A Great Day In Japan

Above, here I am with Jessica Claros, Yoshikazu Ishii and Jonathan Bellés at Toho Studios.

Today worked out quite well in Tokyo.

Early this morning, Jonathan Bellés and I headed off to Setagaya go to Toho Studios for the first round of interviews Bellés is conducting for his documentary, Godzilla and Hiroshima: The Rise of Kaiju Eiga. As Bellés had never been to Japan before, I acted as his tour guide to get him to Toho.

When we arrived in Setagaya, we were greeted by Yoshikazu Ishii and shortly thereafter, special effects director Eiichi Asada. Asada and Ishii worked together on the special effects scenes of 2004's Godzilla Final Wars. Bellés interviewed both for the documentary.

Above, Eiichi Asada waiting for the interview to begin. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While wandering around, I saw how Toho Studios has changed quite a lot since I first stepped inside back in 2001. Many of the old buildings, including the old diner, office buildings, Tsuburaya's office/workshop (then occupied by Koichi Kawakita) and the big pool are gone and replaced by bigger and modern sound stages and an office complex. I feel fortunate to have been able to see Toho Studios when it still looked as it did when kaiju eiga reigned supreme under Eiji Tsuburaya, Ishiro Honda and Tomoyuki Tanaka. I had the feeling that I was returning to the site of an old favorite restaurant that was replaced by a modern mini-mall. The place lost a lot of historical value when the studio demolished the old facilities.

Above, the Actor's Center that include the cafeteria. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The new (I guess ten or so years can still be considered "new") Toho cafeteria was modern and efficient, but it lacks the charm and personality of the old diner with its "ancient" Coca-Cola fountain dispenser, fixtures, decor and furnishings. The old studio diner made a visitor feel as if they went back into time to a different era. One thing I have to say about the new cafeteria, they have excellent food. I tried the curry and rice bowl and it was great! Normally, I don't go for curry.

Above, a collage of photos of Toho's Golden Age in the cafeteria. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It was very nice of Toho Studios to allow us the use one of their meeting rooms for Bellés's interviews.

The day ended with an additional highlight. I met up with Ai, one of the girls I used as a promo model for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan. Originally from Hokkaido, Ai lives in Tokyo and works at a major department store these days. It was good to catch up on things since we did our photo shoot three years ago.