Toho Might Be Working On A New Kaiju Project

Above, yours truly and friends at Toho Studios' Godzilla statue in Setagaya.

It has been a few years since Toho Co., Ltd. released Shin Godzilla.

Now there are reports that Toho "may" be working on a new kaiju project in Japan. Rumor has it that the movie will be set in the 1940s. Is the Japan Godzilla about to return to the silver screen?

ComicBook.com reported:

Godzilla has spent decades rampaging his way thanks to movies that have arrived from Japan and North America, with Legendary Pictures recently announcing that it was creating a new television series with Apple TV+ to bring back the MonsterVerse. Now, it seems that Toho Studios is looking to re-enter the game of kaiju as new reports are emerging that the movie producers are set to begin filming on a new kaiju project that is set to take place during a very unique time period.     

It's been a few years since we last saw the Godzilla of the East, with Shin Godzilla introducing a very different version of the lizard king, created under the expertise of Hideaki Anno, the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion. With the latest film from Japan introducing the most terrifying looking lizard king to date, there has yet to be word as to whether this new take on the classic kaiju will be making a comeback in the future. Anno himself is keeping busy however and is expanding the "Shin Universe" with upcoming takes on two other classic characters from Japan in Shin Kamen Rider and Shin Ultraman.

To read more, go here. 

Ultraman Pop-Up Cafe At Tokyo Skytree

Above, the Tokyo Skytree. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

For those of you who are Ultraman fans, there's some good news.

A new pop-up cafe at the Tokyo Skytree has opened.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun:

TOKYO -- To commemorate the 55th anniversary of the "Ultraman" TV series, a pop-up cafe opened on July 16 in the Tokyo Solamachi retail complex at the foot of Tokyo Skytree.

"Ultraman Cafe: Go Beyond 55th Anniversary," located in the capital's Sumida Ward, is designed to give customers a sense they are in the popular TV series' world. It will trade on the complex's first floor until Aug. 29.

The menu is themed on series characters including from the original "Ultraman" (1966), "Ultraman Tiga" (1996), the latest "Ultraman Trigger" (2021), and popular monsters including Alien Baltan and Dada.

Unfortunately, there's some bad news.

None of us can go there to see it and dine as Japan has extreme restrictions for entering the country for tourists. Persons from Canada and the U.S. are denied permission to enter the country.

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. 

Tokyo Cheapo: Guide To Sensoji

Above, the Kaminarimon Gate that leads to Nakamise Dori and Sensoji Temple. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It was during G-TOUR in 2004 that I discovered the Asakusa section of Tokyo. G-TOUR was the second time I visited Japan and, as of this date, I've been there six more times. During each subsequent visit, it has been my practice to hang out in Asakusa.

Asakusa itself has no connection to kaiju movies (unless you want to count some toy stores who sell kaiju toys or the Ultraman department inside of Rox department store.

Above, the Hozomon Gate. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

But, that doesn't lessen the enjoyment in wandering around the district, particularly the Sensoji Temple and Nakamise Dori.

Above, Sensoji Temple. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

If one is planning to visit Japan, an excursion to Sensoji and Asakusa is a must. Tokyo Cheapo has posted a guide to visiting Sensoji.

They begin it with:

Everybody knows Tokyo doesn’t really have landmarks (think quick: what is Tokyo’s Statue of Liberty, Big Ben or Eiffel Tower—there isn’t one, right?). If it did, though, it would have to be Sensoji Temple in Asakusa, a 15-minute train ride from Tokyo Station, (20 from Shinjuku, 30 from Shibuya or just 5 from Akihabara). In a city full of temples, Sensoji is the eldest, boasting almost one and a half millennium of history, Tokyo’s biggest souvenir market and perhaps the gaudiest rendezvous point: its Kaminarimon Gate with the huge red chochin lantern.  

