The Karate Kid (1984)

Thank You To The Fast Rewind Website For Locating Some Of These Locations Before I Worked On This Page. They Have A Write Up On Each Location On Their Site. Be Sure To Check It Out.

Thank You To Owen Lockwood, Lindsay Blake, A Couple Of Crew Members, Shawn Lee And An Anonymous Reader For Assisting Me In Finding Where Mr. Miyagi's House Once Stood.

Check Out A Nice Article Written By Jared Cowan Discussing The 30th Anniversary Of The Movie Which Includes Pictures Of The Filming Locations Which Can Be Found By Clicking This Link For The Article And This Link For The Location Slideshow With Descriptions.

Thank You To Owen From The When Write Is Wrong Website For Telling Me About The Early Non-Los Angeles Area Locations And For Finding The Steep Hill Location Where Daniel Crashes His Bike.

  • (0:01)  Daniel Laruso And His Mother Leaving Newark, New Jersey To Move To Los Angeles / Franklin Avenue, Harrison, New Jersey (Note: They Are Driving North Going Toward Hamilton Street)

  • (0:03)  Leaving The Canyon Portal Motel / 280 N. Highway 89A, Sedona, Arizona (Note: The Motel Has Since Been Torn Down And Replaced And The Camera Is Looking Northeast With A Best Western Seen Up The Road A Little On The Right)

  • (0:03)  The Apartment Complex / 19223 Saticoy Street, Reseda

  • (0:09)  The Beach Where They Play Soccer And Where Daniel Meets Ali / Leo Carrillo Beach; Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu

  • (0:17)  The High School / Charles Evans Junior High; 5607 Capistrano Avenue, Woodland Hills (Note: The School Is Now Closed But Is Now Used As An Adult Education Center)

  • (0:22)  The Orient Express Restaurant Where Daniel Meets Up With His Mother To Eat / 5410 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

  • (0:23)  The First Exterior Of The Dojo / 5376 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles

  • (0:26)  Daniel Riding His Bike And Gets Forced Down A Steep Hill By The Cobra Kai Guys / Behind 6030 Macadam Court, Agoura Hills (Note: The Back Of The House Under Construction Seen In The First Screen Shot Is Located At 29219 Laro Drive. The Lone Tree Seen On The Left Is Still There Today. The Hill Is Part Of Medea Creek Park And He Is Falling East Down The Hill)

  • (0:55)  The Dojo Interior And Exterior / 5223 Lankershim Blvd, North Hollywood

  • (0:55)  Mr. Miyagi's House / 20924 Gault Street, Canoga Park (Note: The House Has Since Been Torn Down. The Land Where They Drive Up To The House Now Has Houses There. All Of The Stuff Seen On The Short Drive Were Fake And Made For The Movie Including The Train Track. The Yellow House Seen In The Background In The First Screen Shot Is Located At 20948 Vose Street. The Garage Seen In The Last Screen Shot Which Was Taken From Karate Kid 2 Is Across The Street At 20919 Gault Street)
    You Can Read More About This Location At Lindsay's Iamnotastalker Blog

  • (1:02)  Ali Mills Family House / 4072 Alonzo Avenue, Encino

  • (1:04)  Daniel And Ali's Go On A Date / Golf And Stuff; 10555 W. Firestone Blvd, Norwalk

  • (1:21)  Encountering The Mean Drunks At The Beach / Also, Leo Carrillo Beach But On The North End This Time

  • (1:22)  Daniel And Mr. Miyagi At The Lake Where Daniel Learns The Importance Of Balance And Concentration / Chatsworth Reservoir; Chatsworth (Note: This Is The Same Spot Where Daniel Learns How To Punch)

  • (1:25)  Encino Oaks Country Club / Hyatt Westlake Plaza; 880 S. Westlake Blvd, Westlake Village

  • (1:45)  Entering The Tournament / Cal State Northridge Matadome Lobby Area; 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge

  • (1:48)  The Karate Tournament / Inside The Matadome

59 comments:

  1. Yes. well done and thankyou for sharing.

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  2. Chris, address corrected. Thank you for the heads up

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  3. Ali's family home is just as beautiful today as it was during filming. Incidentally, was it Susan Clark who played Mrs. Mills? I see she wasn't named in the credits.

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    1. I believe the actress' name is Leah Ayres. She is also plays Janice Kent with JCVD in 'Bloodsport'.

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    2. No, I doubt it. Leah was only 27 years old at the 5ime of the shooting. Susan Clark, on the other hand, was 43 years old.The graceful ways and the same voice of Susan Clark can be seen in "Webster ", along with other many movies, especially Airport '75. Another convincing likeness is a margarine commercial filmed in the early 80's.

