Hyogo: Anime Fans Step Inside Real High School of ‘Haruhi Suzumiya’ Ahead of School’s Closure

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:15 JST, December 14, 2025

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo — A high school in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, said to be the inspiration for the setting of Kyoto Animation’s popular anime “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya,” recently opened its doors for fans of the series.

Nagaru Tanigawa, author of the light novels on which the anime is based, is a graduate of Hyogo prefectural Nishinomiya Kita High School. He is said to have modeled the school in which the work is set after his own alma mater.

Due to school restructuring, Nishinomiya Kita High School will be merged with another. At the end of March 2027, while the school building itself will remain, the school’s name will no longer be used. Therefore, teachers and students planned the event to open the building to fans.

One thousand fans chosen in advance via a lottery were able to enter what was, for them, almost a holy site, visiting models of protagonist Haruhi’s classroom, the gym where she sings a song at the school’s cultural festival and other locations from the anime.

Fans enjoyed the tour, taking photos and recreating scenes from the series.

The students guiding the fans shed light on what the school is really like, such as, “This is actually a music room,” or, “This table which often appears in the anime is popular among us as a spot to have lunch.”

“Though I took photos from the outside 15 years ago, I never imagined I would get an opportunity to come inside. It’s a memory I’ll cherish forever,” said a 37-year-old man from Fukuoka Prefecture.