Take a journey to the setting of "Your Lie in April"!

The TV anime version of "Your Lie in April" was originally a boys' manga, but when it began airing in the fall of 2014, it quickly became hugely popular among women

The main character, Arima Kousei, is a young prodigy pianist who can no longer play the piano. When Miyazono Kaori forces him to accompany her at a violin contest, he embarks on the path to recovery as a pianist. The story is based on Nerima Ward, Tokyo

So, let's take a journey into the world of "Your Lie in April." We'll start from Nerima Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line

The worst place to meet people - Nerima Cultural Center

The building on the left side of the photo is the Nerima Cultural Center, which has appeared as a venue for various concerts since the first episode, "Monotone Colorful," under the name Fujiwa Hall

It can be said to be a symbol of the music-themed work "Your Lie in April." On the left side of the square in front of Nerima Cultural Center, Kousei Arima meets Kaori Miyazono, who is playing the melodica in front of a group of children during cherry blossom season. And it's the worst possible way to meet her

Miyazono Kaori had asked Sawabe Tsubaki, Kousei's childhood friend, to introduce her to Watari Ryota, another childhood friend, because she wanted to date him, and this was the meeting place. Kousei was asked by Tsubaki to come with her, but he ended up arriving first. This awful encounter with Miyazono Kaori led him to once again confront the piano, which he had lost the ability to play, and he began to fall in love with Kaori, who tried to force him to play the piano

By the way, in the anime, Kaori plays the melodica while standing on the playground equipment near the cherry tree on the right, but there is no playground equipment in the actual location. It was here, with its beautiful cherry blossoms, that Arima Kousei and Miyazono Kaori met. It is a two-minute walk from Nerima Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.
After exploring the place where Kousei and Kaori met, head to Takanodai Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.

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To the place where I was nominated as a substitute ~Minami Tanaka Housing Complex~

In episode 2, "Friend A," Arima Kousei encounters Kaori, who is waiting for Watari Ryota, on his way home from school on the cherry blossom-lined promenade along the Shakujii River that runs through Minami Tanaka Housing Complex

Kousei knows that Ryota is dating another girl, so he tries to cover it up so that Kaori doesn't get hurt, but Ryota turns to Kousei and tells him, "Friend A, I'm appointing you as my substitute," and asks him to follow him as Watari's substitute. This scene is set at dusk, with the rows of cherry blossom trees in full bloom dyed orange, making it a very beautiful scene. Then, later in the series, when the season turns to autumn, Kousei is again told by Kaori, "Friend A, I'm appointing you as my substitute." Incidentally, this scene appears frequently throughout the series as a scene of people walking home from school

The Shakujii River Promenade in Minami Tanaka Danchi is about a 5-minute walk from Takanodai Station. If you walk along this promenade along the Shakujii River, you will reach the entrance to Shakujii Park in about 20 minutes. In the anime, Miyazono Kaori seems to walk from here to Shakujii Park. Let's follow Kaori's route to school and walk to Shakujii Park

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To the place where I chased the black cat ~Shakujii Park Management Office~

Shakujii Park is apparently on Arima Kousei and Miyazono Kaori's route to school. It also appears in the opening animation, and in the scene in episode 1, "Monotone Colorful," where Kaori searches for the black cat, it is a vending machine in front of the Shakujii Park Administration Office. Kaori crawls between the vending machine and the trash can, peering into the back of the vending machine to search for the black cat

The Shakujii Park Management Office is located in the middle of the park, just after you enter from the Shakujii River. It is next to the baseball field. The tables and benches that appear in the anime are located just behind the management office

Well, we've walked quite a bit, so let's take a short break. From here, it's about a 5-minute walk to the shop where Kaori ate the "Apple and Nut Caramel Waffle" in episode 3, "In the Spring." Let's go and check it out

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To the shop where Kousei played the piano ~La Primeur~

"La Primeur" is the model for the cafe that Kousei is drawn into by Kaori in episode 3, "In the Spring."

