Actually I decided I was too lazy to bother screencapping so I just stole
Mike's pictures instead.
So I only live about two hours or less away from Uji, where Sound! Euphonium is more or less set, so I figured why not jump on a train and go for a bit of a walk. It's not quite cherry blossom week/s just yet, so not too much blooming.
Also sorry 56kers if you still exist
The front of Uji Shrine. Taki-sensei is here at the beginning of episode 1, and Reina meets Kumiko here before their night walk in Episode 8. Uji is actually a nice place to visit even from a non-anime touristy point of view; the last few chapters of the Tale of Genji are set there, so it's got a lot of plaques in English and Japanese everywhere. And two UNESCO heritage sites, of course (
Ujigami Shrine and
Byoudou-in). Of course, the tourism office is well prepped to take any advantage they can get; there was a Euphonium corner in the Info Center right next to the station (also in the show, but I forgot to snap a picture) with a
map pointing out anime locations.
The start of the path where Reina and Kumiko go on their night-time walk. It's actually a fairly pleasant walk, probably about 15-25 minutes by my count, but they must be fairly confident to do it at night, carrying their instruments, and Reina especially is
crazy to do it in heels. The footing is incredibly gravelly and fairly rocky, and while it wasn't a problem in sneakers I don't even want to imagine doing it in heels. Of course, it isn't that she dislikes pain... so to speak. I forget if the Eupho or Tuba is heavier, but either way I don't think bringing it up there was something Kumiko just did for a lark - she definitely agreed only because it was Reina. (Also, from memory, didn't she shoot down Shunichi earlier that episode because bringing her Eupho to the river was gonna be a hassle? Lol.)
I didn't take many photos on the path because I couldn't be bothered, but at the top...
The pavilion overlooking Uji where Reina invades Kumiko's personal space and then they play a duet. I actually sat down and listened to the duet while I was up here, then I sat down for a bit to draw.
Turned out okay.
Anyway, back down at the bottom:
The view from here actually kind of sucks at the moment because they're carrying out construction work on the middle island, so the whole middle island is encircled by fences and diggers. The weather was also not being super co-operative, though at least it didn't rain.
Kumiko spends a lot of time thinking on this bench. It's on the other side of the river, where the view of the construction is blocked by cherry trees. I saw a number of other people taking photos and generally goofing around by this bench, so it's probably safe to say there were other Eupho fans out and about.
Finally, a little
sakuga (well, the 3d backgrounds thereof, anyway)
KyoAni bridge water is way sparklier than reality as it turns out.
Uji Bridge is of course famous for much more than just being in a pivotal scene in Hibike! Euphorium, having being the site of three major battles and having gotten #rekt by floods, storms and other various bits of nature, but that's the bit I was interested in so that's what you get!
I passed a few more places that I kinda recognised from the show, but they weren't as visually interesting as this lot, so I didn't bother. Anyway, my main takeaway from all this is: I need a new camera.