Hyouka Eps 6, 7 and 8: Hirayu Hot Springs and Irisu's family hospital

This part of Hyouka has been fairly sparse of noteworthy material.  The entirety of ep6 took place in the school grounds while ep7 featured an excursion to the hot springs, most of which took place in a fictional indoor location.  Ep8 marks the start of the Irisu arc which I personally found to be a massive time sink and borefest.

The arc led me to drop Hyouka for a year and I also thought the Literacy Club were a bunch of not very nice people who simply took advantage of Oreki to satisfy their curious desires. I then read an excellently written review by an internet celebrity (Veronin) on MyAnimeList.net which informed me that the second half of Hyouka is beautiful, and man, it really was. 

We start off with ep7 where the group boards a public bus operated by Nohi Bus company to Hirayu Hot Springs.  The paint scheme of the bus resembles the real thing.  The below building is the bus interchange.  Note how KyoAni got rid of the ground floor roof canopy to make the building more aesthetically pleasing.

All Anime Images used are from Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

All Roadside Images used are from Google StreetView, fair use for educational purposes.

I was on the way to Kami-Kochi and had 20 minutes to go around the area before catching my connecting bus, collecting as much material as possible.  Sadly, my photographs proved next to useless so it's streetview time!

The location of the Ryokan the group stayed in exists but the physical building is completely fictional, except for the sign outside the premises.  Note how the view out of Oreki's room shows exactly the same buildings from the location IRL.

 








































































The hot springs they entered exists in real life.  Having been to a similar one in real-life, I can testify that the male and female section are indeed separated by a single wall which makes all the peeping tom scenarios so often seen in anime plausible (e.g. FMP Fumoffu, School Rumble).  However, Oreki hearing Chitanda coming out and hearing/imagining the sounds she made as she entered is a little far-fetched, but it definitely was lovely imagination fanservice!  The noise of the water that is flowing into the onsen would be far too loud to pick up such sounds.

 













































Moving onto ep8, the only image outside the school grounds was the hospital that Irisu's family runs.  Again streetview, this time because it no longer exists IRL!  I noticed that KyoAni has flipped the front/rear of the building in different ways across the compound.

 







































































Getting through the movie arc will require the strength of a masochist, wish me luck!

Hyouka Ep 4 and 5: Farmland East of Takayama

Hyouka Episodes 4 to 5 features the characters going to what is pretty much a fictional Chitanda residence in the agricultural area east of the urban area of Takayama.  Note: While I cannot pinpoint the estimated location of her house, those familiar with the topography of the Japanese Alps will be able to do so *hint hint*.

The only clue that gives away the direction of travel is that, Oreki and Satoshi meet by the river in central Takayama, then head east past this creek.

All anime images are from Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

The open areas really gave KyoAni creative freedom in landscaping the backdrops, with real-life locations thrown in.  For example, the Torii gate in the background belongs to Suwa Shrine, but the small road that Oreki and Satoshi are walking along does not exist in real life.

Roadside Screenshots courtesy of Google Streetview, fair use for educational purposes.

Scenes such as this may have been creatively inspired by real-world locations surrounding Suwa Shrine.

Going back to town, the Hida High School plaque at the entrance.

The exact postbox in which Oreki airmails a letter to his manipulative older sister.

Hyouka Ep 2 and 3: Oreki's home and the Bagpipe Cafe 第２．３話： 折木の自宅とバグパイプカフェ

I did not expect to make a new post so soon,but episodes 2-3 gave me a decent amount of material.

Episode 2 starts off with a set of shots of a Shrine called 一本杉白山神社.  Sadly, my Kanji is terrible so my guess is "Ipponsugi Shirayama Shrine".  
第２話は一本杉白山神社から始まります

All Anime images on this post belong to Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

We then get to see the exact location of Oreki's house, slightly offset opposite to the shrine itself, except it just happens to be a patch of open land IRL. Additional image credit to Google Streetview, fair use for educational purposes.

実際の折木の家は空地です。

 
Episode 2 also gave me a slightly better angle of Hida Senior High School to compare my own photo with.
斐太高校です。　自分の写真ともっと似た角度です。

 
The end of episode 2 and the beginning of episode 3 were taken at a cafe named Bagpipe.  KyoAni took the liberty of removing the obtrusive lamppost.
バグパイプカフェです。京アニは実際ある電灯とかを書かないようにしてもっと綺麗な絵にしてます。

 
Note the attention to detail, with all the clocks and even the retro phone on the pillar being replicated in the anime.
全ての時計、旧式の電話まで全て書かれています。

 

 
Here is the trollish love clock in question.
愛情の表現に使われた時計です。

The couple's seat.  This was a very difficult shot to get, due to a seemingly innocent, but highly obstrusive wall sticking out from the right hand side, seen in KyoAni's version.

