While You Visit The Godzilla Slide, She Can Shop At A New Yokosuka Shopping Complex

Above, you can visit the Godzilla slide while she shops at a new shopping complex. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When the coronavirus pandemic ends and there's no more cases, a trip to Japan would then be possible.

If one happens to be a Godzilla fan, a day trip to Yokosuka from Tokyo to visit the Godzilla slide at the Kurihama Flower World is a must-do. But if that fan is in Japan with a spouse or girlfriend and she couldn't care less about Godzilla, she can go shop at a new shopping and entertainment complex while the fan is savoring the Big G. (See? I am always looking out for ya!)

According to Stripes Japan:

A new shopping and entertainment complex near Yokosuka Naval Base has finally opened its doors after months of delayed openings due to COVID-19.

Coaska Bayside opened its supermarket in April, but the rest of the building’s 100 shops remained closed due to the State of Emergency declared on April 7. 

The rest of the 6-story complex, which opened June 5, features a large food court, clothing, home and cosmetics shops. The top two floors include various entertainment facilities like a movie theater, bowling alley and more.

The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan provides directions on how to get to the Godzilla slide at Kurihama Flower World.

To read more, go here.

Tokyo Tower Is Open

Above, a view of Tokyo Tower from Tokyo City View. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Tokyo's iconic Tokyo Tower had been closed for nearly two months due to COVID-19, but now it has reopened.

Stars and Stripes reported:

TOKYO — A popular, landmark tourist spot reopened in Tokyo with the recent easing of a state of emergency imposed by the Japanese government nearly two months ago to curb the coronavirus pandemic. 

Tokyo Tower, an iconic red and white communications and observation structure in central Tokyo, opened its doors Thursday for the first time since April 8, according to the tower’s website. 

However, the popular tourist destination will operate with shorter hours than usual, with the main deck open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m daily. 

The number of visitors riding the elevator at one time will be limited as an anti-coronavirus measure, the tower’s website stated.

To read more, go here. 

Ex-Air Base Now Home For Grounded Planes

Above, Roswell now welcomes grounded planes. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since COVID-19 virtually put air travel almost to a grinding halt, something had to be done with all the currently unneeded planes.

A former air base in New Mexico is at least one place where the planes are being stored. All those planes in one spot just may attract the attention of aliens and push them into making a return visit.

According to Stars and Stripes:

ROSWELL, N.M. — The downturn in the commercial air travel industry has turned into a boon for a former military base in New Mexico. 

The Roswell International Air Center has emerged as a major storage facility for planes that have been grounded by airlines due to age and lack of demand. The air center was storing about 160 aircraft before March. As of last week, another 309 planes had arrived from carriers including American Airlines, United Airlines and Frontier Airlines. 

There are more grounded planes in Roswell now than at any point during the modern history of the former base, surpassing even the number of aircraft stored there in the days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

To read more, go here. 

Godzilla Celebrates 65th Anniversary In Tokyo November 3

Nothing like being reminded of one's age!

In 1954, both Godzilla and I appeared on the scene and this year marks the 65th anniversary of the King of the Monsters.

But, that aside, Godzilla fans will want to be in Tokyo next month.

Above, Akira Takarada (right) will be navigating Godzilla's 65th
 anniversary ceremonies on November 3. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A celebration will be taking place in Hibiya on November 3.

According to Stars & Stripes Japan:

Godzilla fans will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the birth of Japan’s #1 icon at Godzilla Fest 2019 in Hibiya, on Nov. 3 during a day-long commemoration of the character’s 1954 nationwide theater debut. The birthday gala at Tokyo Midtown Hibiya, around the corner from where feudal lords ruled during the Edo Period has become a yearly tradition chronicling the king’s blazing path, which formatively burned bridges of monster entertainment down to the ground and inspires audiences to this day. 

Midtown is a bustling epicenter of towering hotels, premium shops, cafes, and Toho’s multiplex cinemas. The crowning masterpiece at Godzilla Square is the Shin Godzilla statue, unveiled in 2018, depicting the final scene from 2016’s Japan Academy Award-winning film, directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi. Both are currently working on Shin Ultraman, slated for a 2021 release. 

This year marks the third Godzilla Fest and once again will include themed “G-Food,” drinks, a pop-up store, product tie-ins with the Godzilla Store in Shinjuku, quiz contests, and special guests with Godzilla veteran actor Akira Takarada navigating this year’s opening ceremonies.

To read more, go here. 

Despite Restoration Work, Miyajima's Beauty Can Still Be Enjoyed

Above, O-torii at Miyajima in 2004. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in 2004, G-TOUR made a stop at Miyajima near Hiroshima to take in the sights, including the O-torii Gate and Itsukushima Shrine. Access to Miyajima is by ferry boat.

Currently, restoration work is taking place at the popular tourist attraction, but as Stars & Stripes (a.k.a. Stripes Japan) points out, the work shouldn't detract from the beauty of them.

