On May 3, 2024, a sunny day, after finishing the Chichibu anime pilgrimage, I set off for Nagatoro, the sacred site of the film "WATATEN!: an Angel Flew Down to Me – Precious Friends".

Planned Route

The pilgrimage sites for this work are basically along a single path. Just follow the pilgrimage map obtained at the Nagatoro Tourist Information Center and pick the spots.

If you want to perfectly recreate the pilgrimage, you may also need to check the steam locomotive (SL) timetable: https://www.chichibu-railway.co.jp/slpaleo/calendar.html

Like the collaboration trains, the SL only runs on weekends and holidays.

If you have a Chichibu Free Ticket, you'll need to pay an additional fee.

Departure from Ikebukuro Station

Rewind to May 2. After purchasing a limited express ticket for the Seibu Ikebukuro Line at Ikebukuro, I boarded the Limited Express Laview, enough to thrill any tough guy!

Gotta say, this train is really cool!

Riding the Limited Express Laview

Another major feature of the entire train is the yellow seats.

These seats can rotate 360 degrees.

At first, I thought it was just for convenience when the train changes direction at the terminal, but I didn't understand why the staff kept teaching everyone how to rotate the seats until we reached Hannō Station.

As mentioned in the anime "Train to the End of the World," the Seibu Ikebukuro Line runs a "人"-shaped route when passing through Hannō Station. This means that after passing Hannō, the front of the train becomes the rear, and the rear becomes the front. Passengers then need to manually adjust their seat direction. Super fascinating!

The scenery along the way was beautiful.

The most memorable part was passing by a cemetery, which looked exactly like the one in "Train to the End of the World."

A bit creepy, but is this an early anime pilgrimage? 😅

Seibu Chichibu Station

Still at Seibu Chichibu, there's a pilgrimage spot here—don't forget to check it out!

Ohanabatake

If you're going from Seibu Chichibu to Nagatoro, you need to walk to Ohanabatake Station and then take a train to Nagatoro.

Since I did the Chichibu pilgrimage first, I departed from Chichibu to Nagatoro that day. The photos were still taken when I passed by on the first day.

Nagatoro Station and Its Surroundings

Arrived at Nagatoro Station after about a 20-minute ride.

Right outside the station, you can see a large torii gate ahead. The mountain in front is Mount Hodo, our next destination.

The shooting range that appears in the anime seems to be doing well—there are two branches in Nagatoro.

Iwadatami Rocks

This area is a rock formation created by the constant erosion of the Arakawa River.

Then, for 2,200 yen, you can take a small boat ride on the Arakawa River.

Since I had a Chichibu Free Ticket, the boat ride only cost 2,000 yen.

There are two courses: Course A and Course B, each lasting about 20 minutes.

For Course A, you take their free bus to the upstream point and then row back down to the starting point in Nagatoro.

Course B is the opposite: you start from Nagatoro, row downstream, and then take the free bus back to Nagatoro.

I chose Course B.

Also, in the anime, Mya-nee and the others chose kayaking, which is too wild. The small boat is much more stable 😅.

Lunch Time

What's for lunch today?

While passing through the shopping street, I suddenly spotted this shop.

Wow! A shop that appeared in "Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie"—I have to eat here!

I ordered a farmer's set meal.

It looks so hearty! Ah, I can never go back to Tokyo's set meals.

Mount Hodo Ropeway

At Nagatoro Station, you can take a free bus to the Mount Hodo Ropeway.

Then take the ropeway directly to the summit—cheating at hiking! 👏

Saw the poster from the collaboration back then.

Unlike in the anime, there were really a lot of people taking the ropeway!

Tickets for the ropeway: 700 yen one way, 1,200 yen round trip. With a Chichibu Free Ticket, it's 1,080 yen.

Unfortunately, Hige-ro is no longer inside the station; instead, there's Tetsudo Musume.

You can borrow a stationmaster's uniform for free and take photos with Tetsudo Musume.

Take the ropeway straight to the summit!

I initially thought it would be a cable car with guaranteed seats, but it turned out to be a crowded, bus-like ropeway 😅.

Hodosan Small Animal Zoo

Just like in the anime, follow the signs.

After a short walk, you'll reach Hodosan Small Animal Zoo. There were more people than I expected.

Admission is 500 yen, or 450 yen with a Chichibu Free Ticket.

After buying the ticket and entering, they didn't even check it 😅.

The entrance is a souvenir shop, and in one corner, there are displays all about "WATATEN!: an Angel Flew Down to Me – Precious Friends"!

This is arguably the most concentrated pilgrimage spot of the entire trip.

Also, at the entrance, they tell you which spots appear in the anime.

I feel like selling animal feed is the zoo's main source of income 😅. There's a feed sales stand in each area.

It's like paying to feed the animals at the zoo.

The animals in the zoo.

True to its name, they are all small animals.

The zoo is small, and the animals on display are quite common.

Also, I'm not sure if it's due to the weather, but the zoo had a bit of a smell 😅.

There were so many people inside, unlike the empty zoo in the anime.

The zoo has a scheduled guinea pig return show.

The spot where Mya-nee lay down.

After visiting the zoo, all the planned pilgrimage spots were done.

There was still time, so since I was already here, I decided to explore the surrounding attractions.

Hodosan Jinja Shrine: Inner Shrine

Mount Hodo Summit

Compared to Hitsujiyama Park yesterday, the view from the summit of Mount Hodo is even more beautiful!

Hodosan Shrine and Gyokusenji Temple

Took the ropeway back to the mid-mountain area, then decided to walk down instead of taking the free bus.

Return Trip

As the sun set, the Nagatoro trip came to an end.

When I got back to Seibu Chichibu, all the limited express trains to Ikebukuro were fully booked!

Since I didn't know what time I'd finish the next day, I hadn't bought a return limited express ticket in advance.

So I had to take a regular train, stopping at every station all the way to Ikebukuro. This really became a pilgrimage for "Train to the End of the World" 😅.

Loot Section

During the trip, there happened to be a stamp rally where you could get local limited stickers by collecting stamps from three stations.

Also, for Nagatoro souvenirs, I bought a Menma keychain and a Tetsudo Musume badge set.

Tickets from this pilgrimage.