Tanegashima is an Island in Southern Japan. Close to Yakushima (inspiration for Princess Mononoke) and part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Tanegashima is a volcanic Island full of beautiful beaches with rocky scenery and a subtropical climate. But far enough from Tokyo for most tourists to avoid it, why don’t you fly there on Anime from your couch? We traveled around Uji, Kyoto the last time and it was a hell of a trip.
Tanegashima by Shinkai Makoto
Tanegashima looks great in one of the best movies by Shinkai Makoto: 5 Centimeters per Second. A touching Anime movie divided in three segments. Following the coming of age of the protagonist. The second fragment follows his time in Tanegashima senior high School. Shinkai Makoto used to hunt locations for his movies. This means that he and his team travels to the real life location to take pictures of the location. This is why you are going to see real postcards of Tanegashima in the movie.
The high school you can see in the Anime is designed after the real one in the Island. And the Surf Club that is part of the movie is portrayed after the famous one in the Island. This is a famous Surf Club these days in the Southern Islands of Kagoshima prefecture. The konbini store and even the motorcycles parking are animated after real life locations. So you are running through the Island no matter where you live.
But Tanegashima is popular throughout Japan for one thing: The Space Center. And the Anime is not blind to it at all. You are going to watch a true launching in the anime that I can imagine surpass any real launching. I have never watched one in person really, so to me this is the best launch I have seen. Hope you enjoy it as well! It is a great movie and my favorite of Shinkai Makoto. If you are hooked after Your Name or maybe Suzume, put 5 Centimeters per Second on the list.
Robotic;Notes and Studio Ghibli
You can travel around Tanegashima with other Anime as well. Some believe that Princess Mononoke is set in the Island. The island is usually seen as the place where firearms were introduced to Japan in the 16th century. And even Tanegashima was a word used by many to refer to firearms. That is why it’s easy to think that the Iron Town is located on the island. But this is not a realistic portrait of Tanegashima as in Shinkai Makoto’s movie.
Tanegashima it’s also the location for Robotic;Notes. The Anime based on the original Visual Novel of the same name. The game was actually sponsored by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. As a way to promote the Tanegashima Space Center and the Space program. Check the official website of JAXA for more information about Japan’s space program.
