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{{trope}}
[[File:realplacescenery.jpg|link=Clannad
Everyone loves some good [[Scenery Porn]] every now and then. It's a wonderful means of immersion. If the creators make a background and scenery vibrant and detailed enough, you might even be able to convince yourself that you're actually there!
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...Wait a second, is that my house?
Congratulations, you have just encountered the
Locations used for this purpose tend to become the subject of [[Otaku]] "pilgrimages", a prime example being the Washinomiya shrine which is used in ''[[Lucky Star]]''.
This is far more common in TV shows, comics and games that are set in real places (e.g., [[Big Applesauce|New York]], [[Tokyo Is the Center of
See [[No Communities Were Harmed]] when the setting is highly recognizable, but never gets mentioned by its proper name. Even a mix is possible, when the town is never mentioned by name, but settings like train stations or streets are. Attention to detail in backgrounds is one possible aspect of [[Shown Their Work]].
Not to be confused with [[GIS Syndrome]].
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* [[Kyoto Animation]] is quite well known for this, to the point that fans have managed to track down the location of and angle on many if not most of the
** ''[http://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/nishinomiya-hyogo-home-of-the-melancholy-of-suzumiya-haruhi/ The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]'' became infamous for this.
*** Nagaru Tanigawa made their work much easier in this case, lovingly describing the various locations in his hometown of Nishinomiya (even if he never named it explicitly), where the novels take place, in great detail. KyoAni people only needed to make a weekend visit to take pictures
** ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20141122212505/http://www.rinku.zaq.ne.jp/p_v/kanon.html Kanon]''
** ''[http://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/mizuho-tokyo-home-of-clannad/ Clannad]''{{Dead link}}
** ''[http://infinitemirai.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/kyoto-region-home-of-k-on/ K-On!]''
*** Done in two ways. The unnamed city is [http://infinitemirai.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/k-on-map.jpg based on Kyoto], but since it's explicitly '''not''' Kyoto (they later visit Kyoto in a [[Class Trip]]), no famous landmarks are shown. The school's interior and exterior are the [
** As mentioned at the top, ''[[Lucky Star]]''
* ''[[Beck]]'' does this a lot during their tour of America. And seems to have [[Shown Their Work]].
* The series ''[[Durarara!!]]'' recreates much of the city in which it is set — sometimes disturbingly so. (That vending machine Shizuo uprooted and tossed around in Ep. 3 ''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rY3exryGq8#t=6m0s actually exists].'') People have [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_6EMZYOf74 even made montages] of the many suspiciously familiar places they've found in the anime.
* According to fans of ''[[Gunsmith Cats]]'', you can tell when its location scouting in Chicago was done by the state of repairs on some of the buildings.
* ''[[Kamichu!]]'' does this with Onomichi in the Hiroshima prefecture. See [https://web.archive.org/web/20121209021805/http://www.onomichiguide.com/kamichu.html here]. Of course, everything looks a little newer in the anime—it's set in the period between spring 1983 and spring 1984.
* ''[[Eden of the East]]'' for Washington, D.C.
* ''[[So Ra No
* Naoki Urasawa's ''[[Monster (
* Most iterations of ''[[Digimon]]'' do this, at least before the places in question get torn apart by [[Kaiju]]. Some of the best examples are the Fuji TV station in ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'' and the extensive scouting of Shinjuku's surrounds in ''[[Digimon Tamers]]''.
** This is more noticeable in ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'', because took place mostly in the real world, it contained many Real places. Some examples: [http://www.konaka.com/alice6/tamers/loction/SJ_082.jpg Guilmon's hideout], [http://www.konaka.com/alice6/tamers/loction/SJ_107.jpg Henry's apartment building], [http://www.konaka.com/alice6/tamers/loction/SJ_059.jpg Takato and Henry's school], [http://www.konaka.com/alice6/tamers/loction/SJ_114.jpg The street Takato lives], and [http://www.konaka.com/alice6/tamers/loction/SJ_051.jpg the park Takato, Kazu and Kenta played in].
* ''[[
* Hinamizawa in ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro
** There's a possible justification here: The original self-published [[Visual Novel]] had backgrounds that were simply Photoshop-filtered photos.
** Umineko follows this with at least the Mansion (and probably also the garden) which is based upon a mansion in the Kyū Furukawa Gardens.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' makes partial use of this, as [[Elaborate University High|Mahora obviously has no real world counterpart]], but as a whole it's a composite of many real-world places. For instance, the [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v12/c104/15.html Mahora Bell Tower], pretty much ''is'' the bell tower of the [
** There's also [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/mahou_sensei_negima/v12/c100/3.html this flashback], which takes place in Istanbul (not Constantinople), Turkey. Compare the top panel with [http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/6215/orto2852006.jpg this photo of the landscape]. Also note that the only way to tell that this takes place in Istanbul [[Genius Bonus|is to recognize the background]].
