August 11–13, 2025. Today I’m heading to Hitoyoshi City in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, for a Natsume's Book of Friends anime pilgrimage.

Since the Natsume's Book of Friends pilgrimage is quite extensive, I’ve decided to split it into two posts. This one will cover Hitoyoshi’s long-running collaboration event—Shadow Art—and the shops I encountered along the way that display Natsume's Book of Friends decorations.

Shadow Art

On my first night in Hitoyoshi, I immediately set out to find the Natsume's Book of Friends Shadow Art scattered throughout the city.

For the specific locations of the Shadow Art, you can refer to this Google Maps link:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1Y9gAiGWmvTcXxUSo93vl0k8vf70djFo&g_ep=CAISDTYuMTAyLjMuNDI5MjAYACDdYiokLDk0MjA3ODA4LDQ3MDcxNzA0LDQ3MDY5NTA4LDQ3MDg0MzA0QgJKUA%3D%3D&g_st=ic%C2%A0&ll=32.21445006666303%2C130.75907693467101&z=18

You can also pick up a Shadow Art map booklet during the day at the Tourist Information Center at Hitoyoshi Station.

I also checked out the light source for the Shadow Art—so that’s how they project it!

By the way, at night, quite a few fans from around the world come to search for the Shadow Art. It seems this little event really brings a lot of vitality to Hitoyoshi!

Now, let’s take a look at what the Natsume's Book of Friends collaboration Shadow Art in Hitoyoshi looks like!

Natsume at Hitoyoshi Station

There are two versions of Natsume at Hitoyoshi Station, shown from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM and from 8:05 PM to 10:00 PM.

Since it’s August, the sky wasn’t completely dark yet when I took the first version.

I also took a panorama photo.

Nyanko-sensei

Misuzu

Ox & Nyanko-sensei & One-Eyed Mid-Rank Yokai

Nyanko-sensei & Natsume

Reiko Natsume

Hinoe

Kappa & Chobi

Little Fox

This one is probably the hardest to find—it’s on the riverbank.

Shop Visits

As a series deeply loved by the local residents, you can see plenty of original decorations in many shops you pass by. Here, I’ll show you the related decorations I saw in the shops I visited over these few days!

Station Business Hotel Tenshukaku

The souvenir shop in the hotel where I stayed these few days was filled with adorable Nyanko-sensei items.

Hitoyoshi Railway Museum MOZOCA Station 868

Daikichi

The shop isn’t big, but it has so many original decorations inside!

Cafe Amairo

Even the café’s menu is in the style of the Book of Friends!

Because it was so hot, I ordered a fruit shaved ice.

It was huge! So much that I couldn’t finish it.

It felt like a serving for two.

One corner of the shop was filled with series-related decorations.

Detail shots.

They even had the latest limited-edition Switch game!

Conclusion

That’s all for the Shadow Art & Shop Visits edition.

You can really tell how much the people of Hitoyoshi love this series!

In the next post, I’ll be chartering a car to visit the various locations that appear in the series. Stay tuned!