Back in July 2009, I blogged about some of the favorite places in Japan I saw during my 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 visits. (To view it, go here.)
Picking up where that blog post left off, here's some favorite places and things during the 2010 trip.
2010
The Tokyo portion of the trip was for promoting The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan and some visits to places that can be added to a second, updated edition. In between interviews on the travel guide, I managed to see the Tsukiji Fish Market and take in a screening of Space Battleship Yamato.
One of the first things upon my arrival in Tokyo was to take some promo photos of the travel guide with Ai, who served as a model (right).
One of the things I wanted to see in Tokyo was the Skytree Tower. It was under construction at the time, but it was still impressive even though it hadn't yet reached its full height. Besides, it was near to one of my favorite places in Tokyo, Asakusa's Nakamise Street.
Another place I wanted to visit while in Tokyo was Toho Studios in Setagaya. I wanted to see the man-sized Godzilla statue and the Seven Samurai mural at the new main entrance. I wandered around the outside of the studio lot and even from the vantage points from the outside, I could see the changes to the studio since my November 2001 visit.
I also met former Toho-Los Angeles General Manager Masaharu Ina for lunch. I gave him a copy of the travel guide and he was very impressed with it.
As I never had been to the Sea of Japan side of Honshu (the main island of Japan) before, I decided to head to Niigata via bullet train to see what it was like.
I found Niigata to be much more laid-back in temperament than Tokyo and nowhere near as crowded. While taking a city bus tour of Niigata, I visited a museum and the city's performing arts center where a photo exhibit was taking place. I went to see the photo exhibit and saw many nice photographs on display and a Japanese man who was a dead-ringer for Akira Nakao, who played General Aso in three Godzilla movies of the 1990s. I also visited Niigata's Hakusan Park.
The train ride to Niigata was a pleasant one as we traveled through farmlands (mainly rice paddies) and through mountain regions.
After a couple of days in Niigata, I headed back to Tokyo for a few more days of wandering around before heading back to Los Angeles.
I found it interesting that although Japan has about a 1-2% Christian population, there were Christmas decorations in abundance. Both hotels I stayed at had Christmas trees in their lobbies.
The best meals on the trip had to be the sushi I had at a restaurant next to the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. It was a platter of assorted tuna. It had to be the best sushi I ever ate. The other was the big cheeseburger I had at the The Beat Diner in Tokyo. The Beat Diner was a new eatery located under the shinkansen tracks separating Ginza and Hibiya. It occupies the former location of Becker's.
Picking up where that blog post left off, here's some favorite places and things during the 2010 trip.
2010
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| Above, the Skytree from the Sumida River. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The Tokyo portion of the trip was for promoting The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan and some visits to places that can be added to a second, updated edition. In between interviews on the travel guide, I managed to see the Tsukiji Fish Market and take in a screening of Space Battleship Yamato.
One of the things I wanted to see in Tokyo was the Skytree Tower. It was under construction at the time, but it was still impressive even though it hadn't yet reached its full height. Besides, it was near to one of my favorite places in Tokyo, Asakusa's Nakamise Street.
Another place I wanted to visit while in Tokyo was Toho Studios in Setagaya. I wanted to see the man-sized Godzilla statue and the Seven Samurai mural at the new main entrance. I wandered around the outside of the studio lot and even from the vantage points from the outside, I could see the changes to the studio since my November 2001 visit.
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| Above, the Daily Yomiuri article on "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan." The interview for the article took place while I was in Tokyo. |
As I never had been to the Sea of Japan side of Honshu (the main island of Japan) before, I decided to head to Niigata via bullet train to see what it was like.
I found Niigata to be much more laid-back in temperament than Tokyo and nowhere near as crowded. While taking a city bus tour of Niigata, I visited a museum and the city's performing arts center where a photo exhibit was taking place. I went to see the photo exhibit and saw many nice photographs on display and a Japanese man who was a dead-ringer for Akira Nakao, who played General Aso in three Godzilla movies of the 1990s. I also visited Niigata's Hakusan Park.
 |
| Above, the Bandai Bridge in Niigata. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
The train ride to Niigata was a pleasant one as we traveled through farmlands (mainly rice paddies) and through mountain regions.
After a couple of days in Niigata, I headed back to Tokyo for a few more days of wandering around before heading back to Los Angeles.
I found it interesting that although Japan has about a 1-2% Christian population, there were Christmas decorations in abundance. Both hotels I stayed at had Christmas trees in their lobbies.
The best meals on the trip had to be the sushi I had at a restaurant next to the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. It was a platter of assorted tuna. It had to be the best sushi I ever ate. The other was the big cheeseburger I had at the The Beat Diner in Tokyo. The Beat Diner was a new eatery located under the shinkansen tracks separating Ginza and Hibiya. It occupies the former location of Becker's.
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| Above, rice paddies and snowy mountains as seen from the bullet train en route to Niigata from Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
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