As many JBF members know by now, both Martin Arlt and I were part of G-Tour 2 this past August, the G-Fan Magazine organized journey across Japan seeing sights related to Japanese giant monster (daikaiju) and special effects (tokusatsu)  movies and TV shows (plus several cultural and scenic stops as well).

At last check, I believe I took over 4000 digital photos on this trip, but out of respect to our esteemed host, I'll be sharing only a tiny fraction of that... (And I'll try not to turn this into a boring tourist travel blog)  ;-)

Hopefully, Martin will share his photos here as well.

August 1st, 2011 - I had a overnight layover in Los Angeles before catching my A380 flight to Narita, so I made it a point to trek to Hollywood and photograph something related to the trip:

And found these familiar-sounding names nearby as well...

Not exactly Godzilla-related, but a photo of "Astronaut E. S. Onizuka Street" in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo area, and the Space Shuttle Challenger monument dedicated to him.  3 weeks earlier, the shuttle replica was removed for renovation and there were only two orange buckets there instead.  Happy to get another chance for a photo.

The nearby Japanese-American National Museum, with the banner for Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo exhibition.  Wanted to see it, but the museum was closed that day. 

August 3rd, 2011 - We jump ahead to Japan!

Actually I left LAX on August 2nd, but crossing the International Date Line cost me a day. 

Photo taken in Shinagawa Station of the sleek Narita Express (NEX), one of two rail options from Narita International Airport to Tokyo you can take in the evening hours (the airport bus stops running in late afternoon, and taxis are super expensive at that distance).

Photo of the second half of the Narita Express, which split into two trains at Tokyo Station, my original one going south to Yokohama, and this one looping up to Shinjuku and beyond.  The streamlined front of the train hides a docking port that connects up with another train and allows passage between the two of them.

And despite the cool-looking evening, it was really hot and humid to a guy used to the mild Seattle-area temperatures this year...

August 4th, 2011.

Tokyo Tower, giant monster destruction magnet for a large number of movies.

View from the Tokyo Tower Main Observation Deck, looking at the new Tokyo Sky Tree, which will take over as main symbol of the city skyline when completed later this year.

Looking southward. 

Looking down through an observation window in the floor.

(Hated taking this shot)

Tokyo Bananas - Supposedly, one of the more popular edible gifts to take back home to family, friends, and co-workers.  There were dozens of different goodies to buy in the Tokyo Tower gift shop...  Cookies, cakes, and even puddings in the shape of...

Um...   Er....  Uh, moving on...

Yes, we are getting closer to the more Godzilla-related subjects...

The famous clock tower on the roof of the Wako Department Store in the Ginza area.  It was destroyed in the original 1954 movie by Godzilla himself (as a reference, the first Godzilla was only a little taller than the clock tower itself)

Which leads us to nearby Hibiya, and...

Not long after shooting these, we had to hastily retreat back to the tour bus because of a thunderstorm with heavy rain (felt a lot like being in Hawaii).  Fortunately, this was just one of two bronze Godzilla statues we would see this day.

The area around the Godzilla statue (which was also owned by Toho Studios) was like a mini-version of the Hollywood Walk of Fame I visited earlier.

Well known Toho movie actor Akira Takarada's hand print and signature in metal (bronze?).

Handprint and signature of the legendary actor Toshiro Mifune.

Another giant monster magnet, the National Diet Building, which serves as the capitol building of Japan.  I think our bus actually parked illegally to get this photo-op...

The moat and gate to the Imperial Palace.  Despite the serene and cool looking atmosphere, a lot of us tour members were enduring high heat and wicked humidity at this moment in time.  Plus, it was a long trek back to the tour bus from here (it is kinda hard to look at this photo and try to remember how miserable it actually was).

Edit - Forgot to add that Godzilla and other monsters have never been given permission to attack this place (nor are they allowed to climb Mt. Fuji as well).

On the way to Setagaya.  I don't know why something like the cartoon version of Samantha from BEWITCHED is being used as an Japanese advertisment, but I saw signs like this in a few places around Tokyo.

The Ultraman Jack arch, anchoring the southwest end of Ultraman Shopping Street near Setagaya.  Several members of G-Tour 2 are singing the Ultraman theme song.

Ultraman (Ultraman)

Here he comes from the sky

Ultraman (Ultraman)

Watch our hero fly

In a super jet he comes

From a billion miles away

From a distant planet land

Comes our hero Ultraman!

I think on one of G-Tour 2 videos of our walk up Ultraman Shopping Street, I'm caught taking this photo...

Pretty neat that nearly all the street lamps here were abstract versions of Ultraman himself.

This is actually looking back the way we came, showing the distance to the Ultraman Jack Arch we passed earlier.