Japan has countless beautiful sights and attractions to offer, so it is no surprise that many of the country’s best sightseeing spots and landmarks have been featured in numerous local and international films.
Below are some examples that you might want to include to your itinerary on your next visit to Japan:
Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Fushimi Inari Taisha
Kiyomizu-dera Temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kyoto, Japan. It is an 8th century Buddhist temple popular for its massive wooden stage, built about 13 metres off the ground. It offers fantastic views of the forests below, which turn into a breathtaking sea of red and yellow during the autumn foliage season, and of immaculate pink cherry blossoms in the spring.
Fushimi Inari Taisha, on the other hand, is an ancient Shinto shrine best known for its thousands of orange torii gates that create a pleasant and panoramic trail to the top of the mountain. Along the way, you will encounter several fox statues, and get stunning views of area on the observation decks.
The 2005 Academy Award winning movie, “Memoirs of a Geisha,” shot a number of scenes around Kyoto, including at the Kiyomizu-dera Temple and at the Fushimi Inari shrine.
The film is an epic, fictional drama based on the book of the same name by American author Arthur Golden. It is about the story of geisha, played by actress Zhang Ziyi, who worked in Kyoto before the start and after the end of World War II.
Both attractions are very accessible, so you can easily check them out on your trip.
Access:
Kiyomizu-dera Temple: From Kyoto Station, get on bus number 100 or 206, and get off at Kiyomizu-michi stop or Gojo-zaka stop. Then, walk uphill for approximately 10 minutes to the temple.
Fushimi Inari shrine: From Kyoto Station, take the JR Nara Line to JR Inari Station. The shrine complex is right outside the station exit.
Shibuya Crossing
A stone’s throw away from Shibuya Station, Shibuya Crossing is one of Tokyo’s most iconic spots. It is a large intersection that sees crowds and crowds of pedestrians most of the day. It is surrounded by towering skyscrapers with huge billboards, television screens, and neon signs that keep the area bright and vibrant until late at night.
There is a long list of movies that filmed at Shibuya Crossing, and it includes “The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,” the third film in “The Fast and the Furious” series, which features Lucas Black, Sung Kang, Nathalie Kelley, Brian Tee, and Bow Wow; “Lost in Translation,” a movie by Sofia Coppola about an old actor (played by Bill Murray) who becomes friends with a younger woman (played by Scarlett Johansson) after they meet at a hotel in Tokyo; and “Resident Evil: Afterlife,” and “Resident Evil: Retribution,” which are the second and fifth installments in the “Resident Evil” movie franchise, and stars Milla Jovovich.
Access:
To get to Shibuya Crossing, simply take a train to Shibuya Station and take the Hachiko Exit.
Zozo-ji Temple
Zozo-ji Temple is a 14th century Buddhist temple located in the Minato district of Tokyo. It has several buildings, a museum, and a mausoleum of the Tokugawa clan, and is found right next to the Tokyo Tower, which is the tallest self-supported steel tower in the world at 333 metres.
In the film “The Wolverine,” which was released in 2013, the temple is featured in a funeral scene. Wolverine/Logan (played by Hugh Jackman) is seen walking up the steps to the main hall, with the temple complex’s main gate noticeable in the background.
Access:
To go to Zozo-ji Temple, you can either take the Tokyo Metro Mita Line to Shibakoen Station or Onarimon Station; or the Tokyo Metro Oedo Line or Asakusa Line to Daimon Station. From either stations, the temple is about a five-minute walk away.
Gunkanjima
Approximately 20 kilometres off of Nagasaki Port is the small island of Gunkanjima, a 480-meter long and 150-meter wide island that is known as a former coal mine site, up until 1974. Its name actually means “battleship island,” as it looks like a huge battleship due to the piles and piles of structures built up to make the most out of every space on such a tiny island.
The site was featured in “Skyfall,” the 23rd installment in the spy movie franchise “James Bond,” released in 2012 and stars Daniel Craig as James Bond, and Javier Bardem as the villain Raoul Silva.
Access:
Today, Gunkanjima is like a ghost island, but people can still visit it by taking guided boat tours from Nagasaki. There are many different companies that offer tours to the island that leaves from the Nagasaki Port Ferry Terminal, which is close to the Ohato tram stop; and the Tokiwa Terminal, which is not too far from the Ourakaikandori tram stop.
Engyoji Temple
A thousand-year-old temple on top of Mount Shosha, in the outskirts of the city of Himeji, Engyoji Temple is a historic Tendai sect structure made up of a vast temple complex with numerous buildings, surrounded by a dense and thriving forest.
Because of how serene and remote the place is, it has been featured in various local and international films and dramas, most notably in the 2003 epic war movie “The Last Samurai,” which stars Tom Cruise as a former United States Army officer who is recruited to train the Imperial Japanese Army to face the rebels going against the new Emperor.
Access:
At Himeji Station, look for bus stop number 10 right outside the station’s North Exit, and get on bus number 8. Get off at the Mount Shosha Ropeway stop, and take the ropeway to the top of the mountain.
For your convenience, purchase a Shoshazan Ropeway combo ticket, which includes a round trip bus ride and a round trip ropeway ride. It costs 1,300 yen and is sold at the Shinki Bus Terminal ticket booth in front of Himeji Station.