* The town of Kamakura, in the Kanagawa prefecture in Japan, is popular as a setting for various anime and manga series, due to its extensive seaside beaches and numerous historic sites with lots of [[Shrines and Temples]]. Some notable series taking place there are:
** ''[[Elfen Lied]]''. Lucy winds up on Yuigahama beach. The stairs of the Gokuraku-ji shrine get a lot of screen time, up to and including the emotional ending. Enoshima island and the Benten bridge leading up to it are used for the ultimate battle in the anime, with lots of screen time for the [[Lighthouse Point|Enoshima Light House Observatory]].
** ''[[Uta Kata]]''. Most of the attention is on the shrines, parks and temples within Kamakura itself. Enoshima island and its tower form the backdrop of one of the more dramatic episodes. And then there are the [[Beach Episode|two episodes in which the main characters head for Yuigahama beach]].
** ''[[Aoi Hana]]'' features Kamakura's local train service, Enoden, since the characters use it to travel around. Enoshima island and the Benten bridge are shown as well, but the show gains bonus points for having a scene in the Iwaya cave. The "Milk Hall", the show's main hangout spot, is a real location and the famous ''[[Elfen Lied]]'' stairs are also shown, this time in a more romantic setting.
** ''[[Twin Spica]]'' takes a more stylistic approach, although the shorelines and the Yuigahama boulevard where Asumi goes jogging are clearly recognizable.
** In ''[[Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou]]'', Alpha takes a trip to Kamakura, with a very prominent view of Enoshima.
** ''[[
** ''[[A Channel]]'' has the obligatory [[Beach Episode]], in which the girls take the very recognizable Enoden train ride to their destination.
** ''[[
* ''[[
* ''
* ''[[Umi Monogatari]]'' is set on one of the subtropical Japanese Amami-Oshima islands. It doesn't get any explicit mention though until the DVD special.
* ''[[Darker
** To the point that it explicitly binds the action to January 2008. The large-scale redevelopment that begun in Summer 2008 in preparation to 2012 APEC summit, has changed the downtown Vladivostok to the extent that it would be impossible to miss, had the action happened any later.
* ''[[Asobi
* ''[[Tamayura]]'' takes place in Takehara, a small seaside town of in the Hiroshima prefecture of Japan, not far from ''[[Kamichu!]]'''s Onomichi. The town is rendered with painstaking detail, up to and including touristic signs.
* ''[[Fractale]]'' contains detailed shots of the west of Ireland, and the town in episode 2 is a lot like Galway.
* ''[[Grave of the Fireflies]]'' featured locations that were accurately based on real locations.
* ''[[Only Yesterday]]'' used actual railway stations.
* ''[[
* The girls from ''[[Ichigo Mashimaro]]'' live in the town of Hamamatsu, in Japan's Shizuoka prefecture. The artist loves to sneak in references, like maps and local landmarks, although it doesn't get any actual mention until chapter 55.
* Many of the locations in ''[[
* ''[[
* The ''[[All-Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku (OAV)|Nuku-Nuku OAV series]]'' explicitly takes place in the Nerima ward of Tokyo, and Nuku-Nuku's fight with Eimi climaxes at a local landmark, a field of massive natural gas storage tanks. (Oddly, this prominent landmark is prominently ''missing'' from ''[[Ranma ½]]'', another series which takes place in Nerima... possibly because the mangaka blew it up in her earlier work, ''[[Fire Tripper]]''.)
* Capturing real locations is a favoured technique of [[Makoto Shinkai]]. In the case of ''[[Your Name]]'', [http://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/11/26/city-that-inspired-settings-in-hit-anime-your-name-sees-unbelievable-boost-in-tourist-dollars/ the inspiration for Itomori drew millions in tourist revenue afterwards.]
== [[Fan Works]] ==
* [[The Teraverse]]'s ''Sister Marie'' subseries (beginning with ''[http://www.tthfanfic.org/Story-31699/CaptainBoulanger+It+s+Just+A+Habit.htm It's Just A Habit]'') is set in San Diego, California, particularly by referring to many specific buildings by name and details. However, the address given for the heroine's home address doesn't precisely exist (it's a skipped number on a real street).
* Seen multiple times just in the first chapter of ''[[Drunkard's Walk|Drunkard's Walk S: Heart of Steel]]''. Doug's apartment, the gym where he trains Usagi, a restaurant where he meets the Tsukino family, even a random 7-11 visited by Minako Aino -- all are (or were) real places and most get Google Maps coordinates in the story's concordance. The author has also tracked down real places which inspired canon locations in ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', such as the OSA-P Jewelry store, and provides locations and Google Maps links for ''them'' as well. He's even created a [https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1f5s5S7wfEq5pXRYNHFgZeH2uMX-wHAfG?usp=sharing Google Earth project] that contains most of these locations, along with additional information and images.
