On July 25, 2026, a sunny day, I set off from Ohanabatake Station in Chichibu on the Botan Kamiina Special Train to Nagatoro Station for an anime pilgrimage.

Seibu-Chichibu Station

First, I took the familiar limited express from Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu Station.

This year's summer theme in Chichibu is "Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk."

Station Mall

Entering the mall inside the station.

They sell merchandise related to this collaboration's illustrations.

They also sell various alcoholic beverages that appear in the anime.

Of course, there's also the classic Chichibu collaboration sake from "Anohana."

Interestingly, by the time I returned, the Chichibu Hyakka was already sold out.

It shows how the popularity of the work boosted local sake sales!

Since I was there, I had to try the local sake.

Here, you can sample a small cup of sake for 200 yen.

So I tried the Chichibu Nishiki.

It tasted similar to low-alcohol Chinese baijiu, with an alcohol content of 15%.

But for someone like me who doesn't drink, it was still quite strong.

Author's signature.

Station Hot Spring

In fact, the entire mall and restaurant are within the premises of the Matsuri no Yu hot spring.

In the hot spring area, there are also illustrations from the work on display.

Collaboration Menu

I had the collaboration menu for dinner on the way back. Since it's in the same area, I'll write about it together.

The collaboration menu basically adds a tofu-skin-like canvas with collaboration illustrations to the regular menu, and you get a random coaster as a gift.

Botan Kamiina Special Train

And now for the most anticipated part of the trip: the steam train!

The Botan Kamiina Special Train, adorned with a "Botan Kamiina" headboard.

It also made up for the regret of not riding the steam train during the "Wataten! An Angel Flew Down to Me: Precious Friends" pilgrimage.

Entering the carriage.

The interior has been modernized and is air-conditioned.

But since it's a steam train, there's still some smell of coal burning inside.

Arriving at Nagatoro Station.

At Nagatoro Station, there are a few minutes for photos, so you can take your time to observe.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1fe356vEe9/

I also recorded some videos.

Nagatoro Anime Pilgrimage

Since I was in Nagatoro, I decided to do the pilgrimage again!

This must be my third time in Nagatoro.

I also saw a small standee from "Wataten! An Angel Flew Down to Me" — so cute!

Conclusion

That's all for this trip.

The main purpose of this trip was to experience my first steam train ride. Plus, it's the middle of a hot summer, so the pilgrimage content wasn't too extensive.

Originally, there was also a stamp rally activity: you had to go around Chichibu to collect five stamps, then go to Nagatoro for the sixth stamp to exchange for an event-exclusive small file folder.

Unfortunately, it was too hot, and since I'm prone to heatstroke, I ended up not collecting the stamps.

Still, seeing all this collaboration content was a wonderful experience!