Movies That Make You Want To Travel

Above,  Atami Castle on the hilltop overlooking Atami's harbor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Have you ever watched a movie where the center of action takes place in a foreign country and it makes you want to take a vacation trip to that country?

The Huffington Post's Travel section has a list of movies by country that conjures up those thoughts for many. Unfortunately, the writer left out Japan. Just about any Japanese Godzilla or Gamera movie would make some people want to visit Japan. Two non-kaiju movies of recent years, Lost In Translation (2003) and The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006), immediately come to mind. Both of those movies featured Shibuya Crossing and Lost In Translation featured Atami (featured at the ending of King Kong vs. Godzilla) and Kyoto.

Before The Huffington Post goes into their list, here's what they have to say on the subject:

Movies embody escapism at its best: They transport you into another world for an hour or two, often taking you places you couldn't otherwise go. Essential to that experience, of course, is the movie's setting. Some movies just epitomize a place -- like Weekend at Bernie's and the Hamptons. 

OK, so maybe not that example. But with this idea in mind, we've rounded up a list of films that fuel your wanderlust with every re-watch. Each of these films makes you want to get off the couch, away from that bowl of popcorn, and on board the next plane to wherever it was you were just watching famous people doing cool stuff. 

Here's our list of destinations, broken down by country, along with the movies that'll make you want to move to each of them. Just don't go all Elizabeth Gilbert on us, expecting to find yourself in India.

Above, Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

 To see what they came up with, go here.