Visit Locations in Sendai Associated with HAIKYU!!
Haikyu!! is a hugely popular Japanese manga series that depicts high school students who passionately dedicate their youth to volleyball. (Jump Comics, SHUEISHA)
The series ran in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 2012 to 2020, and the masterpiece continues to attract many fans even after the original series has ended, with TV anime and theatrical adaptations, a video game, and even an anime movie adaptation which will be released in 2024.
The author FURUDATE Haruichi happens to be from the Tohoku region, and some of the story takes place in Sendai City.
This article will introduce you the ways in which you can visit and enjoy various Sendai locations as seen in HAIKYU!!
Recommended Spot 1: Kamei Arena Sendai
Kamei Arena Sendai is a municipal sports facility in Sendai City’s Taihaku Ward.
Today, the arena is a familiar place for Sendai citizens, being the home arena of the city’s professional basketball team as well as the venue for many student or adult team competitions and annual coming-of-age ceremonies, and being open to visitors from the general public (please be sure to stop by the reception desk when visiting). The arena is also famous as a volleyball mecca due to previously hosting the Volleyball World Cup.
Various parts of the arena will no doubt look familiar to those of you who have read HAIKYU!!
① Southern entrance to central hall
Enter from the southern entrance and register as a visitor at the reception desk. Walk down the familiar-looking corridor until you reach the central hall, which is heavily featured in the story.
② Water faucets in the park
You can walk around the outdoor area of the arena even when the building itself is closed to the public. Here, you will find several spots that evoke the mood of the series, such as the drinking water faucets.
Address: 1-4-1 Tomizawa, Taihaku-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi-ken
Access: 5-minute walk from Tomizawa Station on the Sendai Subway Namboku Line
Recommended Spot 2: Monument of Special Tourism Ambassadors of Sendai city
In August 19, 2023, a monument was built in front of Kamei Arena Sendai to commemorate the appointment of HINATA Shoyo and KAGEYAMA Tobio as the first-ever Special Tourism Ambassadors of Sendai city.
HINATA Shoyo and KAGEYAMA Tobio as the first-ever Special Tourism Ambassadors of Sendai city.
Standing tall at 2.64 meters high and 1.41 ｍeters wide, this massive monument features an illustration specially drawn by FURUDATE Haruichi for this occasion. An endless stream of fans come to take photographs with the life-sized characters.
Don’t forget to take a commemorative photo here yourself, so that you can create a special memory of this visit as part of your sightseeing trip in Sendai.
■Location: Near the southern entrance of Kamei Arena Sendai