A Kaiju-Size Dinner Fit for a King (of the Monsters)!

Mizuho Yoshida with Syabuyo's Godzilla Minus Zero-themed menu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Sunday, November 8, my friend Jacob and I met GMK (2001) Godzilla suit actor Mizuho Yoshida at Akihabara Station for a delicious shabu-shabu dinner. Yoshida-san chose the location, and it soon became very evident why he did. The restaurant he selected, Syabuyo, currently boasts a collaboration campaign with Godzilla Minus Zero (2026). I mean, where else should one have dinner with Godzilla himself?

Yoshida-san gave his best shabu-shabu recommendations, and, since he's the connoisseur, we let him choose on our behalf. He went into detail about each course and how they were different, so I asked him to go with what he felt was the best choice. It turned out he made a pretty good decision!

Godzilla brings you your dinner. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It's also worth noting that Yoshida-san is a stunt performer in Minus Zero. While I read that on social media in recent days, he confirmed that with us in person. Apparently, he shot his scene in the summer last year in an open set in Saitama, and it was a wire stunt where he was sucked into the sky by King Ghidorah in Matsumoto. 

It seems Minus Zero's stunt coordinator gave Yoshida-san the offer because Takashi Yamazaki is a big fan of the GMK Godzilla, going so far as using that Godzilla's white eyes in Always 2 (2007) for his very first version of Godzilla. Yoshida-san saw Minus Zero in IMAX in Shinagawa because the screenings in other theaters were already sold out. He watched the film closely for his scene but couldn't find himself onscreen.

Yoshida-san was in great spirits -- is he ever not? -- and talked about a variety of things. Apropos of nothing, I asked him if he was familiar with the Three Stooges, using their Japanese name, and showed him their picture. He wasn't familiar with them, but, when I explained they were comedians, he brought up Police Squad! (1982) and The Naked Gun (1988) as American comedies he likes. 

It was a lovely evening with a lot of smiles and laughs. But, like all good things, it had to come to an end. As we were saying our goodbyes in Akihabara Station, Yoshida-san took out his phone and took a photo with all three of us. Again, it's always a plus when a celebrity wants to take a photo with you. 

And that's a wrap! It's been one heck of a week, but things will start to settle down. Suffice it to say, this week's been one for the history books!