The animated movie Suzume is the first road movie produced by Makoto Shinkai. The main character in the movie, Suzume also departs from Minayaki prefecture, passes by other parts of Japan like Ehime, Kobe, and Tokyo, then arrived at her hometown Iwate. Shinkai is famous for bringing real locations in Japan to his animated movie; we can view many beautiful locations in Japan through the movie Suzume. This time, let's check out the 20 real places that appeared in the movie Suzume.
1.Nichinan City
Based on the GPS scene in the movie, the city Suzume and her aunt lived in a small coastal city named Nichinan in Kyushu. Nichinan is known as the “little Kyoto in Kyushu” with a very pretty tropical sealine.
2. Aburatsu Port
On the slope where Souta and Suzume first meet, there is a shining ocean and a small port on the coast. This is the Aburatsu Port located in Miyazaki Prefecture.
3. Gion Crossing
After meeting Souta, Suzume stops at a level crossing named Gion Crossing. The faces, stop signs, and buildings around are all recreated in this scene!
4. Yunohira Onsen
When Suzume is a little bit concerned about Souta, she follows his steps and entered an abandoned onsen resort. Some believe that the streets and buildings are based on the Yunohira Onsen.
5. Yunotsuru Onsen
When Suzume is on her way to find the door, she passes through a stone bridge. The stone bridge is similar to the one in Yunotsuru Onsen, located in Kumamoto Prefecture.
6. Bungo Mori Roundhouse
At the story's beginning, as the first door discovered by Suzume, it is located in Bungo Mori Roundhouse. It used to be an essential roundhouse in the past, right now it is the only fan-shaped roundhouse remaining in Kyushu prefecture.
7. Saganoseki Port
When chasing the cat Daijin, Suzuma and Souta get on a ferry at their local port. The outlook of the port is very similar to the Suganoseki Port in Oita prefecture. Also, the ferry is a reference to the Shikoku Orange Ferry.
8. Yawatahama Port
After all the masses, they arrive in Ehime, and the part of Ehime they depart at is the Yawatahama Port. At this point, Suzume decided to take Souta, now a three-legged chair, to find Daijin.
9. JR Iyo-Ozu Station
They find out that the cat gained a lot of popularity on social media and gets a nickname: Daijin. In one of the posts, Daijin has become the stationmaster of Iyo-Ozu station!
10. JR Ywatahama Station
In order to find Daijin quickly, Suzume takes Souta on a trip to the other part of Shikoku. The station they get on is the Yawatahama station.
11. Ozu Castle
When Suzume and Souta get on the train at Yawatahama station, they saw the famous wooden castle Ozu castle in Ehime.
12. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
Suzume saw Daijin wandering on the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which linked Kobe City and Awajima, on the news. After that, she decided to go to Kobe.
13. Higashiyama Shopping Street
On the Way to Kobe, Suzume got helped by a bar owner named Rumi, the entrance of the bar is very similar to an entrance located in Higashiyama shopping street in Kobe.
14. Kobe Otogi No Kuni
The opened door is located in an abandoned theme park in Kobe. Based on the position of the Ferris wheel and the roller coaster, we can determine part of the park is a reference to the Kobe Otogi No Kuni theme park. In reality, the park is still open to this day.
15. Mount Rokkō
The night view in the theme park is similar to the night view on Mount Rokko in Hyogo prefecture.
16. JR Shin Kobe Station
Suzume and Souta decide to go to their next destination, Tokyo by Shinkansen. Rumi also takes them to the Shin-Kobe station where they need to take the train.
17. Kiyosu Castle
Suzume and Souta saw Kiyosu Castle in Aichi Prefect on their train to Tokyo. This is also where The Kiyosu Conference happened.
18. Ochanomizu
Souta lives close to the Ochanomizu station. We can see many street views and the Kanda River in the Ochanomizu areas in the movie. The Hijiri-bashi Bridge next to the station is where Suzume jumps down and falls into the water.
19. Road Station Oya Kaigan
When they are heading to the Tohoku area where Suzume’s hometown is located, they stop briefly at Road Station Oya Kaigan. The seafood ramen that Serizawa had is a must-have.
20. Sanriku Tetsudō · Orikasa staion
In the end, Souta and Suzume say farewell. This scene happened in the Orikasa station in Iwate Prefecture. In the movie, it shows the reconstructed station after the Tohoku earthquake.