Koriko

Koriko  (コリコ) is a city in the film, Kiki's Delivery Service. It is the main setting of the film and the place where Kiki settles as a witch-in-training. It is spelled Corico in the film's official artbook, and early concepts by Hayao Miyazaki and Takesato Oaza spelled the name as Korico.

Background
When Kiki flies over the ocean by town, she sees the clock tower and meets the Clock Tower Caretaker. Down by the city, trams reminiscent of San Francisco ply the streets. There's a busy shopping district, a lively port area, a market, large open parks and quiet neighborhoods, many with a panoramic view of the sea. Osono's bakery Gütiokipänjä is located here.

The dirigible "Spirit of Freedom" lands docks near the city for repairs.

Behind the Scenes
Miyazaki had previously visited Stockholm and Visby in 1971 while working for A-production (the studio behind Lupin the 3rd) during a research trip for the failed Pippi Longstocking project.

When pre-production for Kiki began, many of the locations of Koriko were inspired by those reference photographs of Old Town in Stockholm and Visby in Gotland. According to Hayao Miyazaki, "This is how the Japanese imagine an old European city. there are elements of Naples, Lisbon, Stockholm, Paris, and San Francisco, allmixed in, so one side faces the Mediterranean while the other faces the Baltic Sea [laughs]."

Navigation
Koriko Koriko