustre, and certainly look a little aged. The seal show looks entertaining given how close the audience is to the stage, but we arrived only in time to see it end. The other cafe here has some decorations up on its exterior and some signs from the seiyuus that dropped by, but it's likely that none of the seiyuus ever actually ate here- at least, I don't recall any social media stating that they had. As mentioned, the marine park is truly aging and not kept up to the times. The exhibits are entirely unmanned and deserted, even the petting pool (a little dangerous if you ask me). The signage is all in Japanese, and a lot of them even look handwritten. It's a very different experience from the other two aquariums in this city, and definitely the least interesting for me. More than just a language barrier, their specimens were pretty run-of-the-mill, stuff you could find in any aquarium. We also stopped to watch the dolphin show, but my companions were pretty bored out by it. I thought it was okay, but it wasn't amazingly stunning. Skippable if you're short on time. The building around the corner on the left side of the island is the frog museum, which is the model for Kanan's diving shop. They've gone quite far in replicating all the outdoor equipment as shown in both the anime and magazine scans. As for the frog museum itself, they've got all sorts of frogs in all sizes. They tout themselves as the best frog museum in Japan- and that's a pretty feasible claim. It was an entertaining visit even if the building is pretty small.  Near the side exit of the building there's a framed picture of Kanan's new figure, signed by Suwawa. There's also a bunch of markers here for use on your emas if you bought them earlier. Be sure to write your wishes before heading up to the shrine! Further down you can also find the penguin exhibits... nine of which are the image penguins for Aqours. It was here that I realise how pointless the concept of an image penguin really was (I mean really, what does that even mean??). Also they were all huddling in the corner away from the fence so you might not be able to see them up close if you're unlucky like us. Next up is Awashima Shrine, which was... intense, to say the least. The hike up took our group (typical lean-but-not-exactly-fit otakus) about twenty minutes, and it was sure as hell tiring. This is not a mountain that you want to run up like the girls in Aqours. The slope is about 45 degrees at some points, and the steps are also fractured and broken at others. It looks deceptively easy even on the ground, but clearing the first few flights is enough to get one winded. The path splits twice, the first is the blocked-off entrance to the old ropeway. Well it doesn't surprise me that people no longer want to take this ropeway if they had to hike down and up those stairs... The second leads to Rock Terrace, which is the point where Maru calls Dia out to in episode 4. It's a pretty scenic spot overlooking Uchiura, and you can see the other buildings rather clearly. Chika's inn, Izu-Mito Sea Paradise, and even the school is visible from this angle. This is the only good viewing spot on the mountain- Awashima Island looks like a blob of green because it is. The trees shade the entire mountaintop, especially the shrine area, so if you were looking for a wonderful view after scaling this mountain... take a breather here first. The shrine isn't that much further after Rock Terrace, though the steps here get a bit more broken. All in all it's not really that bad but it just feels like a really long trek which makes you want to rush it. Which is a bad idea because of the steep incline, which gets you winded pretty quickly. So take your time climbing up. It's a relatively small shrine with no frills, just two rows of ema boards. They don't seem to be cleared very often; there were some dating back 4-5 months, probably the last time they were cleared was after the New Year shrine visit rush. There isn't anything behind the shrine either, other than a small pole informing you the peak of the mountain is 137m high. So yeah it's one of those things you do just for the experience. Many LLivers climb all the way up here to pray for success in balloting for Aqours lives, since it's the most prominent shrine in Love Live! Sunshine!!. Just like how Kanda Shrine is the shrine for Love Live!, this has become a strong pilgrimage spot. After coming down from the mountain, proceeding further along the path brings you to some other nice spots, but it was here that we realised just how big the island was. Certainly, one could walk around the perimeter in maybe an hour or slightly more, but when you're on a trip like this, every hour counts. So after finding a few scenic spots we decided to turn back. Some of these places look pretty prominent so I expect they will turn up eventually in magazine scans or maybe even Season 2. On the other side of the island is Awashima Hotel, but we didn't head there because we were lacking time. Most of the compound's important spots are only limited to hotel guests anyway, so it wasn't worth our time when we weren't staying there. For third year fans, you may wish to consider staying there- hotel guests get to take the ferry for free and I hear the service is really great, both of which are plus-sides. Plus being able to fully explore Awashima must be a different experience, especially how many of the night scenes were based here. Verdict: Awashima is a flat 1800 (or 1600 with discount) fee to get to, so it's all or nothing. Awashima Marine Park is frankly a tad disappointing in comparison to the other two aquariums, with its souvenir shop being the main draw. The frog museum is unique and an eye-opener, but also a short experience. Awashima Shrine is perhaps the biggest draw, with it being a valuable challenge and pilgrimage spot. All in all, though this is a place you can skip if really pressed for time, it's hard to say you did a proper pilgrimage without stepping foot onto Awashima. Where possible, try to factor a couple of hours into your plans for this place- just remember to grab the discount and don't expect too much out of it. |
| Assorted shops on the north end |
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| There're a few interesting points north of Yasudaya Ryokan, each small so I'll just group them together.
