Sci-Fi On Location: Real-World Settings from Your Favorite Films

13. Tokyo, Japan – Neon Dreams in Ghost in the Shell

Tokyo’s electric skyline has long been the inspiration behind cyberpunk worlds—and nowhere is that more apparent than in Ghost in the Shell. While the 2017 live-action version filmed in Hong Kong, Tokyo’s vibrant Shinjuku, Akihabara, and Shibuya districts remain the spiritual home of the genre. Towering LED billboards, packed side streets, buzzing arcades, and a seemingly infinite layering of the old and new create an immersive atmosphere that blurs the line between past, present, and future. At night, Tokyo transforms into a cityscape straight out of an anime dream, with neon reflecting off rain-slicked streets and robotic voices echoing from vending machines. Visitors can dive into themed cafes, explore tech museums like Miraikan, and lose themselves in manga shops and VR arcades. Tokyo doesn’t just resemble a sci-fi setting—it is one, already living in a near-future moment where the digital world hums just beneath the surface of everyday life.