There are certain anime that you find yourself wanting to watch again when summer vacation rolls around. Blue skies, the blazing sun, the sound of cicadas, and that slightly lonely feeling in the evening air. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is one of those works that comes to mind together with all the scenery of a summer holiday.
Based on the doujin game by Ryukishi07/07th Expansion, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is set in the summer of Showa 58 (1983) and depicts a series of mysterious deaths in the mountain village of Hinamizawa. The series is famous for its unique structure, shifting from a calm and lively daily life in the first half to a gradually thickening atmosphere of unease, and its horror set against the backdrop of a rural summer is a major part of its appeal.
What stands out most is the presence of “summer” that envelops the entire work. The daytime filled with cicada cries, the village lined with old houses, the mountain paths at dusk, and the darkness that suddenly deepens at night. The summer vacation that should be bright and open transforms into something terrifying with just a small hint of wrongness. Anyone who spent their childhood summers in the countryside will likely feel a pang of nostalgia in that sensation.
In Search of Hinamizawa’s Scenery: A Pilgrimage to Shirakawa-go
The author of this column has a special attachment to Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Shortly after the anime began airing, I actually visited Shirakawa-go in Gifu Prefecture, which served as the model for the village of Hinamizawa.
The first thing that surprised me upon arriving was how the scenery I had seen on screen was spread out right before my eyes. The roads the characters walked, the houses they lived in, and the place where “that scene” unfolded. The landscapes I had seen countless times while watching the anime actually exist in the real world. It was a strange sensation that only a pilgrimage to a real-life setting can offer.
At the time, there were many other fans who had come to Shirakawa-go for the same reason. When I visited Shirakawa Hachiman Shrine, which served as the model for the Furude Shrine in the story, the ema votive tablets were covered with character illustrations and messages for the series. I remember feeling a sense of joy thinking, “There are people other than me who love Higurashi this much!” It was also fun to see those fans, as the series was still at the height of its popularity. Walking around searching for the places I had seen in the anime felt like a special summer vacation, as if I had truly visited Hinamizawa myself.
Watching Higurashi no Naku Koro ni brings back not only the fun of summer vacation, but also the rural nights that were a little frightening as a child, and the feeling of unease that crept in as evening fell. That is why watching Higurashi no Naku Koro ni on a hot summer day still feels special to this day.
Remembering the Fear of “That Summer” in the Rural Night
As it happens, I am writing this column in the middle of the Obon holiday. I am currently at my family home in Ishikawa Prefecture. Not in Kanazawa, but in a rural area about an hour’s drive from the city, where there are almost no streetlights.
At night, the only sounds from outside are the cries of insects. When the lights in the house are turned off, the view outside the window is complete darkness. This scenery was perfectly ordinary to me as a child, but seeing it again as an adult, it is a little frightening.
Listening to the cries of the higurashi cicadas in that darkness, memories of childhood summers come flooding back. Back then, I would run around outside until dusk and head home to the sound of cicadas. I should not have known anything to be afraid of, and yet there was something in the rural night that felt like “something might be lurking there.”
Thinking about it, perhaps “that summer” depicted in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni was never a story from a distant world. Rural summers carry both happy memories and an inexplicable fear that only children can sense.
Then, in June 2026, a special program commemorating the 20th anniversary of the TV anime announced that a new TV anime is in production. Hoshi Souichirou, who voices Maebara Keiichi, and Nakahara Mai, who voices Ryuugu Rena, will reprise their roles, and the animation production will be handled by Studio Deen, the studio behind the original series.
Even after 20 years, that summer does not end.
This summer vacation, why not revisit Higurashi no Naku Koro ni while listening to the cicadas? Beyond the nostalgic summer scenery, you will surely catch a glimpse of Hinamizawa once again.
Yoneda Kaori
