Shibukawa

The town

Shibukawa is a city in central Gunma, where the Tone and Agatsuma rivers meet on the northern edge of the Kanto plain. Wikipedia gives its population as 76,098 (31 August 2020) and its area as 240.27 square kilometres. Mt Haruna lies to the west and Mt Akagi to the east.

The city calls itself the bellybutton of Japan, because it sits near the central point of the Japanese archipelago. Ikaho Onsen, the hot spring resort on the slopes of Mt Haruna, has been part of Shibukawa since 20 February 2006.

Touge Town's base is at 2110-34 Shibukawa, Gunma.

Why fans come

Initial D is a manga by Shuichi Shigeno that began in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine in 1995. It is set on Gunma's mountain passes. Mt Haruna is the real mountain behind the fictional Mt Akina, and Wikipedia notes that the live-action film was shot partly in Shibukawa.

Fans have also compared the three Initial D Legend films with the real streets. The fan map site Anime Pilgrimage lists 21 of the 22 mapped scenes of the second film in Shibukawa, all 24 of the first film, and 29 of the 32 for the third. These are fan-compiled references, not official statements, and many of them are numbered curves.

Touge Town is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Initial D manga, its publisher, studios or rights holders.

Shibukawa Station

Shibukawa Station opened on 1 July 1921 and is served by the Joetsu Line and the Agatsuma Line. Platform 1 handles Minakami and Nakanojo trains, and platforms 2 and 3 handle trains toward Takasaki. Local buses run to Takasaki, Maebashi and Ikaho, and long-distance buses leave for Tokyo and other cities.

The station plaza is the first stop for fans. The city's official Initial D manhole beside the plaza shows Takumi Fujiwara and his AE86. The city hands out the matching manhole card free at Shibusan, the local products centre on the first floor of the plaza. The city's page says one card per person, 9:00 to 19:00 every day except New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with no phone reservations or mail orders, and Shibusan's number is 0279-26-2423.

The seven manhole covers

The city's official collaboration site says seven manhole covers are installed in Shibukawa, with new illustrations by Ai Yokoyama, who also worked on the new theatrical film series. Impress Travel Watch reported fourteen covers made in 2020, seven installed outdoors and seven kept for display.

The official page links a map flyer as a PDF that we could not open. The locations below come from the Impress report, and they match the municipal descriptions in the owner's research notes. They are identified by the nearby site, and we publish no coordinates for the covers.

1. Sidewalk in front of the station plaza (Takumi Fujiwara and the AE86). 2. Sidewalk outside Yachiyo Bridge car park P6 (the Fujiwara family and the tofu shop). 3. Bungaku no Komichi, west of the public toilets (Mako Sato, Sayuki and Silhouette). 4. Below Ikaho Shrine on the stone steps (the Takahashi brothers). 5. The plaza at the foot of the steps (Takumi and Natsuki Mogi). 6. Ishidan Alwin Park north car park P4 (AE86, FD, FC and Silhouette). 7. Yaseone Pass, at the former Ikaho-Haruna toll road gate site (AE86 and FD).

The numbering above is ours, and we have not confirmed it against the city's map. Covers 2 to 7 are in car parks, on pedestrian paths or on mountain roads. Stay on the pavement and in marked car parks, and never stop in a traffic lane to photograph one.

Official recognition in 2026

On 19 February 2026 Gunma Prefecture announced that it had been selected for the first time as an Initial D location in the Anime Tourism Association's Anime Pilgrimage Sites to Visit in Japan 88. The prefecture's release names Gunma as a whole, not a specific city, and does not mention Shibukawa.

The Gunma tourism site runs two pilgrimage guides for fans. They ask visitors to use designated car parks, to leave bus stops clear (no stopping within 10 metres of one), to take care on narrow shoulders, and to remember that the manga's racing is not a model for real roads. They also say the manga's places do not always match reality.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge held its Shibukawa-Ikaho round on 28 June 2026, the eleventh since the team began entering in 2015. It runs on public roads around Mt Haruna with the cooperation of local governments and residents, and the organisers ask drivers to be courteous on the sections through Ikaho.

