Denny's Celebrating 40 Years In Japan

Above, a Denny's sign in the background at right near Nakamise Street. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A little over twelve years ago, I made my first visit to Japan. One thing that really surprised me on that trip was to see a Denny's Restaurant a couple of blocks from my ryokan in Shibuya. I've known that Col. Sanders and McDonald's were in Japan, but Denny's?!

It was actually convenient for me as I prefer a western-style breakfast over Japanese breakfasts. I just prefer eating Japanese food for lunch or dinner. So I would head over to Denny's for breakfast.

What brought this up is that RocketNews24 has an article on Denny's celebrating forty (40) years in Japan:

In honor of the Denny’s restaurant chain opening its first Japanese location 40 years ago, Denny’s Japan will be offering a special “American Fair” menu starting on April 15. Of course, such an announcement raises questions about just what exactly this American Fair involves and whether it’s authentic or not.

Americans may also question the date that the special menu is starting on. Maybe Denny's Japan is unaware that April 15 is known as tax day.

To read the article, go here.

"Godzilla" Extended Trailer Impresses The Huffington Post

The new "extended" trailer for the upcoming Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures Godzilla seems to have greatly impressed The Huffington Post.

Along with the trailer, they posted nine photos from the movie and their write-up is only a paragraph long. But, the first sentence is quite telling (as is the rest of their write-up).

They wrote:

The new extended trailer for "Godzilla" packs a wallop, providing a lot more action and insight than those that preceded it. 

Besides that, the headline for their story is also interesting:

Extended 'Godzilla' Trailer Proves That We Have 'No Idea What's Coming'

To read more, go here.

Mickey Rooney Dies At 93

Above, Mickey Rooney and Alan Hale Sr. in a photo on display at a L.A. area golf club.

Another Hollywood old-timer has passed away. There aren't too many of them left.

The Los Angeles Times reported:

Mickey Rooney, a celebrated child actor who embodied the All-American boy in the "Andy Hardy" films of the 1930s and '40s and became one of the era's top box-office draws, has died. He was 93. 

Rooney, whose roller-coaster show-business career was marked by an often-turbulent personal life, died Sunday at his home in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Police Commander Andrew Smith and the Los Angeles County coroner’s office confirmed his death.

Dying at 93, and still acting (according to the article), is not a bad run.

http://www.latimes.com/obituaries/la-me-mickey-rooney-20140407,0,5338354.story#ixzz2yBfz1QNZ

This Month's Airfare Check - LAX To Tokyo

We're in a new month and it is time to check the airfares between Los Angeles International Airport and Narita International Airport (or, possibly, Haneda Airport) that serves Tokyo.

Yesterday's Los Angeles Times Travel Section published round-trip airfares that they found.

The fares ranged from a low of $787 to a high of $1,387, which don't include any taxes or fuel surcharges.

Then, after seeing what the L.A. Times found, I went to my favorite source for airline tickets, GatewayLAX, and these are what they came up with:

Note: The above (and below) prices are not counting any taxes or fees. Also, the above arrival and departures are for Haneda Airport in Tokyo. To be honest, although arriving and departing from Haneda would be more convenient, it is with one of my least-favorite airlines, Delta Airlines. But that's my personal bias, you may feel differently.

However, for the same price, but with arrivals and departures from Narita, you can fly with Japan Airlines (below). If it were me, I would go with Japan Airlines. Although I have never flown with JAL, I have friends who do fly with JAL and they say their service and food are far superior than any U.S. carrier's.

That's it until next month.

Zuihoden In Sendai

Above, the statue of Date Masamune at the site of Sendai Castle. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Back in 2006, I took a shinkansen trip from Tokyo to Sendai (and nearby Matsushima) in the Tohoku region of Japan to see the area where my father was briefly stationed during the Korean War. I arrived at Sendai Station, a place prominently featured in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993) and Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996).

While in Sendai, I did some exploring around the city. I managed to get up to the hilltop site of the former Sendai Castle, now just ruins. The site has a great view of the city and, also, has a statue of the founder of Sendai, Date Masamune (September 5, 1567 – June 27, 1636), called "the One-Eyed Dragon."

Away from the site of Sendai Castle is Zuihoden, the mausoleum of Masamune. Unfortunately, Zuihoden was closed the day I was exploring Sendai. On the other day I had available, I toured Matsushima Bay.

Laura Welch, one of my co-contributors at JapanTravel, has an interesting article on Zuihoden and it tells about Masamune and the architecture of the mausoleum. If you are at all interested in the days of the samurai during the Edo eriod of Japan, you are sure to find the article of interest.

