Waterfront Village from above
Waterfront Village (水郷村 Minasato-mura) is the place where the events of Morenatsu takes place, is the residence of all the friends of Hiroyuki Nishimura, and his old residence during his childhood. Waterfront is located in some area of Japan betraying with Kazenari, and is a rural village with no high attractions besides the ones made by Kounosuke Kuri.
Story[]
During Hiroyuki's childhood, the village was always very quiet and rarely ever changed. It is a rich place for agriculture, carpentry, and craftwork. Someday in the village, Shigure Tachibana became the mayor and with the help of Kounosuke Kuri, some improvements attracted more tourists to the place. Even though the village is kind of small, it has all that it needs and Tatsuki Midoriya's family helps with expansion of the village by building houses.
During the five years that Hiroyuki had left the village, Waterfront didn't change much, aside from a few more attractions.
The village is small, but it has the space that it needs to keep a good life and attract tourists' interest. Some of these facilities are not run by companies, since this is a rural place. Everyone seems to act like a family since it's easy to commute to each other's houses.
The Bus Stop バス停[]
This is where the summer in Minasato begins and ends to Hiroyuki Nishimura. It's a place of greetings and goodbyes. There is a shelter for people get some rest whilst waiting for their drive, and it seems to be the only one in Waterfront. The bus stop appears in the beginning when Hiroyuki arrives and is welcomed by Torahiko Ooshima; then, it's where the group decides to meet since they're going together to the beach; finally, on the last day of summer vacation, this is where Hiroyuki says farewell to his friends and returns to the big city. It also appears on Juuichi Mikazuki's route, day 09.
The Restaurant レストラン[]
The Restaurant
Called Raimon, this is the setting of the party setup by Torahiko Ooshima during the introduction to the game. This is where all the characters where invited to give a big welcome to Hiroyuki. The restaurant serves a good variety of food and drinks, including sake. It is family owned and is a common meeting place for many of the citizens. After the party is over, the restaurant is rarely seen anymore aside from a few scenes in Tatsuki's route.
The Park 公園[]
The Park
The park is considered a good place for reflection. Also, many of the emotional scenes occur here. It seems to be built with rock, including rock for marble seats and floors. There is an abundance of greenery, with many big trees and lots of grass.
The River 川[]
The River
This is normally the first place that Hiroyuki sees after the party in the restaurant. Many years ago, Shun Kodori almost drowned in it until the adults saved him. This is actually the first question asked by Kouya Aotsuki in his route. The river, besides this fateful encounter, is a good place to relax and refresh. This place plays a significant part in Kouya's route as it is where he goes to be alone and reflect on his life, he and Hiroyuki make this their special area.
The School 学校[]
The School
The school for all the characters in Morenatsu. There's only one teacher shown from the school. It is unknown if it has a principal. The education is good, even though Torahiko's handwritting is horrible. There is a rumor of the Seven Wonders but many of them are just lies to scare people into not disturbing the school at night. However, the seventh wonder Nanafuse, is true and Hiroyuki finds him and a photo of him. However, after the ghost tells his story, he disappears and erases everyone's memory of of him to continue being a secret. The ghost's name changes to the first name that the Player chooses, but its name is officially Hiroyuki Nanafuse. The teacher, Botan Akagane, is very good with people, friendly, and joyful. However, he doesn't like troublesome people and can get very angry about it.
The Candy Shop キャンディショップ[]
The Candy Shop
Candy Shop (inside)
This place isn't shown frequently. It contains a large variety of candies, depending on the costumer's choice. Children of the village often stop by here on their way home from school, despite later being scolded for it. In Gamma-G's comic "Tiger Ramune", it is shown that it is famous by selling the "Waterfront's famous "Minasato Ramune"". However, this is not canon.
The Temple 神社[]
This is the place where religious traditions and festivals occurs. Also, many events and meetings occur at this spot.
The Temple
During Kouya's route, Hiroyuki meets Kouya's band members here after checking something for the concert. This is also where the festival takes place, which is organized by Shigure with the help of the citizens. It is a tradition that a member of the Midoriya family plays the Taiko drum during the Waterfront Festival.
The Library 図書館[]
The Library
This place contains a huge variety of books and content between Poetry and Cooking manuals. In Kounosuke's route, it is shown that it also sells sexual magazines that Kounosuke usually buys. Besides Shun's and Kounosuke's routes, the library isn't shown that much.
The Supermarket スーパーマーケット[]
This place is only shown in Tatsuki's route (and probably will be in Torahiko's route). This
The Supemarket
is where Torahiko buys all the things he needs to practice cooking. Being a supermarket, it has a large variety. Unfortunately, it is a bit far from the village, so you need a car to reach it.
The Beach 浜[]
The Beach
This is a main event that is unavoidable in all routes. The beach is far from Waterfront and is traveled to via bus. It is unknown exactly how far it is from Waterfront but, it is noticeable that they left the village at dawn and they reach it at midday. The beach has soft sand, big rocks, and the sea is fairly calm. No matter what choice the player picks, it does not change the course of the route (If you're following Kouya and you choose to follow Tatsuki on the beach, it won't change the love interest) since this is more of a humorous scene.
The Forest 森[]
The woods around Waterfront is usually a place for people that are after a little of peace. It's a calm and quiet spot. The trees are high, and there are some variety of plants and animals. You can find here Kouya playing his guitar (he can also teach Hiroyuki a little), or Shin Kuroi under a tree reading his books (and sleeping), or Kounosuke taking pictures for the contest he's participating in. On Shun's route, this is the place where he goes to do some thinking and cry (and also to lose his virginity...).
Trivia[]
- After the J&S patch, all Japanese names were changed to their English names. Minasato however, remained unchanged instead of becoming Waterfront.
- The exact location of Minasato is never specified, but it can be presumed its setting is around the area where the real life village of Shirakawa is (see below).
- The village of Minasato is fictitious. It is, however modeled and loosely based off of the real life village of Shirakawa , located in the Ōno District, Gifu Prefecture of Japan, about 260 kilometers (161 miles) west-northwest of the Japanese capital, Tokyo. Much of the background images seen in the game are photographs taken from Shirakawa and the surrounding area.