Studio Ghibli: The Real Places Behind Eight Films

Castle in the Sky opens in a 19th-century mining town, where the orphan mechanic Pazu catches a girl and takes her home; later he and Sheeta tumble down a mine shaft and meet Uncle Pom among glowing Aetherium. Miyazaki had first seen Wales in 1984, during the miners' strike, and returned alone in May 1985 to scout locations. Wikipedia's account of the production says Big Pit, by then a museum, influenced the opening scenes. It adds that he wanted only a generally Western look, so read this as an influence, not a map.

Location precision: Miyazaki aimed only at a generally Western look, so Big Pit is one influence rather than the film's setting; the pin marks the museum.

Visitor guidance: Big Pit is an industrial heritage museum in Blaenavon, Torfaen, once a working coal mine (1880–1980) and now part of a World Heritage landscape.

In My Neighbor Totoro, Tatsuo Kusakabe and his daughters Satsuki and Mei move into an old house close to the hospital where their mother, Yasuko, is recovering, and Mei soon follows two small spirits into the hollow of a camphor tree. Wikipedia's article on Hachikokuyama, a ridge park on the Higashimurayama–Tokorozawa border, says Miyazaki acknowledged it as a significant inspiration and once led producer Toshio Suzuki through it, calling it the place where Totoro was "born". The film's hospital is said to be modelled on Shin-Yamanote Hospital nearby.

Location precision: The link comes from a Wikipedia report of Miyazaki's remarks, not a quoted interview, and no studio statement is cited; the pin marks the park.

Visitor guidance: Admission is free, and a trail of about 2 km runs along the ridge top.

In Kiki's Delivery Service, 13-year-old Kiki leaves home, finds the town of Koriko, takes a room above the Gutiokipanja bakery and starts a delivery business by broomstick. The town's look owes much to Sweden: Miyazaki had visited Visby and Stockholm while trying to secure the rights to Pippi Longstocking, was refused a meeting with Astrid Lindgren, and later used his reference photos from that trip for the film. Wikipedia's Visby article says he named Visby the main visual inspiration, blended with Stockholm, Amsterdam, Paris and San Francisco.

Location precision: Koriko blends several cities, so Visby is the main inspiration rather than the setting; the pin marks Visby's old town.

Visitor guidance: Visby's medieval ring wall, about 3.4 km long, is largely intact; the town can be reached from the mainland only by boat or air.

In Whisper of the Heart, Shizuku writes her own lyrics, "Concrete Roads", about Tama New Town. Then she follows a cat riding a train and finds an antique shop run by Shirō Nishi, where a cat statuette nicknamed The Baron sits. She is ecstatic to have found "a place where stories begin". Wikipedia's page on Seiseki-sakuragaoka Station, a gateway to Tama New Town on the Keiō Line, says the station appears in the film, drawn more developed than it really was. That page, not a studio statement, is the source for the link.

Location precision: The film portrays the station as more developed than it was, so it is a likeness rather than a record; the pin marks the station.

Visitor guidance: The station is on the Keiō Line, 26.3 km from Shinjuku; a map following the film and a replica antique-shop postbox are there.

Princess Mononoke is set in Muromachi-era Japan, where the prince Ashitaka, guided by tiny kodama, crosses the forest of the gods and glimpses the Forest Spirit, a deer-like god of life and death who becomes the giant Nightwalker at sunset. Wikipedia's Yakushima article says the island's forests inspired that setting, without saying who made the link, so it stays a speculative match. Yakushima is Japan's wettest place and grows old Japanese cedar, yakusugi; Jōmon Sugi is estimated at 2,300 years or more. Its ancient forest has been a World Heritage Site since 1993.

Location precision: No statement from Miyazaki or the studio is cited for this link, so the island is only a candidate; the pin marks Yakushima as a whole.

Visitor guidance: The island is reached by ferry or by air to Yakushima Airport.

In Spirited Away, ten-year-old Chihiro finds an enormous bathhouse in the spirit world, run by the witch Yubaba, where her first customer is the spirit of a polluted river. Wikipedia says the present Dōgo Onsen bathhouse, built in 1894 on three levels, partially inspired its design. Other sources are named too, the Notoya Ryokan inn in Yamagata and the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, while Miyazaki denied that Jiufen in Taiwan was a model, whatever guidebooks claim.

Location precision: Sources call Dōgo Onsen one inspiration among several and give no quoted confirmation from Miyazaki; the pin marks the Dōgo Onsen bathhouse.

Visitor guidance: Dōgo is easily reached from central Matsuyama by tram; guests stroll its streets in yukata after bathing.

Howl's Moving Castle begins with Sophie, a young milliner who meets a wizard named Howl and is turned into an old woman by the Witch of the Waste. For the setting, Miyazaki went to Colmar and Riquewihr in Alsace, France, to study the architecture and surroundings. Wikipedia's Colmar article agrees that the cityscape inspired the film's design. The old town is homogeneous and renowned among tourists, with a canal quarter on the river Lauch called Little Venice and landmarks such as the Koïfhus (1480) and the Maison Pfister (1537).

Location precision: Miyazaki studied both Colmar and neighbouring Riquewihr, so the film's town is a blend; the pin marks Colmar's Little Venice.

Visitor guidance: Colmar lies 64 km south-southwest of Strasbourg.

In Ponyo, the sea child trapped in a glass jar drifts to the shore of a small fishing town and is rescued by five-year-old Sōsuke; her magic later brings a tsunami. In 2004 and 2005 Miyazaki spent time in Tomonoura, a seaside town in Setonaikai National Park, to learn its community and environment; Tomonoura's own page says he stayed two months. Wikipedia says that experience established the setting he wanted. There he also read Natsume Sōseki's The Gate, whose character Sōsuke lives at the bottom of a cliff.

Location precision: The sources describe the film's town only as a small fishing town, and Miyazaki's stay shaped the setting rather than supplying a copy; the pin marks Tomonoura's harbour.

Visitor guidance: Tomonoura lies 14 km south of Fukuyama Station; its circular harbour was preserved after modern port facilities arrived.