Hello, back again this time for the second of two posts about my Kyoto trip. The first post detailed all the locations I visited that appear in the series. In this second post, I’m going to introduce some places in Kyoto and Uji city that don’t appear in the anime, but are definitely worth a visit if you’re a Hibike! Euphonium fan. These include places to buy merchandise, and places where you can meet other fans (mostly locals)! Some of these I’d known about from research (such as the Kyoto Animation shop), but most of them I randomly stumbled upon during my trip, so they were a nice surprise!

Let’s begin!

Kyoto City

JEUGIA

What: Music shop selling CDs, musical instruments and accessories, music books, etc.

Where: Sanjo Street (in main shopping district of Kyoto)

Hibike! display window

Display at the cashier (they sell the DVDs and CDs)

A wild Kumiko appears! (Next to the escalator on the first floor)

Lashinbang (Rashinban) Kyoto Avanti

What: Shop selling anime merchandise

Where: Kyoto Avanti Shopping Center (next to Kyoto Station), fourth floor

Since Kyoto Animation typically doesn’t license merchandise, most Hibike! Euphonium official goods can only be bought from the KyoAni shop (online or the physical store). However, I discovered this shop that sells (I believe) resale KyoAni goods, and a large proportion of it is Hibike! merchandise. Most of it is older merchandise that are sold out in the KyoAni shop, or rarer goods from various collaborations. Of course, the prices tend to be higher than the original price, but I would say it’s worth it since some of these might be impossible to find elsewhere.

The KyoAni section is at the entrance of the shop, so it’s hard to miss.

Miscellaneous

This is a movie theater in the main shopping district of Kyoto city, just thought I’d mention it since the movie poster was up.

Arcades

Another thing I love about Japan is their arcades! While I was there, the rhythm game Groove Coaster 3EX had Tutti! as one of the songs in their line-up. I don’t know how often the song list changes though.

(Not me playing)

Uji City

KyoAni & Do! Shop

What: Shop selling merchandise from Kyoto Animation works

Where: Nearest to Kohata Station (JR Line), but within walking distance (5 to 10 minutes) from Kowata Station (Keihan Uji Line)

Like I mentioned previously, the KyoAni shop recently moved to its current location, which is in the same area as the old one. Here’s where you’ll find all the latest KyoAni merchandise that are near-impossible to find in any other anime shop in Japan. They do restock merchandise occasionally, you can keep track via their Twitter.

They had a display for Mizore’s birthday in July.

Poster for the upcoming movie

You can also try out the gacha machine for Hibike! badges (get the coins for 200 yen each at the cashier). Still waiting for them to release that musical instrument series gacha, come on Kyoani!

(Side note: I’m not sure if photos are allowed in the shop, I think one or two is fine as long as you don’t go around taking photos of all the merchandise)

Nakaji Bakery

What: Bakery selling “hotdog-on-a-stick” snack eaten by Shuichi and Hazuki in the show.

Where: Near Obaku Station (Keihan Uji Line)

Fan-art on display, including a drawing of Hazuki with Aya-chu (Hazuki’s seiyuu).

The snack itself is called “frank Danish”.

Koueidou (幸栄道)

What: Wagashi shop selling Asuka’s mother’s favourite kuri manjuu.

Where: Near Mimurodo Station (Keihan Uji Line)

Lots of Kaori fan-art.

An entire wall of Hibike! stuff.

The wagashi is named “Genji Yumemonogatari”, referencing the famous Japanese literature. The sign says “This is the kuri manjuu recommended by a certain Kitauji band member ♪”.

Here’s what the bun looks like on the inside. This one has a white bean paste (shiroan) and chestnut filling.

Check out the Twitter account of Nana-san, who works there and is a fan of the series (I believe she’s the wife of the manager).

Tourist Information Center (Next to JR Uji Station)

Where: Next to the JR Uji Station

Free origami

Kumiko standee signed by Takeda Ayano (author of the novels)!

Another poster for the movie.

Tourist Information Center (Along Ajirogi no michi )

Where: Along Ajiroji no michi, which is beside the Uji river

One side of the center is dedicated to Hibike!

They give out free copies of these, which is a map of the area highlighting the different locations that appear in the show. It was from the collaboration with the Keihan Uji railway, which ended in May, but there were still plenty of copies in July.

Fan message notebook, plus signatures by the seiyuus of the Kitauji quartet!

Plenty of cute fan-art inside the notebooks, as expected (the notebooks went up to something like volume 20 when I was there).

Kyoto Bunkyo University, Satellite Campus

What: A school campus that also serves as a rest stop for fans on certain weekends.

Where: Uji city centre, along street number 15 (the shopping street)

The rest stop (休憩所) is presumably managed by members of the 響け！元気に応援プロジェクト (Hibike! Genki ni ouen project – happiness support project or HibikePJ for short), which is a group formed by students from the university. The campus is open to the public typically on the second Saturday and fourth Sunday of each month (just to be sure, check out the calendar on their website to know when it’ll be open). The group organises activities as well, such as an event at the University happening on the 20th of this month!

So many people!

Team Kaori, or team Reina?

All that merch.

Artwork for Mizore and Natsuki’s birthday.

CHOCO de NINMARI

What: A shop specialising in gâteau au chocolat.

Where: Uji city centre, along street number 15

It’s a small café managed by Ai-san, who is a huge fan of Hibike! and other Kyoani shows. Like Koueidou and Nakaji bakery, she receives lots of fan-art from people who come and visit her shop.

Look at that Kumiko!

Messages from Asada Nikki (illustrator for the novels) and Takeda Ayano.

Apologies for the reflection in the photo frames.

In my hurry I forgot to take a photo of the drink I bought (oops). Do check out Ai-san’s Twitter though!

Uji Shrine

Where: Maps

Description: I already talked about it in the first post, but I forgot to mention the wooden plaques (ema, 絵馬) hung up at the shrine drawn by Hibike! fans.

Miscellaneous

A wild Sapphire Midori itasha appears! (spotted outside JR Uji Station)

Conclusion

That’s pretty much all I have to talk about my trip! I had a lot of fun exploring Kyoto and Uji, looking out for Hibike! related things, and in the process getting to talk to some local Hibike! fans (albeit only briefly). Hopefully I’ll have the chance to return there again.

In the meantime, I’m still thinking about future posts for the blog. I decided to start this blog because I was inspired by my trip and the Hibike! fans I met, and I wanted to find a way to express my love for the series (it’s like a confession of love). I’m still figuring out the best way to do so, so it’s a work in progress.

Until then though, thanks for reading, and I’d love to read any thoughts you have about the post. (Also, if you’re interested, you can read part 1 here!)