Anime location
Iwafune Station
The station at the end of the first chapter. Now unstaffed; the exterior is unchanged.
A small station on the JR Ryomo line in rural Tochigi, below Mount Iwafune. It is where the first chapter of the film ends, and the station, the level crossing and the fields around it are drawn closely. The station has since become unstaffed and the interior was renovated, but the exterior — the frame everyone knows — is unchanged.
Why it is worth it
The first chapter is about a journey through snow to a station in the middle of nowhere, and standing there in winter is the whole point.
When to go
Almost always empty.
Good to know
Trains on the Ryomo line are infrequent — check the timetable both ways before you commit, because there is nothing at the station to wait in. Winter, when the fields are bare, is closest to the film.
5 Centimeters per Second
The station at the end of the first chapter.