The first is this shaded store that looks relatively normal from the outside but is a veritable explosion of LLSS goods on display inside- it's run by an old lady who we chatted with and she's decently knowledgeable about the series- she even has the timings for the collab Tokai buses for when they'll run past her store. It's a nice collection that I didn't really get photos of, but what's important here is that this is the only store in Uchiura that'll sell Noppo Pan. If you haven't had any yet, pick up some here, though they can be occasionally out of stock- They were out when we got there. Some facts we learned from our conversation with her: This year's graduating batch for the middle school (the school LLSS takes place in) is a group of 24 students. The nearby elementary school is doing far worse, with a student population size of only 50 across all 6 grades. Though the whole falling population and urban migration issues are major reasons, another key reason for this was the 2011.3.11 incident 6 years ago. Ever since then, most new families looking to build a new home have decided to move upland to Izu-Nagaoka instead, where it is safer. Because in the event of a tsunami, this entire area will be 4-6m underwater. That's why the middle school is built on a hill- it's the evacuation site for such a potential disaster. Another interesting spot is the post-office... of all places, yes. It's amazing but their outer display is covered in LLSS goods, you couldn't have guessed it was a post-office just from the exterior! There're also some signatures from CYaRon! here- Aiai signed a lot of stuff when she came down the first Christmas event last December, while Anchan and Shukashuu signed theirs when they came down for the CYaRon! stage at the Numazu mini Kanshasai on April 23rd. Another couple of spots along the road down are the fishing cooperative's building, where You posed in front for a magazine scan once. And of course, the 7-11 nearest to the school which appeared multiple times in the anime. This is where Chika and You practice in front of in Episode 11, as well as where Yohane is sent to buy ice-cream. |
| Tosawaya |
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 Tosawaya is one of the ryokans participating in the ryokan cooperative's stamp rallies/other promotions. This ongoing promotion they have is where each inn has one or two characters' towels, and you have to spend at least 1000 yen there either through staying, eating or paying to use the bath in order to buy the towel for 500 yen. Tosawaya is in charge of the Yohane towels. To explain Tosawaya, I first have to explain my entire day up to that point at 4pm. Long story short, we met early at Mishima to try and take the HAPPY PARTY TRAIN down to Izu-Nagaoka, only to find out that the train had been taken off the rails for unexpected maintenance. We took the Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM train (which I had already seen) down to Izu-Nagaoka, only to find that the shop there was out of Noppo Pan. We took the bus to Uchiura, and walked up to Shougetsu only to find that they had an unannounced closing day. We walked up further north to find that the only shop selling Noppo Pan in Uchiura was out of stock. My companion had insisted on eating a Aqours don at Restaurant Rikyuu on Awashima, so I went with that plan and we went over to Awashima only to find that it was closed. By the time we came back to the mainland it was 4pm, we were hungry as hell, and I was feeling pretty depressed over how badly the day was going despite planning this trip for months. As it turns out, nothing on the internet is as useful as firsthand experience. This entire series of events is also the reason why I'm writing this guide. So anyway, we went back, I led the others to Tosawaya, only to find the doors closed with a typical JP sign that says "in the midst of preparation" for dinner. That moment was just. Wow. It was like, there was no one to blame but dang if this wasn't some really terrible luck the entire day. But then this lady came from the side and asked if we were here for a meal. And then she told us to just open the doors and go in- and so we stepped in into the restaurant and took a few seats in the center. Ryokans are run by families and at that moment there were two kids doing their homework and playing at one of the tables to the side, and you could see into the kitchen behind as well. It felt weirdly like being in a private space even if we were there as customers.  Here's an image of a Yohane nesoberi trapped in the shark plushie to break up the monotony of words. Anyway, we looked through the menu for a bit, then my friend asked if there was a special LL item- to which she flips to the back and it's right there, a single picture that takes up the entire back of the booklet that our eyes had just glanced past because it hadn't exactly looked like an LLSS item. It was just a simple picture of the food and the words Love Live! Sunshine!! menu handwritten on, none of the garish advertising that we were used to looking out for. And of course, all three of us ordered it. Maybe we were just hungry. Or maybe it was really as good as it looked. But that meal was the best, most value-for-money meal I had eaten in that town. I can't even begin to describe just how awesome it was, how the curry paired so well with the fragrant rice, how the potato salad was thick and flavourful, and how crispy the tempura was. And of course, the presentation of the entire meal. I mean they even found black feathers, stuck them to toothpicks and placed them in the rice- that's a whole new level of immersion. And the best part was, this meal cost only 1080 yen. After the food arrived and we started tucking in, we started realising how lucky we were that Restaurant Rikyuu had been closed for the day- there was no way we would've discovered this gem otherwise. It was this moment that made me think really hard about how there were many other ryokans involved in this promotion, yet so many of them had never been shilled by magazines or seiyuus- just what other gems are there waiting to be found? I'm hoping other people can find out as well. My group also lucked out a second time- the towels for the promotion had originally been out of stock but had been restocked just earlier that day. In an entire day of complete misfortune, Yohane was the only thing that went right- that was something that I felt really deeply at that point despite the irony.  Just next door to the restaurant section is the inn portion of Tosawaya. And right there at the entrance, they have a collection of goods big enough to impress any fan. Both the food as well as seeing this made me really feel like they truly deserved the right to be the inn in charge of Yohane. They certainly weren't letting her down. The inns involved in the promotion are marked out on the pilgrimage map, but it's also relatively easy to spot them on the ground if they put out the standees. It seems like each inn were issued two of their character's. Be sure to visit your best girl's inn if possible- you may just be in for a pleasant surprise. Verdict: If you're a Yohane fan, you absolutely have to stop by here if there's any ongoing promotion. Even if you're not, the special meal is simple but easily one of the most value-for-money ones in the entire town, compared to any of the advertised and overpriced meals. At the very least, visit some of the other promotional ryokans and see what they offer. There's a lot more waiting than just the famous advertised spots. |
| Shougetsu Confectionery |
