Maps of Movies

Woman in the Dunes (1964)

Where Woman in the Dunes says it takes place, and where it was really shot.

A film about a pit of sand shot at a Shizuoka dune, not the famous Tottori dunes many English sources name

Scenes and places

Junpei leaves Tokyo for the coast (1964)

Schoolteacher Junpei leaves Tokyo for a rural coastal village to collect tiger beetles and other insects. He is dissatisfied with his life in the city.

Set in Tokyo — The city a dissatisfied schoolteacher leaves to go insect collecting. Google Maps · Apple Maps

Japan's capital; only the departure is set here, and no filming place is recorded for it.

The last bus is gone (1964)

After a long day of searching for insects, Junpei misses the last bus back to the city. The villagers offer him a place to spend the night.

Set in Coastal village bus stop — Where Junpei misses the last bus back to the city.

An unnamed rural coastal village; neither a real place nor a filming place is given in the sources.

Hunting beetles on the dunes (1964)

Junpei combs the dunes for tiger beetles, self-absorbed and rude to the people he meets. The long day on the sand is what costs him the last bus.

Set in Sand dunes by the coastal village — The dunes where Junpei searches for insects.

The film was shot on location at the Hamaoka sand dunes; which part of the dunes is not stated.

Filmed at Hamaoka sand dunes, Omaezaki, Shizuoka — Per the English Wikipedia, the film was shot on location at these dunes; the specific scene is not named. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Down the rope ladder into the pit (1964)

Junpei is guided down a rope ladder to a hut at the bottom of a sand pit. His host, a young widow, shovels away the sand every day so the house is not buried.

Set in The widow's house in the sand pit — A hut at the bottom of a steep sand pit, reachable only by rope ladder.

The sand constantly falls on the house; the villagers reel up the buckets of sand from the rim.

Filmed at Hamaoka sand dunes, Omaezaki, Shizuoka — The dune setting was filmed at Hamaoka; the exact pit location is not stated in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Out of the pit, into the quicksand (1964)

Junpei hauls himself out of the pit with an improvised grappling hook. The villagers chase him into quicksand, and he has to ask his captors for help.

Set in Dune slope outside the pit — The slopes around the pit where Junpei tries to flee.

The escape ends not at the road but in the sand itself.

Filmed at Hamaoka sand dunes, Omaezaki, Shizuoka — Dune setting filmed at Hamaoka; the exact spot for this scene is not stated in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Drawing water out of the sand (1964)

Trying to trap a crow as a messenger, Junpei discovers he can draw water from damp sand at night by capillary action. Perfecting it settles him into an easy routine.

Set in The widow's house in the sand pit — The pit where Junpei works out how to draw water from damp sand.

A device built inside the pit, where the villagers control water and provisions.

Filmed at Hamaoka sand dunes, Omaezaki, Shizuoka — Dune setting filmed at Hamaoka; the exact spot for this scene is not stated in the source. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there:

Characters

• Niki Junpei — A schoolteacher and amateur entomologist from Tokyo who goes to the coast to collect insects.
• The widow — A young woman who lives at the bottom of a sand pit and shovels sand every day.