カップルの席です。実際、右側に壁があるためこの角度の写真を 実現できません。

 
As for the food in the Cafe, it is definitely in the very pricey side.  The coffee and cake itself were pretty decent, definitely not entry-level things but I expected it to taste a little more special for the price.  You're really paying for the great atmosphere and the upkeep of the retro interior here, with its large quantity of vintage clocks.  Oreki must be loaded with pocket money since he doesn't do anything other than save energy!

めちゃ高いメニューです！アンチークの時計とかメンテナンス高そうなのでそういう理由なんでしょう。　とても高校生の値段じゃない！　食べ物は値段的まあまあ普通でした。

Hyouka OP1 and Episode 1 「氷菓」ＯＰ１と第１話

Greetings everyone!  I have just returned from my Japan trip which included a visit to Takayama where I walked many kilometres to collect material for Hyouka.  I will be posting real-life comparision photos.

As it has been years since I've watched the anime, and my reference map only pointing out the main locations, the blog will be heavily supplemented with Google Streetview.  The progress of this blog will be entirely dependent on how quickly I manage to re-watch Hyouka!

This is the reference map that I used, officially published by the local tourism board.  This is in high-res so open in new tab for full size.

皆さんこんにちは、今回の日本旅行でテレビアニメ「氷菓」の舞台、高山に行きました。あちこち舞台を回りましたのでこのブログでアニメと実際を比べる写真を載せます。資料が無い場合はＧｏｏｇｌｅ　Ｓｔｒｅｅｔｖｉｅｗを使わせてもらいます。高山では、こちらの舞台探検地図を発行していました。

I hope everyone will enjoy these comparison shots.
楽しく読んでもらえれば嬉しいです。

Higashiyama High School, real name Hida High School (斐太高校).  I did drop by the perimeter IRL but will wait for a more suitable comparison shot in the anime.  And I don't exactly have the right angles, just an overview shot.  Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Earth, fair use for educational purposes.

東山高校、本名は斐太高校です。こういう角度はやっぱりＧｏｏｇｌｅ　Ｅａｒｔｈじゃなくちゃ出来ません。

Intersection near a bridge.  Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Earth, fair use for educational purposes.

宮川付近の交差点

Same Intersection as above.  Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Earth, fair use for educational purposes.

上の写真と同じ交差点です。

Cat Statue in Shoutengai.  Image courtesy of Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

商店街の猫の像です。

EP1 when the walking database does a psychological analysis of Oreki's actions.  Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Streetview, fair use for educational purposes.

第一話の終わりの会話の舞台です。

The arcade which the two characters walk along.  IRL, it's a very quiet arcade with not many locals nor tourists.  Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Streetview,  fair use for educational purposes.

二人が歩いているアーケードです。 

Hyouka OP closeup of Miyagawa (Miya River) feature.  Please thank the amazing digital zoom for my image QUALITY.  Image courtesy of Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

「氷菓」ＯＰ１の宮川です。 

Hyouka OP, Oreki walks along the street running alongside Miya River.  This is the site of the Miya River Morning Market (the meaning of the sign spanning the road), which runs from 6am-12pm (opens later in winter).  Packed with tourists and stalls in the morning, it becomes very quiet and pleasant in the afternoon when everything is packed up.

Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Streetview, fair use for educational purposes.

ＯＰ１で奉太郎は宮川をそって歩きます。この道では、毎朝６時から１２時まで（季節によって時間が変わります）朝市をやっています。この時刻は観光客が多いです。お昼後はとても静かで気持ち良い道です。

Still on the same street, Oreki walks past a pretty looking shrine. Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Streetview, fair use for educational purposes.

同じ道にある社です。

Still on the same street, Oreki walks past a "Kamiyama Beef" stall (right hand side).  In real life, it is called "Hida Beef". Images courtesy of Kyoto Animation and Google Streetview, fair use for educational purposes.

まだ同じ道です。神山牛の店を通ります。実際は飛騨牛の店です。 

Speaking of which, Hida beef is one of the most amazing things I've ever eaten.  It is literally so soft that it melts in your mouth.  At the same time, super tasty...and expensive!

飛騨牛は高いですけど本当に柔らかくで美味しいです。牛肉が口の中でとろける感触は初めてでした。

Continuing along the riverside, we encounter this pedestrian bridge.  This bridge still existed when my mate IRL dropped by in Autumn 2014.  He has kindly allowed the use of his photograph here.  However, it has since been dismantled as of July 2015 during my visit.  Image courtesy of Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

この歩道橋は２０１５年には撤去されていました。友人が２０１４年に訪れた時まだありました。

On the same riverside is the spot where the entire cast is chilling.  Image courtesy of Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

これもまた宮川朝市の道の隣です。

 

The OP also has a scene from Hie Shrine, located in a quiet area at the edge of Takayama.  Image courtesy of Kyoto Animation, fair use for educational purposes.

ＯＰ１で現れる日枝神社です。

  

This has been a far longer opening post than I have been expecting.  As my re-watch of Hyouka progresses, I hope to upload more content.

これからも日本語への翻訳を続けるつもりです。お楽しみにして下さい。