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 Old image from FlirryVorru because I managed to forget to take an image of the exterior entirely. Shougetsu Confectionery has a relatively high presence within the franchise: it first appeared in CYaRon!'s first single's radio drama where CYaRon! worked here part-time. It also appeared in Season 1 Episode 6 as the girls debate over their PV. Just as shown in the anime, it's a pretty small cafe with only two 4-seater tables and one 2-seater table. It is also one of the places more likely to cause frustration with pilgrimage plans because of their irregularity: the two key issues with them are their many closing days, as well as them occasionally running out of mikan dorayaki. They also don't publish their closing days online- which are subject to change anyway. Tuesday is a guaranteed closing day, and right now it looks like so are Wednesdays. So yeah if you come here and run into this sign, you know you're outta luck. They close as and when they need to so just be mentally prepared if you're here on a weekday. Luckily my group was staying overnight so we managed to come here the next day, which was Friday. They have two counters, the one on the left is filled with Japanese sweets while the one on the right has Western-style cakes. A sign above lists the drinks you can order. Of course, the most common recommendation here is their signature mikan dorayaki, the same food the second years prepared during their Strolling With Aqours episode here. Just like with the seiyuu, the staff are generous with their filling, and it's really quite delicious. The shop has also done a decent job of decorating the place, even putting a puppy stuffed toy similar to the one in the anime. And of course, signatures and photos of both the second years during their filming, as well as of Aiai during her Christmas event visit.  I grabbed a mikan dorayaki along with a glass of local mikan juice. Price came up pretty high- that was some expensive juice that probably wasn't very worth it. I mean, it certainly was different from any other juice I had ever drank, but juice just doesn't make for a very memorable experience. Would advise grabbing the cakes and skipping the drinks, since they get you a glass of water anyway. There was also a couple of other groups of LLivers here while we were there, so we had a passing chat as well. As mentioned, it's a small cafe, so don't expect to eat-in unless you're prepared for a long wait. Thankfully, the mikan dorayakis are sealed and good for takeaway, and even last quite a few days. I actually brought one back all the way home and only ate it then. Would've loved to stay and take more photos of the place but the bus timing was pretty tight so we had to book it out of there fast at the end of our snacking session. Verdict: High LL presence and decorations, plus easily accessible from nearby spots and sweets are decent in prices. Definitely worth a visit but be mentally prepared for potential issues such as closing days, lack of stock, or just no available seating. |
| Yasudaya Ryokan |
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 Yasudaya Ryokan, the very building which Chika's family ryokan is based on. All this time I've read about it, seen it in the anime, but even the Strolling With Aqours Second Years episode fails to really give you an insight on what the place is like. Given that the other two members of my group were Chika fans, there was no choice but to stay here for a night and see it for myself. We were a little unfortunate in that we ended up staying on the same day that some middle school was staying over- it got pretty noisy just as one would expect, but lucky that cut out after dinner. Supposedly they were having classes, plus they were pretty quiet during the night. Well we were staying in the room next to the teacher's room so that made sense. Still, having them run around everywhere on their scavenger hunt or something while we were navigating the inn was a little annoying. Out in front of the inn is the pier, which is actually private property so you can't go running off it and diving into the ocean like Riko does. It's reserved for the use of the ferry between Numazu, Uchiura and Osezaki. Meanwhile the buildings that Chika and Riko reach between in Episode 2 were drastically shortened for dramatic effect. There's actually a road between the two in real life. Once through the doorway, the large shrine to the left of the reception is easily visible. They haven't really gone all-out in decorating, but what they do have is tasteful and legit. And well most importantly, autographed. It was cute that they even had a standee for Shiitake too, autographed by Anchan as well. Checking in gets us a warm towel, some jelly and a cup of tea to relax after a long walk outside- pretty decent extra service. The lounge area is just a step up from the reception, with four tables and a bar. Once again, plenty of signatures here, not just from the seiyuus but also relatively famous fan-artists. Yasudaya Ryokan actually has a long history, and it's evident in the architecture. Beyond just that, it's also designated a tangible cultural heritage property of Japan, and was beloved by a particular author Dazai Osamu. Supposedly he came here pretty often, and they even preserved a study for him and his works where anyone can enter. Rooms can be booked for 2-4 people but it'll still cost you the same amount per person. Pretty roomy though, even for three people- there's an antechamber, the room itself, and a balcony that looks over the road and the beach. No free snacks in the room but you do get a complete tea set, with two variants of tea as well. Meals at Yasudaya are included in the price, but they're at fixed timings because all the guests' meals are prepared at the same time. It was a little unfortunate but one of our companions took ill at this time and couldn't really handle dinner, so we went to talk to the staff to see if anything could be done. But the manager was pretty adamant that dinner had to be at that time, and he didn't offer any other options- like keeping the food or perhaps making something lighter for him. As a matter of fact, he didn't even ask what was wrong with our friend. It was a bit of a departure from traditional Japanese service- and especially unexpected from a ryokan of this price and supposed quality. So it was just two of us at dinner, eating three people's shares. Well, I guess at least the two of us didn't let his sacrifice go to waste :^) Anyway we were asked what drinks we wanted and turns out they actually created LL SS cocktails... one of those things that make you raise an eyebrow because you're relatively confident the committee did not license this. But we ended up getting two of them anyway. The Chika cocktail was rather good, a safe choice for those weak with alcohol as they blended in the alcohol with the mikan rather well. The You one on the other hand, was a tad strong with the vodka. No idea about the Riko one. So my friend and I started on our meal, and if there's one thing about kaiseki (traditional multi-course Japanese meals)... it's that they don't stop coming. Keeping in mind that it was two of us struggling to eat three people's shares because we didn't want the chefs' efforts to go to waste. The server was a nice old lady who seemed quite disappointed our companion hadn't turned up. They had cockles in their miso soup, which was pretty cool, except they were also pretty tiny to the point you couldn't really get any satisfaction out of eating them. Mostly for flavour, I suppose. All in all the meal was pretty decent and filling, with the exception of some of the smaller dishes which were weird to our tastebuds. The fish was also a little hard to eat since native Japanese just eat fishes with the bones, but us foreigners prefer to not have the bones. But yes, we stumbled outta the dining hall pretty full, and we were the last patrons to take our leave at about 7.30pm. The meal had taken us almost an hour to finish, most probably because of the extra share. Would've been an okay portion for a single person's meal, I believe. As mentioned, the ryokan's age does show in its architecture as well as furnishings- it's decently nice to visit and stay in, for a ryokan experience.  