This is part 2 of my YOI anime pilgrimage, Part 1 is here.
Getting There. Like Yuri, my journey to Hasetsu began with a flight to Fukuoka followed by a train ride.
The first photo above is of a capsule hotel at Narita Airport. This was my first time in a capsule hotel and apparently I really, really liked it. I don’t know if it was the jet lag or the fact that I barely slept on my 19-plus hour journey to Tokyo, but I slept like a baby. So much so that I slept through not one, not two, but five alarms I had set for myself 5 minutes apart (you can’t make any noise at capsule hotels so your phone alarm has to be set on vibrate). If it wasn’t for the kind receptionist who woke me up by tapping on my capsule for God knows how long, I would’ve missed my flight to Fukuoka.
1. Karatsu Station - Interior
Karatsu Station is the main train station in Karatsu. This is the station where Yuri, to his horror, arrived back home to find all those posters of himself. Fittingly enough, visitors to Karatsu Station are greeted by a lot of Yuri!!! on Ice posters, a cardboard cutout of Makkachin dressed like Karawan-kun (the local mascot) and a giant blow up of Viktor looking lovingly at Yuri. Unlike Yuri, I was elated.
2. Saga on ICE
When I arrived in Karatsu, the city was holding its second Saga on Ice event. The event was administered by the Karatsu Tourism Center which is located right at the station. I was delighted to be in Karatsu during Saga on Ice because it meant I could participate in the Stamp Rally and purchase special YOI event merch.
The stamp rally was completely free. You just had to fill out a form stating your name, how many days you were staying in Karatsu and where you were coming from. The nice man from the tourism center nearly cried when he saw I had traveled thousands of miles just so I could participate in this event. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he was mistaken. I had booked my trip in April and had no idea this event was going on.
The stamp rally was simple enough (in theory). The nice man from the Tourism Center provided me with a booklet and a map and sent me on my merry way to collect 9 different stamps scattered throughout Karatsu and the neighboring area. Each stamp was a different YOI character. Many were located in places I was planning to visit anyway, Vitya’s stamp was at Karatsu Castle and Yuri’s was at Yu-Topia. Others were in places I’d never heard of, but found really interesting upon arrival. For instance, Chris’ stamp was at the Hikiyama Exhibition Hall (more on that later).
I am very grateful to the city of Karatsu for putting together this event. Thanks to the stamp rally I visited many places I would have otherwise missed and I learned a lot about the city along the way. Sadly, I was two stamps short of completing the stamp rally, but the last two places were far away and I was terrified of taking the bus since I don’t speak the language.
Even though I didn’t complete my stamp book, I did collect enough stamps to qualify for the second place prize - YOI stickers.
3. Karatsu Station - Exterior
In the anime, Yurio provides us with a glimpse of the North Gate exit to Karatsu Station.
The statue in the middle is of a hikiyama or festival float. The event of the year in Karatsu is Karatsu Kunchi, a three-day festival which takes place annually on November 2-4. Along the base of the statue are the various characters that make up the floats (more on that later).
In the anime, Yurio steps on this ceramic plate. Karatsu is well-known in Japan for its pottery. Pottery has been made in Karatsu since the 16-century and there are still some working kilns in the city.
4. Kyomachi Shopping Arcade
The shopping arcade where Yurio finds his must-have tiger sweatshirt is a five-minute walk from Karatsu Station. These out-door, covered malls are common in Japan. Many of the stores at this one had YOI merchandise and posters on display. The YOI soundtrack was also being piped in through the mall sound system which I thought was a very nice touch. Yurio’s tiger sweatshirt was on display at one of the stores, but not for sale 😭
5. Minako-sensei’s Bar
Bar Tsubomi is a short walk from the shopping arcade. It serves as the bar where Minako-sensei moonlights in the anime.
That little dog in the purple helmet you see in the corner is Karawan-kun (Karatsu’s mascot). According to someone on the internet, Karawan-kun is a polar bear. I’m not so sure about that, he looks like a doggo to me.
6. Karatsu Shrine
Karatsu Shrine is a shinto shrine. It is the area’s main shrine. The wooden tablets you see in the photos are called ema. They can be found in both shinto and Buddhist places of worship. You are supposed to write a prayer or wish on the ema and leave it hanging in the shrine or temple where the spirits or gods will receive them. As you can see here, many YOI pilgrims have left ema at Karatsu Shrine. While visiting Karatsu, Yamamoto-sensei and Kubo-sensei left behind an ema praying for the success of the show. That ema is not on display.
There is a second shrine, Suwa Shrine, near the beach where Viktor and Yuri have their tête-à-tête. The Katsuki family has an amulet from the Suwa Shrine.
7. Hikiyama Exhibition Hall
The YOI official art poster on the right is of the Karatsu Kunchi. The annual three-day festival is the most important event in Karatsu. Somewhere between 150K and 500K people come to Karatsu to celebrate. Yuri's parents own an inn, so naturally this would be their busiest time of year and probably when they would earn most of their revenue. The highlight of the festival is the daily parade of floats or hikiyama. There are fourteen floats in total and each represents a mythical creature. As you can see from the photos below, the floats are enormous and weigh several tons. They are also very old. The current batch of floats is from the 1800s. When they are not in use, the floats are stored at the Hikiyama Exhibition Hall where they are admired and lovingly cared for by the townspeople.