Sensoji Temple was the reason the insignificant village of Asakusa became a town. Ieyasu, the Tokugawa shogun who created the great city of Edo and made it Japan’s de facto capital in the early 1600s, saw in Sensoji a very convenient symbolism. Being the toughest warlord of his time, he needed all the help he could get from the gods and Buddhas. According to ancient geomancy, potential invaders come either from the northeast or the southwest, the front and rear “demon gates”. Sensoji Temple was the guardian of the northeast gate and Zojoji Temple in Shiba, near Tokyo Tower took care of the southwest; Ieyasu made them both his family temples.

Above, Nakamise Dori shopping street. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read more, go here.

Tsuburaya Productions Wins Ultraman Lawsuit

Above, Ultraman stands guard in front of the Rox department store in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The long battle between Tsuburaya Productions and a Japanese company claiming overseas rights to Ultraman is over.

Jiji Press reported:

Tokyo, April 24 (Jiji Press)--Tsuburaya Productions Co.., the producer of the television series featuring Japanese superhero Ultraman, said Tuesday a California court has ruled that an alleged contract on the use rights of Ultraman outside Japan is not authentic.  

Following the ruling fully supporting Tsuburaya Productions, made on Wednesday, the Tokyo-based company plans to accelerate overseas promotion of Ultraman.   

According to Tsuburaya Productions, the court judged that the contract alleged to have been concluded in 1976 between the late Noboru Tsuburaya, then president of the company, and a Thai man, is invalid because it was not signed by Tsuburaya.

To read more, go here. 

Godzilla and Ultraman Merchandise Coming

Above, Ultraman stands guard at the Rox department store in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It's not as if fans of either Godzilla or Ultraman (or both) don't have enough character-related merchandise to clutter their homes, but more goods are coming out.

According to The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun):

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of Japanese live-action superhero Ultraman. Godzilla, meanwhile, celebrated its 60th birthday last year. Producers of consumer goods are seizing on these two monumental events by releasing special lines of merchandise with the branding of the Ultraman series — a favorite of the young and old for a half century — and Godzilla, the one and only kaiju (Japanese for monster).

To see what's coming and to read more, go here. 

Five More Days For Metropolis Magazine's "Godzilla Issue"

Those of you who haven't as yet seen the current issue of Metropolis magazine's "The King Is Back" or "Godzilla Issue," you have until August 7 Japan time to see their website's spotlight of the issue and the website versions of the articles. They will switch to the next issue on that date (which will likely hit late on August 6 in the U.S.).

The .pdf file of the magazine will continue to be available in their Archives pages.

Besides my article on Godzilla's top five Tokyo attack locations for fan tourists, they also have an article on "The Lizard King" at 60, a review of Godzilla and an article on Kawasaki's Ultraman-themed izakaya, Kaiju Sakaba.

To go to Metropolis magazine's website, go here.

To go directly to the .pdf file of the issue, go here.

"Go Go Godzilla" Online Version

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

Today is opening day in Japan's theaters for the Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Godzilla. The media in Japan, like the media in the U.S. when the movie opened in the United States, have been publishing various articles on Godzilla as lead-ups.

Tokyo's Metropolis magazine has published several articles on Godzilla, including one by yours truly, in their current issue. They have a .pdf file of the whole issue available at their website.

Also, they have online versions of the Godzilla articles posted at their website.

For the .pdf file of the entire magazine, go here.

To read the online version of the article I contributed, go here.

To read the article on Kaiju Sakaba (Ultraman kaiju themed), go here.

Revitalized Asakusa

Above, Nakamise Dori's shops. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Asakusa and Nakamise Dori have been blog subjects here for several years. Next to the shops at Nakano's Broadway Mall, I probably have spent the most money in Asakusa for souvenirs and food than anywhere else in Japan.

Above, the Skytree and Asahi Beeh Hall are just across the Sumida River from Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There are several toy stores in Asakusa to choose from for kaiju toys along with the Ultraman shop in the ROX department store. There are many restaurants to partake at in the side arcades next to Nakamise Dori.