Gunsai is a separate place

Gunsai, the Gunma Cycle Sports Center, is in Minakami Town, not in Shibukawa. The Gunma Film Commission describes it as a family theme park with a full-scale circuit and a paved plaza, and the operator's site says its cycling course, plaza and rentals have their own hours and booking rules. It is a closed venue, not a public road, and the Haruna roads in this guide are a different matter.

The tofu shop story

The Fujiwara Tofu Shop in the story was modelled on a real shop called Fujinoya Tofu Ten, according to Japanese Wikipedia. The live-action film used it, with its sign changed to Fujiwara. The same source says it kept the sign after filming and later closed.

Sources disagree on dates. Two motoring articles say it closed in 2006 after more than a century. Japanese Wikipedia says it closed around 2007 and was demolished in 2009. One article says the building was dismantled and rebuilt at the Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum in 2012. Another says the museum has a recreated entrance corner and that only the original signboard and cooking tools came from the shop. Wikipedia and the Gunma tourism page both use the word recreated, so Touge Town does not describe the museum as holding the original building. The museum is covered in the Ikaho article.

We do not give the old shop's address, and the private residence and the old site should not be visited for photographs.

The family restaurant

Fans often ask which family restaurant in the story is real. We could not confirm one. The car community blog we checked says its author could not find the restaurant, and a search of the city's official pages found no entry for it. Treat any named chain restaurant you see online as unverified.

Getting there from Tokyo

The fastest route is the Joetsu or Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Takasaki, about an hour, then a local JR train to Shibukawa, about 25 minutes. Japan-guide gives about 5,000 yen one way. A limited express from Ueno takes about 100 minutes for 4,310 yen but runs rarely. The cheapest option is the Takasaki Line from Ueno, about 2.5 hours for 2,420 yen. Fares and timetables change, so check them before you travel.

From Shibukawa Station, a bus to Ikaho takes about 20 minutes and costs 750 yen one way on Japan-guide's figures.

At a glance

The places

What we could not confirm

• Touge Town is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Initial D manga, its publisher, studios or rights holders.
• Scene-to-location matches from Anime Pilgrimage are fan-compiled and are not official.
• The family restaurant could not be identified from any source we opened.
• Manhole card terms are from the city's page and can change; check the city site. The map PDF of manhole sites could not be opened.
• Fares and timetables are from Japan-guide and should be checked before travel.
• Never stop, park or pose in a traffic lane on any mountain road. Use designated car parks.
• Not published because unverified: Garage Infinity's AE86 specialism and its annual Gunsai event size (the ENKEI page was unavailable).

Keep reading

• The real places behind Initial D in Gunma
• Ikaho Onsen: stone steps, hot springs and Initial D
• Mt Haruna and Lake Haruna: the real Akina
• Mt Akagi, Mt Myogi and Usui Pass: the other Initial D mountains

Sources

• Shibukawa, Gunma (Wikipedia) · Population, area, location, Haruna and Akagi, bellybutton claim
• Shibukawa Station (Wikipedia) · Station history, lines, platforms, buses, coordinates
• Initial D (Wikipedia) · Publication start in 1995, author, publisher, magazine
• Initial D (Japanese Wikipedia) · Fujinoya shop, film shooting in Shibukawa, closure and demolition dates
• Impress Travel Watch: Shibukawa Initial D manhole covers · Seven manhole designs, locations, 2020 dates, manhole cards
• Initial D x Shibukawa official site · City tie-in pages and tourism contact
• Car Watch: Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum · Tofu shop closure in 2006, recreated corner, original sign and tools
• Kakaku Magazine: Fujiwara Tofu Shop · Account of the building being dismantled and moved (text was garbled, treated with caution)
• Visit Gunma: Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum · The tofu shop is described as recreated inside the museum
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 2 · 22 mapped scenes, 21 in Shibukawa
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 1 · 24 mapped scenes, all in Shibukawa
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 3 · 32 mapped scenes, 29 in Shibukawa
• Minkara: Initial D family restaurant blog · The author could not identify the restaurant
• japan-guide.com: Getting to Ikaho Onsen from Tokyo · Train routes, times, fares, bus to Ikaho
• Initial D manhole covers (official city collaboration site) · Seven covers, illustrator, card handout, contact
• Shibukawa City: manhole card page · Card rules, hours, Shibusan contact
• Gunma Prefecture press release, 19 Feb 2026 · Anime Pilgrimage 88 selection
• Gunma tourism: Initial D pilgrimage part 1 · Etiquette and parking guidance
• Gunma tourism: Initial D pilgrimage part 2 · Etiquette and parking guidance
• Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge 2026 Shibukawa-Ikaho · Public-road rally round, 28 June 2026
• Gunma Film Commission: Gunma Cycle Sports Center · Gunsai is in Minakami
• Gunma Cycle Sports Center · Gunsai location and booking rules

