Ultraman Soars in Kamakura!

The toy store Choppe along Komachi-dori in Kamakura. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday, August 5, I went to Kamakura to attend an event with Bin Furuya, the original Ultraman suit actor himself. Along the way, I passed Choppe, one of my favorite sights in Kamakura. The old-fashioned toy store has been in business since 1924!

It'd been a long time since I was in Kamakura (the last visit was in those pre-pandemic days), so it was nice to walk around an area I used to visit quite frequently. 

A Science Patrol uniform on display. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Also in attendance was Masanari Nihei's daughter Kazuka, whom I met earlier this year. It was great to see her again, and I also met her husband for the first time.

A collage of Masanari Nihei photos. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Interestingly, it turns out that he has never seen his father-in-law in the original Ultraman (1966-67) series, though he did say that he plans to change that soon.

I was at the venue for a few minutes before Furuya-san showed up. He gave me a surprising, long-lasting bear hug from behind. 

Yours truly posing with all the Ultraman items on display.

I was so surprised by it that I compared him to the late Japanese pro wrestler Rikidozan. 

Kazuka, Masanari Nihei's daughter. Photo by Brett Homenick.

At the beginning, all attendees introduced themselves for about three minutes each. When it came to me, I talked about my hometown, where I live now, my interest in Japanese movies, talked about how Shigeo Kato used to live in Kamakura and how he was an actor in many Akira Kurosawa movies.

Bin Furuya. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I also pointed out that Furuya-san appeared in a Kurosawa movie, too, before handing the floor back to Furuya-san, who then commented on how much my Japanese has improved since we first met. (I guess it technically has, but really not by much.)

The venue was a bit small and was fully packed with attendees, which isn't a great combination on a hot August night in Japan. So Furuya-san and a couple of other attendees took a break outside, and I took the opportunity to join them. 

We posed for some obligatory photos while continuing the chat from earlier on. By this point, two hours had passed, so I decided it was time to begin my long journey home. 

And that's a wrap! Everyone was quite friendly, and the guests were a lot of fun. It was also great to visit Kamakura again after a few years.

Oh, I guess I should mention that there was a huge train delay getting back home, which naturally I wasn't thrilled about, but ultimately it didn't matter much. It just made sitting on a packed train in the middle of August even less enjoyable, but there you go.

The event itself went smoothly, which is all you can ask for. And it was great to see Kamakura again.

The scene from Kamakura Station. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I took this photo from the train platform of Kamakura Station. Can't wait to go back there!