When you check in, each guest also gets a free coffee ticket for use in the lounge. So you can go and redeem it at anytime during your stay, but it'll probably be during the night. Thankfully, Japanese coffee is relatively weak in caffeine so there's not much worry about not being able to sleep at night. What's cool about this though is that LLivers generally gather in the lounge each night to talk about their fandom. We met a few others there as well and had a chat- the new Young Jump magazine had just come out that morning so it was an easy discussion topic at hand. We talked about our favourite seiyuu, Of course, there were also other LLivers there who were a little less engrossed in the fandom- one who was slowly learning the seiyuu's names as we went along, for example. It was interesting that people would do a pilgrimage without being that deep in yet, you really get all kinds! A note however, that it's a typical Japanese lounge after all, and that means people do smoke. So not the best environment for those who are sensitive to that. We headed back up and went to bed after that- it was pretty nice sleeping in a quiet room with no sound except for the waves on the beach. Very peaceful. So the next morning we woke up and... welp. Turns out the mosquito netting for one of our windows had fallen during the night, thankfully onto a nearby tree which caught it. Turns out the thing wasn't even in the upper frame- it was just sitting loosely in the bottom one. No idea how the staff had secured it before this, but they fixed it while we were out for breakfast (as well as keeping away the futons and replacing the desk). It was nice waking up to that lovely view though.  Breakfast was thankfully a much smaller affair than dinner. Though a lot of the things weren't really to our taste this time... But well breakfast has always been a plain meal so I'll give them that much. But really, a lot of the experiences with food here may have been lacking because of the timing of our trip, which was in May. Ryokans tend to focus on providing fresh food, and you'll get seasonal fare based on what's in season. And well, there's nothing much that's actually in season in May... Regarding the baths, the baths in Yasudaya are rotated regularly. There are six baths, two of which are more "premium". Basically you want to aim for the Omoide rotenburo (open air bath), which is the one that Riko is seen bathing in for this magazine scan. When we went to take a bath the previous night, the Omoide rotenburo happened to be for the females' use, so we had to use the other one and try again in the morning. I looked this scan up before we went in so I was pretty sure, but it seems like there's been an unfortunate change to the bath. Though the location, the signage and the water spout is still the same, the bath itself has been replaced from a wooden one to a rock one. According to people who stayed there back in March, it was still wood then, so it was a relatively recent change. Unsure if it's permanent, but it certainly looked smaller than the pictures online indicate. Was a bit of a squeeze with three of us in there, but welp.  Just before we left our room to check out I was flipping through the book of offers in our room, and I discovered a rather good offer for Izu-Mito Sea Paradise: 500 yen off the price of an adult ticket. So be sure to purchase your tickets from the ryokan's counter if you're staying here.  Checking out, the bill came up to 15120 yen per person (not including the drinks my friend and I had). And strangely enough, an additional 150 yen for a bath tax. While this number is peanuts in comparison to the fee, it feels a little strange in principle that they're charging you to use the baths when you're already a paying guest. Honestly though, for this price, there are better ryokans with better service out there. Though I've had limited experience with ryokans myself, I can only say that it wasn't exactly fantastic here. The spirit of hospitality felt a little lacking, for one thing, and the standard of the facilities as well as the food don't really feel like they justify the price. The architecture and decorations are what save the place, and that's exactly what the place has been selling for the past century- its position as a cultural heritage property. Verdict: For second year fans, visiting this place is a valuable experience. Even if you can't afford to stay here, you can pay to take a bath here or maybe drop by at night for a drink, both of which are also ways to meet the 1000 yen minimum to purchase a Chika or Riko hand-towel. It's a gathering point for fans at night, especially during character birthdays or other events, so it's a great way to meet other LLivers and have fun. Some members of the staff are supposedly fans themselves- even the manager who's a total Chika-Riko fan. That said, experiences here differ greatly because they're largely situational- it's really great on eventful days, but the day-to-day experience here isn't fantastic and not really worth the cost. If you wanna have a good time, you gotta splurge- and even splurging won't get you the full experience if it's not the right day- or even the right season. If you're planning to stay here, do research and plan your trip very carefully, or your money may feel like a waste. If your trip is in the wrong time, you're better off staying elsewhere and just dropping by.
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| Izu-Mito Sea Paradise |
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 Izu-Mito Sea Paradise, the site for the [Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM] PV. Also featured in the radio drama with the 3rd Years within the same single. The second year seiyuus also visited here during their Strolling With Aqours session. It's right outside Chika's inn so it's one of the easily accessible checkpoints in Uchiura- definitely worth passing by. Whether it's worth a visit however, depends on the person. It costs 2200 yen for an adult ticket, but it's 500 yen cheaper if you stayed at Yasudaya Ryokan. We spent about a couple of hours here, but it's honestly quite a small aquarium as well. Contrary to what is shown in the anime, you don't really get a good shot of Izu-Mito Sea Paradise with its logo up close- not unless you're as tall as a giraffe. The issue with it is that the road before it is also sloping down so there's really no good angle to shoot this from unless you're much further back. It kind of makes you wonder what the designer was thinking when they put the logo that far back on the building, really...  One of the first things you see going in is an offer for a unique photo-frame: For the cheap price of 1800 yen, you could be the owner of your very own Aqours photo frame! Marked up as hell, but at least they know their audience. And then there's an exhibit of a... good lord I forgot what this was. Is it a dugong or a sea cow or... I'm not sure really. Anyway it's the thing that Rikyako made one of her famous drawings of. This thing actually just keeps swimming in laps- it reaches the end of its pool, flips over, and swims upside-down to the other end, and then flips over and does it again... and again. Not sure if it was trained to do this for entertainment purposes or it's just feeling really cooped up in a small enclosure. Doesn't seem very healthy...  Unfortunately, parts of Mito Sea were under renovation during the time we were there, but this would've been one of the spots within the PV where the first years dance together. Within a corner, walled off and doors covered by curtains, is this tank of jellyfish that was featured prominently within the PV. It's just a single tank but it does look bigger than it really is through the good usage of a mirror. And the colours do cycle along the spectrum, making it quite a pretty thing to watch in the darkness. We were here the same time an elementary school visited, so it was quite rowdy- we had to wait for them to clear out before we could take our photos. Other than that it's a dimly-lit corridor of other exhibits. Nothing particularly fascinating here, just different fishes unique to the area. There was a tank of some sawfish (I think?) at the end that was cute, but it was too dimly-lit to take good photos. There's also a touching pool but also unmanned and with no taps around, oddly enough. Emerging from the darkness, one is confronted with a few other displays of... a couple of snowy owls and a few otters. Otters I understand but the owls... not sure why, really. And then two giant pools: The first is full of koi with a capsule machine dispensing koi food, while the second contains dolphins. For a fee, you can head down and ride a boat to touch them.  