The Japan Times has a new article on Asakusa. It is interesting to read that at one time the district was on the decline (that started around the time of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics). Ever since I first stepped foot in Nakamise Dori in 2004, I have made it a point to visit Asakusa on every Japan trip. Nakamise Dori has always been busy with throngs of people each time I've visited.

Above, the Kaminarimon Gate entrance to Nakamise Dori. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Japan Times begins their article with:

As one of Japan’s representative tourist destinations, the Asakusa district never ceases to attract people looking for a taste of traditional downtown Tokyo. The 30 million visitors it draws each year are a testament to its popularity. 

Typically, an Asakusa tour starts by entering the Kaminarimon Gate of Sensoji Temple, the district’s definitive symbol and landmark. With its enormous red paper lantern hanging from the middle beam, it is one of the most recognizable sites in Japanese travel photos.

The article also states that the nearby Tokyo Skytree in 2012 has aided in current the "upward trajectory" of Asakusa.

To read the full Japan Times article, go here.

Exhibit Focuses On Eiji Tsuburaya's Career

Above, this statue of Ultraman stands at the ROX Dept. Store in Asakusa. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An exhibit honoring Japanese special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya is now available for viewing in Tokyo.

According to the The Japan News (Yomiuri Shimbun):

An exhibition focusing on the career of Eiji Tsuburaya (1901-1970) is under way at the Shinjuku Takashimaya department store in Tokyo. Known as “the grandmaster of tokusatsu (special effects)” for his pioneering work on iconic films and TV programs including “Godzilla” and the “Ultraman” series, he entertained the nation with his many distinct Ultraheroes and monsters. 

The exhibition runs until Monday.

To read more, go here. 

"Japanese Toys! From Kokeshi to Kaiju" At SFO

If, by chance or design, you happen to be at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), you may want to take a detour (while waiting for your flight or after arriving) over to Terminal 3's Departures - Level 2 - Post-Security area to check out an exhibit of Japanese toys.

The exhibit, Japanese Toys! From Kokeshi to Kaiju will be on display through mid-May. It was originally scheduled to end in April, but was extended due to its popularity, according to CNN.com.

According to the website:

Japanese Toys! From Kokeshi to Kaiju provides a feast for the eyes and the imagination. This exhibition captures the remarkable evolution of Japanese toys. Kokeshi dolls, menko playing cards, and battery-operated robots are among the quintessential toys on display. Vinyl kaiju figures, Ultraman novelties, and a dress made entirely from plush Hello Kitty dolls are some of the unexpected items on view. 

A special thank you to all of the lenders who made this exhibition possible: Boss Robot Hobby, California Academy of Sciences, Chizuko Kuroda, Kalim Winata, Kimono My House, Mark Nagata, Reed Darmon, Rory Yellin, and Sanrio, Inc.

Yes, there will be Godzilla and other kaiju toys, along with Ultraman toys, on display.

Ultraman's Family and Friends Pitching Hawaii Vacations

Photo: Ultra Hawaii Facebook page.

Japan's super-hero, Ultraman, his family and friends, are pitching Hawaiian vacations to Japanese citizens.

Hawaii's tourism association has been conducting a campaign, Ultra Hawaii, in Japan to entice people to come to Hawaii for vacationing by enlisting the aid of the Ultraman Family and friends.

To see the official site, go here.

Malaysia Bans Ultraman-inspired Comic Allegedly Over "Allah"

Above, the banned comic book.

The silly season must be on in Asia as Malaysia's Home Ministry banned an Ultraman comic book because, get this, it used the word "Allah."

According to Kyodo News:

Malaysia's Home Ministry has banned a comic book based on the Japanese iconic superhero Ultraman because it allegedly contained "elements that threatened public order," the official news agency Bernama reported Thursday. 

Bernama quoted a statement from the ministry saying the ban on the Malay-language comic book titled "Ultraman - The Ultra Power" that was produced locally, took effect from Feb. 18. The statement did not specify the reason for the ban. 

