"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" Garners Rondo Nomination

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Miki Hayashi with "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan." Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It's that time of year again!

The Ninth Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards ballot is now up and ready for your votes!

The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan has been nominated in the Best Book of The Year category. (Note: It was on last year's ballot, but since it didn't get published (or "go live") until January 2010, I requested that it be removed from the ballot so that people can fairly judge it a year later.) It is an honor just to have it nominated!

Also, Monster Island News has been nominated in the "Best Blog" category!

What is the Rondo Award? According to the official Rondo Awards website:

The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards were created by David Colton and Kerry Gammill at the Classic Horror Film Boards in 2002. The awards are fan-based, and have no connection to any commercial sponsor. Anyone in fandom can vote or propose nominees.





The 'Rondo' award itself, shown at right, features a bust sculpted by illustrator Kerry Gammill, and cast by modeler Tim Lindsey.

The statuette is a miniature version of the bust of Hatton seen in the Universal film, HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946). The Rondos have been praised by recipients for their quiet beauty and evocation of classic horror.

Nominees for the Rondo are selected from suggestions by horror fans, pros and enthusiasts offered all year at the CHFB. Each year's nominees are finalized by classic horror fan David Colton (taraco@aol.com), with the help of more than 20 classic horror fans from around the world, and with expertise in all parts of fandom.

Your votes for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan and Monster Island News are very much appreciated, of course. But the most important thing for Japanese (and all) monster fans is to vote!

Just go here and copy and paste the ballot onto an email to taraco@aol.com with your votes.

After you've voted, then you can say...

Kinokuniya Bookstores-L.A. Re-Orders Monster Japan Travel Guide

by Armand Vaquer

Above, "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" in the travel section at the Little Tokyo store of Kinokuniya Bookstores.

Good news was received this afternoon.

I received a voice mail message from Kinokuniya Bookstores' Little Tokyo (Los Angeles) store stating they have one copy of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan left and they wanted to re-order more.

Accordingly, I called them back and completed the sale. So, a new supply of the travel guide will be on their travel section bookshelf this coming week.

Above, Kinokuniya Bookstores' Little Tokyo store entrance.

Kinokuniya Bookstores' Little Tokyo store is located in Weller Court at 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka #205, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Telephone: (213) 687-4480.

Besides books, Kinokuniya also carries Japanese CDs, DVDs, toys and calendars.

Monster Japan Travel Guide Featured In "Metropolis" Magazine

by Armand Vaquer



It's now out!

Metropolis magazine, the number one English-language magazine in Japan (circulation: 30,000), has posted the interview article on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan at the magazine's website.



The article starts with:

Tell us about your book.

The Monster Movie Fan’s Guide To Japan is a travel guide with fans of Japanese science fiction and fantasy movies in mind. It describes locations and their history, what movie(s) they were in, where to stay, and what other attractions are nearby. The book can be used by vacationers or tour companies to tailor tours for monster fans.

The print edition has the article sharing two pages with singer Christina Aguilera. If you are currently in Japan, head out to your local newsstand and grab a copy!

To view the article, go here.

A Look Around Godzilla's Old Stomping Ground

by Armand Vaquer

The print edition of The Daily Yomiuri article, "A Look Around Godzilla's Old Stomping Ground" showed up (faster than I expected) in the mailbox today.

I scanned the article and here it is below (click on image to view larger):



The interview for the article and photo were done on December 7th in Hibiya and published in the December 24 edition.

In case you haven't read the article or the image isn't clear enough, here's the full text:

A look around Godzilla's old stomping ground

Tom Baker / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer

Godzilla was the embodiment of war in his eponymous 1954 debut film, but he saved the Earth from ecological doom in Godzilla vs the Smog Monster in 1971. The giant reptilian monster has meant many things to many people.

But did you ever imagine him as a tourist? According to The Monster Movie Fan's Guide to Japan (51 pp, 15 dollars, available via www.comixpress.com), Godzilla has ranged as far north as Sapporo, where he destroyed the TV Tower in one of his many films, and as far south as the Sakurajima volcano in Kyushu, near which he came ashore in another.

One place he hasn't visited is New York. Or perhaps that point is arguable. Armand Vaquer, the guidebook's author, told The Daily Yomiuri in a recent interview that devoted fans refer to the 1998 U.S. film in which Godzilla took a bite of the Big Apple as GINO ("Godzilla In Name Only").

