In Azabujuban, Tokyo
Azabujuban is a charming neighborhood located in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Known for its quaint shops and trendy restaurants, Azabujuban serves as the real-life inspiration for some of the iconic locations in Sailor Moon. The area is right next to Roppongi and is known for being an upscale neighborhood that has many foreign embassies.
My experience
Azabujuban is personally one of my favorite areas in Tokyo, since it has so many different unique restaurants and shops. I also like the overall vibe and architecture of the buildings and streets, especially the Shotengai area!
1. Azabujuban Station
Azabujuban station appears quite often in the anime! Sometimes it's referred to as Juban station or Azabujuban station. One of the memorable scenes here is the episode where Ami first transforms into Sailor Mercury. The cram school teacher is seen handing out brochures around the station. (For those wondering, this is by exit 4 of Azabujuban Station).
2. Azabujuban Shotengai
Azabujuban Shotengai is right next to Azabujuban. A shotengai in Japan generally refers to a commercial district or a shopping street, lined with small stores, stalls, and local vendors. You can often see Usagi pass through the area on the way home from school. The iconic shotengai sign in the 90s anime has been unfortunately torn down, but the vibe is very much the same. The actual Azabujuban Shotengai has many cafes, restaurants, bakeries, and shops selling snacks, clothes, produce, etc. The crystal anime shows a very accurate portrayal of the area!
You can see the cafe behind Usagi during this scene from the Dead Moon Circus Arc.
You can also see the bakery, Mont Thabor, in the background of the same scene! This is one of my favorite bakeries. They sell Hokkaido Milk Bread, which is a fluffy sweet buttery bread, and it is absolutely delicious. I highly recommend trying it once! The bread itself is a little large, so it's probably good to share it between 2 people.
The crown game center Usagi often visits after school was located right in the Shotengai! It has since been replaced with a McDonald's.
The seven eleven convenience store the girls often past by on their way home from school!
3. The Statue of Kimi-chan & Patio Juban
Right next to Azabu Shotengai, there is a small statue of Kimi Iwasaki in Patio Juban. This statue and area occasionally appear in the anime. It's the place where Ami first meets Luna! She also confides in Mamoru here.
4. Amashiro Park
This is also not too far from Patio Juban and the Shotengai. I believe this is where the park that Chibiusa often goes to is based off of. It's a very small park for children in the middle of Azabujuban.
5. Kaleidoscope Mukashi-kan
Right across the street from the park is the small Kaleidoscope store where Mamoru buys Usagi and Chibiusa their Kaleidoscopes in the Dead Moon Circus arc.
6. Sendaizaka-ue Bus Stop & Intersection
The Sendaizaka-ue Bus Stop appears in the episode where Rei first turns into Sailor Mars. It's where Jadeite kidnaps children riding on the bus.
The intersection is right next to the bus stop!
7. Hikawa Shrine
Hikawa Shrine, Rei's grandfather's shrine, in the anime is supposedly based off of the Hikawa Shrines in Azabujuban and Akasaka, although there are actually quite a lot of shrines named Hikawa in Tokyo! The one pictured above and below is the one in Azabujuban. I think the crystal anime was very close to the original.
The Akasaka Hikawa shrine (pictured below) is a lot closer to the 90s anime version I felt.
The Akasaka shrine is a lot larger and features the same guardian dog statues that you see a lot in the anime.Side note, does anyone else wonder why they gave Rei's grandfather such a huge glow up in the crystal anime?!
8. Toyo Eiwa Junior High School / High School
This is supposedly where Rei's school was based off of. I believe it's an all girl's school as well and it's about a 5 - 10 minute walk from Azabujuban station, a bit closer to Roppongi. The entrance was quite similar to the crystal version, and the building architecture closely resembled the manga!
9. Azabujuban High School
I believe this is where either Usagi or Mamoru's school was based off of, but I'm not 100% sure! It's actually a very prestigious high school in real life, so maybe it's supposed to be Mamoru's school, but it looks somewhat similar to Usagi's in the anime at times.
10. Arisugawanomiya Memorial Park
This park appears quite often in the anime and is the location of a lot of battle scenes! It's about a 5 minute walk from Hiroo station, right near the National Azabu market.
My Experience
All of these places can pretty much be visited in a day and are all in the Roppongi, Hiroo, and Azabujuban triangle. We actually walked to each place because the destinations were quite close to each other and it didn't make that much of a difference to take a cab or train. I will say that the Azabujuban/Roppongi area is quite hilly, so be prepared to walk a lot! Overall it was a fun mini-sightseeing adventure. I actually visit Azabujuban quite frequently, but didn't realize the area was in Sailor Moon until watching the crystal anime, so it was fun to revisit and notice the little differences!
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