If you're a fan of Detective Conan and love visiting Japan, you'll want to see the author's hometown and its Conan-themed streets at least once. So come along with us!
Conan Town, officially known as Hokuei, has a Conan-themed train station (actually named Yura Station), the Conan Museum (Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory), Conan Bridge, and more. Along the roughly one-kilometer walk between the station and the museum, you'll find statues, pillars, stone pedestals, manhole covers, and other Conan-themed details the whole way. You'll also enjoy views of the Japanese countryside along a wide, easy walkway — the walk feels short and never boring.
Conan Station and Conan Street
Let's start at Conan Station, or Yura Station. The station is fully decked out with Conan themes, including a room stocked with every volume of the Conan manga and seating so you can read while waiting for your train. Step outside and you'll be greeted by a large Conan statue right in front of the station.
A rough map of Hokuei Town
A map showing the locations of the various statues
Inside the train station
A corner with Japanese-language books
Stamp collectors, this one's for you
Even the restroom signs feature Conan
Step out onto the street and you'll spot a Conan statue right away
Welcome to Conan Station
Map of the walking route to the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory
Conan Shops
Along the path from Conan Station to the Conan Museum, after crossing Conan Bridge, you'll reach an area full of Conan-themed shops. There's a cafe serving drinks, snacks, hamburgers, ice cream, and Conan souvenirs, all set inside a house styled after Shinichi Kudo's home from the story. There's even an intercom out front that plays Kudo's voice when you press it.
The souvenir shops are located inside this house
No catching Pokémon here, haha
Conan gachapon capsule toys — not easy to find
Shinichi Kudo's front door — be sure to try pressing the intercom
The Entrance Area of the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory
The Conan Museum, or Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory, is a building that looks like a mix of house and factory. It's not huge, but it stands out clearly among the surrounding rice fields, so you won't have any trouble finding it.
Out front you'll find statues, signs, and Dr. Agasa's bright yellow Beetle car, all quite eye-catching.
Inside the Gosho Aoyama Manga Factory
The museum has two floors. It's not large, but it's packed with things to delight fans — original line drawings by Gosho Aoyama, a Conan skateboard simulator, a voice changer, a dart game, Conan manga collections from around the world, an AR photo corner, a recreation of the author's workroom, and much more. We won't go into too much detail here so we don't spoil the surprise!
The museum entrance ticket is really stylish
There's also a Conan skateboard game to try
Dart shooting game
You can use your museum ticket at this AR photo corner
The AR photo corner features characters matching the picture on your ticket, drawn from three of the author's manga series: Detective Conan, Yaiba, and Magic Kaito
A recreation of Gosho Aoyama's workroom, great for photos
Conan Souvenir Shop
The building next door is the souvenir zone, with a wide selection of items, many of which are sold only here. True fans will find their wallets emptying fast — shirts, pillows, keychains, hats, snacks, pens, plush toys, and all kinds of sweets. There's too much to describe, so take a look at the photos instead.
There's so much to see here — Conan fans are bound to love it. Since the area is fairly remote and trains don't run often, plan your schedule carefully. Aside from Conan, there isn't much else in the area.