Revisiting Yokohama Marine Tower (and Other Locations)!

The exit that takes you to Yokohama Marine Tower. Photo by Brett Homenick.

During King Ghidorah's raid on Yokohama in the popular Godzilla series entry Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster (1964), the space beast's gravity rays destroy a tower in one of the film's most impressive effects shots. That structure is Yokohama Marine Tower.

Yokohama Marine Tower is accessible by taking Exit 4 from Motomachi-Chukagai Station on the Minatomirai Line. It's only about a minute walk from the station. It's also very close to Yamashita Park. Best of all, it's so big that it's impossible to miss!

I paid my first visit to the tower in a few years, and it was a great opportunity to take in the sights again. While I didn't enter the tower, just seeing it from the outside was enough for me. After all, that's how we see it in Ghidrah! 

While in the area, I also saw Cosmo Clock 21, which is a humongous Ferris wheel, and the InterContinental Yokohama Grand, both of which appear in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992). Also nearby was the Yokohama Bay Bridge, which is a GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) location.

It was a lot of fun to see these places again in person. Here's what I saw. Enjoy!

The Cosmo Clock 21 (the Ferris wheel on the left) and the InterContinental Yokohama Grand (the crescent-shaped structure on the right). Photo by Brett Homenick.

The Yokohama Bay Bridge. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Spending an Afternoon with the Modern-Day Master of Monsters!

Fuyuki Shinada. Photo by Brett Homenick.

This afternoon (Sunday, January 7), I was privileged to spend a couple of hours in the company of Fuyuki Shinada, a legendary kaiju suitmaker who has made some of the most impressive monsters in Japanese film history.

Among many others, Shinada-san made Biollante in Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), Godzillasaurus in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Legion in Gamera 2 (1996), Irys in Gamera 3 (1999), and the title monsters in GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001).

Shinada-san became particularly animated when discussing the kaiju productions he grew up watching. As you'd imagine, he's as much a Monster Kid as any you've ever read about in the pages of Famous Monsters.

One amusing moment came when Shinada-san asked if I was married, to which I replied that I wasn't. He seemed a bit surprised and commented that I was handsome but then reason that I'm probably single because I'm an otaku. In any case, I got a kick out of the fact that the maker of Biollante called me handsome! 

It was a fun afternoon with a true legend of the genre and an all-around nice guy. Couldn't have had a better Sunday if I tried!

Takehiro Murata Q&A Now Live on Vantage Point Interviews!

Takehiro Murata in July 2023. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Is there still a little Godzilla in all of us? Only one man has the answer, and Vantage Point Interviews has the scoop! Check out my interview with Godzilla 2000 (1999) star Takehiro Murata!

But that's not all. Mr. Murata's first appearance was in Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992) as Kenji Ando, which he followed up with cameos in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) as Soichiro Hayami, GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) as an F-7J pilot who does battle with Godzilla, and Godzilla against Mechagodzilla (2002) as a convenience store clerk who gets an unexpected surprise. All these roles and much more are covered in the interview.

 Even in 2024, content is king at Vantage Point Interviews. Don't miss it, be there!

A Great Evening with a Great Kaiju Suit Actor!

Mizuho Yoshida. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Wednesday, November 1) marked another great meeting with a Toho luminary. After we met Yasuhiko Saijo, my friend Jacob and I made a beeline for kaiju suit actor Mizuho Yoshida's stunt gym for our next appointment. Jacob had arranged to meet with Yoshida-san and invited me to join him. With an offer that good, how could I say no?

We met Yoshida-san at the gym where his suit-acting colleague Akira Ohashi was leading a class. Stuntman and action director Makoto Yokoyama was also there and greeted us, too. I was particularly impressed by Yokoyama-san's English-language skills. Yoshida-san recommended that we go to a quieter place to continue the conversation, so we went to a nearby cafe.

I assisted Jacob with his questions, and we had a fun and informative conversation. Yoshida-san was quite thoughtful and candid in his answers. Yoshida-san signed a couple of things for Jacob, and we posed for a few more photos. 

But that wasn't all! Yoshida-san recommended that we eat dinner together. We agreed on the type of dinner we wanted, and Yoshida-san chose a restaurant in Akihabara that we walked to. We ended up having a delicious shabu-shabu dinner with Yoshida-san essentially making it for us at the table. (That's the second Godzilla suit actor to make dinner for me and Jacob!) During the dinner, Yoshida-san talked more about his career, such as suit-acting onstage alongside Hiroshi Fujioka, as well as his appearance in a Wonda coffee commercial, which was filmed after GMK (2001) wrapped. 

Mizuho Yoshida and his kaiju counterpart. Photo by Brett Homenick.

But that still wasn't all! After dinner, Yoshida-san took us inside Akihabara Station, which was hosting a Godzilla pop-up store. Coincidentally, there was a GMK-themed jacket on sale, which was too good a photo opportunity to pass up. We arrived just before closing, so we had just enough time to look around the store. 

Suffice it to say, today was full of surprises. I had no idea that we'd be hanging out with Yoshida-san in a grand total of four different locations. But that's a testament to the kind of person he is. I'm certainly grateful for the hospitality Yoshida-san showed us today. Many thanks!

A Heisei Ultraman Event That Was Ultra-Good!

Kazuya Konaka (left) and Keiichi Hasegawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Saturday evening -- that's February 25 -- I attended an interesting event that focused on the Heisei Ultra-series. This is a subject I admittedly know very little about, but it featured not one but two guests I literally hadn't seen in years. With such a rare opportunity on offer, I couldn't pass it up.