There is a fireplace inside the shop, and in the anime, there is a piano there, and Kousei plays it with the children. The song is "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." At one point, Kousei is unable to play for some reason, and Kaori makes a decision about Kousei at this point. Kaori's decision will change Kousei. By the way, from 2pm onwards, you can order the "Apple and Nut Caramel Waffle," which Miyazono Kaori devours with relish in the anime, as a limited menu item

La Primeur is about a 5-minute walk from the Shakujii Park Management Office. It is located near the intersection of Fuji-kaido and Kamishakujii-dori. After taking a break here, you can take a bus from the Fuji-kaido bus stop at the intersection of Fuji-kaido and Kamishakujii-dori to Oizumi-gakuen Station, or walk 30 minutes along Kamishakujii-dori to Oizumi-gakuen Station

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To the place appointed as Kaori's accompanist - Izumi Kobushi Park

Exit the north exit of Oizumi-gakuen Station and walk along the tracks towards Ikebukuro for about 3 minutes until you come to a railroad crossing on your right. Turn left and you will soon come to Izumikobushi Park

This is the model for the scene in episode 3, "In the Spring," where Kaori appoints Kousei as the piano accompanist for the violin competition she is entering. In the anime, there was playground equipment painted blue, yellow, and green in the sandbox at the front, but as of April 2017, it has been removed and no longer exists. Here, Kaori declares, "I'm appointing Friend A as my accompanist!" This marks the beginning of Kousei Arima's comeback as a pianist

After Izumikobushi Park, let's go to the shop where Arima Kousei bought canelés to give to Miyazono Kaori. The shop is located amid the cherry blossom trees on Oizumi Gakuen Street, about a 10-minute walk away

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Visit the shop where Arima Kousei bought his canelés ~Patisserie Kamitani~

Patisserie Kamitani on Oizumi Gakuen Street is the model for the shop where Kousei stops by to buy canelés as a get-well gift on his way to the hospital where Kaori is hospitalized in episode 15, "Liar."

However, because Kousei's feelings for Kaori are growing stronger, he is unable to show himself to her. Kaori is his childhood friend Watari Ryota's girlfriend, and Kousei is merely Friend A... After making it to the hospital, Kousei turns around and starts walking back, when he receives a call from Kaori calling him "heartless."

By the way, Patisserie Kamitani did not previously manufacture and sell canelés, but inspired by "Your Lie in April," they began manufacturing and selling canelés on weekends only

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To the cherry blossom-lined street where Miyazono Kaori walked ~Oizumi Gakuen Street~

The street where Patisserie Kamitani is located is called Oizumi Gakuen Street

In the anime, the scene where Kaori walks down a street lined with cherry blossom trees is this Oizumi Gakuen Street. This row of cherry blossom trees continues all the way to Niiza City in Saitama Prefecture. We filmed the street where Miyazono Kaori walked during the cherry blossom season. "Your Lie in April" is a story that begins and ends with cherry blossoms

Our journey ends at Oizumigakuen Street. From here, we return to Oizumigakuen Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and take the train home. However, there is something famous among "Your Lie in April" fans on the platform at Oizumigakuen Station. Let's check it out before we end our journey

"Your Lie in April" on the Oizumigakuen Station platform!

After completing the pilgrimage to the "Your Lie in April" holy sites that began at Nerima Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, I headed home from Oizumigakuen Station, but one of the vending machines on the Oizumigakuen station platform caught my eye. For some reason, there was a vending machine with characters from "Your Lie in April" on it. At the end of my journey, I checked out the "Your Lie in April" vending machine

And there it was: a "Your Lie in April" vending machine! It features the three characters Watari Ryota, Arima Kousei, and Miyazono Kaori, but what's this? Sawabe Tsubaki isn't there. Wow, this is so sad for Tsubaki

Yes, there it is, Tsubaki. But it's on the back of the vending machine. It's like she's treated exactly like Tsubaki in the anime, which makes me feel sad, but no, no, no, Tsubaki says something crucial to Arima Kousei in the final episode, so I thought, yeah, no, Tsubaki will be fine. And with that, my pilgrimage to the "Your Lie in April" holy sites is over. Thank you for your hard work!

Jun Nambara

Writer, screenwriter, animation producer. He wrote and directed the drama CD ``The Rose of Versailles,'' supervised by Riyoko Ikeda, and has written many books, including ``Onmyoji ``Abe Seimei'' (Futami Shobo). He is also attracting attention as a travel writer who works as a tour conductor on weekends. His hobby is visiting the sacred places of anime, dramas, and movies.