THE NAGASAWA FILTRATION PLANT REVISITED! A Filming Location for Many Tokusatsu Productions!

The Nagasawa Filtration Plant. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Today (Tuesday, March 19), I braved heavy winds to pay another visit to the Nagasawa Filtration Plant (a.k.a. the Nagasawa Purification Plant) in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. This particular building was used as a filming location for countless tokusatsu movies and TV programs dating back to the early 1960s.

Among other titles, it has been featured in Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961), Gorath (1962), episode 2 of Ultraman (1966-67), the Super Sentai series, and perhaps most famously as Jounan University's Institute of Biochemistry in Kamen Rider (1971-73).

I last visited the plant back in March 2016. Hard to believe it's been eight years, but there you go. At any rate, I clearly remember that you aren't allowed to get too close to the building without prior approval (such as joining an official tour of the facility), so I made sure to stay outside the gate. 

Still, as tokusatsu buffs, we're more concerned with the outside of the building than the inside since that's what we saw in our favorite flicks. It was great to see the plant again after so long. It isn't exactly the easiest spot to visit since it's quite far from any train station, which is the main reason it's taken me so long to return, but it's well worth seeing if you have the chance. Here are my snapshots from earlier today. Enjoy! 

THE NAGASAWA FILTRATION PLANT IN KAWASAKI! A Location for Many SFX Productions!

A view of the Nagasawa Filtration Plant from just outside the entrance. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Everyone knows Tokyo Tower. The Diet Building? Been there, done that. Information about these locations are easily accessible for free on Google, but what about the more tokusatsu obscure filming locations that you can't just enter into search engines? There's only one place to find info on these locations, and it's right here on this blog -- all for free!

Today's entry is the Nagasawa Filtration Plant (a.k.a. the Nagasawa Purification Plant) in Kawasaki, Kanagawa. It ought to be instantly recognizable to readers of this blog, as it has been featured in many classic SFX movies and TV series.

Among other titles, it has been featured in Invasion of the Neptune Men (1961), Gorath (1962), episode 2 of Ultraman (1966-67), the Super Sentai series, and perhaps most famously as Jounan University's Institute of Biochemistry in Kamen Rider (1971-73).

On the other side of the filtration plant, you get a great view of Kawasaki. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As great a location as it is, you are not allowed to take pictures from inside the entrance gates unless you have prior permission. Also, you must arrange in advance if you'd like a tour of the facilities. Despite that, I had a great time seeing such an iconic and prolific filming location in person.

I was glad to find out that this location still exists, but I was just as surprised to find out what it actually is in real life! Who knew it was a water filtration plant? It's amazing to be finding out so many new things after so many years in Japan!