Is there a Godzilla/Toho tour available in Japan?

Question

I am planning on a trip to Japan in Jan/Feb next year. I am a huge fan of Kaiju and Toho films. I'm wondering if there is a good tour to go on or would it be best to make up my own tour? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

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When it comes to kaiju films, AFAIK there isn't anything like the jidaigeki attractions such as Toei Movie Land near Kyoto or Edo Wonderland in Nikko. However if you are making your own tour, you can go out to Izu and see where they shot the exteriors for any number of films. Izu just got used because it is close to Tokyo when they needed a open field for monsters to fight in, or come out of the sea..whatever. I suppose if we were talking about high budget films they might have gone farther afield. As it is, it makes for a strange sort of deja vu to be in Izu if you are a fan. The Japan Foundation might be able to give you advice on this trip, they do have film scholars on staff-are they are not necessarily all about "respectable" cinema.

These guys do get it that maybe they should help dig out some obscure genre flick and subtitle it, instead of having yet another retrospective of Ozu or Kurosawa films that every high-end video store already has. They would be the people to talk to if you wanted to do something like visit Toho's archive.

Answer 2

Godzilla is one of classics of Japanese cinema. It doesn't go around now days.You'd better do it yourself.