Beika
Beika Ward (米花区 Beika-ku)[1] (Beika City (米花市 Beika-shi) in the expanded universe[2]) is a fictional ward of Tokyo or a city inside the Greater Tokyo Area. It's the main setting of Detective Conan and also appeared in the Zero's Tea Time, Magic Kaito: Kid the Phantom Thief Specials, Magic Kaito 1412, Hanzawa the Criminal, as well as in Detective George's Mini-Mini Big Strategy and Play It Again.
It's roughly located on the upper western part of Tokyo Bay and contains at least two districts in the manga: The homonymous Beika (Beika Town (米花町 Beika-chō)) and Haido (Haido Town (杯戸町 Haido-chō)). The equally fictional towns of Toriya (Toriya Town (鳥矢町 Toriya-chō)), Okuho (Okuho Town (奥穂町 Okuho-chō)), Rizen (Rizen Town (梨善町 Rizen-chō)), Kenbashi (Kenbashi Town (賢橋町 Kenbashi-chō)), Sutan (Sutan Town (須単町 Sutan-chō)) and Buroku (Buroku Town (分禄町 Buroku-chō)) in Tokyo may also be part of it.
The extended canon also features the original districts of East Beika (East Beika Town (東米花町 Higashi-Beika-chō)), Beika South (Beika South Town (米花南町 Beika-Minami-chō)), Haido North (Haido North Town (杯戸北町 Haido-Kita-chō)) and Akebono (Akebono Town (曙町 Akebono-chō)).
Location
Tokyo actually consists of 21 wards of this type. Although this one is fictional, some buildings and places in it are based on existing structures, which are mixed with fictional locations, and canon statements about its relative position are repeatedly made in the Manga.[3]
Beika seems to be around 4 kilometres (~2.5 miles) to the south-east of Shinjuku.[4] Conan Edogawa and the Detective Boys also took a ride starting from a bus stop at Beika Park on the real To06 bus line (都06) by Toei Bus to Tokyo Tower, which leads from Shibuya Station in Shibuya through Minato, with its final destination at Shimbashi Station.[5] They also took a detour on the way to Professor Hiroshi Agasa's house to the real Ebisu Bridge on the border between Shibuya and Minato, implying it to be close to Beika Town.[6] Masumi Sera's skyscraper hotel shares a position with the Daikanyama Address Building, which is also close to Ebisu.[7]
It's shown that the Mouri Detective Agency is located somewhere inside a radius of less than 1.34 kilometres (~0.83 miles) around the Shorodo right next to the Tokyo Tower, with Buroku and Sutan inbetween.[8] This would, in real life, partly encompass the districts of Mita, the Shiba area, Kaigan, Atago, the Shinbashi area, Toranomon, Akasaka, Roppongi and the area of Azabu, which are all in Minato. A Toei Cinema in Roppongi is also visited by Conan, Ran, Masumi, Sonoko and Makoto in one chapter.[9]
Beika Station is on the Shounan-Shinjuku Line, right after a real section of the tracks before Gotanda Station, close to the border of Minato and Shinagawa.[10] Shinagawa Station (which, despite its name, is located in Minato) also seems to be close to Haido.[11]
Conan Edogawa's and Kaitou Kid's first meeting on the roof of the Haido City Hotel is shown to be right next to the real Shiroyama Trust Tower, with Tokyo Tower right behind it, placing the hotel on the location of the ANA Intercontinental Tokyo Hotel in the Akasaka District of Minato.[12] The 4th block of Haido is firmly located between the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Yotsuya Station.[11] The Haido Port and its surroundings, on the other hand, seem to be identical to Minato's Hinode Pier.[13]
This would make the Beika Ward largely identical to Minato Ward, overlapping with small parts of Shibuya, Chiyoda and Shinagawa bordering on it. This approach is also taken by the map from the Super Digest Book. Despite this, Minato is still its own, distinct ward in the world of Conan.
Maps
Conan Drill
| Beika City | ||
|---|---|---|
  | ||
| Points of interest | ||
|
01) Haido City Hotel (File 156) 杯戸シティホテル |
16) Shinichi Kudo's house (File 2) 工藤新一の家 |
33) Beika Post Office (File 368) 米花郵便局 |
Geography
Beika Town
Beika Town (米花町 Beika-chō) is where Conan Edogawa, Ran Mouri, Kogoro Mouri and a majority of the other main characters live. It consists of at least seven blocks and a section of the river Teimuzu flows through this town. Like the Beika Ward itself, it is named after London's Baker Street, which is the place Sherlock Holmes lived at.
Buroku Town
Buroku Town (須単町 Buroku-chō) is a town in or close to Beika Ward, adjacent to Beika Town and Sutan Town and close to Tokyo Tower. Buroku and the latter are named after London's Stamford Brook, which was featured in. It was one of the two possible locations Eri Kisaki was held at during the Eri Kisaki Abduction Case.
