Ekoda

Rough overview over the real Ekoda area, with the district of the same name outlined

Ekoda (江古田地区 ,Ekoda-chiku), sometimes transcribed as Egoda or Egota, is a real area of Tokyo encompassing several neighbourhoods (including one district directly named Ekoda) on the border between the wards of Nakano and Nerima, close to a quadripoint they share with Toshima and Shinjuku. Gosho Aoyama and his assistants lived, studied and worked in this area for a while. A fictionalized version of it is where a large part of Magic Kaito and, later on, Yaiba are set and it appears or gets mentioned in other works of Gosho Aoyama, too.

Geography

Places of interest

Locations implied to be in, close to or otherwise related to the Ekoda area:

Akako Koizumi's residence

Akako Koizumi's residence in Magic Kaito 1412

A seemingly decrepit old mansion serving as the home and base of operations of Akako Koizumi and her servant. It seems to be part of the catchment area of Ekoda High School, considering that she's a student there.

The building is modeled after the Bansui Mansion in the Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku in Magic Kaito 1412.

Aoyama Detective Agency

The Aoyama Detective Agency in 100% Tantei Monogatari

The Aoyama Detective Agency (青山探偵社 ,Aoyama Tantei-sha) is the business Momoko Aoyama inherited from her father, using it as the base of operations for her new side job as private detective, getting assisted by Hitoshi Yamanaka. It seems to be close to Ekoda High School Momoko attends.

Blue Parrot Pool Bar

Entrance to the Blue Parrot in Episode 23 of Magic Kaito 1412

The Blue Parrot (ブルーパロット ,Burū Parotto) is a pool bar owned and managed by Konosuke Jii, the past assistant of Toichi Kuroba, and has at least one other bartender employed there, Yuzuki Fukui. It seems to be close to Ekoda High School and the Pool Bar "American" in Magic Kaito and also appears in Detective Conan and Zero's Tea Time.

Ekoda High School

Main entrance of Ekoda High in Magic Kaito 1412

Ekoda High School (江古田高等学校 ,Ekoda Kōtō Gakkō), often shortened to 江古田高校 (Ekoda Kōkō), is the educational facility Kaito Kuroba, Aoko Nakamori, Saguru Hakuba, Akako Koizumi, Keiko Momoi, Sayaka Mine and Momoko Aoyama attend in their second year. Seems to be modeled after building #3 (the main building) on the Ekoda Campus of Musashi University in the manga of Magic Kaito and Yaiba.

Ekoda Museum

The Ekoda Museum in the Magic Kaito TV Specials

The Ekoda Museum (江古田博物館 , Ekoda Hakubutsukan) (also known as "Museum of Natural History Ekoda") is a museum where a statue Kaitou Kid announced to steal is standing, getting into a struggle with high school detective Saguru Hakuba and both getting confronted by the organization member Spider in the TV Specials. Its clock tower is modeled after "The Jack" of Yokohama Three Towers in the Naka Ward of Yokohama.

Ekoda Station

Aerial shot of a good chunk of Ekoda, including Ekoda High, Seibu Ekoda Station and part of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line in Yaiba

The old building of Ekoda Station (江古田駅 ,Ekoda-eki) (also known as Seibu Ekoda Station (西武江古田駅 ,Seibu Ekoda-eki)) is part of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and neighbouring the Ekoda Campus of Nihon University, where Gosho Aoyama and his assistants studied and lived close to. This old station building and part of the Seibu Ikebukuro Line can be seen during an aerial shot in the epilogue of Yaiba, chapter 255, right next to Ekoda High School. It also probably is the station Kaito Kuroba and Aoko Nakamori enter the train to reach Ikebukuro Station on their way home.

Old station clock tower

The clock tower and its surrounding park in Episode 219 of Detective Conan

An old clock tower in front of a train station (駅前の古い時計台 ,Ekimae no furui tokei-dai) appearing as a main setting in chapter 23-24 of Magic Kaito where Kaito Kuroba and Aoko Nakamori met each other for the first time when they were younger children while the latter was waiting for her father. The tower was erected by the father of Futoshi Takarada, who hired a renowned foreign clock master to design it, who integrated some highly valuable diamonds into the hands of the clock. In the present, Kaitou Kid announces to steal the clock tower before it can be moved to an amusement park.

