Persona 4 takes place in a rural town called "Inaba." And the town's train station, Yasoinaba Station, is where the game's protagonist arrives on the scene. The station is based on an actual place, and soon it will be gone forever.
The real station is Isawa Onsen Station (石和温泉駅) and is located in Yamanashi Prefecture. Below, you can see how the station compares with its in game counterpart.
Yes, there are some slight differences, but Yasoinaba is clearly inspired by Isawa Onsen Station. Yesterday, Japanese Twitter user @StaffOfficer490 tweeted out a photo of a notice stating that Isawa Onsen Station will be rebuilt. The twitter user added, "Bad News: Persona 4's station is disappearing." The notice has since been retweeted over eight thousand times.
The current station will close on February 8, ending a 78 year history. There will be a temporary station while the new structure is being built. And if you are wondering what the new station will look like, you can see an artist's rendition below:
八十稲羽駅 [ペルソナ４聖地巡礼記録]
ペルソナ4の駅のモデルとなった『石和温泉駅舎』、建て替えに伴い78年の歴史に幕[はちま]
ペルソナ４の旅ザ・ゴールデン【石和温泉駅周辺】[そうだ 開封、しよう。]
Photo: こめ@2/2ゆいかおり
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.