The original idea for "The Garden of Words" came from Shinkai's desire to capture the beauty of the daily scenery in modern Tokyo and showcase it in a film. Having lived for ten years in Shinjuku, he selected it as the location of the film and set about taking thousands of photos, upon which he created his storyboards. Wanting to share the peace and harmony of his favorite locations in Japan with the hope that it would encourage people to visit, Shinkai modeled the garden in the film to match Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden in Tokyo. Following the earthquake in March 2011, he was worried that it could be destroyed and wanted to preserve it in an animated film.