Touge Town is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Initial D, its publisher, studios or rights holders. These are public roads: racing or drifting on them is illegal and dangerous. Our drift day runs only on the closed Gunsai course.

町のあらまし

渋川市は群馬県の中央部にあり、関東平野の北端で利根川と吾妻川が合流する場所に位置します。Wikipediaによると、人口は76,098人（2020年8月31日）、面積は240.27平方キロメートルです。西に榛名山、東に赤城山があります。

市は日本列島のほぼ中心に位置することから、自らを「日本のへそ」と称しています。榛名山の斜面にある伊香保温泉は、2006年2月20日から渋川市の一部です。

Touge Townの拠点は、群馬県渋川市2110-34にあります。

ファンが訪れる理由

頭文字Dは、しげの秀一さんによる漫画で、1995年に講談社の週刊ヤングマガジンで連載が始まりました。舞台は群馬県の峠です。架空の秋名山のモデルは実在の榛名山で、Wikipediaによれば実写映画の撮影も一部が渋川市で行われました。

ファンは、劇場版「Legend」三部作の場面を実際の道と見比べてきました。ファンの地図サイトAnime Pilgrimageでは、第2作の22か所のうち21か所、第1作の24か所すべて、第3作の32か所のうち29か所が渋川市に分類されています。これらはファンがまとめた参照情報で、公式の発表ではありません。多くは番号が付いたカーブです。

Touge Townは独立した団体であり、頭文字Dの漫画、出版社、制作会社、権利者とは提携しておらず、その承認も受けていません。

渋川駅

渋川駅は1921年7月1日に開業し、上越線と吾妻線が乗り入れています。1番線は水上方面と中之条方面、2・3番線は高崎方面の列車が発着します。路線バスは高崎、前橋、伊香保へ、高速バスは東京などへ出ています。

駅前広場はファンが最初に立ち寄る場所です。広場のそばにある市公式の頭文字Dマンホールには、藤原拓海とAE86が描かれています。対応するマンホールカードは、広場1階の特産品センター「しぶさん」で無料配布されています。市のページによれば、1人1枚、受付は大晦日と元日を除く毎日9:00〜19:00で、電話予約や郵送はできません。しぶさんの電話番号は0279-26-2423です。

7種類のマンホール蓋

市の公式コラボサイトによると、渋川市には7枚のマンホール蓋が設置されており、新劇場版シリーズにも参加した横山愛さんが新たに描いたイラストが使われています。Impress Travel Watchは、2020年に14枚が作られ、7枚が屋外に設置され、7枚が展示用だったと報じています。

公式ページには地図のPDFチラシがリンクされていますが、開くことができませんでした。以下の場所はImpressの報道に基づいており、オーナーの調査メモにある市の記載とも一致します。場所は近くの施設で示しており、蓋の座標は掲載しません。

1. 駅前広場前の歩道（藤原拓海とAE86）。2. 八千代橋駐車場P6前の歩道（藤原家と豆腐店）。3. 文学の小径、公衆トイレの西（佐藤真子、沙雪、シルエイティ）。4. 石段街の伊香保神社下（高橋兄弟）。5. 石段下の広場（拓海と茂木なつき）。6. 石段アルウィン公園北駐車場P4（AE86、FD、FC、シルエイティ）。7. 旧伊香保榛名有料道路ゲート跡のヤセオネ峠（AE86とFD）。