Another PV spot, this is where Yohane is dancing in her uniform. On good days you're supposed to be able to see Mt Fuji from here, but they're rare as usual. Head towards the exit to the souvenir shop to find this wall of collab panels, one of the main reasons to visit this place. These are all signed by the seiyuus themselves and are quite large in size. Because it's a path with only some staff areas at the end, no one really ventures along this corridor, so it's rather easy to take photos here. If you're gonna fork out the hefty fee to visit this aquarium, I would highly recommend staying for one of the shows at least. This was the Show Stadium event, which takes place at their main stadium and lasts for about 30 minutes. It's pretty decent as far as aquarium shows go- the animals are well trained and the hosts are entertaining. Also a greater variety of animals used in a single show than the one at Awashima Marine Park, so it does feel more engaging.  And over here we have the Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM uhh.... aquarium... Yeah it was pretty wut when they announced it and it still is.  Whole bunch of signed standees, previously from the SEGA Collab Cafe in Akiba, then shifted over once the collab ended. And then of course, Love Live! Sunshine!! merchandising hell. What I would recommend here are the plushies if you didn't get them from Awashima Marine Park- The dolphins, seals and penguins are a smaller size and cheaper here while the shark is the same size. The otter and Uchicchi are unique here and so is the lobster but it doesn't really follow the same patterns Chika's one has. Of course, picking up your best girl's plushie takes precedence, but value-for-money wise, Uchicchi is probably the best.  I mean seriously looking at the size-comparison, it's ridiculous. It's really big. I was asked to buy a whole bunch of plushies back for my local friends but I had to cancel all Uchicchi orders after actually seeing it for myself. There was no way I could stuff those in my luggage. Of course, the shop is much larger than just these and also contains all the usual local delicacies etc stuff you find in souvenir shops. There's nothing else after this except the exit. Verdict: Convenient access as it's in the center of Uchiura along the Tokai bus route as well as the terminal point for the Izu-Hakone Bus. Unfortunately, the price is a little hefty for its small size- the priciest amongst all the aquariums here. Still, its appearance in the KNNA PV makes it a prime pilgrimage spot not to be missed. Definitely worth a first-time visit, but perhaps not a spot one would revisit. |
| Sannoura General Information Center |
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 The information center, a site that never really appeared in the anime much, but is so, so very important to the series. It's a bit further down the road and needs a walk either through the tunnel or through the backroads, but is situated close to other pilgrimage sites as well. It's hard to really explain the importance of this place given its non-prominence, but it is essentially the first place within Uchiura that truly adopted Love Live! Sunshine!! from the very start. It has always been used as a gathering point for fans and it's filled with all sorts of merchandise and fan-made goods. There are places for people to exchange messages and namecards, as well as flip through the history of the project- this is literally the center of any pilgrimage. Which is deeply ironic because since it doesn't have much use besides that these days, it kind of guarantees it won't appear in the project in any form since it would be hard to fit with the story. When I was surfing Uchiura on Google Maps 2 years ago when the details of the LLSS project was first announced, this place was a really sad building, with old notices and peeling posters- there's not much use for a tourist information center in a town that doesn't have any tourists. But all it took was a single month, and visitor reports showed they had a giant Chika poster by the door and the beginnings of a pilgrimage site within. These days, it's entirely unrecognizable from the building it used to be. This is the place that went through the greatest transformation with the advent of the LLSS project.  This is its sign by the main road. It actually appears quite often within the anime each time they take the bus, try rewatching and spot it for yourself! The building also appears in Season 1 Episode 10 when Chika talks to Riko after hearing her song, though it's very dimly lit in the pre-dawn darkness. This place is completely decked out in LLSS posters these days, and they even rotate it regularly! It's currently filled with Mari stuff in preparation for her upcoming birthday. The fun thing about this place is it's an eclectic mix of both official and fan-made goods, it's nice to see all the things that other fans left behind for our school idols! Of course, most of the place is filled with official goods- and this isn't even half of what really exists out there, so it kind of gives you an idea of just how crazy the merchandising game is. There's also a survey beside the staff office to let people indicate on a map where they're from. Of course, there's also a whole bunch of maps and pamphlets on the region, stuff you would expect any tourist info office to have. There's also free Wi-Fi as well as 3 free rental bikes, which is pretty great for a place where you can't actually buy anything. Yes, there is nothing for sale here- the place is probably funded by the town council. I didn't take a picture of the center table but there's a whole bunch of files compiling every single page of Dengeki G's Magazine that has featured LLSS so far. It's a really great place to flip through the history of the project if you haven't been following it intensely, or great for a recap even if you have.  Just behind the tourist information center is the building that the Kurosawa residence is based on. Of course, this is private property, so please don't trespass on it. The few accounts I've seen of people entering it all sought special permission from the owner beforehand.  And further down the road is of course, the scene where Mari slipped and fell while running through the rain. Feel free to reenact your own fall here. Verdict: This is not a place to be missed for any LLSS fan. This is literally the core of any pilgrimage to this area, because no matter how it never truly appeared within any of the materials, this is where the heart of the fan culture has manifested itself. It's completely free and is a great place to rest and take a break, maybe even meet other LLivers. Be sure to stop by here to take some shots and leave a message. |
| OH!MOS! Farmer's Market & Nagahama Castle Ruins |
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 Once again, I'm combining two locations because they're right next to each other, so it's one of those you wouldn't really visit without the other. OH!MOS! Farmer's Market only appeared once when they were promoted in DIVER May 2017, with Anchan, Rikyako and Suwawa passing through here. It's just a simple store selling local produce, and it closes at 5pm daily. Since it's at the end of the path, this is a site you might reach too late- that's what happened to us with this photo. There's not much to say about this place, since we were in a rush when we passed by here ourselves. They sell local produce, so it's a good place to grab some souvenirs that can only be gotten from these kinda places- well it's something that's a little bit more applicable in a Japanese context. Of course, I wouldn't recommend hauling mikan juice all the way back to your home country, but you might be able to find something else here more suited.  Aside from that, it's mostly just about the many displays they have set up. The shopkeepers are extremely friendly and will actively start conversations, so it's a good place to chat with some locals. And as shown here, they even have Chika's mikan box, School Idol  There's also another mikan shop that looks more like a warehouse around this area, where they sell 2 cans and a bottle of juice within a Chika plastic bag for 500 yen. The prices in this area are more or less standardized, so don't worry and just buy anything you feel like getting. Fruit is pretty expensive in Japan, so the prices here are actually rather cheap compared to within Tokyo.  