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All Japan Yubari The Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness
AO Edited

The Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness

The climactic location of the 1977 film 'The Yellow Handkerchief' commemorates its concept of happiness.

Yubari, Japan

Added By
Fred Cherrygarden
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The house from the 1977 film, Yubari.   夢の散歩
The house from the 1977 film, Yubari.   夢の散歩
The yellow handkerchiefs in Yubari.   Captain76
The “Yellow Handkerchief memorial park” in Yubari.   Mamusi Taka
The red Familia car from the film, preserved in Yubari.   Captain76
Personal notes cover every surface   MikeInSanFrancisco / Atlas Obscura User
Key scene from the movie   MikeInSanFrancisco / Atlas Obscura User
One of the two Mazda’s used in the movie.   MikeInSanFrancisco / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Yellow Handkerchief (1977) is a Japanese cult classic directed by Yoji Yamada, based on a 1971 New York Post column by journalist Pete Hamill. It follows an ex-convict's road trip across Hokkaido to come home, to find out if his ex-wife is still waiting for him. There will be a yellow handkerchief on the window if she is.

The heartwarming film was a huge success, winning the first-ever Japan Academy Film Prize. It also got a Hollywood remake in 2008, starring William Hurt, Kristen Stewart, and Eddie Redmayne, in addition to a Thai remake in 1982.

In Yubari, Hokkaido, where the film's climax takes place, the "yellow handkerchief of happiness" continues to fly. In the former residences of local coal miners, there sits a red Mazda Familia of the same type that appears in the film, surrounded by a myriad of yellow post-it notes covering every inch of the walls.

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Added By

Fred Cherrygarden

Edited By

MikeInSanFrancisco

  • MikeInSanFrancisco

Published

July 1, 2023

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The Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness
Yubari, 068-0422
Japan
43.024752, 141.976008
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Nearby Places

Shimizusawa Thermal Power Plant

Yūbari-shi, Japan

miles away

Historical Village of Hokkaido

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miles away

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miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Japan

Japan

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Shimizusawa Thermal Power Plant

Yūbari-shi, Japan

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Sapporo, Japan

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Japan

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