Haido Town
Haido Town (杯戸町 Haido-chō) is a fictional district in the equally fictional Beika Ward (in Beika City in the extended canon) adjacent to Beika Town and is named after London's Hyde Park. It consists of at least four blocks and is the place where Makoto Kyogoku and Hina Wada live in. A section of the river Teimuzu also flows through this town. In the manga of Detective Conan, it's said to be between the districts of Kasumigaseki and Yotsuya. In Magic Kaito 1412, it seems to be identical to Roppongi, while in the Magic Kaito TV Specials, it's implied to be close to Kōenji-Minami. The latter two are non-canon, though.
Kenbashi Town
Kenbashi Town (賢橋町 Kenbashi-chō) is a town in or close to Beika Ward and is named after the English city of Cambridge ("Cam" in Katakana is "Ken" (ケン), "bashi" is Japanese for "bridge"). Known locations so far are the Tohto Subway Kenbashi Station from the Footsteps of Darkness case and the Kenbashi branch of Tohto Bank. It consists of at least five blocks, with an elementary school located in its 5th block.
The extended canon added the Kenbashi Tunnel to it in The Kidnapper's Disappearing Getaway Car.
Okuho Town
Okuho Town (奥穂町 Okuho-chō) is a town in or close to Beika Ward, consisting of at least three blocks. Since Hiroshi Agasa attended middle school there, it's likely to be a part of the ward, though. Its name seems to be a play on London's Oxford Street, which appeared in the Sherlock Holmes canon, too.
Known locations from the manga so far are the Okuho Middle School and the Okuho Post Office.
The extended canon added the Okuho Police Station (Intersection of Fear), Kita-Okuho Police Station (Detective Takagi On the Run in Handcuffs), Lake Okuho (The Detective Boys Become Models) and the Okuho Race Course (Thoroughbred Kidnapping Case) to it. An Okuho Station is also mentioned in non-manga stories a couple of times, which seems to be part of the Tohto Line.
Rizen Town
Rizen Town (梨善町 Rizen-chō) is a town in or close to Beika Ward. Rizen is probably named after London's Regent Street, which was also featured in the Sherlock Holmes canon. It was first mentioned during the Red Horse Case.
Sutan Town
Sutan Town (須単町 Sutan-chō) is a town in or close to the Beika Ward, adjacent to Beika Town and Buroku Town and close to Tokyo Tower. Sutan and the latter are named after London's Stamford Brook. It was one of the two possible locations Eri Kisaki was held at during the Eri Kisaki Abduction Case.
Teimuzu
The Teimuzu River (堤無津川 Teimuzu-gawa) flows through the Beika Ward. Its name is based on a Japanese transcription of the English name of the Thames in London, but its appearance is based on the Arakawa in at least one case.
Toriya Town
Toriya Town (鳥矢町 Toriya-chō) is a town in or close to the Beika Ward, adjacent to Beika Town and Haido Town and consists of at least two blocks. It is named after London's Victoria Station. Known places so far are the Toriya Bridge, the ruins of Toriya Castle, the Toriya Flood Gates and the Toriya Police Station. A section of the river Teimuzu also flows through this town. Furthermore, it the home town of Tatsuhito, Kaneyo and Toji Funemoto.
Non-Canon Geography
Beika-Azuma Town
Beika East Town (米花東町 Beika-Azuma-chō) seems to be another fictional district in Beika City. It's seemingly only been mentioned in the anime so far, making it non-canon to the world of the manga. It's also unclear if its supposed to be the same district as Higashi-Beika, or distinct from it.
Beika-Minami Town
Beika South Town (米花南町 Beika-Minami-chō) seems to be another fictional district in Beika City. It's seemingly only been mentioned once, in the episode The Man Obstructed by the Steel Frame of the anime so far, making it non-canon to the world of the manga.
Beika-Ōmachi Town
Beika-Ōmachi Town (米花大町 Beika-Ōmachi-chō) seems to be another fictional district in Beika City. Its only been seen once, on a bus plan in The Mysterious Woman With Amnesia Case from the anime so far, likely making it non-canon to the world of the manga.
Birinmon Town
Birinmon Town (美林門町 Birinmon-chō) is a fictional district in Tokyo along the Teimuzu River seen in the anime episode "Follow Them! Detective Taxi". It may be a fictional counterpart to the Tsujiki district and its famous fish market, while its name probably is derived from London's Billingsgate Ward ("Birin" = "Billing", "mon" = "gate"), which also got a famous fish market in front of the Thames River, which was the inspiration for the Teimuzu. Birinmon Bridge is also located here. It is probably a non-canon setting for the manga.
Haido-Kita Town
Haido North Town (杯戸北町 ) seems to be another fictional district in Beika City. It's seemingly only been mentioned once, in the episode Turning Point on a Driving Date of the anime so far, making it non-canon to the world of the manga.
Higashi-Beika
East Beika Town (東米花町 Higashi-Beika-chō) seems to be another fictional district in Beika City. It's seemingly only been mentioned twice in the anime so far, making it non-canon to the world of the manga. It's also unclear if its supposed to be the same district as Beika-Azuma, or distinct from it.
