Maps of Movies

Sayonara (1957)

Where Sayonara says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A Hollywood love story set in Kobe, shot partly in Japan and partly on a Los Angeles hillside

Scenes and places

Ace Gruver's air base near Kobe (1957)

Major Ace Gruver, a fighter pilot and a general's son, arrives at the base after being pulled from combat duty in Korea. His long engagement to the general's daughter Eileen has gone cold.

Set in Itami Air Force Base — The base near Kobe where Major Ace Gruver is stationed after his reassignment from Korea. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A wartime US air base outside Kobe, today part of Osaka International Airport.

Filmed at Itami Airport (former Itami Air Base) (Hyogo, Itami, Japan) — Filmed on the real air base. Fighter landings were shot here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Kobe, the film's home city (1957)

Ace settles into life in Kobe, where his crew chief Joe Kelly plans to marry a Japanese woman against the disapproval of the military. Ace is against it and the two men argue.

Set in Kobe Port — The port city that frames the story of the American airmen and the Japanese women they meet. Google Maps · Apple Maps

A major Japanese port city, shown from the air.

Filmed at Port of Kobe (aerial footage) (Port, Kobe, Japan) — Aerial shots of the harbor open up the setting. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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The Matsubayashi theater company (1957)

Ace meets Hana-ogi, the lead performer of the all-female Matsubayashi company, through Katsumi. He is drawn to her, and Eileen starts to notice his attention has moved elsewhere.

Set in Kobe (theater, exact site not given) — The all-female revue company, modeled on Takarazuka, where Ace first meets its star Hana-ogi.

A revue theater tradition in which women play every role, the Japanese model for the fictional company.

An amusement park in the Kansai region (1957)

Set in Unnamed amusement park (location in the story not stated) —

A long-running Kintetsu amusement park in Nara.

Filmed at Kintetsu Ayameike Amusement Park, Nara (aerial footage) (Ayameike, Nara, Japan) — Aerial shots of the park were filmed here, according to the Japanese Wikipedia article on the film. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Kyoto streets (1957)

Set in Kyoto (specific scene not stated) —

Japan's old imperial capital.

Filmed at Kyoto city streets (exact spot not given) (Kyoto, Japan) — Street scenes were filmed in Kyoto; the specific spot is not recorded in the sources. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Takamatsu (1957)

Set in Takamatsu (scene not stated) —

A port city on Shikoku.

Filmed at Takamatsu, Kagawa (city center; exact spot not given) (Kagawa, Takamatsu, Japan) — The English Wikipedia lists Takamatsu among the filming locations; no scene or spot is given. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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The officers' club (1957)

Set in Officers' club in Japan (US studio shoot) — An officers' club scene in the story; filmed in Los Angeles.

A Japanese-style hilltop mansion in Hollywood, now a restaurant.

Filmed at Yamashiro Historic District, Hollywood (Hollywood, Los Angeles, United States) — Filmed in Hollywood, standing in for a Japanese setting. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Tokyo stage (1957)

Ace flies to Tokyo and tracks down Hana-ogi at her new venue. He asks her once more to become his wife.

Set in Tokyo theater (Hana-ogi's new venue) — Hana-ogi's performances in Tokyo and the Kabuki performer Nakamura's stage.

Tokyo's main Kabuki theater, rebuilt several times since the 1950s.

Filmed at Kabukiza, Tokyo (Ginza, Tokyo, Japan) — The Tokyo stage scenes were filmed at the Kabukiza; the current building is a later reconstruction. Google Maps · Apple Maps

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Airport sequence (1957)

Set in Airport (location in the story not stated) —

A Southern California airport.

Filmed at Hollywood Burbank Airport (Burbank, United States) — A sequence was filmed here. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Characters

• Ace Gruver — A US Air Force fighter pilot and a general's son, reassigned to Japan from Korea.
• Hana-ogi — The lead performer of an all-female theater company in Kobe.