Yongen-Jaya, the neighbourhood the protagonist lives in throughout Persona 5 Royal, is modelled on Sangenjaya in Setagaya, Tokyo. The area around Leblanc, the bathhouse, the coin laundry, the supermarket and the batting cage all exist in almost exactly the same arrangement on the ground.
This article covers the six pilgrimage spots in Sangenjaya I walked to, plus RAIN ON THE ROOF, a cafe where you can sit with the afterglow of the game.
One warning up front. Chiyo-no-yu, the bathhouse below, is listed as temporarily closed on the Tokyo Sento Association’s official site. You can photograph the exterior, but you cannot bathe there.
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Six pilgrimage spots in Sangenjaya
All of them sit within a five-minute walk of Sangenjaya Station. Half a day is enough for the full route.
1. Pukuichi: where the protagonist arrives
Head down and to the right from Sangenjaya Station, turn off Tamagawa-dori into the side street, and Pukuichi appears on the left.
This is where the protagonist stands on the afternoon of April 9 after arriving in Yongen-Jaya. It brought back the scene of Takemi Tae hurrying past through the crowd with her head slightly down. The hem of her lab coat moving, and that look on her face.
(That scene made such an impression that, as her confidant rank rose and I saw how she carried herself as a doctor, she became my main choice on my first playthrough.)
In P5R, “Rakumaru” and the recycle shop stand where Pukuichi is.
Pukuichi’s signature dish is Fuchu-yaki, a regional okonomiyaki from Fuchu in Hiroshima Prefecture. The name itself was coined by the Fuchu Chamber of Commerce in 2006.
| What defines Fuchu-yaki | How it differs from Hiroshima-style |
|---|---|
| Minced meat instead of pork belly | This is the key difference |
| No bean sprouts | Hiroshima-style usually includes them |
| The fat from the mince fries the noodles | Crisp outside, soft inside |
It is not “Fuchu-yaki because the noodles sit on top”. The noodles are there in Hiroshima-style too; the difference is the mince and the absence of bean sprouts. The restaurant opens at 17:00, so eating there is for a future visit.
Address: 2-11-14 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku (Tsuchiya Building 1F). Open Tuesday to Sunday 17:00-24:00 (L.O. 23:30), closed Mondays.
2. Leblanc: the exterior comes from two real shops
Leblanc is the cafe the protagonist lives above. It is also where Futaba Sakura, who crouches down anywhere and everywhere, always ends up crouching.
Leblanc itself does not exist, but the two shops its surroundings were modelled on stand side by side in real life.
| Real name | Name in the game |
|---|---|
| Good-day Good-day SINCE1986 | Good-Bye Good-Bye since1986 |
| Snack New Marina | Snack New Marin |
The names are shifted by a character or two, and the arrangement matches reality. Snack New Marina is at 2-14-21 Sangenjaya. This spot is exterior only; the place to experience the coffee and curry atmosphere is elsewhere (see RAIN ON THE ROOF below).
3. Chiyo-no-yu: currently closed
Across from Leblanc are Chiyo-no-yu and the coin laundry. (I shot this too early in the day to catch it open.)
In the game these are the bathhouse where Ryuji and Akechi confidant events and the hot-water challenge happen, and the coin laundry where Sadayo Kawakami handles your washing.
However, the Tokyo Sento Association’s official site states that Chiyo-no-yu is currently closed. The address is 2-12-7 Sangenjaya, two minutes from the station. Check its status before going if you intend to bathe.
4. The back alley behind Leblanc
This is where the elderly couple stand chatting.
Follow the narrow lane further and this opens up.
It is hard to resist cutting back to the station from here.
This alley preserves the atmosphere of the game more strongly than anywhere else on the route. The spacing of the buildings, the height of the signage, the way the light falls — all close to what is on screen.
5. Hanamasa: the model for Super Murasama
“Super Murasama” in the game is clearly designed with the “Niku no Hanamasa” chain in mind. There is a branch in Sangenjaya, and the yellow signage is hard to miss.
Looking along the shelves of ingredients and seasonings, it is impossible not to picture Sojiro Sakura muttering “onions, meat… and spices”.
Sojiro likes bitter, astringent things — oysters, vegetables — yet tunes his curry to Futaba’s palate. The more you learn about him, the more decent he turns out to be.
6. The batting cage: mirrored in the game
The Sangenjaya batting cage.
In reality it stands to the left of Hanamasa; in the game it is to the right of Super Murasama. The layout is not copied wholesale — parts of it are deliberately flipped.
The cafe that out-Leblancs Leblanc: RAIN ON THE ROOF
My favourite of the lot: RAIN ON THE ROOF, a cafe that feels more like Leblanc than Leblanc does.
The concept is a barn cafe built out of a grandfather’s dream for his granddaughter. It is a converted old house, and the warmth of the wood, the quiet, the age and the patina all recall Leblanc.
| Name | RAIN ON THE ROOF |
|---|---|
| Address | Ikedaya 2F, 2-14-22 Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo |
| Phone | 03-3487-8811 |
| Access | About 222 m from Sangenjaya Station (3-4 minute walk) |
| Hours | 12:00-23:00 (food L.O. 22:00, drinks L.O. 22:30) |
| Seating | 36 seats (about 8 sofa areas and 8 tables) |
| Typical spend | 1,000-1,999 yen lunch / 2,000-2,999 yen dinner |
It is right next to Snack New Marina (2-14-21), the Leblanc exterior model, so you can walk straight in after photographing the outside.
Order the curry and coffee set. If you want to taste “the Leblanc experience”, this does something words do not quite cover.
A firm pudding for dessert.
Eating it in that calm room felt like re-living one of the game’s everyday scenes in reality.
This cafe offers more than a meal: a strange sensation of the world of P5R and your own memories overlapping. If you are looking for somewhere that carries Leblanc’s atmosphere, this is the one place not to skip.
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Practical notes for the walk
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Time needed | About an hour for the six spots; half a day including the cafe |
| Route | Pukuichi to Leblanc area to Chiyo-no-yu to the alley to Hanamasa to the batting cage |
| Time of day | Signage lights up from evening. Too early and you photograph shutters |
| Chiyo-no-yu | Closed. Exterior only |
| Pukuichi | Opens 17:00, closed Mondays. Come in the evening to eat |
| Etiquette | These are working businesses and a residential area. No interior photography, do not linger |
Even if you are here to take pictures, people live and work here. The alley in particular is narrow, so keep out of the way of anyone passing through.
Summary
- P5R’s Yongen-Jaya is modelled on Sangenjaya, Setagaya, Tokyo
- Six spots within five minutes of the station, walkable in about an hour
- Leblanc’s exterior models are Good-day Good-day SINCE1986 and Snack New Marina
- Chiyo-no-yu is closed. Going there to bathe will not work
- The batting cage is mirrored relative to the game
- Pukuichi’s Fuchu-yaki is defined by minced meat and no bean sprouts, not by noodles on top
- For Leblanc’s atmosphere, go to RAIN ON THE ROOF and order the curry and coffee set
Persona 5 Royal is not only about the Phantom Thieves. Its small daily events and relationships are drawn just as carefully.
In this neighbourhood the line between the game and reality thins for a moment. Sangenjaya is not just a list of spots — it is a place that makes you want to walk the world of P5R again on your own feet.
