He grew up in Nishinomiya, between Kobe and Osaka, and is part of the Hyōgo Prefecture, in the Kansai region (関西地方 Kansai-chihō) of Japan. Numerous landmarks in Nishinomiya, including the high school, feature in The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya anime. The light novel series has also mentioned the Hanshin Tigers (based in real life Nishinomiya). As a native of Hyōgo, Tanigawa speaks the Kansai-ben dialect, but the series is written in the Tokyo dialect instead.