For fans devoted enough to make a pilgrimage to Japan, Vaquer's book will tell them where to find landmarks associated not only with Godzilla, but also with his titanic terrapin counterpart, Gamera.

Some of the practical information in the book is a bit dated. For instance, it has been a few years since a plane-to-terminal bus ride was a routine part of arriving at Narita Airport.

However, most travelers are likely to rely on more conventional guidebooks for such details, using this one for it specialized insights. Those begin at the airport, too, about which Vaquer writes: "Interestingly, a video of the procedures at the Immigration desk features G-FEST XIV [monster fan convention] guest and Godzilla actress Shelley Sweeney. So at least you will be able to see a familiar, friendly face."

Vaquer's devotion to his subject shines through in his book and also in person, but it is not uncritical devotion. In the entry on the Seto Ohashi bridge, which connects Okayama and Kagawa prefectures, he writes, "In Godzilla vs King Ghidora (1991) King Ghidora blasts the bridge (in a not-too-convincing effect) during a fly-by."

A more positively memorable scene involved what Vaquer described in the interview as a cake-shaped cinema that stood on the site of the present-day Yurakucho Mullion building in Tokyo.

"That was in the 1954 Godzilla, where Godzilla steps on the train tracks, and the power surging through him causes his tail to whip about, and it smashes into the building. The inside joke there is that the patrons that were seeing the movie in that actual theater got to see the tail just hit the building they're sitting in watching it," he said.

In another part of town, the Diet Building has suffered abuse in several films, by Godzilla, Mechagodzilla, Mothra and King Kong, which must have been a cathartic experience for at least some members of the audience each time.

The book includes a page about the Daigo Fukuryu Maru Exhibition Hall in Koto Ward, Tokyo, which houses the Japanese fishing boat whose 1954 irradiation by fallout from a U.S. hydrogen bomb test was a real-life reference point for the original Godzilla film.

For monster movie fans, a stop at this spot will mark a solemn pause in an otherwise lighthearted journey.

"Monster Japan Travel Guide vs. The Japanese Media"

PRESS RELEASE


For Immediate Release




"Monster Japan Travel Guide vs. The Japanese Media"

The world's first travel guide tailored to fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy movies, "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan," has made a big splash in the Japanese media.

Author Armand Vaquer of Tarzana, California recently visited Japan and was interviewed by "Japan Today," "The Daily Yomiuri" and "Metropolis" magazine on the travel guide.

"I was kept pretty busy during my trip to Japan, " said Vaquer. "During the Tokyo portion of the trip, I was interviewed by several publications and even had my photo taken with the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo. The questions ran the gamut of monster movie locations in the travel guide to who would really win a fight between King Kong and Godzilla."

While the interviews did take up much of Vaquer's time in Tokyo, he did manage to tour around Tokyo to see the new Godzilla statue at the main gate at Toho Studios and the Tokyo Sky Tree Tower now under construction. A photo of Vaquer with the Toho Studios Godzilla statue was included with one of the interview articles.

On the Tokyo Sky Tree Tower, Vaquer was asked if Toho should resume production of Godzilla movies, "Would the Sky Tree make an appearance?" His response, "Without a doubt! Many new sites were featured in Japanese science-fiction movies over the years including the Saikai Bridge in Kyushu in "Rodan" (1956), Tokyo Tower in "Mothra" (1961) the Fukuoka Tower in "Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla" (1994) and the Atami Castle in "King Kong vs. Godzilla" (1962). These locations are featured in the travel guide. The Tokyo Sky Tree Tower would be a natural location for Godzilla to attack."

"The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" is available through ComiXpress.com.

###

Wako Dept. Store Spotlight

Above, the Wako Dept. Store in November 2001. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

by Armand Vaquer

The Wako Department Store building in the Ginza district of Tokyo is one of the most iconic locations used in Godzilla movies.



It first appeared in Godzilla (1954) when Godzilla (above), during his nighttime rampage through Tokyo, is angered by the gonging clock on top of the building. Godzilla then proceeds to demolish the clock along with the rest of the building.

Later, the Wako Dept. Store building appears in the U.S. version of King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) via inserted stock footage.

Once again, the building appears in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995) during the exploding Godzilla scenario sequence.

Above, the Wako Dept. Store in December 2010. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

According to Wikipedia:

From 1894 to 1921, the Hattori Clock Tower stood on the site that Wako occupies today. In 1921, the Hattori Clock Tower was demolished to rebuild a new one. The reconstruction was delayed due to the Great Kanto Earthquake of September 1, 1923. The new tower was completed in 1932 as the K. Hattori Building. In homage to its predecessor, the new store was also fitted with a clock.