上の番号は当社が付けたもので、市の地図とは照合していません。2〜7は、駐車場、歩行者用の道、山道にあります。歩道と所定の駐車場から離れず、車道に止まって撮影することは絶対にしないでください。

2026年の公的な位置づけ

2026年2月19日、群馬県は、アニメツーリズム協会の「訪れてみたい日本のアニメ聖地88」で、頭文字Dの舞台として初めて選ばれたと発表しました。県の発表は、特定の市ではなく群馬県全体を対象としており、渋川市には触れていません。

群馬県の観光サイトには、ファン向けの聖地巡礼ガイドが2本あります。所定の駐車場を使うこと、バス停を空けておくこと（バス停から10メートル以内は停車禁止）、路肩が狭い場所に注意すること、作中のレースは実際の道路の手本ではないことが書かれています。また、作中の場所が現実と一致するとは限らないとも述べています。

トヨタ・ガズー・レーシングのラリーチャレンジは、2026年6月28日に渋川伊香保ラウンドを開催しました。チームが2015年に参戦を始めてから11回目です。大会は、地元自治体や住民の協力を得て、榛名山周辺の公道で行われ、主催者は伊香保を通る区間では丁寧な運転を求めています。

群サイは別の場所

群馬サイクルスポーツセンター（群サイ）は、渋川市ではなくみなかみ町にあります。群馬県フィルムコミッションは、本格的なサーキットと舗装された広場を備えたファミリー向けのテーマパークと紹介しており、運営サイトには、自転車コース、広場、貸出それぞれに営業時間と予約のルールがあると書かれています。ここは閉じた施設で、公道ではありません。このガイドで扱う榛名の道路とは別の話です。

豆腐店の話

作中の藤原とうふ店は、日本語版Wikipediaによれば、実在した藤野屋豆腐店がモデルです。実写映画ではこの店が使われ、看板が藤原に掛け替えられました。同じ出典によると、撮影後も看板はそのままで、のちに閉店しました。

時期については出典が食い違います。自動車系の2つの記事は、百年以上続いた店が2006年に閉店したとしています。日本語版Wikipediaは、2007年ごろに閉店し、2009年に解体されたとしています。ある記事は、建物が解体されて2012年に伊香保おもちゃと人形自動車博物館へ移築されたと書いています。別の記事は、博物館にあるのは再現された入口のコーナーで、店から来たのは看板と調理道具だけだと説明しています。Wikipediaと群馬県の観光ページはどちらも「再現」という言葉を使っているため、Touge Townは、博物館に元の建物があるとは表現しません。博物館については伊香保の記事で扱います。

元の店の住所は掲載しません。個人の住宅や跡地を、撮影目的で訪れないでください。

ファミリーレストラン

作中のファミリーレストランは実在するのか、とファンからよく聞かれます。私たちは特定できませんでした。確認したカーコミュニティのブログでは、筆者自身が店を見つけられなかったと書かれており、市の公式ページにも該当する記載はありませんでした。ネット上で特定の店名が挙がっていても、未確認の情報として扱ってください。

東京からのアクセス

最も速いのは、東京駅から上越新幹線または北陸新幹線で高崎まで約1時間、そこから在来線で渋川まで約25分のルートです。Japan-guideでは片道約5,000円とされています。上野発の特急は約100分で4,310円ですが、本数は多くありません。最も安いのは、上野から高崎線を使う方法で、約2.5時間、2,420円です。運賃や時刻は変わるため、出発前に確認してください。

渋川駅から伊香保へはバスで約20分、Japan-guideの数字では片道750円です。

早わかり

場所

確認できなかったこと

• Touge Town is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Initial D manga, its publisher, studios or rights holders.
• Scene-to-location matches from Anime Pilgrimage are fan-compiled and are not official.
• The family restaurant could not be identified from any source we opened.
• Manhole card terms are from the city's page and can change; check the city site. The map PDF of manhole sites could not be opened.
• Fares and timetables are from Japan-guide and should be checked before travel.
• Never stop, park or pose in a traffic lane on any mountain road. Use designated car parks.
• Not published because unverified: Garage Infinity's AE86 specialism and its annual Gunsai event size (the ENKEI page was unavailable).