To read the article, go here.

Eleven Extremely Practical Japan Travel Tips

Above, inside the Narita Express (no. 7 on the list). Photo by Armand Vaquer.

KSPR-TV (the ABC affiliate in Springfield, Missouri) has eleven "extremely practical" Japan travel tips.

The begin their article with:

Japan isn't a country to which you just show up and wing it. 

For foreigners, the language barrier can be intense, the technology overwhelming and the prices terrifying for just about everything other than instant ramen.

The key is preparation. 

We've taken care a lot of that for you with the tips below, leaving you to puzzle out the fun stuff, like getting out of a karaoke bar with your dignity intact and figuring out how to ask them to hold the katsuobushi at breakfast.

To see the eleven Japan travel tips, go here. 

Japan Today Article On Latest "Godzilla" Trailer

The new "extended look" trailer that was released yesterday by Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures caught the eye of Japan Today.

They wrote:

TOKYO —The second trailer for this summer’s highly anticipated Godzilla remake was released over the weekend with a better look at the famous monster. 

The new film, directed by Gareth Edwards, looks to be a much darker and grittier portrayal of the carnage that a giant monster such as Godzilla would create in the real world. One of the stars, Hollywood-go-to Japanese actor Ken Watanabe also insists that this film keeps true to the original 1954 version. 

To read more, go here.

Windows XP Users To Be Left On Own Starting Tuesday

On Tuesday, April 8, Microsoft will no longer be sending updates to users of Windows XP users. Windows XP has been in use since 2001 and with no security patches being sent out, users will have to rely on their own in dealing with cyber-treats.

Japan Today posted an article on this:

SAN FRANCISCO —People clinging to Microsoft’s aging Windows XP operating system will be left to fend off cyber criminals by themselves come Tuesday. 

On April 8, the U.S. software colossus will stop patching newly found security holes in Windows XP code that hackers could exploit to slip into computers. 

Despite Microsoft’s long-heralded plan to stop “supporting” the nearly 13-year-old operating system, it still powers from 20 to 30 percent of Windows machines around the world, according to industry estimates.

As my computers operate on Windows 7 (I still use my old PC with Windows 98, but it is no longer hooked up to the Internet), this does not present a problem to me.

To read more, go here.

Japan: Land of the Rising Indignation

Above, a crowd near Shibuya Crossing. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A tourist to Japan had the unfortunate luck in Shibuya to be accused of taking "perverted" photos of some girls wearing their unique fashions by the local police.

He was escorted to the nearby koban (a small police kiosk or shack) for questioning.

He recounts his experience in the Montreal Gazette's website. The article begins with:

A tourist in Tokyo discovers that a thousand words are needed to convince the police that his photography was an innocent attempt to capture some local colour. 

What will you find at Tokyo's Shibuya Station Crossing? Bright lights, colourful crowds, young women in the latest fashions, police officers, misunderstandings, nasty accusations of public perversion, and possible incarceration in a modern and efficient Japanese jail. That may not be exactly the way they describe it in Lonely Planet but I guarantee it's first-hand information.

If you are in Shibuya (or anywhere else in Japan), great care should be taken or you may end up being accused of indecent photography.

To read the article, go here. 

"Godzilla" Extended Look Trailer

A new "extended look" trailer for Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Godzilla was released today:

1954 "Godzilla" DVD Over-saturation?

Above, the Japanese original Godzilla DVD is being reissued by Classic Media. Photo by Toho Co., Ltd.

With the new Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures Godzilla coming out next month, companies with Godzilla licenses are jumping to take advantage of the high public awareness of the new movie and the Godzilla character.

Classic Media is planning to release a reissue of their DVD on May 13. It will be sold as Godzilla, King of the Monsters in new packaging and will have both the Japanese and American versions and the extras that were issued previously.

I have to wonder how this DVD reissue will do in sales. It seems to me the market is already over-saturated.

Classic Media originally put out the original Japanese version along with the Americanized Raymond Burr version (Godzilla, King of the Monsters!) back in 2006. The set with these versions was called Gojira. The set, to my understanding, did quite well in sales at the time.

Later, after sub-licensing the video rights to Criterion, the two movies (with different extras) were given the "Criterion treatment" of digital restoration that totally "blew away" the versions offered by Criterion in 2006 and were offered in Blu-ray and DVD sets in 2012. The restoration work was outstanding. These sets are still available. Classic Media released a Blu-ray of their 2006 set a year earlier. Many fans passed on that and went instead for the Criterion Collection Blu-ray.

