Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

Not wanting to hijack Meichan's Japan photo thread any further, just wanted to give a heads-up that I'm posting a small fraction of the 4000+ photos I took while in Japan over on the John Byrne Forum board in this thread:

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru ... PN=1&TPN=1

I'm also posting the photos of me in this thread (more to come from our visit to Toho Studios):

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru ... st#1288471

If anyone's interested in Tokyo Disney Sea, I've got a thread about the Nautilus /Mysterious Island section here:

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru ... otPosts=31

Great photos! We went to Disney Sea during a school day in December, and the line were almost non-existent. My favorite ride was Journey to the Center of the Earth. We rode it 3 times.

That Ultra Man street is pretty neat. I did not know about it.

Thanks Stan!

Ultraman Shopping Street is located in Soshigaya, which is reachable by the Odakyu private rail line out of JR Shinjuku station, (get off at Soshigayaokura Station) We actually had a tour bus. Originally, Tsuburaya Productions was located there, but they eventually moved north. Despite the name, there really wasn't any shops selling Ultraman goods, but it was a neat place to kill time while waiting for our Toho Studios visit. You can actually use Google Maps Street View to experience the place (I used that extensively to locate various restaurants and stores across Japan).

Ultraman Jack Arch

(Following the direction of Ultraman Jack's flight-path will eventually lead you to Toho Studios, going the opposite will take you up Ultraman Shopping Street)

Baltan Seijin Lamp

Ultraman Statue

Regarding Disney Sea, I was warned that I was going on a day when the resort would be packed due to the companies encouraging their employees to extend their Obon holiday to help with the power conservation efforts, and unfortunately it was. Tried three times to ride Journey (morning, afternoon, and night), with the first attempt foiled by the ride breaking down, and the others due the incredible lines. I did take all the photographs I wanted though, which was basically my main goal.

We accidentally found the little Godzilla statue during our 1998 trip to Tokyo, but could not find it in 2009. Matt Alt guided us to it. We did not know about the hand prints, though. I would have liked to have seen Mifune's print. As a consolation, I do actually have his autograph.

Stan,

The handprints are located on the ground "behind" the Godzilla statue in Hibiya (as seen in this Streetview angle):

Hibiya Godzilla Statue

I knew where Akira Takarada was, but I had to have Mifune's pointed out to me by our tour guide.

Just giving a heads up that we've started posting our Toho Studios visit photos on page two of this thread:

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru ... PN=1&TPN=2

These are just a small fraction of what we shot (and maybe I need to get a Flickr or Photobucket account to show them all). We'll also be soon covering the Bandai Museum in Mibu, the annual Ultraman Festival in Ikebukuro, the Toei Motion Picture Park in Kyoto, Osaka, Lake Biwa, Okayama, Fukuoka, Nagoya, and a return to Tokyo for Comiket, Akihabara, and the Ghibli Museum (we already covered Disney Sea).

I've also posted a few oddball food pics, like the Ebi Filet-O from McDonalds Japan, Fruit Sandwiches, and a sneak peek at a Gunpla-Yaki, here as well:

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru ... PN=1&TPN=1

Wow..... envy!! Great photos and tour! Thanks for sharing this with us! I only have my wife to act as tour guide when I travel to Japan. Tours are so-so, but the price is right!

Thank you!

My one regret was being unable to see the Usagi Yojimbo Exhibition at JANM... It was closed the day before heading to Japan, and I had been awake for roughly 24 hours straight upon arrival back in Los Angeles (before jetting to Seattle early the next day), so that was that.

Okay, we've restarted our coverage of August 2011's G-Tour 2 of Japan.

We continue with a visit to the Ultraman Festival 2012 in Ikeburuko, Tokyo:

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru ... PN=2&TPN=4

Posted another update to the G-Tour 2 photo coverage.

This time, a visit to Kyoto's Toei Motion Picture Park, with photos of the Samurai Town filming backlot, the Sentai (Superhero) Museum, and a rather eccentric live-action Ninja Show:

http://www.byrnerobotics.com/forum/foru ... PN=1&TPN=6