Heyyyyyy, Svengoolie!

A familiar face, as seen on Svengoolie.

 

This is pretty fun. On October 10, Svengoolie hosted Munster, Go Home! (1966) as part of MeTV's Halloween BOO-Nanza. And, as you can see, yours truly made a surprise appearance on the broadcast.

Well, maybe it wasn't that surprising. Back in August, I visited the Godzilla slide in Kurihama Flower Park (located in Yokosuka), donning my Svengoolie polo shirt. I sent a few photos from my trip to Svengoolie's website, hoping they'd eventually get put on the show.

The actual photo that was sent to Sven. Photo by Brett Homenick.

It only took two months, but this photo made it on the air, along with some info I wrote in my email. Pretty cool stuff! I actually saw Munster, Go Home! on Svengoolie around 2024, so it was interesting to find my picture was broadcast in a segment during that movie. 

Maybe it would have been more appropriate to show it along with the Dan Curtis Dracula (1974), but that's an inside joke for another time.

Svengoolie in July 2012. Photo by Brett Homenick.

While I can't really say I "met" him, I photographed Svengoolie in July 2012 when he was making a personal appearance at a local convention I happened to attend. I certainly knew of him but hadn't seen his work at the time, so seeing the sheer length of his autograph line was quite amazing.

Truly a Halloween highlight! Well, let's wrap up this blog post with a tribute to our pal Sven with the late Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon.

More Photos from Kurihama Flower Park and the Godzilla Slide!

Kurihama Flower Park. Photo by Brett Homenick.

In addition to the photos in my previous blog post, here are some additional photos featuring Kurihama Flower Park itself, Godzilla-related signage and merchandise, as well as photos of yours truly. Enjoy!

REVISITING KURIHAMA FLOWER PARK! The Godzilla Slide Still Rules Yokosuka!

The Godzilla slide at Kurihama Flower Park. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On Monday, August 10, I made my way to Kurihama Flower Park for the first time since late 2019. It's hard to believe it had been that long, but the passage of time usually goes like that. It was only the fourth time I've ever visited the park so far, and we'll see how many more times I stop by.

What's fascinating to me is that I remember the park was called Kurihama Flower World, but all the literature online these days lists it with Park in the name. In one of my previous blog posts, I link to a site where "world" is part of the URL, so I know I haven't gone crazy. 

Of course, the reason I traveled all the way to Yokosuka, Kanagawa, to visit the park was to see the nine-meter-tall Godzilla slide. I still haven't actually used the slide -- I mean, it's for little kids -- but it's fun to photograph. 

And photograph it I did! In fact, I'm putting the rest of my pictures in a separate blog post, so be sure to check that one out, too. All in all, it was worth the hike!

Revisiting the Godzilla Slide in Kurihama!

The Godzilla slide in Kurihama! Photo by Brett Homenick. 

After visiting Kamakura, Jacob and I took a hike in Kurihama Flower World to look at the Godzilla slide. It was my first time to be there at night, which added some atmosphere to the pictures. Check them out!

RETURN TO KURIHAMA FLOWER WORLD! Revisiting the King of the Monsters!

The King of the Monsters stands tall in Kurihama Flower World! Photo by Brett Homenick.

During my day trip to Yokosuka, I paid a visit to Kurihama Flower World, which many Godzilla fans will recognize as the home to the enormous (nine meters high, 10 meters long) Godzilla slide in the park's Adventure Land section.

Welcome to Kurihama Flower World! Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Given that it had more than three years (hard to believe it's been that long!) since my first trip there, I decided to give it another look. My decision was made much easier by the fact that I had other business in Yokosuka, so the trek to Kurihama would be much shorter than it otherwise would be.

Godzilla stands just a few feet down the road. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Despite the blistering heat, I made the hike up Kurihama Flower World and looked forward to seeing the slide again. One thing I wanted to do this time was actually to go down the slide. During my first visit, a typhoon had just blown through Tokyo, leaving the slide a muddy mess. This time, however, the weather was about as sunny as it could get.

It's Godzilla! Photo by Brett Homenick.

The sun began to set, giving an interesting lighting to the photos I took. It also posed a few problems, as I couldn't really photograph the slide from certain angles. Still, I think the pictures turned out extremely well.

The Godzilla slide, as seen from behind. Photo by Brett Homenick.

After snapping some pictures, I decided to give the slide a try. Unfortunately, I ended up having to force myself down the slide, since nothing happened when I first tried! It turns out that the slide is much better to look at than to use.

After spending a few minutes with the King of the Monsters, it was time to turn around and go home. Considering all the hiking I did in the sweltering summer heat, I feel like I've done enough exercise to last me the rest of the year. So I think I'll take it easy until around New Year's!

It was great to see Godzilla again in all his glory. Perhaps another trip might be in the cards in the near future, but we'll have to wait and see what happens.