While I understand the reasoning behind Classic Media's taking advantage of the new movie to get "their piece of the action," I would think that hardcore fans already have either the previous Classic Media or Criterion Collection sets (or both, as I do) and just pass on this. Naturally, they are probably hoping that non-hardcore fans will grab this in their excitement over the new movie. We'll see.

To be quite honest, if it were me and had I not already purchased the earlier Classic Media and Criterion Collection sets, I would pass on this reissue and grab instead the 2012 Criterion Collection set while it is still out in stores. The difference between the Classic Media and Criterion Collection versions are like night and day!

Godzilla "Courage" Teaser Trailer

Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures have released a new Godzilla teaser trailer that shows the Big G wreaking havoc:

Yen Depreciation and Tax Hike Force Public Baths To Raise Prices

If you plan to use a public bath in Japan, it may just cost you a little bit more to to do so.

The Mainichi Shimbun reported:

About half of "sento" or public baths across Japan are raising or plan to raise admission charges due to an April consumption tax hike and rising fuel costs triggered by the yen's depreciation. 

Public baths are essentially nonprofit operations for people without a bath at home, and have been subject to the nation's price control law which went into effect after World War II to fight inflation. Prefectural governors set admission after deliberations by councils and similar entities of each of Tokyo and 46 other prefectures. Leisure-oriented enterprises such as ''Super Sento'' and ''Day Trip Spa,'' however, are not bound by the law.

To read the full story, go here. 

"Return of Godzilla" and Present Day

Just a little comparison of the shinkansen tracks separating Ginza and Hibiya from Return of Godzilla (1984) and "present day."

Vixxa Violet Reported Dead

I just learned from Jerry "Karlos Borloff" Moore of Monster Madhouse that model Vixxa Violet (real name Laura Moles) has passed away. She was 27.

Above, Vixxa Violet.

Moore has no details on Vixxa's passing at this time.

She was a follower of this blog before she participated in the Monster Madhouse plug of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan. The video featuring Vixxa is above. We corresponded many times.

I just hope that the report Moore received was in error.

Monster Japan Travel Guide Ebook Still In "Best Sellers In Japanese Travel" Top 100

Sales have slowed down a little bit over at Amazon.com's Kindle Store for the ebook edition of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

It has been an excellent week for the ebook and it is still in the top 100 for "Best Sellers in Japanese Travel." It is currently at number 95.

To get the ebook, go here. Before buying, you need to check to see if your browser, software, app or programs are compatible with the various ebooks on the Kindle program so that they render correctly for you. One digital size does not fit all.

Hooters To Open In Shibuya Mid-April

Time Out Tokyo posed that a new Hooters is coming to Shibuya in mid-April.

They wrote that it will be right next to the Shibuya 109, a landmark from two kaiju movies, Gamera 3 (1999) and Godzilla x Megaguirus (2000).

This reminds me of the days (the early 2000s) when Toho used to screen their latest Godzilla movie for potential distributors at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. Several of us were also invited to the screenings each year. Following the screenings, we G-fans would migrate to the Hooters in Santa Monica. One time, we were joined by monster suit-maker Shinichi Wakasa.

Above, the Hooters girls pose with Shinichi Wakasa, Steve Ryfle
and Richard Pusateri in Santa Monica. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

To read the Time Out Tokyo article, go here.

Research Suggests Miso Soup Protects Against Cancer

Above, miso soup. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

RocketNews24 has posted an interesting article on the health benefits of miso soup.

They wrote:

Miso soup is a staple of the traditional Japanese diet and has long been anecdotally connected with Japanese people’s famously long life expectancy. Now, research has linked consumption of miso soup with a reduced risk of stomach and breast cancer. 

Japan’s cancer rates are low compared to western countries, but the country’s relatively high rates of stomach cancer have often been blamed on the high sodium content of the traditional Japanese diet. However, research suggests that miso, the fermented soybean paste which makes the base of miso soup and many other Japanese dishes, could actually counter-act the harmful effects of sodium consumption and even smoking.

A study conducted by Japan’s National Cancer Center showed that people who eat miso soup daily are less likely to die from stomach cancer, especially men. The thirteen-year study, which involved over 265,000 men and women over forty, found that people who eat miso soup daily are 33 percent less likely to contract stomach cancer than those who never eat it. Furthermore, smokers who ate miso soup daily were actually less likely to die from stomach cancer than non-smokers who didn’t eat miso.

Good thing that I happen to like miso.

