A Trip to Odo Island

Could this be the hill from which Godzilla first emerged in 1954? Photo by Brett Homenick.

On May 29, I paid a visit to Toba, Mie Prefecture, for a very simple reason. I wanted to visit some of the shooting locations used for the Odo Island scenes in Godzilla (1954). My first stop was Ijika Port, which was used as the location when Godzilla emerges from behind the hill. 

As Dr. Yamane and his entourage ascend the hill, you can see Ijika Port in the background of the shot. Naturally, the hill is a bit more difficult to identify. However, one Japanese location hunter picked out the hill at the top of the blog post as the most likely candidate during his own trip to the location four years ago. I was able to find the spot and photograph it. It's probably impossible to get a full confirmation, but it does seem to match what we see in the film (though it has obviously changed in the last 65 years).

After taking in the sights of Ijika Port, I moved on to Kata Shrine, which is where the traditional Odo Island ceremony scene was filmed. Kata Shrine is photographed below.

As you can see, the location has changed a lot in the last 65 years, but it was quite interesting to see it in person.

Actually, there are even more locations to visit, but I didn't have enough time. I hope to return in the future and check them out. And when I do, you'll read all about it here!