Take out your castanets and say'Un-ta, un-ta … un-ta'
It's not uncommon for anime series to use real-life locations as backgrounds or settings. And it has become a suitable pastime for some anime fans to find and visit those locations. But sometimes those places are no longer accessible to the public or, even worse, no longer exist. Luckily for K-ON! fans, renovations to the real-life school featured in the series have ended and it has fully reopened to the public.
Image via twitter.com
As announced on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the Toyosato Tourism Association on March 30, the former hall of Toyosato Elementary School, the model for Sakuragaoka Girls' Private High School in the anime K-ON!, has completed extensive repairs.
Homeも、傷んでいた箇所が修繕されキレイになりました!ぜひお越しください???? pic.twitter.com/oHBvfFd4JZ
— 豊郷町観光協会 (@toyosato_kankou) March 30, 2024
We're sorry for keeping you all waiting so long ✨ You can now see the white building standing out against the blue sky☺️! The damaged areas inside the school building have been repaired and it is now beautiful! Come visit us????
The repairs were announced on the website in July 2023. While no direct information was released about why the building had to undergo extensive repairs, the website noted that some Certain services and tour hours will still be offered. The site also records repairs with entries on August 28, 2023, September 9, 2023, December 27, 2023, and April 5, 2024.
A little history about Toyosato Elementary School
The original elementary school was built in 1887 and was used until the building was replaced in 1936. The second building, seen in K-ON!, was designed by the same architect. American William Morrell Vories and was used until 2004 when the third and currently used building, the elementary school campus, was built. After closing as a school, the second building was reused as a library and public service center. It became popular thanks to the 2008 and 2009 anime series K-ON! and was later deemed a Registered Tangible Cultural Property by the national government in 2013. The building still serves as a library and public service center, but people can tour the building itself . The Toyosato Tourism home page posts operating hours as well as four photos documenting the operating situation of the building used at K-ON!
So if you are staying or planning to visit Toyosato in Shiga Prefecture, take a tour of the newly refurbished old halls of Toyosato Elementary School.
Source: X/Twitter account & website, website via Otakomu