TOHO

  • A Monster Mashup In Western Tokyo

    Given the gift of an afternoon off, I got on my bike and rode somewhat familiar paths to get reacquainted with old monster “mates” I’d encountered in days gone by. First, I met green Godzilla, a topiary treat from Toho, before heading toward Chofu to see a collection of the yokai spirits created by Shigeru Mizuki. A little bit of a roundabout journey followed, dropping by the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka and then onto the Kokubunji Totoro before racing back to pick up a new phone bought because the battery in my old one conks out within a couple of hours of using it. Unfortunately, performance on the new phone…

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    Going Out To Lunch With Godzilla

    I’m fortunate enough to work within a short stroll from Godzilla, the (sometime) scourge of Japan and frequent destroyer of Tokyo. I took advantage of my lunch break to head down to visit Japan’s most famous monster. Of course, it’s not the real Godzilla, otherwise I probably wouldn’t get much work done. It’s a statue of the monster located in front of headquarters of Toho Co., Ltd., the movie studio that gave the world Godzilla. I also got to look at a quaint little garden filled with Aussie plants. Then, this morning, amid an ongoing period with a heavy workload, it was nice to get back on the bike. Even…

  • Green Godzilla

    On what was something of a strange weekend, perhaps the weirdest moment came when I got to come face-to-face with a green, as in made of plants, Godzilla. There’re plenty of Godzilla statues and effigies all over Tokyo, as I’ve reported before, and the rest of Japan, some life-sized, others tiny and plenty in-between and loving devoted to Japan’s most adored monster. In western Tokyo, where I live, the most famous example is probably the Godzilla statue outside the TOHO CO., LTD. studios near Seijogakuen-mae, which is a bit of a trip for me further out in the boonies. So, I was surprised to learn that there is actually a…