Godzilla trip to Japan!

[SoleMan]

(Is this the best place for this?)

Hey guys, I've been meaning to post this for a while now, but I've been busy. My school offered a course in Japanese cinema, culminating in a study abroad to Japan itself! It was first announced last October, and after wrestling with the idea for about a month, I finally decided I couldn't say no. I wish I could show you a picture of the poster, but I can't figure out how to upload it from my computer. It shows an outline of Godzilla with the information, and in small print it says "Flammable objects, such as breath, are not allowed on board." It's hard to the core, baby.

We meet once a week in a room with a giant screen where we get to watch Japanese movies. This will go on until May when we depart. So far, the only one we've viewed is the anime Millennium Actress, but we have many more on the way.

We were also assigned the autobiography of Akira Kurosawa, which I blasted through ahead of schedule. Many of you may know my affection for books, and I must say that it was a Hell of a read.

Sorry I waited so long for this, but I figured it would make you jealous. I don't care, I'm going to Japan! I'm so happy. (Watch, something horrible will happen the day before I'm to depart.)

[Space Hunter M]

Be sure to bring this along:

[SoleMan]

I noticed that they just added Kurosawa's biography to the books section. Cool!

[SoleMan]

So, we watched Kurosawa's Drunken Angel, an excellent gangster film that launched Toshiro Mifune to stardom. I was wondering about one scene in the film: One of the gangsters picks up a guitar and plays a tune on it, heralding his return. When asked about it, he describes it as "The Killer's Anthem." Does anyone know if this is a real Yakuza tradition or not? I presume it's something they just made up for the movie, but you never know.

[SoleMan]

Okay, today was the big day, the one we had to win...
We watched the one, the only, the original...

GOJIRA!
Long live the king, baby!

[SoleMan]

We watched Invasion of the Astro Monster today, with Stuart Galbraith's commentary. My teacher actually knows Stuart Galbraith, and we're going to be visiting with him in Kyoto!

Okay, so here's the big news: We officially got a rare tour of Toho studios, and are going to be meeting with Yoshimitsu Banno! My God, this is like a dream come true!

[SoleMan]

Today we watching Daimajin, the giant samurai film.

I liked it. I liked how the destruction scenes were more integrated, showing people getting hurt and interacting with the monster. I also liked hwot he mask of Daimajin was based on Kirk Douglas.

[SoleMan]

Okay guys, I've got to share this:

I've become convinced that I can see the future. Not little things like winning lotto numbers, but if something big enough in the future happens, I can feel it reverberate through time.
Anyway, I have foreseen that my plane to Japan is going to crash and kill everybody. Our bodies will be all ripped apart, our brains will be leaking out of our skulls, our skin will be charred and peeling off our muscles. My penis will jettison off my body and land in the vagina of this really hot girl I keep trying to score with. It will be tragic for all of America.

Now I know what you're thinking: I could simply not get on the plane, right? Well, what kind of life is it that I sit at home and am afraid of everything? No, I don't want to 'live' in that world. Better to die having adventure, than to rot away in a hospital bed. Don't mourn for me: I walk willingly into my death, knowing that even though I will never see Japan or stand with the Godzilla statue, I at least tried.

I believe the ancient Chinese proverb stands true: We are all April Fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.

[SoleMan]

I HAVE RETURNED!

Hey guys, I just got back from The Land of the Rising Sun, and had a freakin' blast! I saw Toho and everything! Here's a few group photos we took, I'm the one in the far left on the first one, hiding in the shadows. Christ, I look like crap in most of these.

[Greyshot151]

Nah you should see my vacation photos. But very cool.

[SoleMan]

I'm glad you liked them, because now I can post more pictures!
Okay, so all the Toho stuff first: (That's me in the green, leaning up on The King)







Isn't that a great picture of Yoshimitsu Banno?
next post I'll put up photos of the Studio Ghibli Museum,

[MDK]

That Godzilla on the wall looks sweet.

[LSD Jellyfish]

Nice nice. Glad to see you had a lot of fun!

Is it hard to get to the big wall with Godzilla? I'm going to Japan in two weeks, maybe I'll do something similar.

[SoleMan]

Nice nice. Glad to see you had a lot of fun!

Is it hard to get to the big wall with Godzilla? I'm going to Japan in two weeks, maybe I'll do something similar.

No, it's not. It's just right of the statue, maybe a minute's walk, if that. The big picture of the Seven Samurai is overlooking the statue. (I don't know why we didn't get a picture of us with that...)

Anyway, as promised, Studio Ghibli:




Jeez, I thought we had more than that...These are all group photos my professor took. I want to upload some of my personal photos, but I'm not sure how to do that. Do I have to put them on the Internet somewhere?

[Young Guy]

Wow! Looks like great fun, I'm jealous. The only trip my school will take us is smelly ol' Boston.

[LegendZilla]

I am currently saving up at least $10,000 for a trip next year, just to see the new Godzilla movie.

Would that be more than enough?

[SoleMan]

I am currently saving up at least $10,000 for a trip next year, just to see the new Godzilla movie.

Would that be more than enough?

Well, I can't really say--again, I was on a school trip, and they paid for a lot of it. The hotels we stayed at were pretty small, simplistic affairs, so I can't imagine they cost too much. The second one was like a family-owned inn, even. First, I'd like to say that the Yen is pretty comparable to a penny--so "500 yen" is like 5 dollars. The few meals I did pay for were pretty cheap--five of us got Japanese barebecue for a total of 50 dollars, which meant I only had to fork over $10. I really don't remember paying more than $10 at any given meal, actually. We even got breakfast for free. (Of course, it was a tiny, not very substantial breakfast, but still) I'm not really into souvenir shopping, and the few things I bought didn't exceed $50. However, my friends were right in the heart of the shopping centers of Tokyo, and easily spent...well over a hundred dollars a night on things they bought. (CDs, video games, books, Manga, that kind of thing) A lot of it boils down to what you want to do: If you just wanna crash at a hotel and go to a movie theater to see the movie, $10,000 would be overkill. You might be able to get a bucket of popcorn. If you want to visit all the different sites and buy a bunch of crap...$10,000 should still get you by. I would say after air-fare and hotels, $2,000 should be pretty solid. Let me know what your air-fare and hotels are, maybe I can help you with it.

EDIT: Here are some more highlights. Anyone recognize that clock tower?