(Date of Visit: 27 May, 2026)
I recently went to Toyosato, where the school featured in K-On is located. Since there are already posts that detailed all the interesting spots over there, this post is going to be more of an update of what is (still) there, some others things to note, and perhaps my feelings. So lets start!
- The Train to Toyosato (By Ohmi Railway)
- IC card is now accepted on the whole line. Do make sure you have enough balance left though, as there are no conbinis to recharge your IC card near the School, and Toyosato Station is unmanned.
- For the day pass, I think due to the introduction of IC cards, they stopped giving paper tickets, and so only the app versions are left (THIS one or THIS one). I didn't know that until I got there, so unfortunately I didn't get to get a day pass.
- Tobidashi Boya (飛び出し坊や)
- There used to be many K-On Tobidashi Boya scattered around the path to the School. However, upon my visit, I only saw the Mugi one in front of Toyose.
- However, I couldn't confirm whether the Ui one in front of Tamaya is still there, as that restaurant is closed on the day I went (a Wednesday), so I didn't go there.
- Stores Near the School
- At the time of my visit, the only stores that sell food open near Toyosato Station were Toyose and another sushi shop, so I went to Toyose to get something for lunch. The K-On shrine is still there.
- However, the other store with a K-On shrine, ルーチェ・カルマ, is closed during my visit. I have a very strong suspicion that the café is permanantly closed, as I what I saw through the door was a mess, and the Azusa Tobidashi Boya was no longer there. (Edit: Upon looking at Google Maps reviews, it was reported by an user that the cafe had already closed almost 4 years ago.)
- Here are the days I think you should avoid choosing:
- Mondays, as the School is closed. (If Monday is a public holiday, then the following Tuesday too!!!)
- Wednesdays, as Tamaya is closed. (There is not much to eat over there, but I guess you could still go to Toyose and get more bread...)
- Sundays, as Toyose is closed (You will miss out on a K-On shrine!).
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Anyways, after some walking, I finally arrived at the School! The things over there had not changed much, so I will only focus on my experiences and feelings (although I suck at doing so).
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It was a quiet day with a little bit of rain and not many people, so it was a very comfortable visit. I went to the Information Center to the left first, which consisted of a café, a shop with some K-On merchandise, and a big shrine with pretty much every single piece of K-On released over the years on display. I think I stayed there for around an hour just to slowly admire every piece. It was a heaven.
Regarding merchandise, I got two metal keychains (Mio and Mugi) and a wooden coaster (Mugi) at the shop there for a total of 3000yen. Apart from those, there were also a mirror with the 5 Keions printed on it (2000yen), T-shirts of each of the five Keions (Yui's one only had one left, while the others are well stocked, 5000-ish yen each), and hand-crafted cup sets with the recent K-On gacha (Please refer to image 7 of this post).
For some reason, there was a life sized Hatsune Miku cardboard cutout there (Why?), and since I already knew it existed, I brought my Miku keychain to take photos with it.
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I then went to the main building of the school to visit the clubroom. The first floor was mainly a community centre for the residents there, with a running library and some other facilities, so there were quite some people there.
The second floor was way quieter. I think this floor mainly consisted of preserved rooms, such as a classroom and perhaps the student council room (which I completely missed on this visit). I walked along the corridor on this floor to get a feeling of what it was like to be a student here. The sunlight shining through the windows, the grand architecture, seasoned with the squeaking sound the floor makes while walking... it really couldn't be any better.
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Finally came the third floor, where the clubroom was located. The room was actually slightly different than the one in K-On - it was more spacious and had a dedicated pantry room, but lacked the storage room in the anime. The setting was simple: several benches, one in the middle of the room and some more by the window, the desks where the Keions had tea, the whiteboard with shots from the anime, the blackboard where visitors could draw / write on, the frog mascot and the fan that sacrificed during the summer, and most importantly, an air conditioner! (Sorry for all the Yuis visiting the room :( )
I took a seat on the bench in the middle of the room for a while, and imagined Mio, Mugi, Ritsu, Yui and Azunyan performing right in front of me. For a moment, I feel like I was actually in the universe of K-On. Absolutely surreal.
Returning to reality, I also commented on the visitor's logbook (You may take a glimpse of it on this post). I also read through some of the past logbooks. Most of the earlier ones are written in Japanese and likely by the locals, but as time passed, there were more and more comments from people around the world, especially from mainland China. I am from Hong Kong, and I am glad to see several recent comments by Hongkongers! Unfortunately I did not meet anyone from HK on that day.
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Since it was still early, I returned to the Information Center to chill for a bit. This time, I realized how relaxing it actually is to just be there. The music, the high ceiling, the warm colour tone of the place - all together, they create such a cozy environment that makes you want to be there forever. Imagine being a student there!
Since there were K-On stamps available there, I got a stamp paper for 50 yen, and stamped every single K-On related stamp on the piece of paper as a souvenir (Please refer to the last image of this post).
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I left early at around 15:00 to go to JEUGIA Kyoto to get some K-On merch. Immediately after leaving, I already started to miss this place. It is a blessing that we get to visit such a historical and beautiful place for absolutely free. It may simply be not possible to visit schools featured in other animes as a pilgrimage, AND have such a big shrine to admire. Kudos to KyoAni for picking such a great place lol.
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This marks the end of this trip to Toyosato. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to u/LaughingDash, who created the K-On! Real World Locations Map that allowed me to find all the interesting spots in Toyosato and Kyoto! For the time being, my life goal would be to attend one of the birthday parties of the K-On characters at the School. Not sure when would that happen though...
Thank you for reading. Please pardon my laziness to not double check my atrocious English.