Just across the road from OH!MOS!, is the Nagahama Castle Ruins. This is more familiarly known as the spot where the girls go to shoot a PV in Season 1 Episode 6. It's a pretty short hill so don't worry about the exertion, you could easily reach the top in 5-10 minutes. Not quite sure about the historical significance of this place, but it seems like they have the base of a ship at the foot of the mountain. The top of the hill is actually divided into two plateaus that look kinda similar. But just reaching the first already provides you with an amazing view- it was around 5pm when we visited ourselves, and the sun was setting, casting a lovely soft light on the top of the hill. It was amazingly scenic: the grass and flowers are beautiful, it's very clean, and there was a nice breeze that got quite strong from time to time. Intense, but not uncomfortably so.  Climbing up another flight of stairs that looks more like a viewing platform bring you further up to the actual plateau where the Aqours girls were. It's mostly the same, just with a better view. Nagahama Castle Ruins is a nice peak that's been cleared to provide an excellent view of the surrounding area, so there's some really great scenery here- it's one of those places where photos can't do the place justice. Just being up here, soaking up the warmth and the wind, listening to the rustling of the leaves of the two trees that stand out in particular... It's a great place to recharge yourself, one of those places the Japanese refer to as "power spots". Verdict: The places might be small/short and a little bit out of the way given they're in between the school and the rest of Uchiura, but Nagahama Castle Ruins is a really great site that offers a unique experience different from the rest of Uchiura. Definitely worth a visit if you can, though I would recommend pairing the visit with one to OH!MOS! to optimize your time. Hence, this is somewhere you'd want to visit before 5pm. |
| Bentenjima Shrine |
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 Bentenjima Shrine appears in Season 1 Episode 9 briefly, when the first and second years stalk Kanan on her morning run. This shrine is the ending point where they watch Mari confront her Attempting the morning run itself is a little difficult, as Bentenjima Shrine is about 3km+ away from the Awashima ferry terminal. It's definitely not impossible, just that you probably have better things to do with your limited time and too many things to see along the way.  It's named as an island but isn't really an island per se as it's connected to the mainland, just a bit of an outcrop. From the main road, this is how it would look like. The steps up are short, but seriously steep at some parts. Please be careful when ascending and descending these steps as it'll be a nasty tumble if you fall. There isn't really much to say about the shrine itself; it's just a lone shrine in a shaded clearing. This was really just a simple spot repurposed for the anime.  If you're wondering why there's no anime goods here, the caretakers of the shrine have left a notice requesting for people to not do so. So yes, this will remain a simple shrine to the very end. Verdict: If you're not doing a complete pilgrimage, you could consider skipping this place. If you're already passing by on the road to the school on foot then it might be worth just taking a short look since it doesn't take much time. Still, definitely not a place one would bother visiting again. |
| Nagaisaki Junior High School |
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 The model for the school the girls attend, this is an absolute must for any pilgrimage. This is the building where most of the anime's screentime takes place- even if you can't enter it, it's still necessary to pay a visit to this site! Do take note of the limitations however: First off, please be sure not to capture any students or staff in your photographs. You more or less want to avoid doing this for the rest of Numazu and Uchiura anyway but this is especially important here.  Another key problem you'd want to be aware of is the inaccessibility of this area. While this bus-stop is also a pilgrimage spot that's appeared in multiple scenes, you can see the schedule and how bad it is. Buses only run here at certain times throughout the day, pretty much to pick up or drop off the students. The rest of the time, the Tokai bus will simply pass through the tunnel south of the school instead of looping around it. For the most part, you'd want to assume you're walking up this place unless you do some proper research as to which bus you can actually take. The path to the school is the road next to Bentenjima Shrine.  Be warned, if you overshoot and end up at the Seaside Cafe: Umi no Stage (pictured above, also promoted in DIVER May 2017), you'd want to just follow the road north and loop around the entire island instead of cutting through the mountain. The trail on Google Maps is literally just a trail. My companions and I tried to cut through the mountain and it was not smart, especially with baggage. These are the prettier looking parts of the path, the worst part was literally breaking a trail through grass uphill. Back to the road next to Bentenjima Shrine, assume you simply follow the road north, you'll come across a few pilgrimage sights.  The first is of course a very landmark junction and slope, where Chika begins running in the KimiKoko PV. The second year seiyuus also visited this site themselves, though it was raining then so they didn't run.  Behind that is a pier, where the girls sit in Episode 5 to discuss Yohane's fate and she makes up her mind to move on from her Yohane persona.  And then the bus-stop, with this building that was featured in the ED sequence. In real life, this is where the students would lounge about waiting for one of the (infrequent) buses to come. The path up towards the school is here, but if you continue along the main road... This cape jutting out to the north is called Nagaizaki, and there's a spot on the north end that was used as the backdrop for Aqours in their first anime announcement art. From here, you can also look westwards to the next cape called Akazaki, which also contains a lighthouse that was used as a backdrop for one of You's earliest arts. Of course, wouldn't recommend walking all the way there- it's quite a distance away and there's nothing else around. Back up on the path to the school, it's a bit of a walk up, but it's relatively scenic due to the height. Not that there's really much to see however- just as Chika has always been describing it, it's really nothing except mikan orchards. It's something they keep writing about in the school bio but not something I really understood until I got there. Literally nothing except mikan trees all around.  Coming up from below, the first view of the school you may get is through a mesh fence at the school field. This is the only shot you can get from this angle, as everything else has been covered with thick trees. Probably a strategy for them to keep their baseballs from flying out.  The school pool. As commonly mentioned, it's completely filthy and covered in algae. Of course, swimming lessons would only be held in the summer at most- unsure if they even still bother holding those and cleaning it up given the school population. This year's graduating batch only has 24 students, barely enough for a single class.  Heading further will bring you to the school gate as pictured earlier above, and past that is this view of the school's gym. The same gym which factored heavily in Episode 3, and also where their clubroom appears to be. There didn't seem to be much else to see from the other angles moving forward. There should be a road along the side that allows one to view a bit of the classrooms, though we didn't head there. Verdict: This is an important core spot of any pilgrimage, and somewhere you definitely have to visit if you already came all the way down. Just be prepared for long walks, try not to have any baggage with you, and keep track of time heading up and down- you certainly don't want to miss the last bus heading back towards Numazu. |
Other Points of Interest[]
| Transportation |
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| As mentioned above in the transportation guide, the collaboration transportations are mainly the Izu-Hakone line, the Tokai and Izu-Hakone buses, and finally the taxis. This will mostly just be a picture compilation of the ongoing collabs- they're bound to be replaced with newer ones sooner or later.