It seems to be close enough to Tokyo Tower that its bell can be heard from the roof of its observation deck. The park and the surroundings it's situated in the Anime of Detective Conan are based on Yamashita Park in the Naka Ward of Yokohama.

Pool Bar "American"

Exterior of the Pool Bar "American" in Magic Kaito

The Pool Bar "American" (プールバー「アメリカン」 ,Pūru Bā "Amerikan") is an establishment close to and rivaling the Blue Parrot owned by a criminal boss where Kaito Kuroba played pool billiards against Tsuujiro Hasura. It also seems to be close to an unnamed train station.

Seibu Ikebukuro Line

Kaito and Aoko exiting Seibu Ikebukuro Line at Ikebukuro Station in Magic Kaito

The Seibu Ikebukuro Line (西武池袋線 ,Seibu Ikebukuro-sen) is a real railway line leading through the wards of Nerima and Toshima in Tokyo, which Kaito Kuroba and Aoko Nakamori ride to get from Ekoda High School to the latter, exiting the train at Ikebukuro Station in Toshima. Ekoda Station is part of it, separated from Ikebukuro Station by a distance of 4.3 kilometers (~2.6 miles), which can be seen along with Ekoda High School and a part of the line in an aerial shot in chapter 255 of Yaiba.

Toshima Ward

View over the Ikebukuro District of Toshima Ward in real life

The Toshima Ward (豊島区 ,Toshima-ku) is one of the special wards of Tokyo. Kaito Kuroba and Aoko Nakamori live there, leaving the Seibu Ikebukuro train at Ikebukuro Station on the way from school, making at least some districts of it part of the catchment area of Ekoda High School.

Unnamed middle school

The middle school from Yaiba

A so far unnamed middle/junior high school (中学 ,Chūgaku) attended by Sayaka Mine, Takeshi Onimaru, Keiko Momoi and, briefly, Yaiba Kurogane until three years ago (the time Yaiba happens in as whole, except the epilogue). Seems to be associated with Ekoda High School, since Sayaka and Keiko attend it in their second year of high school later on.

Unnamed train station

There's an unnamed (and so far unseen) train station (駅 ,eki) mentioned in chapter 13 and chapter 23-24 of Magic Kaito. It is so far unclear whether it's supposed to be Ekoda Station or if they are even supposed to be the same building or different ones talked about.

Yaoya Town

View over Yaoya Town including the Mine residence in Yaiba

Yaoya Town (八百八町 ,Yaoya-chō) is the fictional district the Mine family lives in. It seems to be part of the catchment area of Ekoda High School, considering that Sayaka Mine is a student there. It's also heavily implied to be close to Toshima in the later run of the Yaiba manga.

Companies of interest

Ekoda Taxi

A cab of Ekoda Taxi in Episode 12 of the Magic Kaito Specials

Ekoda Taxi (江古田タクシー ,Ekoda Takushī) is a taxi company Aoko Nakamori and Kenta Connery ride with in episode 12 (Tears of Love for the Dark Knight) of the Magic Kaito TV Specials.

Ekoda Travel

A bus of Ekoda Travel in Episode 6 of the Magic Kaito Specials

Ekoda Travel (江古田観光 ,Ekoda Kankō) is a travel organization in charge of the class trip of Ekoda High School to the ski resort in episode 6 (Love on the Ski Slope on Christmas Eve) of the Magic Kaito TV Specials.

