"It was so cold in Tokyo..."

...that Godzilla had to put on his gloves."

Above, Masaharu Ina of Toho Cinemas and Armand Vaquer at the Godzilla statue in Hibiya.

(A nod to the great Johnny Carson.)

Godzilla Turns 58

by Armand Vaquer

Above, the King of the Monsters stands guard at the main gate of Toho Studios.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In movie history...

On November 3, 1954, Godzilla was unleashed in theaters throughout Japan, thus inaugurating a whole new genre of science-fiction movies: daikaiju eiga.

The genre has had its ups and downs over the span of 58 years.  It has seen good movies and bad movies.  But it has managed to weather them all.  Hollywood is currently in the process of producing a new Godzilla movie under the wings of Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers.  Hopefully, it will be true to the spirit of the Japanese version and not the abomination that was released in 1998 by Sony/Tri-Star.

Above, the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Toho Co., Ltd., citing dwindling box-office returns for its third series of Godzilla movies, had decided to stop producing them eight years ago.  There are no plans to resurrect their most famous character.  If the new U.S. version is a hit, they may change their minds...eventually.

Above, Godzilla approaches the Kachidoki Bridge in 1954.  Photo: Toho Co., Ltd.

The original Godzilla suit-actor, Haruo Nakajima, age 83, will be appearing at the Mad Monster Party convention in Charlotte, North Carolina this coming March 22-24.

"50 Reasons Why Tokyo Is The Greatest City In The World"

by Armand Vaquer

Above, the Tsukiji Fish Market. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Along with the Wako Department Store in Ginza, the National Diet Building, the Yurakucho Mullion complex and other kaiju-related sites featured in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan, Tokyo has other things for travelers to see and do.

CNN Go.com has a list of "50 Reasons Why Tokyo Is The Greatest City In The World."

Included on the list are the railways, Tokyo Sky Tree, Shibuya Crossing (featured in Godzilla and Gamera movies), Imperial Palace, Yodobashi Akiba (and other Akihabara electronics stores), Tsukiji Fish Market, Mandarake Complex, manga-kissa (or "comics café") and many others.

The Godzilla statue in Hibiya made the list:

34. Behold the least impressive statue of a giant monster

Standing in the shadow of the film company that unleashed Godzilla on the world, this bronze effigy of the giant creature in Hibiya park towers a whopping ... half-meter high. We suppose a life-sized 70-meter version would have been prohibitive, but half a meter? At least the pedestal raises it above eye level.

At least there's the man-sized Godzilla statue at Toho Studios to savor if the one in Hibiya doesn't impress.

To view the list, go here.

Hibiya Chanter Square, Japan's Walk of Fame

Text and Photos by Armand Vaquer

Above, Godzilla stands guard at the entrance to Hibiya Chanter Square.

Near the Godzilla statue at the Hibiya Chanter Square in Tokyo are metal hand casts of Japanese celebrities. This is Japan's version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Among them are a couple of names Americans are familiar with: Tom Cruise and Jackie Chan. Cruise's hand cast was added at about the time The Last Samurai was released.

While I am not a fan of Tom Cruise by any stretch of the imagination, there are some Cruise fans out there who would be interested in seeing his hand cast along with Jackie Chan's.

Above, Tom Cruise.


Above, Jackie Chan.

A Look Around Godzilla's Old Stomping Ground

by Armand Vaquer

The print edition of The Daily Yomiuri article, "A Look Around Godzilla's Old Stomping Ground" showed up (faster than I expected) in the mailbox today.

I scanned the article and here it is below (click on image to view larger):



The interview for the article and photo were done on December 7th in Hibiya and published in the December 24 edition.

In case you haven't read the article or the image isn't clear enough, here's the full text:

A look around Godzilla's old stomping ground

Tom Baker / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

Godzilla was the embodiment of war in his eponymous 1954 debut film, but he saved the Earth from ecological doom in Godzilla vs the Smog Monster in 1971. The giant reptilian monster has meant many things to many people.

