I went on a drive to Minobu Town in Yamanashi Prefecture for a pilgrimage to the "Yuru Camp" sacred sites (Part 1) - A faithful depiction of the original scenery.

I decided to revisit the sacred sites of "Yuru Camp△" (by Afro, Houbunsha), which is famous as a camping manga and anime. Upon visiting the locations, I found that the anime accurately depicts the real spots.

I visited Minobu Town, located in the sacred site of Minobu Town, Nango District, Yamanashi Prefecture.

Minobu Town is a town in the Nango District of western Yamanashi Prefecture. In the first season of Yuru Camp△, it is mainly depicted around Minobu Town, where there are many spots that become pilgrimage sites in a narrow area. This time, I took the route by exiting at the Kofu South Interchange on the Chuo Expressway and headed south.

I quickly discovered a collaboration vending machine.

First, I headed to Joko-in Temple. The parking lot is open for visitors to the spots, and on the premises, there is a Yuru Camp vending machine in collaboration with "Happy Drink." The sign also features the in-story name "Lucky Drink." Including this one, there are a total of 7 collaboration vending machines, so it might be fun to go searching for them.

Kiryuzan Joko-in
439 Tokha, Minobu Town, Nango District, Yamanashi Prefecture

Above the temple is the site of the former Shimobe elementary and middle schools, which served as a model for "Motosu High School" in the series (now closed). The slope in front of the school, which was impressive in the school commute scene, is just as it appears in the anime.

By the way, it seems that the previously mentioned Joyo-in has opened its parking lot, so it is considered good manners to walk from there.

From the top of the slope, you can overlook the town, where a peaceful mountain landscape spreads out. Right near here is the model house that became the home of the character "Shima Rin," so I decided to visit.

This house is said to have been used for the drama version of "Yuru Camp△," which aired on TV Tokyo, and posters from the drama version were displayed on the windows. The anime version of the home is also along the road, which is memorable for the scene where Rin sets off for camping on a scooter early in the morning. The atmosphere here is just as it is in the series.
https://g.co/kgs/s734cDq

7451 Tokuba, Minobu-cho, Minami-Koma-gun, Yamanashi Prefecture

I also visited Eishodo, which sells "Minobu Manju." This is a traditional Japanese sweet shop located on Shonin Street near JR Minobu Station, and it is a popular shop that consistently receives customers even when I visited for the interview. I bought some Minobu Manju and sat on a nearby bench that appeared in the series to try it out.

Eisho-do
3024 Kakuuchi, Minobu Town, Minami-Koma District, Yamanashi Prefecture

The chewy dough paired with just the right sweetness of the red bean paste is very delicious. There was a line in the story mentioning that it was relatively unknown for its deliciousness, but it has surely become a nationally famous product by now.

This bench is the place where the protagonist "Kagamihara Nadeshiko" decides to start working part-time to buy camping gear, and the flowing Fuji River in front is beautiful, creating a wonderful atmosphere. Even after I left, other tourists seemed to be sitting there, eating dumplings.

In this first part of the pilgrimage to the sacred site, I walked mainly focusing on the scenes featured in the anime, but next time I would like to visit the yurucamp merchandise stores and tourist spots.

Text by / Kazuma Tanaka

Search Laid-Back Camp on Amazon