Iwatobi Town

Iwatobi Town (イワトビ町 Iwatobichō) is a fictional location where many of the characters from anime series Free! live.

Overview
Iwatobi is a rural, seaside port town on the southwest coast of Japan. It is considered a small town with an average-sized population with local traditions and customs. It is based on the real-life town of Iwami in Tottori Prefecture, Japan.

Iwatobi High School
Iwatobi High School is a high school attended by many of the main characters of the anime series Free! The school building is divided into north and south buildings located near the shore, where the smell of ocean water is always present. The school building bears a resemblance to a ship and appears to be moving on the sea with a backdrop of blue sky. The outdoor pool used to be used routinely, but became rusty and overgrown with weeds when the swimming club disbanded. Haruka and the other members of the proposed re-formed Iwatobi High School Swim Club patched the cracks and scrubbed away the rust and mold in order to make it usable again. Under guidance from advisor, Miho Amakata and club manager, Gou Matsuoka, the pool becomes a hub of activity for practices, meetings and socializing.

Iwatobi Junior High School


Iwatobi Junior High School is a lower secondary school attended by several of the anime characters when they are younger.

Iwatobi Elementary School
    Main article: Iwatobi Elementary School

Iwatobi Elementary School is a primary school attended by several of the anime characters when they are younger.

Iwatobi Swimming Club and Iwatobi SC Returns
Iwatobi Swimming Club, also known as ITSC, is the original community-based sports club where Haruka, Makoto, Rin and Nagisa used to practice during elementary school. The club was closed some years ago and was ultimately demolished. Goro Sasabe restored the community building into a recreation center and swim club which he re-named Iwatobi Swim Club Returns.

Iwatobi Station
Iwatobi Station debuts in Episode 3 where Nagisa tries to convince Rei to join Iwatobi High's Swim Club by following him around the station, with Rei refusing. After Rei joins and becomes friends with the boys, Nagisa and he are often seen traveling on the train together. Nagisa and Rei are often seen using the train to transport to and from school, making it likely that they do not live in Iwatobi, but in a nearby town along the rail line. Haruka and Makoto live in Iwatobi and walk to and from school together every day.

Iwatobi DolphinS
Iwatobi DolphinS is a general merchandise store in Iwatobi where Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa and Miho go to buy supplies needed for the renovation of Iwatobi High's outdoor pool. They carry a variety of goods, including operating fishtanks which entice Haruka to enter, being prevented from doing so by Makoto and Nagisa.

Sports ZERO
Sports ZERO is a sporting goods store where Haruka, Makoto, Nagisa, Rei and Gou go to buy Rei a new swimsuit. Haruka runs into Rin and Gou runs into Seijuro Mikoshiba, the captain of Samezuka's swim team, who reveals to her that their entire team came to buy swimwear.

Iwatobi Port
Iwatobi's main industries are fishing and tourism. Its identity as a port town is particularly important in the lives of several characters, inlcuding Rin, who loses his father when a typhoon sinks his fishing boat and Makoto, who develops thalassaphobia after another typhoon takes the life of an old fisherman he knew as a child. It is also seen when Haruka and Makoto walk home after school, but isn't actually used as a location until Episode 5 when Goro uses his squid fishing boat to transport the group to the island where they hold a summer training camp.

Trivia

 * Many of the animated locations of Iwatobi are directly taken from actual locations in Iwami, Tottori.
 * Travel between Iwatobi and Tokyo requires two hours by plane.