Izu-Hakone Railway  The Izu-Hakone Railway has two collaborations ongoing, one with Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM wrappings that have been around for some time (likely phased out soon) as well as one with the HAPPY PARTY TRAIN wrappings. Unfortunately during our trip, due to multiple train breakdowns and delays on different days, we didn't get to see the HPT one despite planning for it. The KNNA train has the LLSS logo mounted on its front, and you can take photos easier on the side that opens to the platform. However, the doors are closed on this side, but you can go around the train to the other platform to take shots from across the tracks. The rear is exactly the same, except with the doors. But what's of note here are the first years. The first year seiyuus visited the trains during their Strolling With Aqours episode, and have left their signatures on the door. I'm guessing that they did the same with HPT and they'll likely always park the train on the right side such that the signed doors will always be visible. The last thing regarding the Izu-Hakone Railway is the standees they have placed. The locations are as follows: 3rd Years at Mishima, the station which connects to the JR line. 2nd Years at Izu-Nagaoka, the station which connects to Uchiura through the Izu-Hakone Bus. 1st Years at Shuzenji, which is the far end of the line. Most people might miss the 1st Years because they're at the station that isn't relevant to a pilgrimage, so please take note. Any future deployment of standees would likely feature these three stations as well, because Mishima and Shuzenji are basically ends of the line, and Izu-Nagaoka is where everyone gets off to take the bus to Uchiura. Since Shuzenji is only about 3 stops down from Izu-Nagaoka, you don't really lose much time by riding the train down to the end of the line, and snapping your photos before hopping on a train back upwards. Izu-Hakone Bus The Izu-Hakone Bus runs between Izu-Nagaoka station and Izu-Mito Sea Paradise (which is run by the same group, incidentally). It has a Koi ni Naritai AQUARIUM wrapping for now that might or might not change in the future, but it's likely a collaboration that'll be running for a while.  I didn't really get a good shot of Izu-Nagaoka station, but do note that it also appeared in the anime! This was from Episode 6, where they cycled all the way here to shoot their PV.  The bus stand is just right outside the station, and easy to spot. The collab bus doesn't run very often, and odds are you won't be able to catch it if you took a collab train down. However, the collab bus does park here on the right side of the wide carpark when not in use, so it's rather easy to take shots of it. Wide angle shots. The bus's announcement system is actually voiced by the entire cast of Aqours in turn, so it's definitely worth riding if you can somehow manage to fit it into your schedule. And of course, the entire bus has been signed by the seiyuus. Though the bus was still unsigned when it appeared in Strolling With Aqours with the first years, it seems all nine of them have found a later opportunity to do so- or maybe that was a spare bus. Tokai Bus The Tokai bus runs between Numazu station and the distant end of the line down past the school and somewhere near You's lighthouse. This is the bus which You and Yohane takes to school every day, and is the most common mode of transport for LLivers making their pilgrimages if they're not walking or driving. It's the only bus covering the coastline where the entire pilgrimage in Uchiura lies along, and usually comes in 30-min intervals. Do note however that this bus can be relatively expensive. It's not one that you really want to take often if walking is a viable option. Anyway, there's actually two collabs ongoing with it. The older one has a wrapping of them in their winter uniforms, and has been signed by the seiyuus. This was the older one, and I think I didn't manage to ride this one.  The newer one was commissioned after Season 2 was announced, and it was pretty recent so the seiyuus haven't signed this one yet. Of course, the interior is also decked out in LL art. Amusingly it looks a little bit dated despite being newer because they used KimiKoko art for it.  The only signed thing in the bus is this shikishi by Suwawa, commemorating the release of HAPPY PARTY TRAIN.
 There was also this paper in the bus with a guide of pilgrimage spots and where they lie along the bus route. Rather thoughtful. What's interesting is the green box though, which I only just spotted myself here. It seems like there are "bus packs"- I think they're cheaper packages for purchasing Mito-Sea/Awashima tickets along with taking the Tokai bus down. This was also mentioned briefly in sicxer's guide but could really use more elucidating on if anyone has the details to add to this. Izu-Hakone Collab Taxis The collab taxis are not hard to spot at all: If you're doing the pilgrimage, you'll likely have them whizzing past you at least once every hour. The hard part is actually capturing them on camera. Unless they're parked, you'll likely not be able to grab a good photo of them. Still, it can be interesting to see how many of them you can capture. On my trip I think I saw everyone's taxis... or maybe I was missing Maru's and Mari's.  Anyway, the interior of the taxis are filled with LL goods of course, though the quantity and variety differs from taxi to taxi. This You taxi was parked at Izu-Nagaoka station's taxi stand, waiting for someone to take it. If I'm not wrong, all the taxis should be signed, but it depends on which side you're taking photos of. The only taxi we got a real photo opportunity with was Riko's, where the taxi driver had parked and stepped out elsewhere at Seaside Cafe: Umi no Stage. So we just snapped what we could.  There's a guide that can be found at quite a few shops around Numazu and Uchiura regarding the taxis. Essentially, while you can simply hop onto any waiting taxis you happen to find, you most likely want to call to reserve a taxi the day before. The price for reserving a taxi for 2 hours is 11,920 yen, which is just 2980 yen when split between the max capacity of 4 passengers. If the tour exceeds the allocated time, it's another 2980 yen for every subsequent 30 minutes. The taxi drivers are actually well-versed in the anime and carry about albums of anime screenshots, so they act more as tour guides to the area that'll help point out all the scenes. Of course, you'll need to be able to speak a fair bit of Japanese to actually make good use of this tour. The Chika, Riko, Kanan, You and Maru taxis are run by the Nagaoka office (055-949-1773) while the Yohane, Mari, Dia and Ruby taxis are run by the Numazu office (055-924-6300). |
| Nebukawa & Kozu |
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| From Numazu back up to Tokyo, you'll first hit Nebukawa, and then Kozu. I would recommend hitting these spots on your way back rather than before you start your pilgrimage since they're more emotional areas, so they carry more meaning after having completed your pilgrimage.
