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Australians have been unable to physically travel to Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for those missing the beating heart of Tokyo escape to your sofa to enjoy some of these bingeworthy TV series and movies shot on location in Japan’s eclectic capital.
Our Top Pick of Tokyo Based TV Series available on Netflix:
Followers -2019
If you love modern day Tokyo this is a must view series with the city and iconic landmarks taking centre stage. A tale about creative modern women in Tokyo’s entertainment industry and obsession with social media. Beautifully shot Tokyo icons and locations appear throughout the series. Official Trailer: LINK
Locations include: Tokyo Tower, teamLab digital art exhibition -Odaiba, Kawaii Monster Café-Harajuku & Center-Gai Shibuya.
Midnight Diner-Tokyo Stories- 2016-2019
Midnight Diner was a big hit in Japan in 2009 before being picked up by Netflix in 2016. Set entirely in a tiny hole-in-the-wall izakaya (bar-restaurant) in Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku district, and centred around the Master (owner and chef) of the establishment, who listens to and counsels his patrons whilst preparing their favourite dishes. Each episode ends with a demonstration of how to prepare a dish he has served during the episode. Heart-warming as it is mouth-watering, the series captures a unique and endearing side of Tokyo life. (Midnight Diner -the initial first series is also available on Netflix). Official Trailer: LINK
Giri/Haji (‘Duty/Shame’)- 2019
This British-produced series takes place in Tokyo and London with dialogue in Japanese (subtitled) and English. A crime thriller series that follows a Japanese detective who goes to London looking for his missing brother, who has become involved with the Yakuza criminal underworld. The dialogue is sharp and peppered with dark humour and offers a great visual portrayal of both capital cities. Sadly there is only one series available. Official Trailer: LINK
Locations include: Grand Axe, 1-Chome-7, Uehara, Shibuya Ku (the Mori family apartment building), various locations Shibuya & Shinjuku.
Alice in Borderland- 2020
A group of three young Tokyo lads usually immersed in video games head to Shibuya one day looking for fun and get more than they bargained for. Directed by the well-known Japanese filmmaker and video game designer Shinsuke Sato, the series begins with an eerie scene of a mysteriously deserted Shibuya Crossing and the three find themselves about to play a real-life game of life or death. Official Trailer: LINK
Locations include: Shibuya Station & Shibuya Crossing.
2 Top Pick of Movies Old & New Filmed on Location in Tokyo:
Tokyo Story (東京物語), directed by Yasujiro Ozu, 1953
An elderly couple visit their grown-up children and grandchildren in the big city. Shot on location in Tokyo’s suburbs the film was not a big hit initially but highly accoladed in the years after its release and is widely regarded as Ozu’s masterpiece and one of the greatest films ever made.
Locations include: Adachi Ku, Chūō Ku, Taitō Ku and Chiyoda Ku.
Lost in Translation, written and directed by Sofia Coppola, 2003
Bill Murray plays an American actor having a midlife crisis when he travels to Tokyo to star in a Suntory whisky commercial. He befriends a young woman staying at the same hotel played by Scarlett Johansson. Themes of disconnection with the added backdrop of being culturally alienated in Japan, give way to an underlying theme about wanting to belong and craving connection. Sofia Coppola started writing this film after spending time in Tokyo and becoming attached to the city. Much of the film was shot inside Shinjuku’s Park Hotel Tokyo between the hours of 2 to 5 am so as not to disturb guests, some of the real hotel staff can be seen in the film.
Locations include: Park Hyatt Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya Crossing, Rainbow Bridge, Omotesando, Jogan-ji Temple, Sushiya no Ichikan- Shibuya, Shabu-zen – Shibuya, Karaoke-kan- Shibuya, & Nishi-Shinjuku 1-chome (last scene: goodbye kiss)
Tokyo in Fiction Top Picks
And if you are still yearning for Tokyo and need to reduce your screen time settle into one of these page turning novels set in the metropolis.
Spring Snow (The Sea of Fertility), by Yukio Mishima, 1966
In the Miso Soup, by Ryu Murakami, 1997
After Dark, by Haruki Murakami, 2004
Who Is Mr Satoshi? by Jonathan Lee, 2010
The Hare with Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance, by Edmund de Waal 2010