Its 1932 Neo-Renaissance style building, designed by Jin Watanabe, with its curved granite façade, is the central landmark for the district and one of the few buildings in the area left standing after World War II. The building functioned as the Tokyo PX store during the Allied Occupation of Japan from 1945 to 1952. The clock tower plays the famous Westminster Chimes.

Above, the Wako Dept. Store clock in December 2010. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There are photographs of the Wako Dept. Store standing almost untouched while the rest of Ginza is in rubble due to Allied bombing raids. It is not too difficult to locate them on the Internet.



During my recent trip to Japan, the building was adorned in Christmas lighting (above).

The Wako Dept. Store is one of the must-see locations for G-fans visiting Japan. The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan covers the Wako Dept. Store building.

Daily Yomiuri Article On "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan"

by Armand Vaquer


The Daily Yomiuri has its article on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan posted at its online site.

As mentioned earlier, it was scheduled to be published/posted on Christmas Eve. Since Japan is 17 hours ahead of Los Angeles, it is already Christmas Eve in Japan. So they're right on schedule!



The article starts out with:

Godzilla was the embodiment of war in his eponymous 1954 debut film, but he saved the Earth from ecological doom in Godzilla vs the Smog Monster in 1971. The giant reptilian monster has meant many things to many people.

But did you ever imagine him as a tourist? According to The Monster Movie Fan's Guide to Japan (51 pp, 15 dollars, available via www.comixpress.com), Godzilla has ranged as far north as Sapporo, where he destroyed the TV Tower in one of his many films, and as far south as the Sakurajima volcano in Kyushu, near which he came ashore in another.

One place he hasn't visited is New York. Or perhaps that point is arguable. Armand Vaquer, the guidebook's author, told The Daily Yomiuri in a recent interview that devoted fans refer to the 1998 U.S. film in which Godzilla took a bite of the Big Apple as GINO ("Godzilla In Name Only").

We didn't discuss Godzilla's New York visits except for GINO, as fans are aware the real Godzilla did pay a visit to the Big Apple in Destroy All Monsters. Besides, the Guide is on Godzilla's Japan locations, not New York.

Above, Ai. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One bit of information in which the article noted as "dated," the bus ride from newly-arrived planes to the Narita Airport terminal:

Some of the practical information in the book is a bit dated. For instance, it has been a few years since a plane-to-terminal bus ride was a routine part of arriving at Narita Airport.

Prior to this month's trip to Japan, my last trip there was in 2007 in which I did have to take the shuttle bus ride from the plane to the airport terminal. It didn't happen all the time in my previous trips, just when there wasn't a gate available. It is nice to know that Narita totally did away with the shuttle bus ride. A welcome change.

The article did note Immigration's video featuring G-actress Shelley Sweeney.

To read the full article, go here.

"Japan Today" Interview On Monster Japan Travel Guide

My interview with Japan Today on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan that was started last week while I was in Tokyo, Japan, and finished up a few nights ago, has been posted.



The interview begins with these introductory paragraphs:

TOKYO — Written by American Armand Vaquer, “The Monster Movie Fan’s Guide To Japan” is the world’s first and only Japan travel guide especially tailored to tourists who are also fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy movies. Most of the locations covered in the book are primarily from Toho’s Godzilla series of movies, but other studios’ monster movies are also covered.

Toho started the giant monster movie genre in 1954 with “Godzilla.” Locations used include the Wako Department Store in Ginza, Kachidoki Bridge on the Sumida River and the Diet building. These and other Tokyo locations are covered in the guide. Also included are Ultraman-related places of interest.

The guide starts north with Hokkaido and makes its way down the main island of Honshu and finishes off in Kyushu.

Japan Today catches up with Vaquer to hear more.

To read the interview, go here.

Monster Japan Travel Guide Article In GaijinPot.com

by Armand Vaquer



Gaijinpot.com has posted an article on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

It includes one of the interviews I did during my recent trip to Japan.

The article reads in part:

Most of the locations covered in the book are primarily from Toho’s Godzilla series of movies, but other studios’ monster movies are also covered. Toho started the giant monster movie genre in 1954 with “Godzilla.” Locations used include the Wako Department Store in Ginza, Kachidoki Bridge on the Sumida River and the Diet building. These and other Tokyo locations are covered in the guide. Also included are Ultraman – related places of interest.

To read the article, go here.