But did you ever imagine him as a tourist? According to The Monster Movie Fan's Guide to Japan (51 pp, 15 dollars, available via www.comixpress.com), Godzilla has ranged as far north as Sapporo, where he destroyed the TV Tower in one of his many films, and as far south as the Sakurajima volcano in Kyushu, near which he came ashore in another.

One place he hasn't visited is New York. Or perhaps that point is arguable. Armand Vaquer, the guidebook's author, told The Daily Yomiuri in a recent interview that devoted fans refer to the 1998 U.S. film in which Godzilla took a bite of the Big Apple as GINO ("Godzilla In Name Only").

For fans devoted enough to make a pilgrimage to Japan, Vaquer's book will tell them where to find landmarks associated not only with Godzilla, but also with his titanic terrapin counterpart, Gamera.

Some of the practical information in the book is a bit dated. For instance, it has been a few years since a plane-to-terminal bus ride was a routine part of arriving at Narita Airport.

However, most travelers are likely to rely on more conventional guidebooks for such details, using this one for it specialized insights. Those begin at the airport, too, about which Vaquer writes: "Interestingly, a video of the procedures at the Immigration desk features G-FEST XIV [monster fan convention] guest and Godzilla actress Shelley Sweeney. So at least you will be able to see a familiar, friendly face."

Vaquer's devotion to his subject shines through in his book and also in person, but it is not uncritical devotion. In the entry on the Seto Ohashi bridge, which connects Okayama and Kagawa prefectures, he writes, "In Godzilla vs King Ghidora (1991) King Ghidora blasts the bridge (in a not-too-convincing effect) during a fly-by."

A more positively memorable scene involved what Vaquer described in the interview as a cake-shaped cinema that stood on the site of the present-day Yurakucho Mullion building in Tokyo.

"That was in the 1954 Godzilla, where Godzilla steps on the train tracks, and the power surging through him causes his tail to whip about, and it smashes into the building. The inside joke there is that the patrons that were seeing the movie in that actual theater got to see the tail just hit the building they're sitting in watching it," he said.

In another part of town, the Diet Building has suffered abuse in several films, by Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Mothra and King Kong, which must have been a cathartic experience for at least some members of the audience each time.

The book includes a page about the Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall in Koto Ward, Tokyo, which houses the Japanese fishing boat whose 1954 irradiation by fallout from a U.S. hydrogen bomb test was a real-life reference point for the original Godzilla film.

For monster movie fans, a stop at this spot will mark a solemn pause in an otherwise lighthearted journey.

Hibiya's Godzilla Statue

by Armand Vaquer

This coming December 5 marks the 15th anniversary of the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo.

The statue was erected on that date concurrent with the release of the final Heisei series Godzilla movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah on December 9, 1995.

I've visited the statue several times during my five trips to Japan, the first being my 2001 trip for the Tokyo International Film Festival premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Of course, one must have a camera on hand (as I did) for the obligatory photos of the statue. Godzilla fans traveling to Japan consider a visit to the statue as a "must."






Left, my first visit to the Godzilla statue in Hibiya came in November 2001.



Above, the statue is visited by members of G-TOUR in August 2004.

Above, to kill some time before going to Toho International to meet with Masaharu Ina, I stopped by the statue and found a television crew conducting an interview in October 2005. The statue is in the background at left.




Using a digital camera in Japan for the first time, I took this photo (right) of the statue in April 2007. It was the photo used on the cover of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.



Information on how to get to the Godzilla statue in Hibiya is included in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.






Toho Co., Ltd. has erected a new statue of Godzilla at the front of the studio. Visitors can go there to view it along with a new mural of The Seven Samurai.




Above, also from my 2007 trip to Japan, Japanese office workers are taking cigarette breaks near the statue.

"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" In Tokyo

"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" In Tokyo

by Armand Vaquer

As I had mentioned earlier this month, two university professors from Australia ordered copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan to assist them on their Godzilla research while in Japan.

One of them, Craig Norris, sent this photo of himself at the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo:



This is the message Craig sent along with the photo:

Hi Armand,

Sorry for the delay - waiting for some nice weather over here. Please
find attached a photo of my Godzilla tourism in Tokyo. Please feel
free to use it on your website.

Regards,

Craig Norris