Sunday, July 19, 2015

ON HOLY GROUND! The Ibuki House from Godzilla vs. Megalon Today!

The House That Goro Built still stands in Tokyo to this day. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One of the most interesting and memorable filming locations in the entire Godzilla series was the house used for inventor Goro Ibuki (played by Katsuhiko Sasaki) and his much younger brother (played by Hiroyuki Kawase). I've been asked about it in the past, but with no information available at the time, it seemed just about impossible to find it (if it even still existed).


Well, I'm pleased to say that it does exist to this day. As a matter of fact, it looks largely the same as it did in the movie (just without all the paintings). The biggest change I noticed is that the house now sits in the middle of a bunch of other houses in a residential area. In the film, the house appeared to be rather isolated, out in the middle of a field.

The stairs that Hiroshi Jinkawa (Yutaka Hayashi) ran down, as they appear today. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The house is still used as somebody's private residence, and as such I was politely asked not to divulge any info regarding its specific location. That's fair enough; I certainly wouldn't want to trouble the owners by directing a bunch of crazy fans their way.

Of all the locations I've visited in Japan, I would have to rank this one as my favorite. I honestly thought I'd never get to see it in person for myself. I've never been happier to be wrong!
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6 comments:

  1. MrCydoniaJuly 25, 2015 at 10:00 PM

    I always wondered if that was a set or a real house. Now I know. Good find!

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  2. Damon FosterJuly 31, 2015 at 8:39 AM

    Wow, amazing. I wonder who found it and decided it was a good fit for GODZILLA VS. MEGALON. I'm not religious, but to cover those early 1970s paintings is blasphemous! I think that's more disheartening than when the Taliban destroyed those ancient Buddha statues!

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  3. UnknownSeptember 19, 2016 at 5:50 PM

    HOW on earth did you FIND THIS?? Did you ask some locals or did you do a ton of research? THIS blog is a prime example of why I love the internet!!

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  4. AdamJuly 6, 2018 at 7:54 AM

    Hey, any chance you can share the location of this place? I'm going to Japan in a few weeks and would LOVE to see this place .

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  5. Invasion of the Neptune NJ ManSeptember 5, 2021 at 8:55 PM

    Did you learn anything about the house? Who designed it and when. How did it come to be used for the movie?

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    Replies
    1. BrettSeptember 6, 2021 at 5:04 AM

      It was built in 1971 for photographer Osamu Hayasaki (whose photo was used for the poster for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics). He owned it until his death in 1993. The mural in the garage was actually there from the beginning and was done by illustrator Yuzo Yamashita. There are more details, but, given that the home is a private residence, it's best not to share anything else. The Japanese put a high premium on privacy, and I think we should respect that.

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