Anime in Hokkaido

The science museum Satoru takes Kayo to on the weekend before the fateful day, their best shared memory. The stuffed bear at the entrance, which appears in the series, was brought back here because of its popularity. There is a corner dedicated to the series on the ground floor, and its main draw today is the backup unit of the Soviet Mir space station.

It is the model for Mikoto Elementary, the school Satoru attends in 1988. In reality it lacks the gate seen in the series, but it does have the playground equipment made of tyres. It is a working school: view it only from outside, without disturbing anyone.

The panorama of Tomakomai with the paper mill chimneys shown in the series can be seen from this free observation deck in Midorigaoka Park. From its 55.6 m altitude you can see the city and Mt Tarumae. Closed on Mondays in winter.

The roughly 200-metre red-and-white chimneys of the Ōji Paper mill, the city's symbol, appear again and again in the series' landscapes. They can be seen from almost anywhere in Tomakomai, including the Midorigaoka Park observation deck. The mill itself cannot be visited.

The station of Satoru's home town appears only for a moment, in shots of the city. It is the natural starting point for touring the locations, which are spread out: the tourist office in the Friend building next to the station displays a shikishi signed by the author, Kei Sanbe, and rents out bicycles.

The Meiji-era prison, preserved as an open-air museum at the foot of Mt. Tento, is the stage of the great raid in the Abashiri arc, one of the manga's climaxes. The radial cell block and main gate are drawn faithfully.

The port city of brick warehouses is one of the gold hunt's first stages: Sugimoto and Asirpa roam a bustling financial Otaru whose canal and Meiji-era buildings still stand.

Hakodate's star-shaped fortress, the shogunate's last bastion in the Boshin War, is the decisive stage of the manga's final arc, where the hunt for the Ainu gold converges.

The red-brick Meiji-era factory, now the Sapporo Beer Museum, appears in the capital arc: its chimneys and warehouses set the scene for the urban escapades of Sugimoto's crew.

The village of Nibutani in the Saru river valley gathers the Ainu culture museums documenting the tools, clothing and traditions the series portrays with care — Asirpa's world. (Approximate coordinate: village centre.)

The Sapporo racecourse (Hokkaidō), home of the northern summer racing. It provides the series with the settings of the Hokkaidō summer season.