あわせて読む

• 頭文字Dの舞台となった群馬の実在の場所
• 伊香保温泉：石段、温泉、そして頭文字D
• 榛名山と榛名湖:実在する「秋名」
• 赤城山・妙義山・碓氷峠:『頭文字D』のもうひとつの舞台

出典

• Shibukawa, Gunma (Wikipedia) · Population, area, location, Haruna and Akagi, bellybutton claim
• Shibukawa Station (Wikipedia) · Station history, lines, platforms, buses, coordinates
• Initial D (Wikipedia) · Publication start in 1995, author, publisher, magazine
• Initial D (Japanese Wikipedia) · Fujinoya shop, film shooting in Shibukawa, closure and demolition dates
• Impress Travel Watch: Shibukawa Initial D manhole covers · Seven manhole designs, locations, 2020 dates, manhole cards
• Initial D x Shibukawa official site · City tie-in pages and tourism contact
• Car Watch: Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum · Tofu shop closure in 2006, recreated corner, original sign and tools
• Kakaku Magazine: Fujiwara Tofu Shop · Account of the building being dismantled and moved (text was garbled, treated with caution)
• Visit Gunma: Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum · The tofu shop is described as recreated inside the museum
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 2 · 22 mapped scenes, 21 in Shibukawa
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 1 · 24 mapped scenes, all in Shibukawa
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 3 · 32 mapped scenes, 29 in Shibukawa
• Minkara: Initial D family restaurant blog · The author could not identify the restaurant
• japan-guide.com: Getting to Ikaho Onsen from Tokyo · Train routes, times, fares, bus to Ikaho
• Initial D manhole covers (official city collaboration site) · Seven covers, illustrator, card handout, contact
• Shibukawa City: manhole card page · Card rules, hours, Shibusan contact
• Gunma Prefecture press release, 19 Feb 2026 · Anime Pilgrimage 88 selection
• Gunma tourism: Initial D pilgrimage part 1 · Etiquette and parking guidance
• Gunma tourism: Initial D pilgrimage part 2 · Etiquette and parking guidance
• Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge 2026 Shibukawa-Ikaho · Public-road rally round, 28 June 2026
• Gunma Film Commission: Gunma Cycle Sports Center · Gunsai is in Minakami
• Gunma Cycle Sports Center · Gunsai location and booking rules

独立した企画で、いかなるシリーズ・出版社・制作会社・権利者とも提携・承認関係にありません。公道は実在の生活道路です。路上でのレース・ドリフトは違法で危険です。ドリフトデーは閉鎖された群サイのコースでのみ行います。

本页暂无中文译本，以下为英文原文。

The town

Shibukawa is a city in central Gunma, where the Tone and Agatsuma rivers meet on the northern edge of the Kanto plain. Wikipedia gives its population as 76,098 (31 August 2020) and its area as 240.27 square kilometres. Mt Haruna lies to the west and Mt Akagi to the east.

The city calls itself the bellybutton of Japan, because it sits near the central point of the Japanese archipelago. Ikaho Onsen, the hot spring resort on the slopes of Mt Haruna, has been part of Shibukawa since 20 February 2006.

Touge Town's base is at 2110-34 Shibukawa, Gunma.

Why fans come

Initial D is a manga by Shuichi Shigeno that began in Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine in 1995. It is set on Gunma's mountain passes. Mt Haruna is the real mountain behind the fictional Mt Akina, and Wikipedia notes that the live-action film was shot partly in Shibukawa.

Fans have also compared the three Initial D Legend films with the real streets. The fan map site Anime Pilgrimage lists 21 of the 22 mapped scenes of the second film in Shibukawa, all 24 of the first film, and 29 of the 32 for the third. These are fan-compiled references, not official statements, and many of them are numbered curves.