Twitter users including Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, however, posted a page from the book that could point to the cause of Ultraman's trouble and entangles the Japanese TV and movie character in a battle between Malaysia's Muslims and the minority Christians over the use of the word "Allah," the Arabic word for God.

The page contained lines in Malay that can be translated as Ultraman King is "considered and respected as 'Allah' or Elder among all Ultra heroes." According to the predominantly Muslim government, "Allah" is exclusive to Islam.

 To read more, go here.

Have A Drink With Ultraman (and His Kaiju Foes)

Above, an Ultraman display at the Bandai Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Fans of Ultraman who also like to partake in "adult beverages" are in luck. An Ultraman-themed pub has opened in Kawasaki, Japan and it features Japan's premier super-hero along with several favorite kaiju villains.

RocketNews24 reports:

Among the many Japanese tales of heroes of justice battling giant monsters, Ultraman may just be the most popular. Since its television debut in 1966, hardly a year has gone by without a new Ultraman TV series or motion picture. 

The franchise’s longevity means that many long-time fans who started watching when they were young kids are now full-grown adults. On the one hand, growing up means more responsibility, but it also means more freedom, including the freedom to knock back a few cold beers at a new dining and drinking establishment where Ultraman’s monstrous foes take center stage. 

While Ultraman and his successors, including Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Leo, and Ultraman Ginga, are undeniably the hero of the franchise, many fans also have a favorite among the kaiju, or giant monsters, that the Ultramen battle at a workmanship like pace of roughly one per episode. 

The just-opened Kaiju Sakaba, or Kaiju Pub, in the city of Kawasaki was created to give fans a place to honor Ultraman’s worthy adversaries, plus knock back a few cold ones. To maximize the efficiency in doing so, the beer mugs are even decorated with pictures of the kaiju.

I was alerted to this pub a month ago, but it was not as yet opened during my Japan visit. They have an official website: http://www.kaiju-sakaba.com/

The Asahi Shimbun also has an article on the pub. To view it, go here.

To read more of RocketNews24's article, go here.

Ultraman Certified By Guinness World Records For Most Spinoffs

Above, a collection of Ultraman helmets at the Bandai Museum.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Here's something you don't see everyday.

The Asahi Shimbun in their AJW section reported:

After nearly a half-century of battling monsters and aliens in every shape, size and form, the beloved "Ultraman" TV series has been certified by Guinness World Records as having the most spinoffs in the world, Tsuburaya Productions Co. announced Sept. 12. 

A total of 27 spinoffs of the "tokusatsu" science fiction series, known for its special effects, has been aired since the first series “Ultraman” premiered in 1966, Guinness World Records said.

To read the full article, go here. 

Ultraman Takes On Fight Against UV Rays

Above, Ultraman is known to fight monsters, but has taken up a new battle.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Ultraman has fought monsters to the delight of audiences for nearly fifty years. He's now taking on another battle: Ultraviolet Rays (UV).

According to an article in The Mainichi, Ultraman volunteered his services as a one-day manager of a sunglasses store.

The article reads:

FUJIKAWAGUCHIKO, Yamanashi -- Ultraman: Japanese superhero, defender of the Earth ... and sunglasses salesman? 

The red and silver-suited mainstay of Japanese TV and movies took on honorary manager duties at a temporary Fujiyama Jins sunglasses shop in front of Kawaguchiko Station here on Aug. 5, the shop's opening day. The store, housed in a refurbished Showa-era rail carriage, is just a short trip from Ultraman's base at the foot of Mount Fuji, presumably making for an easy commute.

To read the full article and to see Ultraman in action in the store, go here. 

Fukushima Tourism Rebounds To 77% of Pre-Quake Levels

Above, Fukushima Airport's banner on their Ultraman exhibit.

Considering the media misinformation about the nuclear power plant accident, tourism to the Fukushima region has risen.

According to Kyodo News:

The number of tourists to Fukushima Prefecture rose 26.3 percent in 2012 from the previous year to 44.46 million, rebounding to 77.8 percent of 2010, the year before the triple disaster -- an earthquake, a tsunami and a nuclear meltdown -- struck, the prefectural government said Monday. 