Above, Itsukushima and O-torii from the ferry. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

They begin with:

The floating O-torii and Itsukushima Shrine at Miyajima south of Hiroshima are two of Japan’s most popular attractions, but ongoing restoration work there shouldn’t stop Americans stationed in Japan from planning a visit. 

Miyajima, or the “Island of the Gods,” is one of the three most scenic places in Japan, according to the island’s official tourist website, and a prime destination for an easy day trip or weekend getaway for those at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni. 

It’s especially popular for professional and amateur photographers who make their way around the picturesque landscape. 

The most popular photo subject is the O-torii, which appears to float gently on the waves when the tide is high. The bright orange structure, which stands nearly 60 feet tall in stark contrast to the dark green, forested hillsides behind it, was built in 1875 and is the eighth O-torii at Miyajima. The first was built in 1168. 

Other photo ops include Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage site, with its brilliant orange pillars and wooden walkways. There’s also the five-story Tahoto Pagoda, which pokes above the cherry trees, and the many scenic orange footbridges in Momijidani Park that cross a small river. They’re perfect for family photos.

To read more, go here. 

Eiji Tsuburaya Museum Opens In Fukushima

Above, Eiji Tsuburaya on the set of King Kong vs. Godzilla. Photo by Toho Co., Ltd.

There is now another place in Japan that Godzilla fans will have to add to their "bucket list" of Godzilla-related places to visit.

The new Eiji Tsuburaya Museum has opened in Fukushima.

According to Stars and Stripes:

Experience the world of Godzilla, Ultraman and their co-creator, Eiji Tsuburaya the God of Special Effects in Sukagawa, Fukushima, as the region continues to rebound from the Great Eastern Earthquake. On Jan. 11, after five years in the making, the Sukagawa Citizens Exchange Center tette building opened to hundreds in attendance. 

During the opening ceremony, Mayor Katsuya Hashimoto said, “Our brand-new community center tette (hands) is Sukagawa city’s main place for cultural exchange and citizens’ activities and we are committed to nurturing citizens here long into the future. We also honor tokusatsu (special effects) master, Eiji Tsuburaya, born in Sukagawa city, for his accomplishments at the Eiji Tsuburaya Museum, an archival center that will disseminate Japanese special effects to the world.” 

The dreaming spirit of Tsuburaya, who was inspired by Merian C. Cooper’s King Kong (1933) to make his own monster movies, is chronicled in detail on the 5th floor of the tette Exchange Center. Before his untimely passing in 1970, Tsuburaya worked on more than 250 military and science fiction movies and TV programs with Toho Studios and his own Tsuburaya Productions. With a tight-knit team of 60 innovative artists, he debuted Ultra Q (1965) and Ultraman (1966) to unsuspecting Japanese homes, spawning the first kaiju boom. 

All over Sukagawa you can celebrate Tsuburaya’s universe of characters at the town’s city hall, train station, post offices, stores, airport, and the community center with its five modern floors of: classes, music rooms, event halls, libraries, and childcare spaces. The tette building also includes cultural meeting rooms, an Ultra FM radio station, stores, Ultraman kaiju statues, and the museum focused on the aspiring airplane pilot who flew south, ascended to photographer, and became an unequaled director of special visual effects, utilizing miniatures and suitmation, co-inventing Japan’s most iconic monsters and heroes.

To read more, go here. 

Flying Saucers Over Front Pages

Here's a collection of historical newspaper front pages and articles on the Roswell Incident in July 1947:

The San Mateo Times:

Stars and Stripes:

The Sacramento Bee:

Los Angeles Herald-Express:

The Arizona Republic:

Roswell Daily Record:

Keep watching the skies!

Elvis’s Only GI European Concert

Above, Elvis Presley in the Army.

It was a major news story in 1958 when Elvis Presley was drafted into the U.S. Army.

The military's newspaper, Stars and Stripes, has posted an article on the only concert Presley gave in Europe during the time of his service.

They begin with:

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — The Grafenwoehr Training Area is known today as the largest U.S. Army training area in Europe, a place where artillery maneuver and fire alongside tanks and infantry. But the “King of battle” wasn’t always the only king on base. 

Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock ’n’ Roll,” spent several weeks training on base here in 1958 after he was drafted into the Army. He returned for an encore to do maneuver training in 1960. 

Elvis’s time in Grafenwoehr wasn’t spent only on training. The King left a lasting legacy on base and off, and he is still remembered as the most famous person to visit the area. 

This month, Grafenwoehr’s Culture and Military Museum hosted a special exhibit on Elvis’ time in the area, complete with dozens of photographs of the King working with fellow soldiers at Camp Algiers, where he was based.

 To read more, go here.

Stripes Japan Kaiju Pick-ups

For those in the service of our country in Japan (or the Pacific region) and their families, Stripes Japan is an online version of the Stripes Japan newspaper.

