Pinpointing Usagi's Home

[Bob Schroeck]

As a result of Japanese cultural nitpicking by Helen last week, I find I need to determine the general area in which the Tsukino home is located a lot earlier than I had thought I'd need to.  Although I will be doing my own research, I thought I would crowdsource a bit here -- does anyone know of a fansite or other resource that has proposed a reasonable location for Usagi's home more specific than "Azabujuban"?
For anyone who cares to brainstorm on the subject themselves, we know this from its appearances in the anime:  It's a good-sized upscale house, two stories tall with a carport and a fenced off driveway.  It's got a sunroom/greenhouse area on one wall on the ground floor, a couple balconies on the top floor, at least four bedrooms, and has a couple trees on or near its grounds.  At least two different apartment buildings three or four stories tall (minimum) loom over it, on two different sides,  It's Western, almost European, in style, and has an L- or T-shaped footprint. 

We also know the Azabu market street, which runs for a few blocks west from the Azabujuban train station is probably within walking distance, otherwise Usagi probably wouldn't be spending as much time at the McDonalds Crown video arcade as she does -- she's a bit too lazy to go too far for her fun, and there's no evidence she takes a train or other mass transit to get there.

I'm not all that interested in pinpointing an exact location, just finding a neighborhood where such a house can sit on or near a wooded lot and be in the shadow of a couple apartment buildings.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Dartz]

Pretty much everywhere's n walking distance in Tokyo. You just hop a train. It's an easy city to get around on foot.

That said, it's probably in the photograph below taken from Tokyo Tower(Or rather, probably was since there's a fair bit of new building there). That's Rappongi at the far right, which is slightly to the Northwest of Azubajuban. If I'm right, it's just beyond the motorway you can see cutting through.



This might help, since that's almost the exact direction the picture was taken in

Actually,

How about [url=http://www.google.ie/maps/place/35%C2% ... 139.738005Here?[url] Some fairly snazy houses here right now.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Bob Schroeck]

You gave me a Google Ireland link, I guess... I have Noscript and I got a page with a Streetview man wearing a cape and deerstalker, holding a magnifying glass, and the text "When you have eliminated the JavaScript, whatever remains must be an empty page." (And below, in a smaller font, "Enable JavaScript to see Google Maps. ")

That said, when I enabled the Javascript, no surprises there. I recognize some of the landmarks -- for example, that pinkish skyscraper that's larger at the top than the bottom, about a third of the image across from the left, that's... well, I couldn't find it on a map at the moment, but it's visible from Doug's neighborhood, and maybe even from his apartment. Or it would be, had it been there in 1992. Hell, you can probably see the hill Doug's apartment in Motoazabu is on in this picture.

Anyway, I am aware that it's very easy to get around by mass transit in Tokyo, which is why I mentioned the explicit lack of evidence that Usagi does so, at least to get to the Crown.

Regardless, thanks for the link!
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Dartz]

Yeah, the internet has ruined my reading comprehension. Even on foot, it's fairly handy to walk places.

... wasn't actually aware the .ie made that much of a difference,mind.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?

[Bob Schroeck]

No big deal, really. I just spent the last 20-some minutes poking around there. And checking some areas out at ground level, I decided on where I was going to put her neighborhood... and realized I'd put it right under that very skyscraper I pointed out. Heh.

http://www.google.com/maps/@35.6534911 ... !1e3?hl=en
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mamorien]

How important was the proximity to the Hikawa Shrine? ^_^

[robkelk]

It's canon that Usagi needs to take a bus to reach Hikawa Shrine.
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Bob Schroeck]

Yeah, I jumped the gun on that after asking for input. I also didn't notice the proximity of the shrine. I have a ready-made excuse, though, in that I'm explicitly using the first season of the anime, and the Hikawa shrine it uses is a different one -- to the north a jog, IIRC, but I don't have my references with me right now so I can't give specifics. The one in the area I linked to is the one used in the manga; it is much smaller and doesn't have the wooded grounds we see in the anime.

Handwaves aside, though, that kind of catch is why I wanted to crowdsource this. I didn't remember that Usagi needed a bus to get to the Shrine. Is that manga, anime or both, out of curiosity? If both, then I'll want to choose a different area, but one still in sight of the Tokyo Tower.

Oh, another of those research details: I discovered that the Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi has been there since 1983 (and is located in the oddest little out-of-the-way corner). I suddenly want Doug and the Sailor Senshi to sweep in one night in full uniform after a difficult mission, and get a table to chow down and do their after-op debrief.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Mamorien]

The Wikipedia entry for the Hikawa shrine in Akasaka says it's the one Rei is associated with, and the entry on Akasaka notes it as being north of Roppongi, so that's probably the one in the anime.

And the Hard Rock Cafe scene? Do it do it dooooo iiiiit. ^_____^

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh yeah, that's it. I just have to look at the pic on the Wikipedia page to confirm, as I've studied a number of videos of the site. 2km almost due north of Doug's apartment, 3km from the area I've currently targeted as a candidate for Usagi's neighborhood. And it's far enough from that area that Google Maps won't give walking directions, so that supports the necessary bus ride.

Hm. Just thought of a detail I should use to help home in on a good neighborhood (or confirm the one I have). There's a small park/playground which is implied to be close to the Tsukino home that Chibi-usa goes to every once in a while, and which is known to be a real place (I saw a video of it made by a fan). I should locate that, and then maybe work on a radius from there...
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

Okay, finally had a little time to go back to this. The park I mentioned above is Amishiro Park, which is just a few blocks south of the Azabujuban market street (and practically next door to a location I'd already selected for use in Chapter 1). (Here.) It's in the middle of an area that seems to match the general skyline around Usagi's house in the images I have of that, and using Google Streetview I've found a few individual homes squeezed in between taller buildings nearby.

I think I'm going to settle on this general area unless someone offers a better choice. Ironically, it's very close to the manga Hikawa Shrine, closer than my earlier choice.

-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Bob Schroeck]

Another fun thing spotted: The Roppongi Hard Rock Cafe? Literally next door to "Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin" Elementary School -- which became "T.A. Academy" in Sailor Moon -- Rei's school. Rei probably eats the occasional lunch there.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.