Godzilla Celebrated as a National Treasure at the Tokyo National Museum!

The Tokyo National Museum. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The Tokyo National Museum in Ueno is hosting an exhibit called "Our National Treasures: 150 Years in the Future," which runs from November 2 until January 29. I visited this exhibit on Sunday, November 20. Guess what the first thing is you see when you walk through the door. Yes, you guessed it -- Godzilla! Ultraman and Gundam also make an appearance, as does a T-rex. There was a lot to see, so let's get to the good stuff!

 

That's a Mighty Big Whale!

A blue whale just hanging out in Ueno. Photo by Brett Homenick.

While come from another museum on Sunday, November 20, I saw this huge blue whale display outside the National Museum of Nature and Science in Ueno. It was so impressive that I had to stop and take a few photos. I check out this museum properly someday!

VAMPIRE DIARIES! Meeting Actress Mio Ota!

Mio Ota. Photo by Brett Homenick.

One of my favorite horror movies has long been Evil of Dracula (1974), and I think a good case can be made for it as the best of director Michio Yamamoto's Bloodthirsty trilogy. She played student Yukiko Mitamura in Evil of Dracula, as well as Blue Jaguar on the TV series Giant Iron Man 17 (1977) from episode 22 through 35. She also appears in Shohei Imamura's Why Not? (1981).

Ota-san had some of her art on display at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in Ueno, and I decided to pay her a visit. We had a nice chat about her acting career and other topics. She was surprised to learn that I'm an American from California, saying that I looked like a British gentleman.

It was a great afternoon and well worth braving the sweltering heat and humidity. I certainly hope to have a chance to meet Ota-san again.

A RETURN TO KAPPABASHI! Asakusa's Kitchen Town Is Where It's At!

On Sunday, I made my way to Asakusa, and while there, I decided to photograph the giant chef's head in Kappabashi. The last time I was there, it was nighttime, so I knew I'd eventually come back during the day to take better shots.

Despite there being some overcast, the photos turned out much better than my previous attempt. The sunshine really makes a difference!

It's always fun to see fun, offbeat things in Japan, and while this has absolutely no connections with kaiju, it's about the size of one!

VISITING KAPPABASHI! Kitchen Town in Asakusa!

The giant chef keeps a watch over Kitchen Town in Asakusa, Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I love seeing weird, offbeat things. I've known about the giant chef head in Kappabashi (Kitchen Town) in Asakusa, Tokyo, for quite some time, but I'd never had the time to check it out. Since I went to Asakusa earlier this evening, I finally decided to see and photograph the giant chef head.

In many ways, it's like the giant Godzilla head that sits atop the Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. (The chef head was here first, of course.) It has nothing at all to do with monsters or even movies, but if you enjoy seeing giant things in Japan, it's certainly worth a look-see.

These cool street lights in Asakusa were a welcome sight at night. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Kitchen Town is just a few blocks down from Exit 3 of Tawaramachi Station. While nighttime isn't the ideal time to visit it, Asakusa goes out of its way to make it worth your while. How cool are those street lights?

One of these days I'll come back during the daytime. I still enjoyed seeing it at nighttime. Definitely fun to check out!

IN CELEBRATION OF AKIRA TAKARADA! Kaiju Legends Come Out to Honor THE Legend!

 

When worlds collide! Godzilla star Akira Takarada and Heisei Godzilla suit actor Ken Satsuma meet for the first time! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Sunday, October 5, saw a celebration of Godzilla, Akira Takarada, Akira Ifukube, and just about everything else in the genre take place at Cue Studio in Ueno, Tokyo. Akira Takarada was the guest of honor, but also in attendance were Godzilla suit actor Kenpachiro Satsuma, director and creature creator Tomoo Haraguchi, Kyoko Ifukube (Maestro Ifukube's daughter), and artist Yuji Kaida.

Everyone in attendance (including the other special guests!) each got a chance to speak with Takarada-san on the microphone. It was quite a sight to see Godzilla (and Hedorah and Gigan!) speak with Takarada-san!

Tomoo Haraguchi also offered his praise for Takarada-san. I was pleased to see two giants of the Heisei kaiju universe pay tribute to one of the greatest figures from the Showa era.

The obligatory buddy shot! After getting some things signed, it was picture time! I should mention that when it was my turn to speak, I presented Takarada-san with a poster for Salaryman Chushingura (1960), in which he was one of the stars. He was delighted to receive it!

While it was my first time to meet Haraguchi-san, I've briefly met Satsuma-san at Super Festival. I got to communicate with Satsuma-san a bit more through our mutual friend Tsuyuki. Satsuma-san was his usual gregarious self!

Even Kyoko Ifukube wanted an autograph from Takarada-san! The great composer's daughter was very excited to get this lovely shikishi board signed by the Godzilla series' biggest star.

And that's a wrap! What a great event! I was taken by surprise by all the additional guests. Truth be known, I thought Takarada-san would be the only guest, so the addition of so many bonus guests was the icing on the cake!

The highlights for me were catching up with Takarada-san and getting to know Satsuma-san much better. This event far exceeded my expectations, and I had a wonderful time. I eagerly await the next one!