In case some of them happen to be kaiju fans, Stripes Japan picked up three kaiju-oriented articles during this past year for their readers. They were originally posted at JapanTravel.

Here's what Stripes Japan is about:

Japan.stripes.com is an interactive version of Stripes Japan, a newspaper serving the U.S. military community in mainland Japan with local, community-focused news and information on events, dining, activities, travel, and entertainment. Stripes Japan and Japan.stripes.com were established to meet the demand of the U.S. military community for local news and information in an easily accessible, English-language format. 

Stripes Japan is printed every week and is a product of Stars and Stripes Pacific. Stripes Japan and Stripes’ other community products are supplements of the daily Stars and Stripes newspaper and its corresponding website, stripes.com. Stars and Stripes is authorized for publication by the Department of Defense (DOD) for members of the U.S. military serving overseas. 

The contents of Stripes Japan and its corresponding website, Japan.stripes.com, are unofficial, and are not to be considered as the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, including the Department of Defense or the U.S. Pacific Command.

The three articles posted:

Rodan's Saikai Bridge

Tokyo Tower, The Monster Magnet

Yokosuka's Godzilla Slide

Japan's February Snowstorms Still Making News

Above, the Ueno section of Tokyo on February 15. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The unusually heavy February snowstorms in Japan are still making news.

Japan Today reported:

TOKYO —At least three U.S. Navy P-3 Orion surveillance planes were crushed “beyond repair” when unusually heavy snowfall swept across Japan in February, a U.S. military daily reported Wednesday. 

The planes were inside a contractor’s hangar near the U.S. Navy air facility in Atsugi, west of Tokyo, the Pacific Stars and Stripes said in its online edition, citing a U.S. Navy spokeswoman. 

A U.S. Orion and six P-3 variants from the Japanese defense forces brought in for repairs or checks were also there.

The hangar that the planes were in had its aging roof collapse from the snow's weight, crushing the planes inside.

To read more, go here.

More on "Stripes Kanto"

Regarding the Stripes Kanto's running of my article, "Tokyo Tower, The Monster Magnet," I checked directly with the editor of the digital edition to see if it had been also published in their print edition and, if so, about obtaining a copy.

I received this reply:

Armand, Thank you for your note and your great story. If it runs in the print edition, we'll make sure we get you a PDF. That might be nicer than a scanned copy.

Although I was never in the military (President Richard Nixon ended the draft and our involvement in the Viet Nam war when I was 19), I am familiar with the Stars and Stripes newspaper.  In fact, my favorite comic book artist, Curt Swan, was a staff cartoonist for the paper during World War II.

It is indeed an honor to have an article deemed worthy enough for their online edition.  They definitely have my gratitude!  It is quite flattering!

To view it, go here.

Stripes Kanto Posted "Tokyo Tower, The Monster Magnet"

Above, Tokyo Tower.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Stripes Kanto has posted my JapanTourist article on Tokyo Tower, "Tokyo Tower, The Monster Magnet."

Stripes Kanto is part of Stars and Stripes.  According to the site:

Kanto.stripes.com is an interactive version of Stripes Kanto, a newspaper serving the U.S. military community in mainland Japan with local, community-focused news and information on events, dining, activities, travel, and entertainment. Stripes Kanto and kanto.stripes.com were established to meet the demand of the U.S. military community for local news and information in an easily accessible, English-language format. 

Stripes Kanto is printed every week and is a product of Stars and Stripes Pacific. Stripes Kanto and Stripes’ other community products are supplements of the daily Stars and Stripes newspaper and its corresponding website, stripes.com. Stars and Stripes is authorized for publication by the Department of Defense (DOD) for members of the U.S. military serving overseas.

I am guessing that the article also appeared in the print edition of Stripes Kanto.  As JapanTourist is a part of Metropolis magazine, it appears that Metropolis provided the article.  If there are any G-fans in the military in Japan and has a copy, kindly provide a scan of the article and I'll post it and credit you.  My email address is: AMVaquer@aol.com.

To view it, go here.

USS Ronald Reagan En Route To Japan

The supercarrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, has been ordered to aid in earthquake relief in northeastern Japan.

The ship is out in the Pacific, but his heading for Japan. It should arrive an a couple of days.

UPDATE (3/12/11): From Stars & Stripes:

The USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group is expected to arrive Sunday along the east coast of Japan’s main Honshu island, where it will support relief efforts in areas hit hardest by Friday afternoon’s earthquake, said 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis.

Japanese officials said a request had been made for the ship to anchor off the shore of Miyagi Prefecture, near the epicenter of the 8.9 earthquake.

The Reagan was en route to South Korea, where it was scheduled to participate in a joint South Korean-U.S. military exercise next week.

"The Gipper" is to serve as "an afloat platform for refueling Japan Self Defense Force and other helicopters involved in rescue and recovery efforts ashore," according to 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff Davis.

For more from Stars & Stripes, go here.