J-Drama Pilgrimage | 掟上今日子の備忘録 (2015) — 黒田記念館 / Sandglass Exterior

Drama: 日本テレビ『掟上今日子の備忘録』 / The Memorandum of Kyoko Okitegami (2015), scoped specifically to the 10-episode 2015 NTV television adaptation. The Nationwide Filming Location Guide identifies 黒田記念館 / Kuroda Memorial Hall in Ueno as the exterior of サンドグラス / Sandglass, the building that functions as Kyoko Okitegami’s home base and anchors the drama’s recurring detective world. I use the 10 October 2015 premiere as this memory’s date because Sandglass is a recurring series setting rather than claiming one unverified doorway shot from a single episode. This is especially useful for a pilgrimage because the production used a real, distinctive historic building rather than a generic streetscape. The actual Kuroda Memorial Hall was completed in 1928 to honor painter Kuroda Seiki and remains a museum facility associated with the Tokyo National Research Institute for Cultural Properties and Tokyo National Museum. Current official visitor information lists the site at Ueno Park 13-9 and says the hall is generally open six days a week in line with Tokyo National Museum operations; the special room containing major works opens only during limited seasonal periods. Check the current calendar before visiting. The stored coordinate, 35.7189, 139.7733, is a building-level anchor for the Kuroda Memorial Hall main building. It is not presented as Kyoko’s fictional apartment entrance, a surviving Sandglass set, an actor mark, or a 2015 camera position. Please treat the museum as an operating cultural institution and follow current entry and photography rules. Photo: Wiiii, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.