In the photo, Yuri is dressed like one of the float bearers which means he will be part of the group carrying one of the floats (probably the red snapper). Only families living in the nearby area are selected to carry the floats and it is considered a great honor.
8. Karatsu Castle
Karatsu Castle is what Viktor mistakes for a Ninja-yashiki and the site of the infamous Chihoko incident 😂
Karatsu Castle is on a hill. There are approximately 65 stone steps to get to the first landing. Your reward for climbing all those steps is this breathtaking (if you still have any left) panoramic view. There is also an elevator which costs ¥100 each way. The cool thing about the elevator is that instead of going up and down (like most elevators), it travels diagonally. I had never experienced that before.
In the anime, Yuri’s home rink is Ice Castle Hasetsu, located at the foot of the castle. In reality, there is a local high school across the way. The model for Ice Castle Hasetsu is Iizuka Ice Palace in Fukuoka.
In the anime, the cherry blossoms are in bloom at Hasetsu Castle. The pergola, however, is used for wisteria. I laughed when I took the picture in the bottom corner because there are actually a lot of stray cats at the base of the castle. I can just imagine Yurio sneaking off to go feed them.
There is a beach behind Karatsu Castle. In the anime, we see Yuri running on it at night.
9. Maizuru Bridge
The Maizuru Bridge traverses the mouth of the Matsuura River. It is a busy thoroughfare. People legitimately ride their bikes and run across it as you can see in the pictures below, it’s not just in the anime.
10. Riverside Hotel Karatsu Castle
Sadly, Yuri’s parents’ inn doesn’t exist. It is only an onsen/restaurant IRL, but I lucked out and stayed at the next best thing. On the other side of the Maizuru Bridge is the Riverside Hotel Karatsu Castle. I could not have possibly asked for better accommodations. I knew I picked a winner when I noticed the ice skate painted on the side of the building. The proprietor was a lovely, friendly, older woman who could’ve served as Mama Katsuki’s doppelgänger. We communicated swimmingly through Google translate. The ground floor was decked out in YOI memorabilia and my room was like something out of a manga - - tatami mats, a low table, zaisu, a tea set, futons, shoji, yukata --- with a beautiful view of the Matsuura River. Behold:
10.5 Yu-Topia
Kagamiyama Hot Spring Chaya is the inspiration for Yu-Topia. It is an onsen and restaurant. It is nowhere near Karatsu Castle. All those scenes of Yuri running from home to Karatsu Castle are lies!!! You have to take a cab to get there.
(The pictures of the inside of the onsen are from their website. It would be super creepy, not to mention illegal to take pictures inside an onsen, I can however attest to their accuracy. The onsen has two indoor pools in hot and hotter. Outside, there are three pools - - a pool with rocks which was boiling, a round tub like yurio used, and a rectangular cold water pool which may not have been for dipping) 👺 💦 ♨️
I must confess to being a teensy bit apprehensive about using the onsen. Mostly because where I come from there’s no such thing as communal baths and partaking in one would most assuredly get you arrested for indecent exposure. I have never so much as skinny dipped in my life. But alas, I casted aside my inhibitions (and my clothes), gave myself a thorough scrub down as is required, and took a dip in the indoor and outdoor pools of the onsen. Once I got over the whole public nudity thing, I was like this:
AHHHHHHH! 👆👆👆 Actually me
In addition to taking a nice hot bath, “Yu-topia” is a place where you can get a hot meal. You order your meal through a vending machine at “Yu-Topia.” To be clear, the vending machine dispenses a ticket, not food. You just put your money in the slot, punch-in the meal you want and viola! the machine spits out a ticket. You then take that ticket and have a seat at the restaurant. Like the anime, the restaurant has a TV in the corner where you can catch a show while you wait. Your meal will be brought to you when it’s ready.
I had an initial moment of panic with the vending machine. I knew I wanted to eat katsudon. I did not travel thousands of miles to “Yu-Topia” to not have Mama Katsuki’s famous katsudon. But being the Japanese-illiterate person that I am, I knew I had to engage in some advance planning. So I memorized the kanji for katsudon (カツ丼 or the way my brain stored it “chair--happy-face--pound-sign”). Well, to my horror there was no “chair--happy-face--pound-sign” option anywhere on that vending machine. Naturally, I freaked the freak out. It was obvious what had happened. I had come too late in the day. All the katsudon was sold out. And then I noticed there were two vending machines. The vending machine I was looking at was for the onsen (it dispensed things like soap, shampoo, towel etc. so of course there was no “chair--happy-face--pound-sign” kanji to be found). The vending machine for the restaurant had about nine different options including to my relief “chair--happy-face--pound-sign.” 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁😁 Whew! This was my first time trying katsudon and as Viktor would say it was "vkusno!"
