Five Eras and Cities

2:22 Stranger Than Heaven takes place in five cities in five eras: Kokura in Fukuoka in 1915, Kure in Hiroshima in 1929, Minami in Osaka in 1943, Atami in Shizuoka in 1951 and Shinjuku in Tokyo in 1965, after a short prologue in San Francisco in 1915. SEGA says each city is "modeled after real locations of their respective eras," in a version of Japan "that may have existed in another life." Hero Makoto Daito ages through all five, and each is a separate explorable city rather than one map that changes. As of Nov 3, 2026 SEGA had published In-Depth Look videos for the first three; Atami and Shinjuku had barely been shown. In the clip, from Game Rant's Oct 21, 2026 hands-on preview, the five cities are named in order.

Quick facts

Sources: Steam store page, as of Nov 3, 2026; SEGA's In-Depth Looks of Kokura, Kure and Minami.

What are the five eras in Stranger Than Heaven?

Source: Steam store page, as of Nov 3, 2026, paraphrased.

Kure's year is 1929 everywhere SEGA writes it. One preview, Game Informer's of Oct 21, 2026, printed "1919"; SEGA's own Kure post says the city is set fifteen years after Kokura, which is 1929.

What happens in each era?

16:49 In Kokura Makoto is still a young man in an unfamiliar land, running jobs for the smuggler Orpheus and crossing the local Oki Clan. In Kure he joins the Iwaki Family and becomes the "Red Oni." In Minami he reunites with Yu Shinjo for show business while yakuza and the Italian Mafia compete in the shadows. In Atami American influence is spreading through postwar Japan and he meets the singer Suzy Day. In Shinjuku the story reaches Kamurocho, where Yokoyama promises a "tremendous secret." The story itself is on Story. The clip is from the Xbox Presents broadcast: city streets from snow to neon, a dice game, cherry blossoms and the Kamurocho gate.

Are the cities historically accurate?

2:03 Not on purpose. Executive director Masayoshi Yokoyama said the team prioritizes "convincing lies" and treats history only as reference, AUTOMATON reported on Jun 23, 2026. His own example: the Hotel New Akao stands in the 1951 Atami chapter, although the real hotel opened in 1954. Real historical incidents appear only where they touch Makoto directly. Director Mikinobu Abe told IGN the same in October: the game is not trying to be accurate to its periods and includes anachronisms deliberately. In the clip IGN's Michael Higham relays Abe's word that the game is not trying to be accurate to its period.

Two of the districts are RGG Studio's own inventions from the Like a Dragon (Yakuza) games. Minami includes Sotenbori, the series' stand-in for Osaka's Dotonbori, and the 1965 Shinjuku chapter is set in Kamurocho, its fictional version of Kabukicho.

How big and dense are the cities?

4:42 RGG Studio says they are its most detailed yet. Producer Hiroyuki Sakamoto told Inven Global that the level design density for each location is "the most detailed we've ever created," AUTOMATON reported on Aug 31, 2026. In the October preview build Game Rant found that in one era almost every building could be entered, and that each era adds new activities of its own. No size in square meters or minutes on foot has been published. What there is to do in each city is on Minigames and Side Content. In the clip Game Rant's writer describes walking into almost every building in one era.

Why these five cities?

Abe said the start in Kokura in 1915 and the end in Shinjuku in 1965 were fixed from the beginning. He told Game Informer that Kure was picked partly because Toei's film Battles Without Honor and Humanity is set there, and partly because, as a military port, it was full of foreigners. SEGA has not explained the choice of Osaka or Atami.

Can you go back to earlier cities?

1:38 Not by the director's account. Mikinobu Abe told IGN at Gamescom 2026 that you cannot "time slip" back to past eras and cities: the game follows Makoto's life forward from 1915 to 1965. Yokoyama had called each era a "stage" in the May 6, 2026 broadcast, and PC Gamer asked whether that means the earlier cities close behind you. Whether anything opens up after the story had not been said as of Nov 3, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How many eras are in Stranger Than Heaven? Five: 1915, 1929, 1943, 1951 and 1965, each in its own city. Stranger Than Heaven also opens with a prologue in San Francisco in 1915.

What cities are in Stranger Than Heaven? Kokura (Fukuoka), Kure (Hiroshima), Minami (Osaka), Atami (Shizuoka) and Shinjuku (Tokyo), after a San Francisco prologue. The Shinjuku chapter is set in Kamurocho.

Is Kamurocho in Stranger Than Heaven? Yes. Stranger Than Heaven's last era, 1965, takes place in Kamurocho, the fictional Shinjuku district of the Like a Dragon games, and SEGA has shown its gate.

Is Stranger Than Heaven open world? Stranger Than Heaven has five separate explorable cities, as RGG Studio's Like a Dragon games have districts, not one continuous open world. RGG says they are the densest it has built.

Is Stranger Than Heaven historically accurate? Not by design. Stranger Than Heaven's makers say they favor "convincing lies" over accuracy and include anachronisms on purpose, such as a hotel in 1951 Atami that opened in 1954.

Sources

• Stranger Than Heaven: 50 Years of Japan in One Game - Hands-On Preview, GameRant, Oct 21, 2026 (video)
• Xbox Presents: A Special Look at STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, RGG Studio (official), May 7, 2026 (video)
• Stranger Than Heaven Finally Won Me Over | Extended Hands-On Preview, IGN, Oct 21, 2026 (video)
• How Stranger Than Heaven's Brutal Combat Borrows From Classic Yakuza Cinema | gamescom2026, IGN, Aug 29, 2026 (video)
• STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, Steam, as of Nov 3, 2026
• 1943, Minami - An In-Depth Look at One of Five Eras in STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, SEGA, Oct 3, 2026
• 1929, Kure - An In-Depth Look at One of Five Eras in STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, SEGA, Oct 1, 2026
• 1915, Kokura - An In-Depth Look at One of Five Eras in STRANGER THAN HEAVEN, SEGA, Sep 29, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven: The Final Preview, IGN, Oct 21, 2026
• One Man's Story Of Biculturalism, Music, Fitting In, And Fighting Told Over 50 Years, Game Informer, Oct 21, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven Hands-On Preview, Game Rant, Oct 21, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven Game's Video Previews Opening, Showbiz, Combat, Anime News Network, Sep 16, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven's explorable cities offer the highest density in RGG Studio's history, devs say, AUTOMATON, Aug 31, 2026
• STRANGER THAN HEAVEN's massive 50-year saga intentionally prioritizes "convincing lies" over historical accuracy, AUTOMATON, Jun 23, 2026
• Xbox Presents: A Special Look at Stranger Than Heaven, Everything We Learned, Xbox Wire, May 6, 2026
• Stranger Than Heaven sure looks like a Yakuza series prequel in its first 30-minute deep dive, PC Gamer, May 6, 2026