Nekomi

Nekomi (猫実, "Nekomi") is a fictional Japanese town located in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo. It was created by manga artist Kosuke Fujishima for his popular series Oh My Goddess!, and at least some of the elemements are modeled from his actual hometown of Chiba City.

Description

Nekomi seems to be a rather large bedroom community, with its economy likely dependent upon the Nekomi Institute of Technology (猫実工業大学, "Nekomi Kōgyō Daigaku", abbr. NIT), alma mater of the series protagonist Keiichi Morisato, and most of the other mortal characters. Due to the presence of the tech school there, the town seems to have a good number of auto and motorcycle parts shops, such as the custom parts shop "Wyvern", which Keiichi originally wanted to work at, and the smaller shop "Whirlwind", where Keiichi currently works. It is run by an NIT alumna, Chihiro Fujimi.

Nekomi is also home to the a convention center (modeled after the real life Makuhari Messe Convention Center), which was once destroyed when the goddess Urd, possessed by the Lord of Terror, unleashed the wolf Fenrir to destroy the world itself (she was fortunately later thwarted). It has presumably been rebuilt since then. Despite this, and another extraordinary incident, in which the demoness Marller turned NIT's campus into a "mindforce castle" to realize the "Campus Queen" fantasies of jealous Sayoko Mishima, most residents seem rather casual about the strange events which have occurred there since Belldandy and her divine friends and family came to stay with Keiichi. According to the narrator, years of pranks from the students have rendered the town shock-proof.

Places of interest

Nekomi Institute of Technology

The Nekomi Institute of Technology (NIT), sometimes also referred to as Nekomi Tech, is a tertiary education institute located within the town of Nekomi. It is the central feature of the town and its students and employees probably contribute a lot to the town's economy. True to its name, NIT seems to focus on engineering related courses, and counts a healthy community of car and bike enthusiast as part of its student body. The university itself is represented in various amateur motorsports, usually by its Motor Club, such as motorcycle drag racing (OVA), side-car motorcycle racing (movie), rally and kart racing (manga & TV series). One of its graduates, Chihiro Fujimi, was quite notable for having unofficially competed in multiple prestigious motorsports events including the Suzuka 8 Hours and the Dakar Rally.

One of the buildings on campus, the Inokuradai Building, happens to lie at the end of a mountain road ("touge"), and many students use it as a finishing line for motorcycle racing, usually racing before class, fighting over the limited slots available in some lectures. A tradition among the motorcycle racers is to have a "queen" and a "king," usually the best racers in the area, with the title changing hands when one is beaten. The current "queen" is Megumi Morisato who unknowingly beat the previous queen, thus earning the title, much to her chagrin. It is also implied that her brother Keiichi is the "king," at least unofficially as he doesn't seem to hold much sway over the local bikers in the same way Megumi does, but is still the fastest male rider in the area.

Tariki Hongan Temple

Originally run by the monk Koshian, the Tariki Hongan Temple becomes the home of Keiichi and the Goddesses when Koshian leaves to continue his training as a monk. It is located in the hills around Nekomi, close enough that it's within walking distance of the town proper yet far enough so that the area around it isn't as busy as the town itself. The temple itself consists of the temple proper as well as a small residence for the caretaker. The residence itself is interesting in that the layout of the rooms hasn't remained consistent throughout the series, though it has now seemingly settled to the layout seen in the later chapters of the manga and the TV series. The house also has a small garage for Keiichi's bike (probably a modified storage shed). The temple itself was originally in a state of disrepair, however Belldandy cast spell that returned the temple to a pristine state. The presence of the two other goddesses has resulted in further changes. Urd's room in particular is quite different in that has a small library and is decorated in a lavish style that contrasts with the traditional Japanese architecture of the house. Skuld on the other hand has transformed her room into a workshop and has added a small racetrack that goes around the temple (complete with a small circular tunnel and bridge section) for kart and mini-bike racing. It is used mainly by Keiichi for practice and when not in use, can be put away so as not to conflict with the surrounding temple.

The temple was heavily damaged when Skuld built a machine to amplify her powersThe Other Me (Chapter 89) (manga) Ah! The One I Yearn For Is A White-Winged Angel! (TV series)] and was completely destroyed by the Lord of Terror.Terrible Master Urd (Chapter 34) (manga) Ah! A Devil's Whisper, Along With A Pot? (TV series)] The temple was also destroyed during a rubber band fight between Urd, Skuld, and Peorth.Unable to Be Close or Far (Chapter 173) (manga)]

The area around the temple contains a few "touge" (mountain road/pass) that are popular with the local street racers - many of whom are students of N.I.T. - including the one that leads directly to the Inokuradai Building at the Nekomi Tech campus.

References

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