Nishi-Teitan Town
West Teitan Town (西帝丹町 Nishi-Teitan-chō) is a fictional district of Tokyo, probably supposed to be in Beika City. Its subway station seemingly is the nearest one to the subway station next to the studios of Nichiuri TV. It only appeared in The Weather Girl Kidnapping Case from the anime so far, likely making it non-canon for the manga.
Soho Town
Soho Town (双宝町 Sōhō-chō) is a fictional district in or close to the equally fictional Beika Ward, adjacent to Beika Town, and only appeared in movie 5, Countdown to Heaven, as the district Yoshiaki Hara lived in, as well as in the 3D special Conan vs. Kid - Shikkoku no Sniper, probably making it non-canon to the manga. Its name could be an allusion to London's area of Soho.
Trivia
- The name of the city and some places in it are allusions to Sherlock Holmes or London and England in general: "Beika" is a transcription of "Baker", as in Baker Street, in which Holmes and his best friend, Dr. John Watson, live.[14][15] "Haido" in turn is a transcription of "Hyde", as in Hyde Park, which is close to Baker Street. "Toriya" is taken from Victoria Station, "Kenbashi" from Cambridge, "Sutan" and "Buroku" from Stamford Brook and, finally, the river "Teimuzu" corresponds phonetically to the Thames River.
- While the position of Beika Ward seems to roughly coincide with the real ward of Minato in the manga, Beika City is implied to overlap with Shinjuku instead in most of the expanded canon (Anime Original episodes, OVAs, movies and Hanzawa the Criminal).
- According to at least three (non-canon) maps, Tropical Land is situated in Beika, too. This has not been confirmed in any canonical media so far.
- The characters from Magic Kaito seem to live in Beika Ward or close to it in the canon of Detective Conan. Kaito Kuroba's and Aoko Nakamori's way to school crosses the one of Conan Edogawa, Ran Mouri and Sonoko Suzuki.[16] Furthermore, the clock tower Kaito and Aoko met for the first time in front of is close to Tokyo Tower, which in turn is close to Beika.[17]
See also
References
- ^ FILE.843 (Volume 80, File 4)
Professor Hiroshi Agasa's full address is revealed to be:
Tokyo, Beika Ward, Beika Town, 2nd Block, House Number 22 (東京都米花区米花町２丁目２２番地 Tōkyō-to Beika-ku Beika-chō 2-chōme 22-banchi) - ^ Episode 722-723: Sweet and Cold Delivery Service
Professor Hiroshi Agasa's full address in this version is revealed to be:
Tokyo, Beika City, Beika Town, 2nd Block, House Number 22 (東京都米花市米花町２丁目２２番地 Tōkyō-to Beika-ku Beika-chō 2-chōme 22-banchi) - ^ Interviews#Love Conan Interview
Like… You draw that street, you draw another street… And those two are connected?-feeling?
They don’t. Tohto tower is Tokyo tower. It’s like a mix of fiction and reality.
Translation by: Yunniechan - ^ FILE.14 (Volume 2, File 5)
- ^ Code Sheet Case (Manga: 36-39, Anime: 4)
- ^ Drug Trading Case (Manga: 879-881, Anime: 763-764)
- ^ FILE.876-878 (Volume 83, File 4-6)
- ^ Eri Kisaki Abduction Case (Manga: 984-986, Anime: 901-902)
- ^ FILE.1022 (Volume 96, File 8)
- ^ Haibara's Lost Phone Strap Case (Manga: 997-999, Anime: 925-926)
- ^ a b Sato's Father Case (Manga: 267-269, Anime: 205-206)
- ^ FILE.156-157 (Volume 16, File 6-7)
- ^ FILE.1039-1042 (Volume 98, File 3-6
- ^ "名称集". http://www008.upp.so-net.ne.jp/cookie/name.html. Retrieved on 2010-01-06.
- ^ Interviews#Love Conan Interview
─ 米花町や杯戸町、モデルにしてる街は、ありますか？
名前はね、米花町はベイカー街、杯戸町はハイド・パークからだけどね。街自体はどこかな～？
Are there towns that became models for Beika and Haido?
Names come out from Baker street and Hyde park but I wonder where town structure came~ - ^ FILE.159 (Volume 16, File 9)
- ^ Magic Kaito Chapter 23-24 (Magic Kaito Volume 4, Chapter 3-4
| Setting | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities and Towns • Countries • Educational Institutions • Prefectures of Japan • Railway Lines and Stations | ||
| Character's Homes | Akako Koizumi • Jirokichi Suzuki • Kudo family • Kuroba family • Mouri family • Nakamori family | |
| Educational Institutions | Ekoda High School • Kohnan High School • Teitan Elementary School | |
| Hotels & Inns | Haido City Hotel | |
| Towns & Cities | Beika Ward • Beika Town • Ekoda • Ginza • Haido • Shibuya • Toshima • Yaoya | |
| Train Stations | Beika Station • Tokyo Station | |
| Other Locations | Beika Aquarium • Clock Tower (Black Star) • Nippon Budokan • Tokyo Skytree • Tokyo Tower • Tropical Land • Sunset Manor | |
