Takehara: Home of Tamayura ~Hitotose~

Takehara (竹原市) is a city located in Hiroshima, Japan. The city has a population of 29,093 (as of 2009), and is especially noteworthy for its Special Historical District of old warehouses, which was selected as one of Japan’s ‘100 Most Scenic Towns’. It is the setting for the anime Tamayura ~Hitotose~, but unlike other well-known anime locations, isn’t as well-tread, making it a peaceful locale, off the beaten trail, for adventurous visitors.

Pictorial Comparisons

To drive the point home that anime often emphasise reality, I’ve supplied a stack of images below of all the locations that have parallels in the anime at some point.

From a personal standpoint, I am quite curious to try out Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き ), a type of savoury pancake that is featured frequently in Tamayura ~Hitotose~. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning “what you like” or “what you want”, and yaki meaning “grilled” or “cooked”. The okonomiyaki in Takehara are layered, consisting of cabbage, pork, and optional items such as squid, octopus, and cheese. Noodles (yakisoba, udon) are also used as a topping, alongside with fried egg and a generous amount of okonomiyaki sauce.

Mementos

In local cafes, several posters bear testament to the fact that Takehara is the home of  Tamayura ~Hitotose~, and are signed by the voice actors of the main cast.

As per my website, Tamayura ~Hitotose~ is one of the more relaxing anime out there: paired with the clean, concise plot…being a peaceful, calming anime depicting the lives of four girls (and their neighbourhood) as they would genuinely appear. Having now seen Takehara itself, it is possible to understand why the anime is so peaceful.