MEETING LINDA MILLER! The King Kong Escapes Star Arrives in Tokyo!

Linda Miller on her second day in Tokyo at a Gusto restaurant in Nakano. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I just returned home from a great evening with Linda Miller, the leading lady in King Kong Escapes (1967). Linda is in Tokyo to appear at several events over the weekend, including a major King Kong Escapes reunion on Sunday, featuring Akira Takarada and Haruo Nakajima.

As you can imagine, Linda is very excited for the events to take place over the three-day weekend. Even though we recorded our interview over two years ago (has it really been that long?), this was our first face-to-face meeting, and it's one I'll always remember. Thank you very much, Linda!

DAIBUTSU PHOTOS! More Photos of Kamakura's Giant Buddha Statue!

During my visit to Daibutsu in Kamakura, I took many photos of the Giant Buddha. Here are a few more. Enjoy!

NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATIONS CONTINUE! Paying a Visit to Shigeo Kato!

Shigeo Kato poses with Daibutsu in Kamakura. Photo by Brett Homenick.

On January 3, I made a visit to Kamakura, Kanagawa, to pay a visit to veteran actor Shigeo Kato. I've written about Kato-san on this blog several times, but he appears in just about every Toho film of note from the 1950s into the 2000s. If you've seen Ikiru (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Godzilla vs. the Thing (1964), King Kong Escapes (1967), Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), Godzilla 1985 (1984), and even Godzilla vs. Megaggurius (2000), then you've seen Shigeo Kato.

Daibutsu is large and in charge in Kamakura! Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Kato-san and I met at Kamakura Station, and from there we took a taxi to Daibutsu, the large Buddha statue that's a popular tourist destination. It's been a long time since my last visit, and I enjoyed seeing it again.

The weather was on our side, too, as it was a beautiful day. We walked around the statue and snapped a few photos.

Say cheese! Even though the sun was in our eyes, we did our best to look into the camera!

Kato-san gave me a flier for this DVD, in which Kato-san and Ultraman suit actor Bin Furuya visit filming locations in Enoshima and reminisce about their careers. The other was a fanzine article on Sampo Shojo, a recent animated movie for which Kato-san (and Furuya-san) provided voices. Unfortunately, there was a glaring error in the piece. Kato-san's birth year was listed as being 1926, and the actor was described as being "almost ninety years old." Actually, he was born in 1925 and turned 90 in June 2015. I guess the fanzine could use a new editor!

After visiting Daibutsu, we made our way to a nearby cafe and enjoyed some chocolate cake. Kato-san told me more stories about his acting career. At one point, I got out my camera to show him some photos from the recent event I attended with Akira Kubo and Yoshio Tsuchiya. When I showed him my photo with Tsuchiya-san, he pointed at me and asked if that was Kubo-san. I laughed and told him it was me. I've been told I look like Akira Kubo before, but not by a Toho actor!

After that, we wrapped things up and went to the bus stop to go back to Kamakura Station. We had several minutes before the bus arrived, so I played around with my camera. I took several black-and-white shots, one of which is below.

Trust me when I say that Shigeo Kato is even cooler than he looks. Thank you very much, Kato-san!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Ushering in 2016 with TAC!

Former Ultraman Ace cast member Mitsuhiro Sano sings a karaoke version of his TV series' theme song. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Last night (January 1) I paid a visit to Poppo, the bar owned and operated by actor Mitsuhiro Sano, best known to fans in Japan and the West as TAC member Kozo Yoshimura in Ultraman Ace (1972-73). I spent a few hours at the bar, chatting with Sano-san and a fellow bar patron. It was an enjoyable evening, and a perfect way to ring in the new year.

What a gift! Sano-san presented me with an Ultraman calendar and signed it for me. What a nice surprise! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Of note, I was able to confirm that his name is, in fact, Mitsuhiro Sano, as opposed to Koyo Sano. "Koyo" is an incorrect reading of his name's kanji. Despite what most sources say in English, his name is indeed Mitsuhiro Sano.

After singing several karaoke songs (by the likes of Billy Joel, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and others), Sano-san gave me an Ultraman calendar as a gift and proceeded to sign it for me. How cool is that? Paying a visit to Mitsuhiro Sano was a great way to kick off the new year, and I look forward to all that will happen in 2016!

2015: A Great Year!

At a Tokyo event in October featuring Teruyoshi Nakano, Hiroko Sakurai, Machiko Naka, Yasuhiko Saijo, and Eiichi Asada.

In Japan, it's already 2016, but I wanted to say a few words about the year that just ended. In short, 2015 was by far my best year in Japan. It easily toppled 2012 (my previous favorite) to claim the top spot.

There was so much to do, and keeping busy was never an issue. I made many new friendships and strengthened the ones I already had. There were many other positive developments (most of which are beyond the scope of this blog), but suffice it to say that when I think of 2015, the good far outweighs the bad.

Thanks for the memories, 2015!

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR! Ulf and I Begin the Celebrations!

Ulf Otsuki and yours truly at our favorite Indian restaurant in Edogawa.

Today (December 30), I paid a visit to actor Ulf Otsuki at his home in Edogawa. I had a great time seeing him again. First, we watched the old MGM musical Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). (Ulf is a big fan of old Hollywood movies, and we've started watching one every time I come to visit.)

The sun always sets on Edogawa. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Following the movie, we made our way to our usual Indian restaurant for some curry. We spent a long time there, chatting about a variety of topics.

The Tokyo Sky Tree in the distance. Photo by Brett Homenick.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening, and it's always a blast to see Ulf. Celebrations for the upcoming new year continue tomorrow, and I'm quite excited for what's in store.

Happy New Year, from me and Ulf!

SEEING STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS IN TOKYO! May the Futako Be with You!

Signage for Star Wars: The Force Awakens at a movie theater in Tokyo. Photo by Brett Homenick.

First, a confession. I'm not the biggest Star Wars fan in the world. In fact, I haven't seen a new Star Wars film since my brother took me to see The Phantom Menace in the summer of 1999. Unsurprisingly, I haven't been in any particular hurry to catch up on the franchise since then, but truth be told, I pretty much left Star Wars behind in my early teens.

Hey, look! It's Paddington, and he probably wants some marmalade! Photo by Brett Homenick.

Given all the hype (most of which seems to come from meme-sharing fans on Facebook), I finally broke down and went to see it at the 109 Cinemas in Futako-Tamagawa (hence the name of this blog post, in case you were wondering).

Even though the film has been out for a while in Japan, my screening (which was on a Tuesday afternoon) was nearly sold out, and I had to settle for a seat in the very first row. Hm... 

How come Star Wars doesn't offer any marmalade soda? Photo by Brett Homenick.

Interestingly, the teaser trailer for Shin Godzilla (a.k.a. Godzilla Resurgence) played before the film. If J.J. Abrams catches a screening of Star Wars in Japan, he'll probably be wondering why it took his flick Cloverfield so long to get released in Japan and why it's being called Godzilla. Suffice it to say, the teaser was as unimpressive to me on the big screen as it was on YouTube.

(Minor spoilers ahead)

As for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the movie had me up until those gloopy tentacled monsters showed up on the Millennium Falcon (at least that's where I think it was -- the characters moved around so much it was hard to keep track of where they were). Not only were they boring and nondescript, but they belonged in another movie. After that, well, I just had a "been there, done that" feeling until the last shot of the film, which was just as unsatisfying as anything else on the screen.

I'd give the movie about two out of four stars, but again, I'm not the target audience for this sort of thing. I've certainly seen movies a lot worse, but it could have been so much better.