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    3. Her name is "Shannon Wilcox". She played a Tales from the Darkside episode called "The Milkman Cometh"

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  4. Sam Scarber the man in the red shirt in the scene where Daniel is checking in for the tournament was a running back with the World Football Leagues Detroit Wheels in 1974. He played against Vince Papale who was a WR with the Philadelphia Bell. The movie Invincible kind of forgot to mention Papale played two years in the WFL while telling his true story

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  5. Hi Chas! I took a tour years back at the Kualoa Ranch where Lost, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park etc were filmed while on the tour the guide pointed down the hill to a house (actually several structures) and mentioned that it was Mr. Miyagi's house in Karate Kid. This could have been the second movie (based in Japan) but thought I'd mention it nonetheless. The approximate street address is 60 Kamehameha Hwy on Oahu. The aerial shots may give you a better perspective. Keep up the good work!

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  6. You can ask @williamzabka on twitter

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  7. Mr. Miyagi's house is torn down but was located on Gault st. between Independence ave and DeSoto in Canoga Park. My family has lived in the neighborhood forever and I remember as a kid being able to witness the filming of the movie.

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    1. Thank You For The Info And For Getting The Ball Rolling On Pinpointing The Exact Location. I Really Appreciate It.

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    2. You sir/madam, are an American hero and are blessed to have had the opportunity to witness the filming of this wonderful movie. Thank you for this invaluable information.

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  8. i just wrote fast rewind too that my 7 year old son has watched karate kid so many times this year that since we are in encino i figured i would drive him over to see the dojo today on lankershim but it is closed. now it is a fitness center. we went to see the apartment house last night too. it is stil there, just they have removed the palm trees. today os july 1st 2013.

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  9. The scene in the boat on the lake was filmed in the Chatsworth Nature preserve (FYI)

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  10. I checked Google maps with street view of Gault between De Soto and Independance, and didn't see anything resembling the movie. Were'nt there railroad tracks, and also oil machines? Gault looks very residential. Possibly it changed that much?

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    1. The oil rigs and train tracks were all fake set decorations ive read

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  11. You did an excellent job! Keep up the great work!

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  12. This is cool, watching karate kid right now, and was wondering where is Mr.Miyagi's house? So I Google it and found this site. Awesome stuff!! Great information about the movie!! Too bad for Miyagi's house. Great Work! 80's kid at heart.

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  13. watching Karate Kid right now..was wondering were the dojo was located thank you for the information

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  14. I'm watching karate kid right now. Still curious about Mr. Miyagis location.

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  15. I cant link to exact map view like you can on Google Maps, but if you put in the address on http://www.historicaerials.com/ you can select 1980 for aerial year and see the Miyagi property as it was. It isnt set up like in the movie,as explained in the description above, but it's clearly the same place. What a difference a few years makes.

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  16. Wonder why in the credits they thank Arizona and Texas?

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    1. They filmed brief scenes in those two states in the very beginning, when Daniel and his mother were driving from New Jersey to California.

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    2. because you always suppose to Thank Texas

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  17. When Daniel is injured at the tournament and taken into a locker room for Mr. Myagi's healing, beneath where Daniel lays the floor says UCSD. Would this scene have been shot at University of Southern California San Diego?

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    1. It doesn’t say “UCSD.” It says “CSUN,” which stands for California State University, Northridge. The sign looks a little like “UCSD” when read from left to right, but it’s not meant to be read that way. You have to read it from top (at the end closest to Daniel’s feet when he’s lying on the table while his injury is being treated) to bottom (at the end near Daniel’s head). All of the scenes at the end of the movie — the fights and the locker-room stuff — were filmed at California State University, Northridge. Nothing was filmed at UC San Diego.

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  18. wow, I live in Woodland Hills and have driven past the places a lot and had no idea. too cool

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  19. Wow. For years I though Mr. Miyagi's house was in Santa Susana.

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  20. Do you know where the century 21 in karate kid iii is located?

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    1. Hi, I do have a Karate Kid 3 page and it is on there but for now I will say it is on Magnolia in Burbank.

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  21. I googled map Franklin Ave in Harrison NJ and the street looks almost identical as in the movie, super cool

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  22. Awsome...I'm Italian, I live in Italy and The karate kid is the movie of my life...I cried just looking at these pictures...what if I go there!? Thanks a lot for your great work

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  23. I have watched the Karate Kids. It is one of my favourite movies. I have admitted my kids one of the best mixed martial arts club for learning the self defense techniques.

