K-On!: Toyosato, Kyoto and London

The anime never names its setting, only the all-girls Sakuragaoka High School, where four girls join the light music club. Toyosato's old school buildings, designed by William Merrell Vories, are listed as the model for that school. Kyoto Animation, the studio behind the series, denies the link, so treat it as a fan identification rather than a confirmed location. Today the buildings are listed among Toyosato's local attractions.

Location precision: Kyoto Animation denies the link; the pin marks the old school buildings that fans and local guides identify as the model.

Visitor guidance: Listed among Toyosato's local attractions.

The girls' daily route to school borrows the look of Kyoto's Eizan Electric Railway: the stations and trains of Shugakuin, Ichijoji and Demachiyanagi appear in the series, and fans make pilgrimages to them. The anime in general draws on scenery in Kyoto, especially Sakyo ward. Shugakuin sits on the Eizan Main Line in Sakyo ward, Kyoto.

Location precision: The anime only resembles these stations and sets its story in an unnamed place; the pin marks Shugakuin Station on the Eizan Main Line.

Visitor guidance: The station is on the Eizan Main Line in Sakyo ward.

When the girls need gear, they visit the record and instrument shop called 10GIA. The shop exists only in the story, but it is modelled on the JEUGIA Sanjo main store in Nakagyo ward, Kyoto. It is one of the Kyoto places the show uses as a drawing model.

Location precision: 10GIA exists only in the story; the real store that served as its model is JEUGIA's Sanjo main store, and no verified pin is available.

Cars of the Kita-Kinki Tango Railway, now the Kyoto Tango Railway, and the Yura River railway bridge appear in these scenes. The story never names where the camp is held.

Location precision: The story names no camp location; the pin marks the Yura River railway bridge that appears in the camp scenes.

On the way to a summer music festival, the club members meet at a station, and the scene resembles JR West's Uji Station. As with the other transport stops on this route, the anime presents a lookalike rather than naming the place.

Location precision: The anime presents a lookalike rather than a named station; the pin marks JR Uji Station, which the scene resembles.

Visitor guidance: Uji Station is a JR West station.

After graduating, the four friends travel to London in the film, an original story produced by Kyoto Animation. The film features a London cafe inspired by the Troubadour in Earl's Court, which K-On! fans often visit. The real Troubadour stands at 265 Old Brompton Road. The cafe in the film is fictional, so the pin marks the real place that inspired it.

Location precision: The cafe in the film is a fictional version; the pin marks the Troubadour that inspired it.

Visitor guidance: The Troubadour is at 265 Old Brompton Road, Earl's Court; fans of the film often visit.