For university student Yuki Itose, born with congenital hearing loss, silence has been the norm. Her world is small and isolated; she commutes to campus, interacts with her best friend Rin Fujishiro, and communicates through writing and text messages—a lifestyle that offers little to no change. One day, during her commute, Yuki has an awkward interaction with an English speaker unaware of her hearing loss, only to be saved by fellow student Itsuomi Nagi, a multilingual travel enthusiast and friend of Rin. From a simple gesture, Yuki and Itsuomi’s lives start changing day by day. (Adapted from MAL)
Just about every discernible location from the anime adaptation is modeled on the real world. The university is clearly Doshinsha University in Kyoto, with some clear tells being establishing shots of the Doshinsha Chapel and the bell tower of the Meitokukan Building. Apart from the university, most of the found locations center around Urawa Station in Saitama.
Something kind of untypical about the anime is that all of the business locations, like Rockin’ Robin and Cafe Grand Blue, bear the same names as their real-world counter parts.
Doshinsha also seems to have a well-regarded program for international students, which seems in line with what is depicted in the anime. It’s also very close to the Kyoto Imperial Palace and its garden.
It’s also a bit shocking to see a ‘Costaco’ location depicted so holistically in an anime. This particular store seems to have been constructed in 2009.
If you’re interested in more footage of the university, an Indonesian YouTuber put together a tour of the campus in 2016.