The film “Ito” was filmed in various places around Hokkaido such as Hakodate City and northern Hokkaido, and has been released at movie theaters nationwide. It is a romantic movie that uses “Ito”, a popular song by Miyuki Nakajima, a singer from Sapporo, as a motif. The film’s lead roles are played by popular actor Masaki Suda and Nana Komatsu. Fans have been going to location sites since before the film was released, raising hopes in local spots for a “film location tourism” economic effect.
One of the important settings in the story is Hakodate City. Facilities in the city are participating with efforts such as panel exhibits and poster displays accompanying the movie release.
The movie included the Hakodate Airport (Takamatsu Town, Hakodate City) “Moshi Moshi Corner” (Telephone Area) where people waiting for their flights can talk through a telephone to people who came to see them off on the other side of a glass panel after passing through the domestic flight security checkpoint. One pillar in the “Moshi Moshi Corner” currently features a sign announcing, “The movie was filmed at this pillar,” and posters as well as a photographs of the movie scene where the characters talk to each other through the telephones.
The protagonist Ren, played by Masaki Suda, was raised in northern Hokkaido’s Kamifurano Town. In Kamifurano Town, the movie was filmed at five places in the summer of last year, including the Town Hall and a lavender garden in Miyama Pass. The Town Hall installed a memorial photograph spot on the first floor where visitors can take photographs against a lavender field panel in the background. And, the Tokachi area also became an important scene location in the movie, with its connection to Obihiro City as the place where Miyuki Nakajima lived during her youth.