Anime location
Washimiya Shrine
The shrine the two sisters live at, and the place generally credited with starting modern anime pilgrimage in Japan.
An old shrine with a long approach, said to be one of the oldest in the Kanto region. It is the model for the shrine in Lucky Star, and after the 2007 broadcast the local chamber of commerce chose to engage with the fans who started arriving — a decision now treated as the template for Oarai, Numazu and Chichibu. New Year visitor numbers run into the hundreds of thousands.
Why it is worth it
This is where the whole practice started. The shrine is genuinely old and genuinely active, and the ema racks record nearly twenty years of visitors.
When to go
Extremely busy at New Year; quiet the rest of the year.
Good to know
The shopping street between the station and the shrine is part of the visit — several businesses have run series collaborations continuously for years. Bring cash.
Lucky Star
The shrine the sisters live at, and where modern anime pilgrimage began.