Stopping By Toho Studios

Above, standing at the main entrance to Toho Studios, is a man-sized statue of Godzilla.

Text and photos by Armand Vaquer

While I was in Tokyo this month, I headed over to the Setagaya ward to see the new (about three years old new) Godzilla statue and the Seven Samurai mural at the entrance to Toho Studios.

The last time I visited Toho Studios was in November 2001. At the time, Toho was still producing Godzilla movies. Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001) premiered the next day after my studio visit at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

When I was at Toho Studios back then, older sound stages, the giant pool and facilities still existed. After the release of Godzilla Final Wars in 2004, many of those facilities, giant pool and sound stages were torn down and replaced with new sound stages and facilities, which included a new main gate area.

I did not step foot inside the studio on this trip, but I was able to see from the outside some of the changes made within the studio. I took some pictures during this visit. Click on the images to see them larger.

Above, a mural honoring one of Toho's most revered movies, "Seven Samurai."

Above, here I am with the Godzilla statue.

Above, studio workers walk past a mural of Mothra. The mural is located down the driveway from the main gate to the studio.

Above, this is a flood control canal that is alongside of the studio property.

Above, this is a side entrance into the studio. To reach the gate, one has to cross a bridge over the flood control canal.

Above, the Toho Sound Studio is located just outside the side entrance into the main studio lot.

Above, this view through the trees is of the Toho main lot. On the left is an older sound stage. To the right of it is a new soundstage facility, which stands roughly on the former site of the giant pool. The side entrance bridge is to the right.

Above, another view of the Toho Sound Studio, this time from the flood control canal. Note the beer vending machine in front.

Above, another shot with the Godzilla statue with a copy of "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan." Fans can also use the guide to get them to the studios.

Monster Japan Travel Guide Shipment In!

Above, Ai. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A day after returning from my trip to Japan, I received a new shipment of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

There's plenty of copies available for Christmas gift-giving for those of you who are kaiju fans, or those of you who know a kaiju fan, who wants to visit Japan and see those locations from the movies.

A reminder: orders postmarked on or before December 24 can receive a copy at $12.00 each, and that includes shipping! How's that for helping out Santa?

Besides kaiju locations, the Guide will tell you how to get to:

The Godzilla Statue in Hibiya, Tokyo...



...and the Godzilla Statue at Toho Studios!



To order, send a check or money order to:

Armand Vaquer
18618 Collins Street, #105
Tarzana, CA 91356

Kaiju Life

by Armand Vaquer


When I finalized my plans for a trip to Japan to promote The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan, I contacted Sonoe Nakajima, the daughter of the original Godzilla suit-actor Haruo Nakajima, and invited them to lunch or dinner while I was in Tokyo.

Sonoe Nakajima wrote back and said that they were going on a vacation trip at the time of my vacation in Japan and wouldn't be available. She did say that she would have a copy of her father's book, Kaiju Life (Kaiju Jinsei) that was published by Yosensha Co., Ltd. for me at my hotel, Hotel Asia Center of Japan.

I arrived late in the afternoon on Sunday, December 5 at the hotel. When I checked in, the clerk went to the back room and brought out a package saying it was from "Nakajima." I knew immediately that it was the book Sonoe said she'd leave for me. After I got settled in my room, I opened the package and there was the book and autographed "To Armand" with his signature and the date "2010.12.3" (December 3, 2010).

The book itself is an attractive softcover edition with a jacket. The book is in Japanese, but it contains many rare photographs of Mr. Nakajima in action as Godzilla and other monsters in Toho's stable as well as his private life and history. Some are in color on slick paper, the rest are in black & white and on non-slick paper. They are all well reproduced regardless. The number of photos Mr. Nakajima included in his book rivals the number contained in August Ragone's book on special effects pioneer Eiji Tsuburaya. There's that many of them!

Although the book is in Japanese, and I don't read Japanese, I would have bought a copy anyway just for the photographs. Fans of Godzilla and Mr. Nakajima would find this book essential to their collections.

In return, I left copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan for the Nakajimas.

Return To Tokyo

Text and photos by Armand Vaquer

For the past week, I've been in Japan promoting The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

While here, I've spoken to some book dealers and two newspapers, Japan Today and The Daily Yomiuri. My interview with The Daily Yomiuri is slated to appear December 24 and I'm to receive some additional interview questions via email from Japan Today this coming week.

