 Most of the locations in the film are real places in Tokyo. For  complete accuracy, director Rintaro sent a team of numerous  photographers around the city to try and capture pictures of all the  buildings from as many angles as possible. The photography team then  submitted the many rolls of film to the animation and background  painting departments, which spent months illustrating the locations  as close to reality as possible. Of particular note is the Tokyo  Tower Observation Deck (from the end of the film) which is detailed  down to the placement of individual telescopes and city maps. A  brief list of the locations and where they were used follows:  