Was Sunny on Apple TV+ really filmed in Japan?

Apple TV+ just debuted its new drama series with a robot in tow, Sunny! The first two episodes of the show are now streaming as of July 10, 2024, and we're already hooked. The story is intriguing and the landscapes and feel of the show really do make you feel like you're in Japan, where the series is set. Was it really filmed there?

The answer is, yes! Sunny really was filmed in Japan. The drama is set in Kyoto, Japan and that's one of the filming locations. According to Japan Times, production began in summer 2022 and it took about six months for crews to wrap up. Here's what actress Rashida Jones, who plays Suzie, told WhattoWatch:

"I fell madly in love with Japan! We shot in Kyoto and Tokyo, which is not ideal in the summer as it was very hot — 100 degrees and 100% humidity! It was a challenging shoot but it was very much worth it, as Japan is a character in the series."

You heard it from the leading lady herself! Filming took place both in Kyoto and Tokyo. Per the news outlet, some of the spots used in Kyoto itself were the streets of Ninenzaka, the Yasaka Tower, the shopping street at Furukawamachi which serves as the outside of Sakai Workshop in the show, and ramen restaurant Ichiran in Shijo Dori shopping street where we see Suzie meet her husband Masa the first time.

One key location that was exciting for production to get was the Kyoto International Conference Center. Here there's both interior and exterior scenes that were filmed when the story details ImaTech, the company where Masa worked to build robots. Unbeknownst to Suzie at first. She thought he was working in refrigerators. In Tokyo, locations include neighborhoods like Nishiikebukuro, Miitaka, Ueno, and Koganei, as well as soundstages at Toho Studios in Setagaya.

I love it when project actually go and film in the cities, states, and countries where the stories take place. When I learn about this, I really do have an extra amount of respect for productions when they make an effort to do so. Sometimes it doesn't work out due to scheduling and other conflicts. Which is ok! But when it does, it's really great because I feel like it gives a show or movie a more authentic feel. And that's how director and executive producer of Sunny Lucy Tcherniak also feels. Here's what she told WhattoWatch:

"Shooting in Japan for six months informed all of our decisions. There would be so many times where we’d be doing something and someone on the Japanese crew would say, 'Well, that’s not quite correct,' whether it was a custom, a prop or something else. So getting that level of detail right was important to both [writer and EP] Katie [Robbins] and I. It made the show better by making it more authentic."

New episodes of Sunny drop Wednesdays on Apple TV+.