11. Sakurai Animal Clinic
In the anime, our Makkachin makka-chokes on a steam bun and gives us all a collective heart attack. Mari takes Makka to the Sakurai Animal Clinic which is located about a 16 minute walk from Karatsu Castle.
The folks at the Sakurai Animal Clinic were kind enough to share with us their display of YOI iconography which includes multiple plush-Makkas, a set of matryoshka dolls, a bottle of the brand of sake sold at Yu-Topia and what I think is a heart-felt letter from Vitya to the veterinary staff for taking such great care of his pup, but what do I know, I can’t read Japanese.
12. The Beach
Niji-no-Matsubara beach is where Yuri and Vitya have their heart-to-heart chat and Viktor gives us all a heart attack by asking Yuri if he wants him to be his boyfriend. Niji-no-Matsubara beach is east, veeeeeeerrrry east of Karatsu Castle. It is located on Karatsu Bay. The anime did a nice job of capturing the muted colors of Karatsu. It’s a very cloudy place.
What makes this beach so beautiful are the pine trees. They were planted in the 17th Century by the nobleman who resided in Karatsu Castle. The pine trees serve a purpose, to protect the rice fields on the other side of the forest.
13. The ED
The ED may as well be shorthand for “EnD me” bc OMG all the FEELS 😱☠️👻.
The infamous outdoor shower scene takes place on the beach near Nijinomatsubara (虹の松原海岸) which roughly translates to “Rainbow Pine Grove” or "Rainbow Beach with the forest of pine trees" according to the internet. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ You can see the pines behind Viktor in the pic below 👇, though understandably you may have missed them at first glance given the world championship abs 😳 -- *cough, cough* Hot damn Vitya, immersed in water and still thirsty.
The touching scene above takes place on the train between Karatsu and Fukuoka. The train runs on the Chikuhi Line which is very picturesque. The entire ride is above ground and you can see the ocean for a good portion of it. On the other side you will see mountains and rice fields. My first glimpse of Karatsu Castle was from that train and boy was I excited. As Viktor would say, “Wow! Amazing!” It takes about an hour and 40 minutes to get to Karatsu from Fukuoka, so when Viktor went to pick up Yuri at the airport, it was no small feat.
(The train Viktor and Yuri board is a Model 305 train. To get the train from the anime, make sure the train you board has wooden floorboards. Also, Vitya and Yuri are in the first car. You can see the door to the control room in front of Yuri. I was freaking out the whole time because there was an old man who was asleep in the seat Yuri’s sitting in for most of the ride. I was worried I wouldn’t get a clean shot of the train car, but thankfully he got off one station before I did).
Nakasu Street Stalls. And finally we have Shit-Faced-Viktor. Shit-Faced-Viktor is in the Nakasu area of Fukuoka. There is a long row of food stalls (yatai) lined up in front of the Naka River near Haruyoshi Bridge. The food stalls are set up and taken down nightly and serve up all sorts of Japanese fast-food delicacies and as you can tell from Vitya’s face, plenty of alcohol. No, there are no English menu, so if you’re like me and don’t speak a lick of Japanese, your dinner will be a surprise to you.
14. Bonus - Kubo-sensei Exhibit (Osaka)
I also attended a pop-up exhibit celebrating Kubo-sensei’s illustrious career as a mangaka. Many of us did not know this, but Kubo-sensei has been blessing the world with her artwork since 1996. I’m sure the exhibit had many more interesting tidbits about Kubo-sensei and her exciting life, but since I can’t read Japanese I was limited to drooling over her pretty pictures. Behold, this is but a small sample of her Yuri!!! on Ice artwork:
👆There’s a ring on Yuri’s finger in that black turtleneck pic, btw; Vitya’s glorious ass is prominently featured on the bottom (snorts) row second from the right; I may have a Vitya problem most of the pics I took were of him; I’m pretty sure Chris is holding hands with his mystery beau in the third from the top and we all know what Chris is doing in the bottom corner one 😏
15. Bonus - Yoyogi Stadium (Tokyo)
Viktor skates to Stammi Vicino at the World Figure Skating Championship in Yoyogi Stadium. Yoyogi Stadium is within spitting distance of Yoyogi Park (famous for cosplay on Sundays) and near Harajuku’s famous Takeshita Dori (street). The stadium was built by world renown Japanese architect Kenzo Tange (if you find yourself in Tokyo, take a self-guided tour of his buildings, you won’t regret it) for the 1965 Summer Olympics which was a very big deal for Japan -- the Shinkansen made it’s debut the prior year. It was a sort of coming out party after decades of post-war rebuilding. 🎌
If you are still with me, thank you for reading my ramblings. I hope you learned a few things, I know I did. Be sure to check out Part 1 .
A year ago I had never heard of Karatsu. A year ago I had no idea I’d find myself in Yuri’s hometown of “Hasetsu.” A year ago I didn’t know I’d become obsessed with an ice skating anime. I am eternally grateful to Kubo-sensei for giving us this gem of a story and for setting it in such a lovely place. ❤️⛸
