Haikyu!!: Karasuno's Real Places

It begins here. In the first chapter a young Hinata Shoyo stops in front of a shop's street television and catches the national high-school volleyball championship; the glimpse of Karasuno High's "Little Giant" is what makes him take up the sport. The fictional Mitsuzaka Electronics in that scene is drawn after Tatesaka Electronics, an electrical shop on Karumai's old main street. The building is a working business and a private residence, so fans pass by on the pavement rather than at the door.

Location precision: The story's shop is the invented Mitsuzaka Electronics; the spot is Tatesaka Electronics, the Karumai shop fans read as its model.

Karumai Town Gymnasium is read as the model for the municipal gymnasium in the story's opening. There, in junior high, Hinata's hastily assembled team is crushed by Kageyama's side, and he vows a rematch. The outdoor staircase — the one that resembles the drawn scene — is open at all hours, which has made it a standard photo stop. The building is still in use by the town, and the town's own walking map lists it among the Haikyu!! spots.

Location precision: The story does not name the gymnasium; the pin marks Karumai Town Gymnasium, the town court fans identify as its model.

Visitor guidance: The outdoor staircase can be viewed at any time; the hall itself is in normal municipal use, so do not disturb bookings.

Karasuno High School, where Hinata is accepted and meets Kageyama again, is drawn to look like Iwate Prefectural Karumai High School — the author's own alma mater. Fans come to see the gate, the classroom wing and the covered walkway from outside. The grounds are closed to visitors and pupils must not be photographed, so the viewing is done from the public road by the main gate. Much of the manga is based on real locations around Karumai, and this is the best known of them.

Location precision: The school in the story is the fictional Karasuno High; the pin marks Iwate Prefectural Karumai High School, the school it is drawn from.

Visitor guidance: View from the public road outside the main gate only; the grounds are closed and students must not appear in photographs.

Ukai Keishin, the former Karasuno player who becomes the team's coach, is usually found minding the counter of the Sakanoshita store in the manga. That shop is modelled on Kaneda Store, which sits on the slope just below the high school. In the story it is where students stop on the way home and where Ukai is first coaxed into coaching; today it is an ordinary local shop, so visitors buy something and ask before taking photographs.

Location precision: The story's shop is the invented Sakanoshita store; the spot is Kaneda Store, the Karumai shop it is modelled on.

Visitor guidance: A working shop on the slope to the school; make a purchase and ask permission before photographing.

The Karasuno boys' volleyball club does its roadwork on a slope that fans match to the entrance road of the Karumai Town Museum of History and Folklore, in the wooded park known as the Forest of Ezo and Great Nature. The manga shows the team running this course from chapter 25. The real road climbs in the same way, and the museum behind it holds the town's history and folklore collections; it is a stopping point on the town's pilgrimage map.

Location precision: The running course is drawn in the fictional Karasuno area; the pin marks the museum entrance slope fans match to it.

Visitor guidance: The slope is a public road by the museum entrance; check the museum's opening days before planning a longer stop.

Takezawa Store, a small town supermarket, is the model for Shimada Mart, the family shop of the Karasuno old boy who teaches Yamaguchi a jump floater serve. The store leans into the connection: goods are stacked above the vegetable section, and staff point visitors to the back of the building as the spot where Yamaguchi is thought to have practised. Shimada Mart first appears in chapter 36.

Location precision: The story's shop is the invented Shimada Mart; the spot is Takezawa Store, the supermarket it is modelled on.

Visitor guidance: A working neighbourhood supermarket; shop first, and ask staff before taking photographs inside.

Sendai City Gymnasium, now known as Kamei Arena Sendai, is the arena used for the Miyagi qualifiers in the anime's first three seasons and the largest real venue on this route. It hosts the story's prefectural tournament, the run that ends with Karasuno's defeat and sends them back to training. The building is closed for major renovation, and the glass monument of Hinata and Kageyama that stood by the entrance has been moved into the neighbouring Tomizawa Park, where it stays on permanent public view.

Visitor guidance: The arena is shut for renovation, but the monument is in nearby Tomizawa Park, a short walk from Tomizawa subway station, and is free to view.

The staircase below Karumai Junior High School is read as the model for Shinzen High, the Tokyo school the Karasuno team visits on its training camp in chapter 85. It is a quiet school, and the match between the drawn building and the real one is in the broad steps and the view up to the entrance. The camp is where Karasuno grows together as a team. The school is in use, so viewing is from the street outside.

Location precision: The story's school is the fictional Shinzen High in Tokyo; the pin marks Karumai Junior High, whose staircase is read as its model.

Visitor guidance: A working school; look from the street outside and keep pupils out of any photographs.

Karumai Shokudo, a diner in the town centre, is the model for the Karasuno canteen where Saeko Tanaka, the older sister of one of the players, works; it appears in chapter 207. The real kitchen uses local ingredients and has served a bowl named for the series, and the interior is crowded with decorations and memorabilia. It is a working restaurant, so the way to see it is to eat there.

Location precision: The story's diner is the invented Karasuno canteen; the spot is Karumai Shokudo, the diner it is modelled on.

Visitor guidance: A working restaurant; come as a paying customer and keep photography respectful.