Location

The location of Ekoda and its surroundings differs from adaption to adaption:

Manga

In the manga of 100% Tantei Monogatari, Magic Kaito and Yaiba it consistently points to be roughly corresponding with the real life Ekoda Area (江古田地区 ,Ekoda-chiku), in a part of Tokyo on the borders between Nakano and Nerima, close to a quadripoint where those and Toshima, as well as Shinjuku meet. Momoko Aoyama's view from the roof of the Aoyama Detective Agency to the skyscrapers of Nishi-Shinjuku in 100% Tantei Monogatari by distance and perspective fits a view from the Ekoda area in Nakano. Kaito Kuroba and Aoko Nakamori ride a segment of Seibu Ikebukuro Line between Ekoda and Ikebukuro Station on their way from school in Magic Kaito, reinforced by an aerial shot from Yaiba, where Ekoda High School can be seen right next to the tracks of Seibu Ikebukuro and not far away from Seibu Ekoda Station.

A weaker indication are the many appearances of places, building and companies with "Ono" (小野, roughly "small field") in their names during the early run of Magic Kaito (and in The Santa Claus of Summer), which could be a play on Nakano (中野, roughly "middle/center field"). The real life district named Ekoda, where Gosho Aoyama lived for a while, is located in Nakano.

Magic Kaito TV Specials

Several cars, including the one of Saguru Hakuba driven by Baaya, can be seen sporting (fictional) "Ekoda" licence plates, which would mean that Ekoda in this anime is either a special ward (区 ,ku) (like Beika) or a city (市 ,shi) of Tokyo. There are also several vehicles with a (real) Minato Ward licence plate, like Konosuke Jii's car and the busses of Ekoda Travel.

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  Konosuke Jii's car with a "Minato" licence plate.

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  An Ekoda Travel bus with a "Minato" licence plate.

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  Saguru Hakuba's car sports an "Ekoda" licence plate.

This proximity or even overlap with Minato in the Specials is reinforced by the Chūō Drive_(jp) (中央通り ,Chūō Dori) seemingly be located close to the Nakamori residence and the skyscraper Kaitou Kid creates her birthday present out of, according to the map application on his mobile phone. The real life Chūō Drive leads through the wards of Minato and Chūō. There are also buildings like the Minato Police Department (which already appeared in the manga with that name) inspector Ginzo Nakamori works at and the Minato Arena.

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  Sign above the entrance of Minato Police Station.

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  A map of Kaitou Kid's and the Nakamori residence's surroundings includes the Chūō Drive.

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  The "Minato Arena" in Episode 7.

Magic Kaito 1412

Kaito in front of the Shinjuku Piccadilly Circus in Episode 22 of Magic Kaito 1412

In this anime series, Ekoda was seemingly relocated to the Shinjuku Ward. Ekoda High School and its surroundings are modeled in detail after the Tokyo Metropolitan High School of Fine Arts, Performing Arts and Classical Music in Tomihisa Town_(jp) (in the Ushigome Area of Shinjuku) and the cinema Kaito Kuroba and Aoko Nakamori now go to during their spare time in Red Tear is the Shinjuku Piccadilly Circus.

Detective Conan

Kaito's and Aoko's way to school crosses the one of Conan, Ran and Sonoko in Detective Conan

In the world of Conan, Kaito Kuroba and Aoko Nakamori seem to live close to or even in Beika. The Tokyo Tower, which is implied to be very close to or even inside that fictional ward seems to be in the proximity of the clock tower in front of the unnamed train station Kaito and Aoko met for the first time. Furthermore, their way to school crosses the one of Conan Edogawa, Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki.

Trivia

• Some of Gosho Aoyama's assistants named themselves the Ekoda Detective Club (江古田探偵団 ,Ekoda Tantei-dan) in reference to the fact that they all lived in the Ekoda area at one point and studied at the Ekoda Campus of Nihon University, right next to Ekoda Station.
• Apart from 100% Tantei Monogatari, Magic Kaito and Yaiba, the Ekoda area, its districts and the train station also seem to be popular models for settings in other manga and anime, since they appear prominently in Love Hina, Renkin 3-kyū: Magical? Pokān, Nerima Daikon Brothers, Tōkyō Jitensha Shōjo. and One Room, too. One reason could be the aforementioned Ekoda Campus of Nihon University, which contains the faculty of arts, having lots of authors, mangaka and animators apart from Gosho and his assistants as their alumni, who probably integrated a surrounding in their works they were accustomed to.

See also

• Setting