Yokohama is the main setting of Studio Ghibli’s From Up on Poppy Hill.
The film takes place in Yokohama in 1963, one year before the Tokyo Olympics. Its story follows high-school student Umi Matsuzaki and Shun Kazama as they work to save a historic student clubhouse called the Latin Quarter from demolition. Their relationship becomes complicated by questions about their family histories.
Gorō Miyazaki directed the 2011 film, while Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa wrote the screenplay. The story was adapted from the manga Kokuriko-zaka Kara by Tetsurō Sayama and Chizuru Takahashi. Its setting reflects Japan’s rapid modernization during the postwar period.
The port city is more than a backdrop: its hills, harbor, trams, and old buildings establish the contrast between historical memory and redevelopment. The film’s title refers to the poppy-covered hill where Umi lives. It is sometimes confused with other Ghibli stories set in rural or imaginary locations, but From Up on Poppy Hill is specifically rooted in early-1960s Yokohama.