To read the full article, go here. 

Travel To Japan

Above, Nagasaki, Kyushu, Japan. Photo by Armand Vaquer

The latest (April) issue of the monthly free Japanese cuisine and trends magazine, Japan Up! arrived at the local supermarket and it has an interesting article entitled, "Travel To Japan" that contains some statistics on the current state of the Japanese tourism industry.

For starters, it quotes the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) in saying that for January 2014, the total number of foreign tourists to Japan was over 944,000. This is a 41.2% increase from January 2013, the article says.

From the United States alone, the number of visitors in January 2014 was 59,700, "the highest ever" in the month of January.

The article mentions that Japan had reached the goal of 10 million foreign visitors the tourism bureau set for 2013.

They indicated that the "typical course" for the first-time leisure tourist is Tokyo-Hakone-Kyoto.
It said that the top reason to visit Japan is Japanese cuisine. Tsukiji Fish Market, sushi and tempura restaurants are "popular tourist destinations."

The number of U.S. tourists exceeds 800,000 a year. Compared to 2012, the number increased 12%, says the article. About half are in Japan on business and the other half to experience food and culture.

Dark Shadows Movie Night In Hollywood April 30

Above, Kathryn Leigh Scott. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The folks who put on the annual Dark Shadows Festivals have a special event coming up on April 30 in Hollywood.

They will be holding a "Dark Shadows Movie" night at the Vista Theatre. The event includes a premiere party and screening of Doctor Mabuse II: Etiopomar, starring Jerry Lacy (Rev. Trask on Dark Shadows), Lara Parker (Angelique on Dark Shadows), Kathryn Leigh Scott (Maggie Evans on Dark Shadows) and Christopher Pennock (Jeb Hawkes on Dark Shadows).

The even will also have a 40th anniversary screening of the Dan Curtis-produced (and newly restored) Dracula, starring Jack Palance, with music by Dark Shadows composer Bob Cobert.

Above, Lara Parker. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Actors Lacy, Parker and Pennock will be in attendance as will composer Cobert. Each will sign free autographs. New Dark Shadows merchandise will be on sale, plus a surprise Dark Shadows screening.

And, a Dark Shadows memorabilia auction will be held.

Ticket are $15 per person and will be available at the door or in advance (advance ticket buyers will receive a free Dark Shadows gift).

For advance tickets, send Paypal to Shadowgram@aol.com or mail to Dark Shadows, P.O. Box 1766, Temple City, CA 91780.

The address for the Vista Theatre is 4473 Sunset Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027. The doors open at 6:15.

Nerd Tour Japan 2014: Days Seven and Eight

Above, a view of Kyoto from Kiyomizu-dera. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Anime News Network's Zac Bertschy and Hope Chapman present the last part of their Japan "Nerd Tour" of otaku and Japanese cultural places of interest.

This time, they are in Kyoto.

The start their pictorial article with a visit to the Fushimi Inari Shrine. They also visit Nijo Castle, Kinkaku-ji "Golden Pavilion," Kiyomizu-dera and the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum where displays of Tezuka's creations, including Astro Boy (Mighty Atom) and Kimba, the white lion, are featured.

To read and see (a lot of photographs) more, go here.

New Ginza Development

Above, shoppers in Ginza. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Ginza ward in Tokyo is one of Japan's most prime real estate areas. Prices of land in the Ginza area rose 9.6 % in 2013 to ¥29.6 million per square meter.

As land prices have risen, it has attracted investors who, with an eye towards the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, will develop a new 13-story commercial complex in Ginza.

According to Bloomberg:

Mori Building Co., Japan’s biggest closely held developer by sales, and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA (MC), the world’s largest luxury-goods maker, are part of a group that will develop a retail and office complex in Tokyo as they anticipate increasing consumer spending.  

The two companies along with Sumitomo Corp. and J. Front Retailing Co. will spend 83 billion yen ($799 million) on a 13-story building with six underground levels in Ginza, said Shingo Tsuji, president of Mori Building, at a press conference today in Tokyo. Construction of the commercial facility, with about 147,600 square meters (1.6 million square feet) of floor area, will start this month and be completed by November 2016, the companies said in a statement. 

 To read more, go here.

A Tokyo Earthquake Would Strand 1.8 Million Commuters

Above, a view of Tokyo from Mori Tower in Roppongi Hills. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

With the Great East Japan Earthquake still fresh in memory, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is taking a hard look at what a major earthquake would do to the city of Tokyo and are formulating earthquake preparedness plans.