Touge Town is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Initial D manga, its publisher, studios or rights holders.

Shibukawa Station

Shibukawa Station opened on 1 July 1921 and is served by the Joetsu Line and the Agatsuma Line. Platform 1 handles Minakami and Nakanojo trains, and platforms 2 and 3 handle trains toward Takasaki. Local buses run to Takasaki, Maebashi and Ikaho, and long-distance buses leave for Tokyo and other cities.

The station plaza is the first stop for fans. The city's official Initial D manhole beside the plaza shows Takumi Fujiwara and his AE86. The city hands out the matching manhole card free at Shibusan, the local products centre on the first floor of the plaza. The city's page says one card per person, 9:00 to 19:00 every day except New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, with no phone reservations or mail orders, and Shibusan's number is 0279-26-2423.

The seven manhole covers

The city's official collaboration site says seven manhole covers are installed in Shibukawa, with new illustrations by Ai Yokoyama, who also worked on the new theatrical film series. Impress Travel Watch reported fourteen covers made in 2020, seven installed outdoors and seven kept for display.

The official page links a map flyer as a PDF that we could not open. The locations below come from the Impress report, and they match the municipal descriptions in the owner's research notes. They are identified by the nearby site, and we publish no coordinates for the covers.

1. Sidewalk in front of the station plaza (Takumi Fujiwara and the AE86). 2. Sidewalk outside Yachiyo Bridge car park P6 (the Fujiwara family and the tofu shop). 3. Bungaku no Komichi, west of the public toilets (Mako Sato, Sayuki and Silhouette). 4. Below Ikaho Shrine on the stone steps (the Takahashi brothers). 5. The plaza at the foot of the steps (Takumi and Natsuki Mogi). 6. Ishidan Alwin Park north car park P4 (AE86, FD, FC and Silhouette). 7. Yaseone Pass, at the former Ikaho-Haruna toll road gate site (AE86 and FD).

The numbering above is ours, and we have not confirmed it against the city's map. Covers 2 to 7 are in car parks, on pedestrian paths or on mountain roads. Stay on the pavement and in marked car parks, and never stop in a traffic lane to photograph one.

Official recognition in 2026

On 19 February 2026 Gunma Prefecture announced that it had been selected for the first time as an Initial D location in the Anime Tourism Association's Anime Pilgrimage Sites to Visit in Japan 88. The prefecture's release names Gunma as a whole, not a specific city, and does not mention Shibukawa.

The Gunma tourism site runs two pilgrimage guides for fans. They ask visitors to use designated car parks, to leave bus stops clear (no stopping within 10 metres of one), to take care on narrow shoulders, and to remember that the manga's racing is not a model for real roads. They also say the manga's places do not always match reality.

The Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge held its Shibukawa-Ikaho round on 28 June 2026, the eleventh since the team began entering in 2015. It runs on public roads around Mt Haruna with the cooperation of local governments and residents, and the organisers ask drivers to be courteous on the sections through Ikaho.

Gunsai is a separate place

Gunsai, the Gunma Cycle Sports Center, is in Minakami Town, not in Shibukawa. The Gunma Film Commission describes it as a family theme park with a full-scale circuit and a paved plaza, and the operator's site says its cycling course, plaza and rentals have their own hours and booking rules. It is a closed venue, not a public road, and the Haruna roads in this guide are a different matter.

The tofu shop story

The Fujiwara Tofu Shop in the story was modelled on a real shop called Fujinoya Tofu Ten, according to Japanese Wikipedia. The live-action film used it, with its sign changed to Fujiwara. The same source says it kept the sign after filming and later closed.

Sources disagree on dates. Two motoring articles say it closed in 2006 after more than a century. Japanese Wikipedia says it closed around 2007 and was demolished in 2009. One article says the building was dismantled and rebuilt at the Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum in 2012. Another says the museum has a recreated entrance corner and that only the original signboard and cooking tools came from the shop. Wikipedia and the Gunma tourism page both use the word recreated, so Touge Town does not describe the museum as holding the original building. The museum is covered in the Ikaho article.

