 Most viewed - Toyosato Elementary School 豊郷小学校 |
Old school library is now a K-ON gallery, event space, and cafe. Fans of the popular manga/anime called K-ON! gather here on weekends.908 views
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Designed by William Merrell Vories, the old Toyosato Elementary School building was built in 1937. This picture was taken in 2007, before renovations. This is the front gate.594 views
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Toyosato Elementary School after renovations in 2009. Nice new coat of paint makes the old school look almost brand new. MAP433 views
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Toyosato manhole, Shiga Pref.408 views
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Toyosato Elementary School before renovations. During 1999-2002, Toyosato gained national attention when this old elementary school building was going to be torn down by the mayor in opposition to activists who wanted to preserve the building.327 views
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Partially destroyed building. This was stopped via a court order.327 views
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Scale model of old school.324 views
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Toyosato Elementary School after renovations. A ceremony was held on May 30, 2009 to mark the completion of the renovations.321 views
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From Toyosato Station to Toyosato Elementary School, statues of a tortoise and hare adorn the sidewalk.309 views
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The K-ON! manga artist used Toyosato Elementary School as the artistic backdrop in K-ON!. However, the K-ON school's name and place are different.307 views
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Toyosato Elementary School after renovations. At a total cost of 650 million yen, the old building was repainted, reinforced against earthquakes, installed with an elevator, and preserved as much as possible.299 views
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Map of the old school. The first floor has a public library, exhibition room, children's playroom, meeting rooms, and local board of education office.294 views
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Toyosato Elementary School before renovations.292 views
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Entrance hall. You have to take off your shoes and wear house slippers.280 views
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Rear view of the old Toyosato Elementary School before renovations.276 views
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Statue of Furukawa Tetsujiro, the man who donated his own money to build the school in 1937. He donated 600,000 yen which is equivalent to today's value of a few billion yen.260 views
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First-floor corridor.258 views
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This is one of two rooms in the building which has been reconstructed as a classroom for display purposes.252 views
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On the 2nd floor, this classroom has been reconstructed to look like what it was before.242 views
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End stairway with wash basin.241 views
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Anyone can now enter this old building and look around. Free admission. The school is Toyosato's symbol. 239 views
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First floor corridor and stairway. Notice the rabbit sculpture.237 views
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The new Toyosato Elementary School building.231 views
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On display are old photos of the school.228 views
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Rabbit sculpture on the railing.227 views
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The old library checkout counter.226 views
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Public library in old Toyosato Elementary School. The renovations are very impressive.225 views
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K-ON Gallery. Guitars, life-size cutouts, dolls, manga books, figurines, and all kinds of K-ON merchandise donated and left here by fans are displayed.225 views
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Children's playroom224 views
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Protest signs.224 views
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K-ON stands for kei-ongaku (軽音楽) meaning light music or casual/informal music. The manga/anime is about a group of five junior high school girls in the Light Music Club.224 views
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The turtle makes it way at its own, slow pace.222 views
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View from the podium in the school auditorium. It looks like that they still use this auditorium.217 views
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Rear view of the old Toyosato Elementary School before renovations.213 views
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In 2003, local citizens and former students staged protests against the destruction of the old school building.212 views
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This exhibition room is what you first see when you enter the front entrance.211 views
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Stairway with turtle statue on railing.211 views
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Inside public library which occupies former classrooms whose walls were removed.211 views
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Weather vane on top of the main building.210 views
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Toyosato Elementary School name plate at the front gate.209 views
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Inside school auditorium.209 views
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This is one of two rooms in the building which has been reconstructed as a classroom for display purposes.208 views
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Old gallery corner in old school library. This corner space is now filled with K-ON stuff.207 views
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This rabbit sculpture and turtle sculpture represents the famous Aesop's fable, the race between the turtle and hare.206 views
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2nd floor corridor203 views
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Inside school auditorium.201 views
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This part is a cafe where K-ON! fans sit and gather. In the rear is a gallery space that is now a showcase of K-ON! memorabilia donated by fans.200 views
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The local mayor Ono Wasaburo was forced to stop his plans to destroy the building. He was later ousted from office, but later re-elected.200 views
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K-ON! fans have donated and dropped off numerous K-ON! merchandise like these figurines of the K-ON! characters.197 views
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Exhibition panels explaining school's history.196 views
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Little statue in the entrance hall.195 views
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Telephone booth195 views
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Second-floor corridor195 views
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Study desks inside public library. They face a window with a view of the new Toyosato Elementary School building.195 views
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191 views
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VIP room.191 views
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What it looked like before the new school building was built.190 views
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On the 2nd floor, this classroom has been reconstructed.189 views
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Entrance to new public library.187 views
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Front entrance of the new Toyosato Elementary School building.186 views
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K-ON! dolls. Too bad they don't sell any K-ON! merchandise.186 views
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Old telephone184 views
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As the rabbit sleeps.184 views
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This old school library is most interesting architecturally.183 views
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Inside the old library which also has a local tourist information counter.183 views
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Cubby hole180 views
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Before the new Toyosato Elementary School building was completed, the school held classes in this temporary structure in front of the old school building.180 views
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School auditorium.179 views
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Looking toward the school auditorium.178 views
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The school auditorium also has an upper level.177 views
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177 views
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On the second floor, a mural depicting a train station.175 views
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Spiral staircase175 views
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Upper level of old school library.175 views
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School auditorium.174 views
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K-ON! fan's car.174 views
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Another reconstructed classroom on the 2nd floor. This one was for homemaking.173 views
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2nd floor corridor173 views
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Classroom door172 views
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On the opposite side of the auditorium is the old library.172 views
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School auditorium entrance.171 views
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Classroom windows as seen from the outside.168 views
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Old camera that was used to take the school pictures on display.167 views
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Stairway167 views
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The old school library.166 views
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Colorful and artistic K-ON! postcards written by fans.166 views
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VIP room.161 views
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Name plate for the old school library.160 views
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The old school library.157 views
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On the third floor is the music room where live bands play on weekends.157 views
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