According to the Asahi Shimbun:

A huge morning earthquake striking directly beneath the Tokyo metropolitan area would strand about 1.8 million railway commuters and force 45 flights to divert their landings away from Haneda Airport, the transport ministry said. 

Water supplies would remain cut off even a week after such an earthquake, depriving 30 percent of the population in Tokyo and the surrounding prefectures of Chiba, Kanagawa and Saitama of potable water, according to a ministry plan released on April 1. 

The quake would damage or crack railway station buildings and bridges, as well as force runways to close at Haneda Airport, the ministry predicted. 

Many people would be trapped in elevators in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures, where there are about 260,000 units in total.

The ministry plans to implement anti-earthquake measures by the end of the 2017 fiscal year.

To read the full article, 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.

Guess What Was Caught In Tokyo Bay!

Above, the Godzilla slide in Yokosuka. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

No, it was not Godzilla, but something large and also extremely rare in the waters of Tokyo Bay off Miura, Kanagawa Prefecture (not far from Yokosuka).

According to The Japan Times:

YOKOSUKA, KANAGAWA PREF. – A rare giant squid was caught in Tokyo Bay after a number of the species were spotted earlier this year along the coast of the Sea of Japan, officials from a local aquarium said. 

It is unusual for giant squid to be found along the Pacific coast and in Tokyo Bay. The squid, classified as Architeuthis, measured about 3.6 meters long and weighed about 24 kg. 

The giant squid is the largest invertebrate animal and typically lives in the deep sea.

To read the full story and see a photo of the squid, go here.

Godzilla - It Can't Be Stopped

Here's the latest trailer from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. for Godzilla:

Japan's Consumption Tax and Foreign Visitors

Above, the duty-free shops at Narita International Airport are some places to avoid the tax. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today is the first day that Japan's consumption tax was hiked from 5% to 8%. If you are a foreign visitor to Japan, how does this tax affect you?

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO):

Tax-Free Shopping 

Overseas visitors in Japan with temporary status who spend more than 10,001yen on any given day in one shop are entitled to a refund of the 5% consumption tax. Only department stores and specialty shops used to dealing with foreign tourists offer the refund, and clients must show their passports. No refund is granted for cosmetics, food, alcohol, cigarettes, medicine, film and batteries, which include the consumption tax in their price tag. 

The above was written before the tax hike. Changes are currently being considered for some of the items currently taxed.

Asia News Network reports:

Foreign tourists are currently exempt from consumption tax on purchases of goods worth more than 10,000 yen (US$99), before tax, per individual tax-free shop. Eligible items include household appliances, cameras and clothes. 

To be exempted from the tax, tourists receive a form at the shop that they must then present to customs when leaving the country. 

Tax-free shops can be found in Narita Airport and other international airports, and also in areas popular among foreigners, including Tokyo’s Akihabara district and Kyoto. There are about 4,600 tax-free shops outside airports, most of them in major urban areas. 

Part of the government’s plan involves expanding the list of items available tax-free. Goods that tourists might use during their stay, such as drinks, food, cosmetics and medicines, are currently not tax-exempt, except at airport duty-free shops. However, the government is planning to make such items exempt as well.

At present, no changes have been made to exempt items such as drinks, food, cosmetics.

According to The Japan Times, there are some surprises in store for consumers:

Tuesday’s consumption tax hike will in principle affect all domestic purchases of goods or services, but there are still gray areas where consumers may get surprised by unexpected levies, government officials warn. 

The consumption tax reform law, part of integrated social security and tax changes aimed at doubling the sales levy to 10 percent in 2015, will raise the tax to 8 percent from 5 percent on April 1, and “there are no changes in nontaxable areas,” a National Tax Agency spokesman said. 

The tax is levied on all goods and services purchased or consumed within Japan, as well as all assets leased, including DVDs and office space. That means any consumption deemed to take place outside the country is basically not subject to the levy.

The Japan Times article does include a breakdown on goods and services subject to the consumption tax. 

How Not To Embarrass Yourself In A Foreign Country

Above, an Asakusa sushi restaurant. There's no tipping in Japan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Before heading into a foreign country, it would be wise to first bone up on that country's customs. What may be considered good manners in one county, may be considered rude and offensive in another.

The Huffington Post Travel section has an article to help people along so that they can avoid violating some social custom in another country and embarrass themselves.

They start it with:

Some of these local customs may strike outsiders as downright weird. But learning a bit of cultural etiquette, important phrases, and the absolute no-no's of any country you visit can save you not only embarrassment but also time and money!

To read the article, go here.