On October 14, 2023, the weather was cloudy. My second stop of the day was Shimokitazawa.

I had always wanted to go on a pilgrimage to the sacred sites of Bocchi the Rock!, but procrastination kept delaying it for a whole year. Finally, I took advantage of the Curry Festival to visit Shimokitazawa for the pilgrimage.

Although the Curry Festival featured such a large Bocchi the Rock! illustration, the only Bocchi-related activities were eating curry and collecting stamps. Collect 9 stamps to get a pick, collect 22 stamps to get a T-shirt. How could that stump the devoted fans of Bocchi the Rock!? They were all given away by the 5th day. Then, at the second-hand store in Akihabara Radio Kaikan mentioned in the previous article, picks were selling for 1,100 yen.

So for visitors like us coming on the weekend of the second week, Bocchi the Rock! might as well have been decoupled from the Curry Festival. But that was no big deal. My companion had been dreaming of eating the legendary honey cheese naan, so we decided to accomplish that goal together this time.

For this pilgrimage, I made almost no preparations beforehand. I just took photos wherever I went. After all, the whole of Shimokitazawa is filled with traces of Bocchi the Rock!. If the order of the photos seems a bit odd, it's because we walked some routes repeatedly.

Took the Odakyu Line to Shimokitazawa Station.

The exit had event posters related to the Curry Festival.

There were actually many scenes at the station entrance, but unfortunately today was the Curry Festival, so it was extremely crowded.

The bicycle parking lot near Sonora had a vibe reminiscent of last century in China.

It was autumn, and on the road we smelled a very strong fragrance of osmanthus. The source was this huge osmanthus tree.

Donguri Hiroba Park

You could see that on the weekend, not only were there many pilgrims to the sacred sites, but ordinary residents were also enjoying the leisurely time in the park.

Arriving at the main street, there were so many people! And the road was lined with flags of this Bocchi the Rock! Curry Festival.

Yanagawa Building side alley

I really admire these obscure little alleys. How did the experts online manage to find them?

This building covered in ivy has a lot of charm.

Turning a corner, we arrived near the parking lot where Bocchi and the others took photos — Times Car Times Shimokitazawa No. 8 Station

One side of the parking lot.

On the road, we noticed that only this shop had a different Bocchi the Rock! poster. Is there something special about it?

In front of Honda Theatre

The posters below felt very vintage in every sense.

"Souvenirs" from the first-floor shop.

Shimokitazawa SHELTER

The most iconic scene in the series, a must-visit spot for check-ins. So much so that the shop put up a notice asking not to disturb other businesses.

Sauna & Capsule Minami Shimokitazawa

Times Daizawa No. 5

Suddenly realized there are so many parking lot scenes in Bocchi the Rock!. So why isn't there a parking lot collaboration?

Saw a very interesting graffiti wall on the road.

The other side of Shimokitazawa Station.

I had a screenshot of this scene but couldn't find its exact location online at first.

Then I deduced it from the "23, Kitazawa 2-chome" on the right side of the screenshot and the presence of a train crossing. A small sense of achievement (laughs).

Again, because it's a station entrance, it was very hard to catch a moment without people.

Near Geki-Shogekijo

I didn't notice this scene at first. My companion suddenly associated it with the air conditioner drainpipe and the vegetation above. I admire my companion's memory!

Afterwards, we found an Indian curry restaurant and tasted the legendary honey cheese naan.

If I remember correctly, this was my first time trying Indian cuisine!

The honey cheese naan was sweet and soft, with the sweetness of honey and the milky aroma of cheese, and when dipped in the complex curry sauce, it was truly a magical flavor!

The first two pieces were delicious, but by the third piece I started to feel my limit, and the fourth piece was a struggle—truly a calorie bomb!

After we finished, the owner kindly asked if we wanted another serving of naan. That's when we learned that naan could be refilled for free—how big of an appetite would you need to eat that much naan!

But overall, before reaching fullness, this calorie bomb was indeed a delicious treat.

After eating, we were fully satisfied and strolled through Shimokitazawa at night. Compared to the morning, the night was even more bustling. Under the illumination of various signs, we discovered many shops we hadn't noticed before. If you have time, exploring Shimokitazawa at night might be a great choice.

And here is the route map of this pilgrimage.

A very free-spirited route map! Haha.

Finally, here are the spoils of this trip.

The curry festival flyers being distributed along the street.

It contains detailed introductions to all the curry-related shops in the Shimokitazawa area, as well as four famous check-in spots.

To be honest, in this curry festival, the characters from Bocchi the Rock! seemed to be just spokesmodels. If it were like atré Akihabara, where spending a certain amount at affiliated stores gets you a character card, it might attract more fans to visit.