* Many of the displacee residences (although not all of them) in ''[[My Apartment Manager is not an Isekai Character]]'' are real buildings, located where the stories say they can be found. Nearby real businesses and attractions which prove plot-relevant also show up in the stories. In addition, at least a couple stories include what are virtually travelogues through real travel routes.
== [[Literature]] ==
* With the amount of detail author Michael de Larrabeiti put into the Adventurers' travels in ''[[The Borribles]]'', the reader can follow almost every footstep they take above ground on Google Maps.
** It's possible to narrow down the location of Dewdrop's home to a ''specific block''.
** And sometimes even ''specific buildings'' can be identified, such as Spiff's house. See the Flickr streams on the [[The Borribles/Image Links|Image Links]] subpage for ''The Borribles''.
* [http://dozerfleet.miraheze.org/wiki/The_Gerosha_Chronicles ''The Gerosha Chronicles''] has many works in progress, but ''Ciem: Inferno'' and ''Anarteq: Guardian of the Soo'' take the cake for being given ''[http://dozerfleet.miraheze.org/wiki/Ciem:_Inferno:_The_Grand_Tour official] [http://dozerfleet.miraheze.org/wiki/A_Very_Anarteq_Tour_of_the_Soo tours]'' in 2019, for the express purpose of allowing future fans to make pilgrimages to every location featured, if they so wish.
** And these tours' article pages are updated periodically, to inform would-be tourists if locations on the tour have been shut down since 2019.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[True Crime: Streets of LA]]'' featured a rather extensive 240-square-mile re-creation of Los Angeles and its surrounding area, down to the individual street names and landmarks.
** ''[[
* The ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' series, starting with ''San Andreas''. Many a player was surprised at the level of detail that went into the fictional versions of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. Likewise for ''GTA IV'' and NYC.
** Not to the same extent, but present in Vice City as well. More than just Miami Beach, you can see various familiar sites driving around the city of Miami itself.
* ''[[
* The tracks in ''Project Gotham Racing 2'' are so accurate that one Scottish gamer was able to identify a store he used to frequent on an Edinburgh track.
* A lot of effort was put into replicating London in ''[[The Getaway]]''. You can find the pub you burn down in real life; the screenshots are as similar as the page image.
* ''[[Fallout]] 3'' uses the Washington Metro area for its Capital Wasteland. Of course, the scenery is all blasted and post-apocalyptic, but there are several places where you can see what the
** ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' is even better at this. Even the little ghost town you start the game in, Goodsprings, is a real-life location; the bar and general store are lifted straight from the real ones.
* ''[[Project Reality]]'' includes several real cities and locales among the map roster, such as several cities in Iraq and Lebanon.
* The
* ''Modern Warfare 2'' did this with various real life cities, most notably Washington, with running and gunning inside the White House, but in a less obvious but funnier case, there was a level of the campaign (and the Special Ops-mission "Homeland Security") made from an area with some [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTOyxsnMl0s fast-food restaurants in Vancouver].
* ''[[Akiba's Trip]]'' includes accurate recreations of a large chunk of Akihabara, where the developer is based. The sequel even allows walking from one end to the other without opening the world map and has a side quest to collect advertisements for 135 real<ref>Real during production at least. Several closed by the game's release and more by its English release.</ref> businesses in the area.
* ''[[Like a Dragon]]'''s Kamurocho is a [[No Communities Were Harmed]] version of Kabukicho in Tokyo. Various players who visited have noted how faithfully the real deal was replicated ingame.
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In ''[[
** Hence the [[Fan Nickname]] 'Zimmingham'.
* Because Paul Taylor, the author of ''[[Wapsi Square]]'', has a background in photography, the backgrounds in the comic match up quite nicely with the actual geography of Minneapolis, even to the point where the fanbase can identify the exact street corner a scene is taking place at.
* ''[[Orange Marmalade]]'' does this for the backgrounds, using photographs of Korea taken by internet photographers (after getting their permission) revealed in one of the bonus strips.
* ''[[The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal]]'' is full of these.
* Moperville North High School in ''[[
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Apparently the design team for ''[[Spider-Man:
* True for most locations in the ''[[Watership Down]]'' animated film. This is fitting, because everywhere mentioned in the book ''is'' a real place.
* The crew of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' traveled around the world looking for the best backgrounds possible to base the show's areas off of.
* The [[Establishing Shot]] of the Griffins' house in ''[[Family Guy]]'' features the actual Providence, Rhode Island skyline in the background.
* [[Ralph Bakshi]] is fond of using real photographs as the basis of the backgrounds for his films. This is especially true of his [[Rotoscoping|rotoscoped]] films, particularly ''[[The Lord of the Rings (
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