It hasn't been all business here. I visited the (relatively) new Godzilla statue at the main gate of Toho Studios. Following that, I headed over to the Asakusa section of Tokyo to see the new Sky Tree Tower and do some gift shopping. One morning, I visited the Tsukiji Fish Market.

I also saw Space Battleship Yamato at the Toho Cinemas at the Yurakucho Mullion in Ginza.

I am currently in Niigata (on the Sea of Japan side of Honshu) until tomorrow. Then it's back to Tokyo.

As pictures "are worth a thousand words," here's a few from the Tokyo portion of my trip to Japan:

Sendai Station Spotlight

by Armand Vaquer

Sendai, Japan is located in the Tōhoku region in Japan and is northern Honshu's largest city.

Sendai was demolished by Allied bombing during World War II. Following the war, the city was rebuilt with wide boulevards and they are now tree-lined, which is something one won't find in Tokyo.

The main station is Sendai Station. Outside of Tokyo, Sendai Station serves more passengers than any other station. Sendai Station was first opened in 1887. It is a major stop for Akita and Tōhoku Shinkansen trains. The present station opened in 1977.

In kaiju history, Sendai Station was first featured in Godzilla vs. MechaGodzilla II (1993) during a fly-over by Rodan. Then, in Gamera 2: Advent of Legion (1996), Sendai Station was featured first in the background while Asagi (Ayako Fujitani) made a pay-phone call to her father. Then, in the same movie, Sendai City was destroyed by an exploding Legion flower pod, with Sendai Station the detonation point.

I visited Sendai during my Japan vacation in April 2006 (my dad was briefly stationed in Sendai during the Korean War) and took the photo of the station at top. This is the same view of the station as seen in Gamera 2.

Details on Sendai Station are featured in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.

Monster Japan Travel Guide Holiday Sale!

by Armand Vaquer

The holiday season is now upon us. As soon as Halloween ended (maybe even before), the department stores became decked out in Christmas decorations.

Since we are now in the holiday season, I am discounting The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan 20% off the cover price, making the cost of the book $12.00. This special offer is direct from me, not from ComiXpress. So if you want the discount, you'll need to order directly from me.

It is the world's only Japan travel guide tailored to fans of Japanese science-fiction and fantasy films.

Additionally, to even make your holiday dollars go even further, the $12.00 price includes shipping & handling! How's that for getting into the Santa spirit?

From November 8 to December 24 (Christmas Eve), you can get The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan for $12.00 total! Orders postmarked within (and including) those dates will get the discount!

The mailing address can be found here (ignore the price listed on the page).

The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan makes the perfect stocking stuffer for that kaiju fan in your life or for yourself!

None of that "politically correct" "Happy Holidays" stuff around here! Here, we say Merry Christmas!

Famous Monsters #253 Cover Revealed

by Armand Vaquer

The cover for Famous Monsters of Filmland #253 containing my ad for The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan will look like this (unless they decide to do some tweaking here and there):



As you can see, it is a beautiful painted cover depicting Bela Lugosi as the "Sayer of the Law" in Paramount Pictures's Island of Lost Souls (1932), which is a version of the H. G. Wells novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau that was first published in 1896.

In case you haven't seen it, here's my ad:



Speaking of Island of Lost Souls, when will it be put out on DVD? This movie cries out for a DVD release!

Hibiya's Godzilla Statue

by Armand Vaquer

This coming December 5 marks the 15th anniversary of the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo.

The statue was erected on that date concurrent with the release of the final Heisei series Godzilla movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah on December 9, 1995.

I've visited the statue several times during my five trips to Japan, the first being my 2001 trip for the Tokyo International Film Festival premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Of course, one must have a camera on hand (as I did) for the obligatory photos of the statue. Godzilla fans traveling to Japan consider a visit to the statue as a "must."






Left, my first visit to the Godzilla statue in Hibiya came in November 2001.



Above, the statue is visited by members of G-TOUR in August 2004.

Above, to kill some time before going to Toho International to meet with Masaharu Ina, I stopped by the statue and found a television crew conducting an interview in October 2005. The statue is in the background at left.




Using a digital camera in Japan for the first time, I took this photo (right) of the statue in April 2007. It was the photo used on the cover of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.



Information on how to get to the Godzilla statue in Hibiya is included in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.






Toho Co., Ltd. has erected a new statue of Godzilla at the front of the studio. Visitors can go there to view it along with a new mural of The Seven Samurai.




Above, also from my 2007 trip to Japan, Japanese office workers are taking cigarette breaks near the statue.