These two sites appear in both Love Live! as well as Love Live! Sunshine!!. Kozu is the beach where μ's decides to disband, as well as where Aqours finds their new resolve to go from ZERO to ONE. Nebukawa is the accompanying train station where μ's cries their hearts out, and where Chika catches the white feather falling from the sky.  Nebukawa is the first one you'll hit if going back up towards Tokyo, though it's the second site sequentially in the anime for both.  It's honestly a very, very tiny train station, meant for locals. But that's exactly the feel they were going for, making it so tiny and deserted. Just three tracks, and two platforms.  The good thing about it being such a tiny station though, is that there's literally no one manning it. There's no turnstile, just a single machine by the side where you tap if you're going in or coming out. Which makes it awfully convenient for LLivers doing the pilgrimage- just pop out of the station to take this photo, and reenter again with no fuss.  A view from the bridge connecting to the platforms. If you wanna take Chika's feather shot, it'll be the one on the far side, not the middle.  Onwards to Kozu, it's a much larger station. Simply follow the map and head downhill, and down a flight of stairs to approach the highway which runs along the beach. The beach itself is a little... desolate. Which I suppose is appropriate given the scenes they were using it for. There're some people here fishing, but it's mostly just quiet. The sound of waves, and the muffled noises of the highway overhead. Pretty strong wind here as well while we were here around 6pm.  From what I understand, there were some benches in the backdrop originally, but those have been demolished since the anime aired. The easiest way to figure out if you're in the right spot is to just rely on the map and GPS. How this place feels pretty much depends on the individual, and how attached they are to the franchise. There's literally nothing here, just a pure, simple beach of pebbles and black sand. It could be better if you're here in a group- I honestly think I might have been overwhelmed if I was here alone. It's a weird combination of feelings, the memories of the scenes are oppressive while the scenery feels liberating. But all this is really different for everyone. I guess the only way to find out is to come here and see for yourself.  Of course, if you came down with friends, then don't forget to recreate one of the iconic scenes to help you all move forward from here. Even if it ends up looking more like an Illuminati triangle rather than a zero.  Verdict: As mentioned, the value of these two places are really dependent on the individual. While they're keystone locations within the anime, their meaning comes down to how emotionally attached you are to the franchise. But if you're already travelling between Numazu and Tokyo, there's no reason to not stop here, unless you're taking the bullet train both ways instead of local trains. And of course, try to reach here around sunset or twilight for maximum feels. |
| Pop-up Stores |
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| There are also a few collaboration stores that are pretty much hit-and-run cases- these stores either operate infrequently, or are only around for a limited period of time. As such, it's too difficult to update all of them, what's best is just to keep an ear to the ground, ask around in some communities, and do some research of your own.
Love Live! Kitchen Car: Guaranteed to run on weekends, while other days it can vary depending on their staffing. They do get more active during peak periods though, such as holidays or the week before and after an event. Their location each day is always published on their Twitter linked there, but they don't always publish the next day's location, which can make it annoying for planning to find it. If they don't tweet where they'll be the next day, it's better to assume they won't be running. Love Live! Sunshine!! Premium Shop: A store situated at a highway rest-stop, it's got its own cafe, goods store, and a decent number of displays for the franchise. However, it really is a pain to get to unless you're driving. Luckily there's a shuttle bus from Gamers Numazu, but that will cost you a fair bit (2500 yen) as well. Reservations for the bus could be made here. UPDATE: The LLSS Premium Shop has since closed, but the stamp rally site there will continue to function. |
Stamp Rallies[]
Love Live! Sunshine! Location Map Once again, please refer to the Location Map where both stamp rallies have been mapped out in separate layers.
I've mentioned the Ryokan Stamp Rally beforehand, but Numazu City has also created a stamp rally of its own that is a lot more faithful to the original meaning of the phrase. For the Numazu City ones, there is no payment necessary, they simply leave out a inked rubber stamp that you can use for free. In other words, you have absolutely nothing to lose by dropping by these locations for fun. This is what Series 1 and Series 2 stamps look like. As of the writing of this guide, we're now at 5 series in the set, which is a whopping 45 locations to visit.
Of course, they also sell stamp books for 500 yen at certain locations, and it looks pretty nice so it's a decent way to support them and help pay for the cost of maintaining these stamps. The stamp rally has also become popular enough to be minted into can badges, and you can pick up each girl's badge at their stamp location for 300 yen each (max of 2 per person). Again, this is a good way to help support the town, so collecting your best girl's can badges would be a nice way to help pay them for the cost of maintaining the stamp rally.
At this point, both the Ryokan Stamp Rally as well as the Numazu Stamp Rally contain a spot at Osezaki, which is the diving spot at Nishiura, far west of Uchiura. Not very ideal to try and hit unless you either have a rental car or take a ferry (Riko's stamp point is at the ferry terminal hmmm...), and it'll cost you dearly in time. Buses only run there twice a day, once early in the morning and then in the evening. Be sure to consider this if you're aiming to be a completionist.
Something else to take note of is of course, each shop's closing time. The map on the official site has all the opening hours & days helpfully listed so be sure to refer to that. Something I ran into trouble with during my trip was a few of Numazu Harbour's spots closing by 3pm, so that might be a good place to start rather than to end.
Closing Comments[]
All in all, it's actually pretty common to come across random LLSS merch or signs in the weirdest of places with absolutely no connection to the franchise. Some of them make sense: A coffee shop that was already named Daiya Coffee puts up Dia merch on their window display, that's pretty cute. A resale/recycling store using LLSS art for their signs, that's pretty iffy.
There are of course, a variety of motives. The most obvious one is to take advantage of the increased customer flow and lure in fans, and there's nothing wrong with that. But I just wanted to note that some of these shops are really actual fans of Love Live! Sunshine!!, and have chosen to express their love that way. These are usually the shops that actually display merch focused on one character, and you can tell they possess knowledge of the franchise beyond just how to milk it for what it's worth.
In the years since the project started, I've seen local fans comment on Twitter that for the first time in their lives, they were glad to have been living in Numazu. It's that kind of sentiment that really strikes you about how much these fans love LLSS, and just makes you feel so happy for them as well. It's always nice to meet other fans, but meeting local fans is really something else. This is a totally different sort of experience than from LL, which was based in Tokyo. It's really here, in a city that offered nothing else much of note, where you can see just how much this one anime is changing a city and its citizens' lives.
Whether by luck or by choice, Love Live! Sunshine!! was based in Uchiura and Numazu, and this is the town that the girls of Aqours really love and wish to protect. And just like in the anime, beyond the girls themselves is an entire town, many of whom are similarly proud of the achievements that this franchise is making and are filled with love for it too.
So if you ever get the chance, please, please make a trip down to this small town. It'll help you come to understand how the girls are living day to day, why they are so frustrated with the place, and yet at the same time still so in love with it. And maybe, you might just come to love it too.
The author declares no conflict of interests at the time of writing of this piece.
♪ LuciaHunter ♪ 
19:07, June 17, 2017 (UTC)