Haikyu!! Pilgrimage: Explore the Real Places Behind the Story
Haikyu!! is a volleyball manga by Haruichi Furudate that was serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 2012 to 2020. It depicts the passionate youth of high…
Karumai
軽米町
Things to Do in and Around Karumai
In the northern tip of Iwate Prefecture, Karumai is an inland town in Kunohe District, just south of the Aomori border. It is known for buckwheat and ancient grains along with a thriving poultry industry. A large Dutch windmill stands on a hill overlooking the community, visible from nearly anywhere in town. Karumai is also the hometown of Haruichi Furudate, the creator of the volleyball manga Haikyu!!, and you will find places tied to the series around town, starting with the school that inspired the fictional Karasuno High.
Real-Life Locations & Inspiration
Anime Pilgrimage
Anime and manga set in and around Karumai, and where to find their real-life locations.
Location
Where is Karumai?
Karumai lies in northeastern Iwate Prefecture, spreading across an inland highland close to the Aomori border. Most of the town is covered by forest and farmland, and winters bring sharp cold and steady snowfall. The cool climate and wide swings between day and night temperatures have shaped a soil that grows fragrant buckwheat and other grains. The nearest cities are Ninohe to the southwest and Hachinohe in Aomori Prefecture to the northeast. From either, it takes about an hour by car to reach the town.
Local transport
Getting Around
The gateway to Karumai is Ninohe Station on the Tōhoku Shinkansen, about two hours and forty minutes from Tokyo Station. From Ninohe, the JR Bus Tōhoku Suwarō (Swallow) line bound for Kuji reaches central Karumai in about an hour. Services are infrequent, so it helps to check the timetable in advance. Once in town, getting around is mainly by bus or taxi, but since the main sights cluster around the town hall, staying in one place puts most of them within walking distance.
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Get to Know
About Karumai
In the northern tip of Iwate, gentle hills and fields fold into one another across the countryside. Cool breezes sweep through in summer, and in autumn the buckwheat fields turn gold. Alongside a long tradition as a land of ancient grains and buckwheat, Karumai has recently drawn a new kind of visitor, with fans arriving on pilgrimage to the real-world locations of Haikyu!!.
A Land of Buckwheat and Ancient Grains
Karumai's signature crop is buckwheat. The cool highland climate and sharp swings between day and night temperatures produce fragrant, flavorful grains. In a region where rice has always struggled to grow, people have relied on buckwheat, foxtail millet, barnyard millet, and broomcorn millet since the Edo period. Thirteen kinds of grain are still cultivated in the town today.
Local diners and farm stands serve freshly made juwari soba, noodles made entirely from buckwheat flour, alongside dishes built around those ancient grains. Mugi-kakke, a simple country dish of wheat flour rolled thin, cut into triangles, and boiled, is a staple of the borderlands between southern Aomori and northern Iwate. A bowl of soba topped with a just-laid egg is the kind of meal only poultry country can offer.
Yukiyagawa Dam Forest Park Karumai
High on a hillside above the town stands a single large Dutch windmill. Its blades turn slowly on a rise overlooking Yukiyagawa Dam, and in summer the slope below fills with the purple of lavender.
The area is a park called Forest Park Karumai, with campgrounds, cottages, and an observation deck for day trips or overnight stays. The grassland, the windmill, and the lavender field make for a surprising corner in the mountains of northern Tōhoku, a slice of the Netherlands sitting quietly among the hills.
Karumai Aki Matsuri
In autumn, Karumai transforms into a town of festival floats. The Karumai Aki Matsuri, usually held on the three-day weekend around Respect for the Aged Day in September, sees ornately decorated dashi floats hung with paper lanterns and topped with dolls parading through the streets. These are the liveliest days of the year.
The sound of hayashi flutes and taiko drums carries into the evening, and the streets fill with visitors from around the town and beyond.
A Pilgrimage Site for Haikyu!!
Karumai is the hometown of Haruichi Furudate, the author of the volleyball manga Haikyu!!. The model for Karasuno High, the main setting of the story, is Furudate's own alma mater, Iwate Prefectural Karumai High School.
Around town, places that echo scenes from the manga draw fans on pilgrimage each weekend. Karumai Shokudō, the diner said to be the model for Karasuno Diner in the series, serves a special Haikyu!! ramen made with noodles from the noodle shop run by Furudate's family.
Other spots tied to the series, including the town gymnasium and a local inn, are all within walking distance. For the full list of pilgrimage spots, take a look at our Haikyu!! pilgrimage feature.
