The Town of Beginnings (はじまりの街, Hajimari no Machi?) is the main settlement on the 1st floor of «Aincrad», the beginning point of all players[1] and also the largest town in Aincrad.[2] It was also where a majority of the non-players in «Sword Art Online» (SAO) resided after the official launch of the game,[3] before the total population within the city decreased to roughly under 2000 players toward the end of Sword Art Online.[2]


The Town of Beginnings takes up twenty percent of the 1st Floor's surface, large enough to hold a Tokyo district, thus it is capable of housing over five thousand people.[3] It has large stone paved roads,[4] surrounded by street-lights.[1]

There is a central circular plaza in the city. The north side of the plaza leads to the Black Iron Palace,[1] a large black palace that is the biggest structure within the city[5] and it is the first building seen in the game by new players and the place where the players gathered themselves when the game started.[6]

Notable LocationsEdit


Aincrad ArcEdit

The Town of Beginnings was first seen when Kirito and all other players entered the game at 1:00 P.M. on November 6, 2022. Just after 5:30 P.M. that same day, Kayaba Akihiko force teleported all players, including Kirito and his new friend Klein, back to the city and announced that SAO had become a mortal game. When Kayaba finished his tutorial before 6:00 P.M., Kirito chose to leave the place to gain a head start on leveling, advancing towards Horunka Village. He tried to offer Klein to come with him for more efficient leveling, but Klein refused, as some of his friends were still in the plaza. He chose to go back, after wishing Kirito good luck.

A Murder Case in the AreaEdit

On April 22, 2024, Kirito, Asuna and Agil came to the Town of Beginnings to visit the Monument of Life to check whether Grimlock was alive before searching for him. They also confirmed that a player called Kains really did die that same day due to continuous piercing damage over time (DoT), but this was later revealed to be another player with no ties to the murder mystery.

Morning Dew GirlEdit

On October 31, 2024, Kirito, Asuna, and Yui traveled to the Town of Beginnings to try to find someone Yui knew.


  • Although the city has a lot of facilities essential for adventuring with generally low prices and all sorts of inns, thus in terms of efficiency, it is the best town to be used as a home base, none of the higher level players have stayed in this city till the end. One of the reasons for this is the oppression from «The Army», but the main reason is that while standing at the central plaza, most people recall the events of the first day in the SAO official service.[2]




Aincrad Locations Navigation Bar
Teleport Gate
Floor Notable locations and landmarks
5 Karluin, Karluin Teleport Gate Plaza, Mananarena, Shiyaya
6 Stachion, Stachion Teleport Gate Plaza, Suribus, Ararro, Castle Galey, Lake Talpha
7 Monster Arena[Navbar 4]
8 Frieven Village, Frieven Teleport Gate Plaza
9 Dark Elf Queen's Castle[Navbar 5]
10 Thousand Snake Castle[Navbar 6]
11 Taft, Taft Teleport Gate
20 Sunshine Forest
24 Panareze, Panareze Teleport Gate Plaza
27 Ronbaru Town, Ronbaru Teleport Gate
28 Wolf Plains
35 Forest of WanderingMishe, Mishe Teleport Gate Plaza
40 Jaileum, Jaileum Teleport Gate Plaza
46 Ant Hill
48 Lindarth, Lindarth Teleport Gate Plaza
49 Myujen, Myujen Teleport Gate Plaza
50 Algade, Algade Teleport Gate Plaza
56 Pani, Divine Dragon Alliance Headquarters
57 Marten, Marten Teleport Gate Plaza
59 Danac, Danac Teleport Gate Plaza
61 Selmburg, Selmburg Teleport Gate Plaza
65 Old Castle Labyrinth
66 Old Castle Labyrinth
72 Ozmalt, Ozmalt Teleport Gate Plaza, Agarla Village
74 Kamdet, Kamdet Teleport Gate Plaza
75 Collinia, Collinia Teleport Gate Plaza
100 Ruby Palace
  1. Only in New ALO
  2. Only in the SAO official service
  3. Only in the SAO Beta
ALfheim Online Locations Navigation Bar
Jötunheimr Great Void - Thrymheim