Bleach - Locations and Places

Get to know the different settings and places that constitute the Bleach world! From the humans world to Soul Soceity, to Hell and much more!

Human world

The human world of BLEACH is modern Japan, specifically a neighborhood known as Karakura. In this world, Ichigo attends school, fights hollows, and tries to avoid rumours that he is Rukia’s boyfriend. Places of note are the high school, the Urahara Shop, the river where Ichigo’s mother was killed, the cemetery, and Ichigo and Orihime’s homes.

Spirit world / Soul Society

The Spirit World, or Soul Society, corresponds to the afterlife, or heaven, in human belief systems. It consists of a giant walled city in the center, known as the Seireitei (Court of Pure Souls), and 80 districts outside of it. The districts outside of the Seireitei are known as the Rukongai (Town of Wandering Spirits) and are the place where non-shinigami and non-nobles live. The district number of the Rukongai also gives a measure of how bad it is. District 1 is peaceful and lawful, while District 80 is filled with criminals and has poor conditions. A king resides in Soul Society, yet no details about him have surfaced.

Hueco Mundo

Hueco Mundo is the area between the human world and Soul Society. Literally meaning “Hollow World” (in Spanish), it is of course where hollows reside when not in the human world or Soul Society, and where they are nigh undetectable. Hueco Mundo is also where Aizen Sousuke, Ichimaru Gin, and Tousen Kaname flee to with the help of the Gillian (Menos Grande) after recovering the Hogyoku. It is in this place the Arrancar reside. The entrance of Hueco Mundo is a rip in the fabric of the human world.

Crossing between worlds

It is known that shinigami and hollows alike can come and go between the two worlds as they please. Shinigami can cross from the Soul Society to the human world by way of a passage seemingly unlocked by their zanpakuto. However, to safely cross over, they must be accompanied by a hell butterfly (a black moth created from soul burial that can perform a multitude of tasks). Hollows can cross over to both Soul Society and the human world by opening a rift in space, although they don’t usually dare enter Soul Society.

Hell

Little is known about hell as of yet. It is known that hell is the destination for those who commited acts too evil during their lives as mortals to be allowed into Soul Society. If the incident with Shrieker is any indication, when a hollow whose mortal soul is too wicked to enter Soul Society and has had its mask split by a zanpakuto, the gates of hell will appear (giant doors with a skeleton holding on to each, with chains sealing them shut) and begin to open, and a giant spiritual being with a blade will spear the wicked spirit and drag it down into hell while laughing when they are confronted by a shinigami as a spirit.
Spoilers end here.

Information from Wikipedia.