Tourism "steadily recovered due to restoration of tourist facilities and declining misinformation about the nuclear power plant accident," an official at the prefecture said.

For kaiju fans, the only item of interest in the region is the Ultraman statue that stands in Fukushima Airport's terminal building. The statue is three meters tall and was erected to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the airport's opening.

Combined with scenes depicting other monsters and clothing used in the filming of Ultraman, it is the first permanent display of its kind in Japan. It is listed on page 18 of The Monster movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

To see the Fukushima Airport's Ultraman page (in Japanese), go here.

To read the full story, go here.

Ultraman Festival 2013

Above, the Ultraman statue at ROX department store in Asakusa.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The annual Ultraman Festival is coming up later this month.

If you happen to be a fan of Japan's super-hero, this festival should be of interest to you.

Tokyo Weekender reports:

The annual event returns to Ikebukuro for the better part of the summer, giving another chance meet the Ultraman characters and see displays from the cult TV series that pioneered the use of special effects. Although the show was aired from 1966 to 1967, it became a pop culture phenomenon in Japan, spawning dozens of sequels, spin-offs, parodies and remakes.

When: July 26-Sept. 1
Where: Sunshine City
How much: ¥1,600 (adults)/ ¥1,000 (students)

For more information, go here.

Gertrude Smith, 1947 - 2012

Above, Gertrude Smith and Lenell Bridges around 2003.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I was surprised and saddened to learn yesterday that longtime Godzilla/Ultraman fan Gertrude Smith passed away over a year ago. Her friend Lenell Bridges didn't learn about it until earlier this year.

She was a moderator over at Rodan's Roost and I did notice that she hadn't been active for a while.  Now I know why.

I found this obituary, which reads in part:

Gertrude Irene Smith, a veteran Ultraman/Godzilla fan, passed away from Emphysema on 5/25/2012 at St. Bernard's Medical Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas. She was 65. Gertrude was born in March of 1947 and was named after her mother. She was a prison Guard who lived alone with her cat in Blytheville, Arkansas and loved to chat/debate about local politics. 

When I first announced The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan, she posted at Rodan's Roost (as "Raptor"):

A most welcome addition to any kaiju fan's shelf (and about time! ).
If anyone can put it together, Armand can IMO.

Thank you again, Raptor!

Setagaya-ku

Above, the Godzilla statue at the main entrance of Toho Studios.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Setagaya-ku is a residential area adjacent to Tokyo.  In the middle of a residential neighborhood is Toho Studios, famous for producing the Godzilla series along with other daikaiju eiga such as Mothra, Rodan, War of the Gargantuas and King Kong Escapes.  Toho also produced such horror classics as H-Man, Matango (known in the U.S. as Attack of the Mushroom People) and science-fiction epics including Gorath, Battle In Outer Space and Atragon.

The easiest way to get to Setagaya and Toho Studios is to take the Odakyu train line from Shinjuku and exit at the Seijo Gakuen-mae station.  If one has never trekked to Toho Studios and doesn't know the way through the neighborhood surrounding the studio, their best bet is to catch a taxi at the station and be driven to the studio entrance.   The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan has a map to Setagaya-ku on page 21.

Above, the Mothra mural down the driveway from the main
entrance to Toho Studios.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Toho Studios is a working movie studio and does not offer tours, but visitors can view the man-sized Godzilla statue and Seven Samurai mural at the main entrance.  Down the driveway from the main entrance, a Mothra mural can be seen (photo above). 

Nearby to Toho Studios is the Soshigaya neighborhood where the Ultraman Shopping District can be explored.  There, characters of the Ultraman Universe adorn storefronts and streetlamp posts.

Visitors to Setagaya-ku can also see Todoroki Valley, known as the "oasis of the city" where a riverside promenade provides views of lush greenery.  It is one of the few areas where nature can be experienced in the city.