Yuri!!! on Ice's Hasetsu Is Karatsu, and Yes, You Can Order the Katsudon

What you're looking at

Yuri Katsuki's hometown of Hasetsu in Yuri!!! on Ice (2016) is modeled on Karatsu, a castle town on the Saga coast. Karatsu Station appears in episode 1, the steps up the castle hill are where Yuri runs in training, and Kyomachi Arcade and Hamasaki Beach, from the ending, are recognizable too.

In 2017, Saga Prefecture and Karatsu City ran a "Saga!!! on Ice" campaign with an official pilgrimage map, life-size panels and collab menus at 15 shops. It drew more than 20,000 visitors from 27 countries, according to reports at the time.

Getting there

From Hakata, the Fukuoka City Subway and JR Chikuhi Line get you to Karatsu in about 90 minutes; some trains run straight through. For the onsen restaurant, Nijinomatsubara Station is about 10 minutes away on foot.

Before you go

• The campaign is over. By 2023, the anime flags at Karatsu Station were partly gone and the station stamp rally had ended. Come for the town, not the merch.
• Some spots are spread out. Mikaeri Falls, Kagamiyama and Hamasaki Beach are away from the center, and a car or taxi helps.
• The onsen and the shops are working businesses. Order something.

Also nearby

• Kagamiyama Onsen Chaya Bijin no Yu, the model for the Katsuki family inn, Yu-topia Katsuki. It serves katsudon. You know what to do.
• Karatsu Castle, whose keep was rebuilt in 1966, with the training-run steps on its hill. The keep has a 60th-anniversary event on October 31, 2026, though it isn't anime-related.
• Hamasaki Beach, where Victor and Yuri talk in episode 4.

The rink? Fans debate whether Ice Castle Hasetsu is modeled on a rink in Saga or one in Fukuoka, and nothing official settles it.