Anime location
Former Toyosato Elementary School
The school from K-On!, preserved and open to the public. Free, and you can walk the corridors and the staircase.
A 1937 school building designed by William Merrell Vories, saved from demolition by local opposition and reopened to the public in 2009. Visitors can walk freely through the classrooms and up the staircase with its bronze rabbit-and-tortoise handrail figures. The second floor of the adjoining Shutoku Memorial Hall holds a permanent K-On! room with life-size panels and items donated by fans over more than fifteen years.
Why it is worth it
Almost no pilgrimage site lets you walk through the actual interior. This one does, for free, and the building is worth seeing as architecture on its own terms.
When to go
Rarely crowded on weekdays.
Good to know
Getting there is the hard part: the Ohmi Railway from Hikone runs infrequently, so check the timetable in both directions before setting out. Closed Mondays. Combine it with Hikone Castle, which is on the same line.
K-On!
The school building, free to walk through, with a permanent K-On! room.