We take a walk through the splendid area that is the heart of Kobe.
We take a stroll along the sea and canals and head downtown.
We chatted to Toshi Shioya, a film director, who has been shooting scenes in Kobe and interviewed Mako Tanaka, the director of the Kobe Film Office.
We visited the scenes of Kobe depicted in famous stories.
Kobe City > photo à•la•Carte > Special Features
First, let’s take a tour of central Kobe on the Subway Kaigan Line. You will be surprised by some of the film locations, wondering “even here?” about some of the on-location spots.
In the film, the Takasago Building was used as Kazue’s place of work, and Belebel Hair Fashion College was filmed as a CD shop with a set built in.
Current Circumstances (Above: Takasago Building. Below: Belebel Hair Fashion College)
The shoot for “Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Death”. “Villa Blanche”, a brick-built restaurant, was the setting for a dinner scene. In the film “My Girlfriend is a Cyborg” a comical scene was shot here. In the scene “Girlfriend” pushes a girl who argued with Jiro into a fountain.
Current Circumstances
“Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Death”In the film “Sweet Rain: Accuracy of Death”, Chiba (played by Takeshi Kaneshiro), the Grim Reaper, meets Kazue (played by Manami Konishi) and is moved by her. Since the Grim Reaper is a rain man, one scene was shot around Edomachi-suji Street with heavy artificial rain created using aerial platform apparatus.
A dynamic scene in which “Girlfriend” arrives in a flash from the future was shot at night here. The street was blocked off for filming.
Current Circumstances
This is street where the impressive scene of “Girlfriend” walking on the opposite side of the street while watching Jiro was filmed.
Current Circumstances
This building was filmed as the restaurant where the pair celebrated a birthday. The scene inside the restaurant was filmed on set in a different location.
Current Circumstances
A kung-fu scene was shot in China Town. “Girlfriend” and Jiro raced through a night-time atmospheric China Town. This was also the film location for “Shinjuku Incident”, a movie starring Jackie Chan. The people living in China Town actually appeared in the film.
Current Circumstances
“My Girlfriend is a Cyborg”“My Girlfriend is a Cyborg” is a science fiction fantasy film with lots of action scenes. “Girlfriend” (played by Haruka Ayase) comes to Jiro (played by Keisuke Koide) to spend a memorable day with him. This film was directed by Gwak Jaeyong, who also directed “My Sassy Girl”, a movie that attracted much public attention. “My Girlfriend is a Cyborg” is funny and fantastic with mysteries and thrills, as well as being beautiful and romantic. It drew attention as a dramatic film.
Most of the on-location shooting was done in Kobe. Many scenes were shot on location around Kobe over a period of 2 months, in places including Sannomiya, Motomachi, China town (Nankinmachi), and Kobe University. The streets of the Former Foreign Settlement were blocked at night for car action scenes and the Kobe Daimaru department store was filmed at night. It is fun to notice scenes shot in Kobe whilst immersed in this bittersweet world created by Director Gwak Jaeyong.
The Seller: GAGA Corporation
Selling Agency: Amuse Soft Entertainment Inc.
Price including tax: 3, 990 yen
(C) 2008 “My Girlfriend is a Cyborg” Film Partners
Special thanks to the Kobe Film Office
