Kyushu is the third largest and most
southerly island of Japan's four main islands.
LMGI President John Rakich and I were
recently treated to a tour of some of the
island's magnificent and never-before-filmed
locations.
The opportunity was
presented to the LMGI by
a local production service
and newly dedicated
LMGI business partner,
JapanFilmLocations.com.
Headed by Matt Taylor,
a bilingual and bicultural
producer/director and his
partner Ikumi Yoshimatsu,
JapanFilmLocations.com
introduces the Hollywood
community to Kyushu
locations with excellent
logistical and government
support. They have
forged relationships with
both national and local
governments that have
led to greater cooperation
and permissions for
filming within Japan. The
prefectures of Fukuoka and
Nagasaki specifically, are
film-friendly and ready to
double as Tokyo and Kyoto.
Neon lights, urban cityscape,
vast shopping arcades, and
the hustle and bustle you
picture in modern Japan is
available for a filmmaker's
ambitious vision with fewer
logistical challenges and at a
lower price point.
What makes Kyushu special
is the lush landscape
and cultural authenticity
directors expect "old
world" Japan to look like
but can no longer find
around Tokyo. Mount
Hiko (Hikosan), located
in Fukuoka Prefecture, is
a sacred high mountain
range, home to a "clan" of
Yamabushi warrior monks
who have inhabited the area
for more than a thousand
years. Located halfway up
the peak, Hikosan-Jingu is a
Shinto Shrine established in
531. The Shrine and remains
of ancient homes (including
a few perfectly preserved
from the 16th century) are
accessible for filming via an
electric monorail hidden out
of camera view in the deeply
forested mountain. It allows a
production team fast access
to the main locations for
cast, crew and gear. It is one
of those places that would
make people in the know
wonder, "How did they pull
that off?"
In the city of Usa lies the
sprawling Usa-Jingu Shrine,
which can double for Kyoto's
Heien Shrine, but is still
within its own surrounding
forest grounds. Sections
can be closed to the public,
offering a filmmaker wide
and long tracking shots
of what can be a bustling
ancient Japanese city filled
with life. With period-correct
architecture and a bucolic
setting, Usa-Jingu offers a
period piece many ready-to-
film sets and for a modern-
day story, a visually stunning
backdrop.
Need a European setting
for your story? They've got
that. Within the Nagasaki
Prefecture is Sasebo and the
largest Dutch city outside the
Netherlands, Huis Ten Bosch.
Full-scale authentic Dutch
buildings, towers, hotels,
churches and courtyards
provide an immersive
environment with windmills,
canals, homes and interiors
LMGI COMPASS
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Winter 2025
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