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  24. Hey! I was there during the tournament. It was so fun to enjoy such that tournament of karate. I also enjoyed a tournament for Best Karate in Connecticut . I wish I could have enjoy another ones now in U.K

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  25. I just came to your post and reading above thing it is very impressive me and it is very nice blog. Thanks a lot for sharing this.
    home movie theater

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  26. Awesome work brought back a lot of memories...

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  27. Newark Nj guy here...thanks for the info I'm ready to plan my trip to CA to check out these sights...Laz

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  28. Karate Kid would have been an even greater franchise if Elisabeth Shue had accepted to participate in the sequel. Most of the fans were disappointed when she simply vanished, because the Karate Kid brand and niche fan base were conquered by the story of a struggled son and mother that moved from NJ to California, the boy did not adapt to the new reality but found on Shue a point of support and later on Morita a point of reference and guidance. I don't know why Shue did not accept to participate in the Karate Kid II and III the excuse of "going back to Harvard" is difficult to understand ... I think that the Producer, Director or her Manager should had re-approached the situation and had told her that Karate Kid would make less sense if she simply "vanished from the sequel"... Karate Kid could have been a landmark for the 80's. Karate Kid II was a success worldwide because the audience was interested in the continuation of the 3: "Ralph, Elisabeth and Pat", it did not happen. Karate Kid III did not finish the franchise well. I think Hollywood missed a big chance with Karate Kid. Robert kamen did an amazing job writing Karate Kid in the early 80's... the success that would have come with the story of Pat, Ralph and Shue on all the sequels would had marked that era.

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  29. Wow... director John Avildsen (who directed Rocky and KK) pasted away days ago... thanks to his great work we had both great movies, I wrote a blog about it based on his book "The Films of John Avildsen" and was surprised to know that John wanted Shue on KK2 but the producers did not want to pay her role... also John wanted KK3 focusing on the origins of Pat Morita character but again producers did not want to pay for that production (John wanted to record the movie in Asia, etc..) great job on this KK1 filming location! https://blogsandbirds.wordpress.com/2017/05/25/the-karate-kid-a-classic-franchise-from-john-g-avildsen/

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  30. I meant to write "passed away", sorry for the typo.

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  31. FANTASTIC job on this. super interesting. it's nice to see not everything has been torn down.

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  32. Great great blog thank you! I wonder if Mr Miyagi’s backyard oasis was built just for the film? Sad to know it’s been torn down what a beauty it was!

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  33. Hi Chas, Great work! ;)

    Could you tell me if The Apartment, The High School, The Dojo, and The Karate Tournament, are possible to visit free?

    Thank you

    Boris

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    1. Yes all are free to visit. The issue is timing. The apartment is locked so you would have to get a resident to get you in. The high school is possible but they are kind of strict on who they allow. The dojo was a picture through the glass as they were closed when I was there. The tournament is very possible. Just ask permission.

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    2. I found the hill, via the back way through the park, thanks!!

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    3. School was locked but it was on the weekend

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  34. Hi Chas, thank you so much for reply!

    can you tell me who I may contact for "The high school " and "The tournament"?
    Which are the names of the places currently?

    The Dojo is abandoned place now?

    Thank you again!!
    Boris

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    1. I live in Indiana. I just went to each place and asked permission as I went. If you are polite up front and tell them exactly why you are there it really helps.

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  35. Pretty funny never knew that was the Westlake hotel. I remember I was in roger lacombes karate class in 1983-84 and one of the black belts told us he was in this movie called karate kid that they were filming in the valley. He is one of the students in the cobra kai classroom. Also a few days later the guy played the referee pat Johnson came to our dojo and did a seminar he was a 9degree black belt in tang so do which at the time had switched to being called the chuck Norris system and he talked bout the movie. I recall him saying the bad kid in the movie was only a yellow belt in real life. Lol. But jonny would kick Danny's ass no matter the belt ccolors

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  36. from robin greene: 7 years and a week later, i come to comment again. we are renaming our pup mrs miyagi as she caught a fly today! 7/6/20.

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  37. You did an amazing job with this. I used to live and work in a lot of these suburbs... my house was on Saticoy St less than 2 miles west of Daniel's apartment and I never knew! You rock.

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  38. So we've come full circle with Cobra Kai as one of the most popular shows on Netflix! That show, which gives me goosebumps at times in nostalgia, is basically a big 'then and now' like this page :-D People and some of the places. Yall better be watching it.

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  39. Been to almost all these locations mentioned on 9/18/21, my birthday. I’ve been a karate kid fan since the first movie. Only area I did not visit was the hill Daniel fell down and the country club scene. You can watch my video of this visit on my TikTok at @4mrsvillan best birthday of my life! I love Ralph Macchio!

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