Paying a Visit to Dracula's Former Home in Tokyo!

The Western-style house in Kyu-Furukawa Gardens. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today, I paid another visit to Kyu-Furukawa Gardens in Kita, Tokyo, near Nishigahara Station. The park features a Western-style house whose construction was completed in May 1917. It was originally built as a private residence but was opened as a public park on April 30, 1956. I last visited the park in May 2016, so I figured I was long overdue for another look.

What's so special about this place? Well, the house in question was used as a filming location for numerous genre movies and TV shows. It was used as Shin Kishida's vampiric principal character's residence in Evil of Dracula (1974), the spooky house in the Hajime Sato-directed House of Terrors (a.k.a. The Ghost of the Hunchback, 1965), and it also turns up in the Toho mystery Murders in the Doll House (a.k.a. Crazy Doll Trick, 1979), starring Yusaku Matsuda.

It was great to walk around the property and take in some excellent tokusatsu history. In particular, it was fascinating to see the house's carriage porch up close and personal, which is prominently featured in Evil of Dracula. (The car driving Toshio Kurosawa's character to the university pulls into the carriage porch.) 

The photos below will tell the story. Enjoy!