SHE'S BACK! Tanaka-san Takes the Stage One More Time!

Yumiko Tanaka. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

On Saturday evening, April 6, I immediately left work to attend a special performance with actress Yumiko Tanaka. The first half of the show was a comedic stage play, and the second half was made up of various vocal performances.

For the uninitiated, Tanaka-san stars in Kamen Rider Super-1 (1980-81) as Harumi Kusanami and also appears in a small role toward the beginning of Godzilla (1984) in a scene with Ken Tanaka.

Eri Kanuma. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Also on hand as an attendee was actress Eri Kanuma. Kanuma-san plays 007/Yoko Kato in Himitsu Sentai Goranger (1975-77), as well as appearing in episodes of Kaiketsu Lion Maru (1972-73), Inazuman Flash (1974), Spider-Man (1978-79), Battle Fever J (1979-80), and Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan (1981-82).

During the intermission, I had a pleasant chat with Kanuma-san. When I attended a similar event last year, Kanuma-san also attended as an attendee. She is quite supportive of her fellow actresses.

Naturally, I had to take a photo with Tanaka-san and the other performers. As you can see, their costumes and makeup were elaborate. The show was a lot of fun, and I look forward to attending the next one.

TOKYO: The Weekend in Pictures

With Toho star Yosuke Natsuki in his office. I had the distinct honor of sitting in Natsuki-san's office for hours, listening to his memories of Toho Studios! Photo by Asako Kato.

February 8 through 11 was an exciting weekend for me. I met many friends and did many things. So here's a quick blog update with the highlights! 

Hanging with Kazuki Kato at English Avenue Daikanyama. When he's not too busy performing on the stage as a singer or on the screen as an actor, I enjoy getting to see the star of Monster X Strikes Back and Kamen Rider: The Next whenever possible. Photo by Asako Kato.

The Big Boss himself! On Saturday, February 9, I traveled to Mitaka, Tokyo, to watch Akira Takarada rehearse his new stage play, Me and My Girl, which will run exclusively in Toyama Prefecture.

Here he comes from the sky! After hanging out with Takarada-san, I had dinner with Bin Furuya, Ultraman himself! It was a great dinner, and I met many new friends. Thanks to Furuya-san for introducing them to me!

On Sunday, February 10, I was invited to attend a Kamen Rider Super-1 reunion in Nakano, Tokyo. Shunsuke Takasugi, who starred as Kamen Rider Super-1, appeared onstage to answer questions and sign autographs with some of his former co-stars!

Following the Kamen Rider event, I interviewed legendary Japanese actor Mickey Curtis, who was happy to share his memories of Toshiro Mifune, Kihachi Okamoto, and many others!

On Monday, February 11, I met with director Yoshimitsu Banno and screenwriters Wataru Mimura and Hitomi Shimizu as we talked about a myriad of subjects. Thanks to my friend Yasushi for snapping this photo!