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Attack on Titan: Hita, Isayama's Hometown

Attack on Titan is set behind three great walls, but its author comes from a real mountain town in Ōita, Japan. Hajime Isayama grew up in Ōyama, now part of Hita, and used the landscape around it as the model for his world.

Mapped by Mapped Chronicles editors4 locationsCountries: JapanGPX

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Timeline & locations

What do the location labels mean?
Exact
The pin marks the actual place where it happened or was filmed.
Approximate
The right area — a town, park or district — but not a precise spot.

  1. Hajime Isayama was born here on 29 August 1986, in what was then the town of Ōyama and is now part of Hita. Isayama initially based the manga's scenery on Hita, a town surrounded by mountains. The Three Walls of the story are said to be modelled on lava walls of columnar jointing. In 2013 a local resort, Bungo Oyama Hibiki no Sato, ran a free exhibit of copies of his manuscripts.

    Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitability not confirmed

    Location precision: The old town of Ōyama has no single landmark in the sources; the pin marks the former town's centre.

    Sources

  2. On 1 November 2014 a special Attack on Titan event was held in Hita, with Isayama and about 2,500 spectators attending. The next day he gave a speech at the Patria Hita cultural hall, and the city's mayor, Keisuke Harada, named him Tourism Ambassador of Hita. Isayama had made his name with a 65-page one-shot of the story in 2006, and the anime had begun airing in 2013.

    Open area inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitability not confirmed

    Location precision: The sources name the hall as the speech venue but not where the event itself was held; the pin marks the Patria Hita hall.

    Sources

  3. In the story, Eren Yeager's home town of Shiganshina lies on the outermost of three circular walls. In November 2020 Hita gave that wall a real counterpart: Ōyama Dam, with life-size bronze statues of the young Eren, Mikasa and Armin looking up at it. A smartphone AR app makes a Titan appear over the dam. Isayama attended the unveiling on 8 November. The statues were paid for by crowdfunding launched for the series' tenth anniversary.

    Open inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitable

    Visitor guidance: The statues stand on the plaza below the dam; the AR app shows the Titan on the dam.

    Sources

  4. A second statue followed in March 2021, this time of Captain Levi, the squad leader whose team Eren joins in the story. It stands in front of JR Hita Station, so visitors arriving by train meet the series before they reach the dam. The station is on the Kyūdai Main Line, run by JR Kyushu. The Levi statue was the second step of the crowdfunded project that began with the three young heroes at Ōyama Dam.

    Open inGoogle MapsApple MapsOrganic MapsOpenStreetMapVisitable

    Visitor guidance: The Levi statue is in front of the station; the dam is a separate trip out to Ōyama.

    Sources

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