Déjà vu? 5 Popular Locations for Filming MVs in Japan!

| Artist | Posted by Kai Okudara on Jun.07.2016

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Have you ever watched a MV and thought to yourself, “That place looks familiar!” or, “Haven’t I seen this in a different artist’s video?” With the second largest music market in the world and most of the record labels and talent agencies located in Tokyo, finding a totally unique place to film a MV can be quite difficult. Here are a few places which we noticed in a few different MVs. Where available, there will be links to the videos and screenshots.

Hanazono Room, Shinjuku, Tokyo

Known simply by “that pool” (rei no pool, 例のプール) due to its many, many appearances in adult video, this is the most (in)famous pool in all of Japan. Even those who have never seen AV before may recognize the pool or the penthouse apartment connected to it because it has been in a lot of productions over the years! It was in Kamen Rider W and Forze, and several mainstream dramas as well but, just mentioning “that pool” will be sure to cause Japanese people to giggle every time they hear it. Obviously there are too many things that were filmed at “that pool” and many of them are for “adults only” so here are a few of them in the links below.

PASSPO☆ – “Candy Room” (2013)

Yuu Sakai – “Summer Again” (2014)

Cheeky Parade – “Colorful Starlight” (2015)

Hanazono Room Site: http://www.pstudio.co.jp/syosai/?id=16

Longwood Station, Chiba

Probably best known for OK Go’s MV for “I Won’t Let You Down” (2014), with its extensive choreography and cameo appearance of Perfume, this Chiba movie studio is easily recognizable by its spacious lawn located in the middle of what looks like a shopping mall that was abandoned years ago. With a 20,000 yen an hour rate, it seems like most artists just use the facilities as is but as the website states, they can do explosions and artificial rain too! Below are some of the other MVs that were filmed there.

Maaya Sakamoto – “Hajimari no Umi” (2013)

UNISON SQUARE GARDEN – “Sakura no Ato (all quartets lead to the?)” (2013)

E-Girls – “Gomen Nasai no Kissing You” (2013)

KANA-BOON – “Worry Hero” (2013)

OK Go – “I Won’t Let You Down” (2014)

LUI FRONTiC Akabane JAPAN – “Furachine” (2015)

Akishibu project – “Change the World” (2016)

Longwood Station Official site: http://www.longwood.jp/english/index.html

TRUMP ROOM, Shibuya, Tokyo

Just like the bombastic reality television personality and business man from which it takes its name, TRUMP ROOM is far from subtle. Mirrors and chandeliers cover the ceilings and walls of this 3-floor nightclub, which is hidden away in a Shibuya backstreet. There are few places that give off that over the top “party people” feeling, like the TRUMP ROOM! AKB48’s Team A doubled up with the MV for “Ikiru Koto”, which has scenes filmed there as well as the Robot Restaurant but, it seems to have been removed from their YouTube channel. Here are some of the MVs which were filmed there.

La PomPon – “Koi wa Zouk☆ Dance” (2015)

Nana Fujita (AKB48) – “Migashi Evidence” (2015)

Little Glee Monster – ”My Best Friend” (2016)

TRUMP ROOM Tumblr site: http://trumproomshibuya.tumblr.com/

Robot Restaurant – Shinjuku, Tokyo

Since it opened in 2012, Robot Restaurant has been one of the places that shined brightest even amongst all the other nightlife deep in the heart of Kabukicho. Perhaps that has to do with all the flashing lights and lasers bouncing off the mirrored walls? Perhaps the ultimate overwhelming manifestation of “cool Japan”, this place has attracted artists from all over the world as well as Japan to add a knockout punch of flash to their MVs!

hy4_4yh – ”TICCKKEE OPERATION 〜 YAVAY” (2013)

Jin Akanishi – “Hey What’s Up?” (2013)

MADEMOISELLE YULIA – “HARAJUKU WANDER” (2013)

AMIAYA – “Magic Color” (2013)

Muse – “Panic Station” (2013)

Charli XCX – “SuperLove” (2013)

DCUP – “Don’t Be Shy” (Feat. Mereki) (2013)

Mando Diao – “Sweet Wet Dreams” (2014)

UPUPGIRLS (KARI) – “Party People Alien” (2016)

Robot Restaurant Official site: http://www.shinjuku-robot.com/

Laguna – Yokosuka, Kanagawa

This seaside studio/resort with an infinity edge pool has been popping up in quite a few summery MVs over the years. While the poolside seems to be the popular spot to film, the inside is also quite luxurious! If you ever wanted to live in a place that looks like something the residents of Terrace House would live in, you better be prepared to move out to Kanagawa and be rich! There’s a spring discount in effect now but it still costs 25,000 yen an hour if you want to film there!

Happiness – “Wish” (2011)

AKB48 Undergirls – “Nante Bohemian” (2012)

Fairies – “Soushi Souai☆destination” (2015)

Kumi Koda – “EX TAPE” (2015)

Laguna site: http://www.bookslocation.com/laguna.html

Were you aware of these MVs sharing similar locations before? There’s probably a lot more that we missed out on since new music is coming out all the time. Obviously, we left out some of the super obvious ones like Shibuya Scramble Crossing or Akihabara because those lists would take forever to compile! Maybe if you find out where place from your favorite video is, you can go there and recreate some scenes from it?