The Mongol invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 were fought at Tsushima, Iki Island and Hakata Bay in Fukuoka, and ended off Takashima, where a typhoon struck the fleet.
This route follows the two attempts in order: the 1274 landings on Tsushima and Iki, the Battle of Bun'ei at Hakata Bay and Hakozaki Shrine, then the stone wall built afterwards, the fleet anchored off Shikanoshima and the storm of 15 August 1281. Several spots are approximate, and the exact site of the Takashima episode is only the island's general area.
Points and Lines is set between Tokyo Station and the beach at Kashii in Fukuoka, while Castle of Sand follows a detective from the Kamata rail yard in Tokyo to Akita and Shimane. Seichō Matsumoto's two best-known crime novels turn Japan's railways into the clues.
This route follows both stories: the four-minute gap on Tokyo Station's platforms, the Kashii shore, and the stations named Kameda that lead the detective to Kamedake. Pins at Kashii and Kamata are approximate.
Natsume's Book of Friends is set in an unnamed country town, but many of its scenes are modelled on Hitoyoshi in Kumamoto, the author's hometown, with Hitoyoshi Station, Okadome Kofuku Station and Ichifusa Dam all shown in the anime.
This route follows the rails and hills of the Hitoyoshi-Kuma region and ends with one detour to Fukuoka. The series gives no street addresses, so most pins mark the area, not a single scene.