Kazuya Konaka (left), Kiyoshi Suzuki (center), and Keiichi Hasegawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One of the main guests was screenwriter Keiichi Hasegawa. Hasegawa-san penned numerous episodes of Ultraman Tiga (1996-97), Ultraman Dyna (1997-98), Ultraman Gaia (1998-99), Ultraman Cosmos (2001-02), the feature film Ultraman: The Next (2004), Ultraman Nexus (2004-05), Ultraman Mebius (2006-07), Ultraseven X (2007), Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle (2007-08), Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle: Never Ending Odyssey (2008-09), and Ultraman Ginga (2013). Hasegawa-san has also written for Toei programs, such as Kamen Rider W (2009-10), Kamen Rider Fourze (2011-12), Kamen Rider Drive (2014-15), and Kamen Rider Ghost (2015-16). Godzilla fans would know him as the screenwriter for GMK (2001).

Kazuya Konaka (left), Kiyoshi Suzuki (center), and Keiichi Hasegawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Kazuya Konaka was the another guest of honor. Konaka-san helmed episodes of Ultraman Dyna, Ultraman Cosmos, Ultraman Nexus, Ultraman Mebius, Ultraseven X, Ultraman Ginga S (2014), and Ultraman Orb: The Origin Saga (2016-17). Konaka-san also directed the feature films: Ultraman Zearth 2 (1997), Ultraman Tiga and Ultraman Dyna (1998), Ultraman Gaia: The Battle in Hyperspace (1999), Ultraman: The Next, Mirrorman Reflex (2006), and Ultraman Mebius and Ultra Brothers (2006). 

Also on hand was Kiyoshi Suzuki, a veteran of Tsuburaya Productions who joined the company in 1964 and worked on Ultra Q (1966) and Ultraman (1966-67) as an assistant cameraman. From there, Suzuki-san also worked on such tokusatsu productions as: Kaiju Booska (1966-67), Ultra Seven (1967-68), Mighty Jack (1968), Return of Ultraman (1971-72), Mirrorman (1971-72), Iron King (1972-73), Ultraman Taro (1973-73), and Ultraman Leo (1974-75). Suzuki-san also worked behind the camera as a director, and in that capacity he shot episodes of Super Robot Red Baron (1973-74), Super Robot Mach Baron (1974-75), and Dinosaur Expedition Born Free (1976-77). In the Heisei era, Suzuki-san has mostly worked as a producer on various Ultraman movies that have been made since the 1990s.

Keiichi Hasegawa. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The event was quite packed with Heisei Ultraman fans, many of whom I'd never seen before. To say they were enthusiastic about the subject would be quite an understatement. In fact, it was hard to get a word in edgewise, as these fans would sometimes even interrupt each other, trying to get their questions out. 

I had a bit better luck with Hasegawa-san, who was always a lot of fun in the previous times we met. I had a chance to ask him about seeing Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966) as a kid, as I remember he mentioned that as his first tokusatsu movie. It certainly has a special place in his heart, as his answer to my question made clear. 

I wish I had more of an opportunity to interact with the special guests, but it was still enjoyable, especially due to Hasegawa-san, who is often the MVP of any event he attends. 

An Incredible Day with the King of the Monsters!

Mizuho Yoshida. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Wednesday, February 1), I had the distinct privilege of spending the afternoon with suit actor Mizuho Yoshida. It was a great opportunity to chat with him at length about his legendary career bringing monsters to life on the screen.

Mizuho Yoshida. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Yoshida-san portrays Zeiram in both Zeiram (1991) and Zeiram 2 (1994), Legion in Gamera 2 (1996), Death Ghidorah (a.k.a. Desghidorah) in Rebirth of Mothra (1996), Dagahra in Rebirth of Mothra 2 (1997), Godzilla in GMK: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), and Zedus in Gamera the Brave (2006), among other suit-acting roles. 

The chat went a lot longer than I expected, which of course is a good thing! But Yoshida-san couldn't have been any more hospitable. If only more people could be as friendly as he is!

Godzilla may be a monster on the screen, but he's a heck of a nice guy in real life. Many thanks to Yoshida-san for making my afternoon something special!

A Visit to Chofu's Tokyo Laboratory!

A Yuji Sakai Godzilla at the entrance of Tokyo Laboratory. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Friday, September 30, I had an appointment with former Toho assistant director Toshifumi Shimizu at Tokyo Laboratory (a.k.a. Togen) in Chofu. The appointment lasted a couple of hours and was quite enjoyable.

Toshifumi Shimizu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Shimizu-san started his work at Toho with Rebirth of Mothra (1996) and became an assistant director on Godzilla 2000 (1999). He worked on each Millennium series Godzilla movie (in one capacity or another) all the way through Godzilla: Final Wars (2004). He served as an SFX director in his own right on the Toho film A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies (2007).

Toshifumi Shimizu. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I certainly appreciated all the hospitality that Shimizu-san showed me. I didn't expect it, but he definitely went above and beyond my expectations. It was a great afternoon and a very enlightening one, too.

And that's a wrap!

A Return to Tokusatsu DNA!

Tokyo Tower. Photo by Brett Homenick.

With the Tokusatsu DNA exhibit set to close in a few days, I made another trek to Tokyo Tower to take in the sights one more time. I brought my point-and-shoot camera with me this time, but I'll share those photos a bit later. Here are the pictures I took with my phone, which are probably nearly identical to the previous ones I posted. Oh, well. Enjoy!