We do not give the old shop's address, and the private residence and the old site should not be visited for photographs.

The family restaurant

Fans often ask which family restaurant in the story is real. We could not confirm one. The car community blog we checked says its author could not find the restaurant, and a search of the city's official pages found no entry for it. Treat any named chain restaurant you see online as unverified.

Getting there from Tokyo

The fastest route is the Joetsu or Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Takasaki, about an hour, then a local JR train to Shibukawa, about 25 minutes. Japan-guide gives about 5,000 yen one way. A limited express from Ueno takes about 100 minutes for 4,310 yen but runs rarely. The cheapest option is the Takasaki Line from Ueno, about 2.5 hours for 2,420 yen. Fares and timetables change, so check them before you travel.

From Shibukawa Station, a bus to Ikaho takes about 20 minutes and costs 750 yen one way on Japan-guide's figures.

At a glance

The places

What we could not confirm

• Touge Town is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Initial D manga, its publisher, studios or rights holders.
• Scene-to-location matches from Anime Pilgrimage are fan-compiled and are not official.
• The family restaurant could not be identified from any source we opened.
• Manhole card terms are from the city's page and can change; check the city site. The map PDF of manhole sites could not be opened.
• Fares and timetables are from Japan-guide and should be checked before travel.
• Never stop, park or pose in a traffic lane on any mountain road. Use designated car parks.
• Not published because unverified: Garage Infinity's AE86 specialism and its annual Gunsai event size (the ENKEI page was unavailable).

Keep reading

• The real places behind Initial D in Gunma
• Ikaho Onsen: stone steps, hot springs and Initial D
• Mt Haruna and Lake Haruna: the real Akina
• Mt Akagi, Mt Myogi and Usui Pass: the other Initial D mountains

Sources

• Shibukawa, Gunma (Wikipedia) · Population, area, location, Haruna and Akagi, bellybutton claim
• Shibukawa Station (Wikipedia) · Station history, lines, platforms, buses, coordinates
• Initial D (Wikipedia) · Publication start in 1995, author, publisher, magazine
• Initial D (Japanese Wikipedia) · Fujinoya shop, film shooting in Shibukawa, closure and demolition dates
• Impress Travel Watch: Shibukawa Initial D manhole covers · Seven manhole designs, locations, 2020 dates, manhole cards
• Initial D x Shibukawa official site · City tie-in pages and tourism contact
• Car Watch: Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum · Tofu shop closure in 2006, recreated corner, original sign and tools
• Kakaku Magazine: Fujiwara Tofu Shop · Account of the building being dismantled and moved (text was garbled, treated with caution)
• Visit Gunma: Ikaho Toy, Doll and Car Museum · The tofu shop is described as recreated inside the museum
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 2 · 22 mapped scenes, 21 in Shibukawa
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 1 · 24 mapped scenes, all in Shibukawa
• Anime Pilgrimage: Initial D Legend 3 · 32 mapped scenes, 29 in Shibukawa
• Minkara: Initial D family restaurant blog · The author could not identify the restaurant
• japan-guide.com: Getting to Ikaho Onsen from Tokyo · Train routes, times, fares, bus to Ikaho
• Initial D manhole covers (official city collaboration site) · Seven covers, illustrator, card handout, contact
• Shibukawa City: manhole card page · Card rules, hours, Shibusan contact
• Gunma Prefecture press release, 19 Feb 2026 · Anime Pilgrimage 88 selection
• Gunma tourism: Initial D pilgrimage part 1 · Etiquette and parking guidance
• Gunma tourism: Initial D pilgrimage part 2 · Etiquette and parking guidance
• Toyota Gazoo Racing Rally Challenge 2026 Shibukawa-Ikaho · Public-road rally round, 28 June 2026
• Gunma Film Commission: Gunma Cycle Sports Center · Gunsai is in Minakami
• Gunma Cycle Sports Center · Gunsai location and booking rules

Touge Town is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Initial D, its publisher, studios or rights holders. These are public roads: racing or drifting on them is illegal and dangerous. Our drift day runs only on the closed Gunsai course.