Real Places That Inspired Ghibli Films
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Spirited Away
Dogo Onsen Honkan
One of the oldest bathhouses in Japan and a famous fan pilgrimage, often cited as an inspiration for Yubaba's bathhouse in Spirited Away. #spiritedaway #japan
Sekizenkan (Shima Onsen)
The oldest wooden hot spring inn in Japan, its red bridge and Taisho era bath are often cited as models for the bathhouse in Spirited Away. #spiritedaway #japan
Kanaguya (Shibu Onsen)
A century old wooden ryokan whose lantern lit facade at night is often cited as an inspiration for the bathhouse in Spirited Away. #spiritedaway #japan
Ginzan Onsen
This gaslit Taisho era hot spring street is often cited as a visual match for the world of Spirited Away, especially on snowy evenings. #spiritedaway #japan
Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum
Miyazaki officially acknowledged using this museum of relocated old Tokyo buildings as reference while designing Spirited Away, notably the shops of the spirit town. #spiritedaway #japan #official
Hotel Gajoen Tokyo
The lavish painted corridors of this 1930s wedding palace, especially the Hyakudan Kaidan staircase, are widely cited as inspiration for the bathhouse interiors in Spirited Away. #spiritedaway #japan
Shimonada Station
A tiny station right on the Seto Inland Sea, often cited by fans as the real life twin of the ocean train scene in Spirited Away. #spiritedaway #japan
Jiufen Old Street
The lantern lined teahouse streets of Jiufen are the most famous place associated with Spirited Away, though Miyazaki has officially denied it was a model. #spiritedaway #taiwan
My Neighbor Totoro
Totoro's Forest No. 1 (Sayama Hills)
The first woodland plot saved by the Totoro Fund in the Sayama Hills, the countryside Miyazaki officially acknowledged as the landscape behind My Neighbor Totoro. #totoro #japan #official
Kurosuke's House
An old farmhouse run by the Totoro no Furusato Fund with a giant Totoro inside, at the heart of the hills that officially inspired My Neighbor Totoro. #totoro #japan #official
Princess Mononoke
Shiratani Unsuikyo (Yakushima)
Ghibli artists officially sketched these mossy ancient cedar ravines on Yakushima as the model for the forest of the Deer God in Princess Mononoke. #mononoke #japan #official
Whisper of the Heart
Seiseki-Sakuragaoka Station
The hillside town around this station is the officially acknowledged model for Shizuku's neighborhood in Whisper of the Heart, with a marked fan walking route. #whisperoftheheart #japan #official
Irohazaka Slope (Sakuragaoka)
The zigzag slope Shizuku climbs in Whisper of the Heart, now a small cherry tree park along the official fan walking route. #whisperoftheheart #japan
Sakuragaoka Rotary
The hilltop rotary where the antique shop Chikyuya stands in Whisper of the Heart, a beloved pilgrimage spot with a small Konpira shrine beside it. #whisperoftheheart #japan
Ponyo
Tomonoura
Miyazaki stayed two months in this old port town and officially acknowledged it as the seaside setting that inspired Ponyo. #ponyo #japan #official
Joyato Stone Lighthouse
The Edo era stone lantern of Tomonoura harbor, symbol of the port town that officially inspired Ponyo. #ponyo #japan #official
From Up on Poppy Hill
Harbor View Park (Minato no Mieru Oka)
This hilltop park over Yokohama harbor matches the view from Umi's boarding house in From Up on Poppy Hill, whose story unfolds on the Yamate bluff below. #poppyhill #japan
Yamate Italian Garden
The Yamate bluff and its preserved Western houses keep the retro Yokohama atmosphere that From Up on Poppy Hill recreates, often cited among the film's real life models. #poppyhill #japan
Kiki's Delivery Service
Gamla Stan (Stockholm)
Ghibli officially acknowledged Stockholm as a model for Koriko, and the old town's rooftops and cobbled lanes feel straight out of Kiki's Delivery Service. #kiki #europe #official
Visby (Gotland)
This walled Hanseatic town on Gotland is officially acknowledged as the main model for Koriko in Kiki's Delivery Service. #kiki #europe #official
Dubrovnik Old Town
The red rooftops and sea cliffs of Dubrovnik are often cited as a visual match for the seaside city of Koriko in Kiki's Delivery Service. #kiki #europe
Howl's Moving Castle
La Petite Venise (Colmar)
The half timbered canal quarter of Colmar is widely cited as the model for Sophie's hometown in Howl's Moving Castle. #howl #europe
Maison Pfister (Colmar)
This ornate 16th century merchant house appears almost unchanged in Howl's Moving Castle and is often cited as a direct model. #howl #europe
Riquewihr
A perfectly preserved Alsatian wine village, often cited among the streetscapes behind the towns of Howl's Moving Castle. #howl #europe
Eguisheim
Concentric lanes of flower decked houses, often cited as an inspiration for the world of Howl's Moving Castle. #howl #europe
Petite France (Strasbourg)
Strasbourg's canal quarter of timbered houses is often cited alongside Colmar as an Alsace inspiration for Howl's Moving Castle. #howl #europe
Castle in the Sky
Big Pit National Coal Museum
Miyazaki visited Welsh mining country in the 1980s and officially acknowledged that its pits and communities shaped Pazu's mining town in Castle in the Sky. #laputa #europe #official
Blaenavon
A UNESCO listed Welsh mining town whose terraced valley streets are widely linked to the world of Castle in the Sky. #laputa #europe
Porco Rosso
Stiniva Cove (Vis)
A hidden Adriatic cove enclosed by cliffs, often cited as the real life twin of Porco's secret hideout in Porco Rosso. #porcorosso #europe
Piazza del Duomo (Milan)
Porco Rosso openly sets its workshop scenes in Milan, where Piccolo S.P.A. rebuilds the red seaplane along the city's canals. #porcorosso #europe #official
Vernazza (Cinque Terre)
The pastel harbor villages of the Cinque Terre are often cited as the closest real world match for the seaplane era Riviera of Porco Rosso. #porcorosso #europe
More Ghibli Films
Takase Station (Yamagata)
Only Yesterday officially sets Taeko's countryside summers in Takase near Yamagata, among safflower fields still farmed around this little station. #onlyyesterday #japan #official
Tama Central Park
Pom Poko officially tells the story of the tanuki displaced by the construction of Tama New Town, and this park sits at the heart of that landscape. #pompoko #japan #official
Mampei Hotel (Karuizawa)
This classic 1894 resort hotel is widely cited as the model for the Kusakaru hotel where Jiro meets Nahoko in The Wind Rises. #windrises #japan
Kiritappu Wetland
The misty marshes of eastern Hokkaido, widely cited as the model for the wetland and the Marsh House in When Marnie Was There. #marnie #japan
Seibi-en Garden (Hirakawa)
A Meiji era garden villa mixing Japanese and Western styles, often cited as the model for the house where Arrietty and the Borrowers live. #arrietty #japan
Ghibli Sites
Ghibli Museum (Mitaka)
Studio Ghibli's own museum, designed by Miyazaki himself, the best place to step inside the films for real. Book tickets well in advance. #ghibli #japan #official
Ghibli Park (Nagakute)
Life size Ghibli worlds inside Aichi's Expo Park, including Satsuki and Mei's house from My Neighbor Totoro. #ghibli #japan #official
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