Explore the real-world places that appear in The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino. Each location on the map shows what happens there in the novel, the real history of the place, and what's there today. Featured locations include Kasai Rinkai Park, Shinkoiwa Station Area, Imperial University Physics Department, Local High School, Bento Shop and 5 more.
Tokyo Bay waterfront — Body discovery site
This waterfront park becomes central to the investigation when the body of Yasuko Hanaoka's ex-husband Shinji Togashi is discovered here. The location is carefully chosen by Tetsuya Ishigami as part of his elaborate plan to create an alibi for Yasuko and her daughter Misato. The park's isolation and proximity to Tokyo Bay make it an ideal dumping ground in Ishigami's mathematical precision.
Kasai Rinkai Park opened in 1989 as Tokyo's largest seaside park, built on reclaimed land in Tokyo Bay. The park features an aquarium, observation wheel, and extensive waterfront walking paths.
The park remains one of Tokyo's most popular seaside destinations, featuring the Tokyo Sea Life Park aquarium and a giant Ferris wheel. Its quiet early morning hours still provide the kind of isolation depicted in the novel.
Visit: Kasai Rinkai Park (park)
Katsushika Ward — Yasuko's neighborhood
Yasuko Hanaoka lives in a modest apartment near Shinkoiwa Station with her teenage daughter Misato. This working-class neighborhood represents their attempt at a quiet life away from Yasuko's abusive ex-husband. The station and surrounding residential streets become familiar territory as Yasuko commutes to her job at a bento shop and tries to maintain normalcy despite the growing police investigation.
Shinkoiwa developed as a residential area in eastern Tokyo during the post-war reconstruction period. The JR Sobu Line station, opened in 1929, serves as a vital transportation hub for the surrounding working-class neighborhoods.
The area remains a typical residential neighborhood with small apartments, local shops, and the busy railway station. The demographic matches the novel's portrayal of modest, hardworking families.
Visit: Shinkoiwa Station (landmark)
Hongo, Bunkyo — Yukawa's workplace
Professor Manabu Yukawa, the brilliant physicist known as 'Detective Galileo,' works at this prestigious university. His office becomes a crucial location where he analyzes the mathematical precision of the crime and gradually unravels his former classmate Ishigami's involvement. Yukawa's academic environment contrasts sharply with the gritty crime scene, highlighting his unique analytical approach to murder.
The University of Tokyo, founded in 1877, is Japan's most prestigious national university. The physics department has a distinguished history and has produced numerous Nobel laureates.
The University of Tokyo continues as Japan's top academic institution. The physics department remains world-renowned, though the specific building layouts may have changed since the novel's setting.
Visit: University of Tokyo (landmark)
Edogawa Ward — Ishigami's teaching position
Tetsuya Ishigami teaches mathematics at this local high school, where his brilliant mind is wasted on indifferent students. His daily routine and methodical approach to teaching mirror the precision he brings to planning the perfect crime. The school represents Ishigami's mundane existence, hiding his genius-level intellect that once rivaled Yukawa's at university.
Public high schools in Tokyo's eastern wards like Edogawa typically serve working-class communities, with many teachers commuting from other areas of the city.
The area continues to house numerous public schools serving the local community. The teaching environment remains challenging, with dedicated educators working in modest facilities.
Near Koiwa Station — Yasuko's workplace
Yasuko works at this small bento shop near Koiwa Station, where she prepares boxed lunches for local workers and commuters. Her job provides the daily routine that becomes crucial to Ishigami's alibi construction. The shop's regular customers and predictable schedule help establish the timeline that Ishigami manipulates so carefully in his plan.
Small bento shops have been a staple of Japanese neighborhoods since the Meiji period, providing convenient prepared meals for busy workers and students.
Similar small bento shops continue to operate throughout Tokyo's residential areas, serving the same function of providing affordable, convenient meals to local communities.
Eastern Tokyo boundary — Evidence disposal
The Edogawa River becomes significant in Ishigami's methodical disposal of evidence related to the murder. The river's location near both Yasuko's neighborhood and various potential crime scenes makes it a logical choice for Ishigami's calculated plan. Detective work along the riverbank reveals crucial clues about the true timeline of events.
The Edogawa River has served as the eastern boundary of Tokyo for centuries, flowing from Saitama Prefecture to Tokyo Bay. It has long been an important waterway for the region.
The Edogawa River remains an important geographical feature of eastern Tokyo, with parks and walking paths along its banks. It continues to serve as a natural boundary between Tokyo and Chiba Prefecture.
Visit: Edogawa River (landmark)
Katsushika Ward — Investigation headquarters
The local police station serves as headquarters for the investigation into Togashi's murder. Detectives question Yasuko and Misato here, following standard procedures that Ishigami has anticipated and planned for. The station represents the methodical but ultimately predictable nature of police work that Ishigami's mathematical mind can outmaneuver.
Local police stations in Tokyo's wards handle most criminal investigations for their districts, with each station serving specific neighborhood areas.
Police stations continue to operate throughout Tokyo's ward system, maintaining law enforcement and conducting investigations for their local jurisdictions.
Shinkoiwa residential area — Crime scene
The narrow stairwell of Yasuko's apartment building becomes the actual scene of Shinji Togashi's death. When Yasuko's abusive ex-husband arrives demanding money and threatening violence, the confrontation turns deadly in this cramped space. Ishigami, who has been secretly protecting his neighbor, helps cover up the crime that occurs in this mundane residential setting.
Post-war apartment buildings in eastern Tokyo were typically built as modest, multi-story structures with narrow stairwells and minimal common areas.
Similar apartment buildings continue to house working families throughout Tokyo's eastern wards, with many retaining the same basic architectural features from decades past.
Near Shinkoiwa Station — Alibi establishment
This convenience store becomes a crucial element in Ishigami's alibi construction for Yasuko and Misato. He carefully studies their shopping patterns and uses the store's security footage and receipt timestamps to create false evidence of their whereabouts during the time of the murder. The mundane transaction becomes a key piece of his mathematical deception.
Convenience stores became ubiquitous in Japanese neighborhoods during the 1970s and 1980s, providing 24-hour access to basic necessities and services.
Similar convenience stores remain essential parts of Tokyo neighborhoods, offering the same combination of food, household items, and services that make them perfect for establishing alibis.
Koiwa entertainment district — False alibi location
Ishigami incorporates this local movie theater into his elaborate alibi scheme, creating false evidence that Yasuko and Misato attended a film during the time of the murder. His meticulous planning includes ticket stubs and timing that would convince investigators of their innocence. The theater represents the ordinary locations that become weapons in Ishigami's mathematical approach to crime.
Neighborhood movie theaters were popular entertainment venues in 1990s Tokyo, often showing a mix of Japanese and international films for local audiences.
While many small neighborhood theaters have closed, some continue to operate in Tokyo's residential areas, though they face competition from multiplex cinemas.
More by Keigo Higashino: All Keigo Higashino books
More novels set in Tokyo: Browse all Tokyo books on Map A Story