Sunday, March 20, 2011

Tohoku Earthquake: Minimal Effects For Kaiju Tourists

by Armand Vaquer


The full effects of the Tohoku Earthquake of March 11, 2011 on the Japanese tourism industry won't be known for some time. Fortunately, its effects on monster fan tourists will be minimal.

Left, "The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan" will show tourists the way to monster locations.

The damage from the quake and the resulting tsunami was mainly confined to the northeastern section of Honshu (Japan's main island) where very few monster movie locations could be found. In the Tohuku region, the biggest city is Sendai, which was the location for Gamera 2 and briefly, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II. Both of those movies primarily featured Sendai Station, which still stands.

The main locale for daikaiju eiga movies was primarily Tokyo, which suffered minimal damage. The subways and trains are still running and life is rebounding back to normalcy, with the exception of possible rolling blackouts due to the hits two nuclear power plants took.

According to Breaking Travel News.com:

While painstaking rescue and recovery efforts continue in the severely struck Tohoku region, the capital city Tokyo has been recovering from a strong shock, and western Japan is unharmed.

Both Narita and Haneda airports have been reopened, although public transportation in and around Tokyo is not running at full capacity due to power shortages. Other popular destinations such as Kyoto, Osaka, Sapporo, Kanazawa and Hiroshima, didn’t receive any impact from the earthquake.


They also add:

Hokkaido, Kansai, Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu are unharmed, and tourism facilities and transportation service are operating as usual.


Some potential Japan travelers may be frightened by the hysterical fear-mongering of the U.S. media over the nuclear power plants. But those, too, are far north of Tokyo and won't present a problem for tourists. Just don't go into those affected areas and you'll be fine.

Persons wanting to visit Japan in the upcoming months can feel free to do so without fear. As stated above, Tokyo came out of this okay (as did neighboring Yokohama) and such locations as Mt. Fuji-Hakone, Atami, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sasebo, Mt. Aso and Nagasaki were untouched by the quake and tsunami.

Whether you're planning a trip to Japan on your own or with a tour, the Tohoku Earthquake won't mar your enjoyment of the country. Go in confidence!
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"LEGENDARY PICTURES TO DEVELOP AND PRODUCE MAJOR MOTION PICTURE BASED ON TOHO COMPANY’S ICONIC MONSTER, GODZILLA

Burbank, CA – March 29, 2010 – Legendary Pictures announced today that they will develop and produce a new film based on Toho Company’s famed GODZILLA character. Through the terms of the agreement, Legendary Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a movie inspired by Toho’s Godzilla, a franchise the Japanese company created and has nurtured for over fifty years.

Toho’s GODZILLA franchise boasts one of the most widely recognized film creatures worldwide, resulting in a series of books, television programs, video games and more than 25 films worldwide. Legendary intends to approach the film and its characters in the most authentic manner possible. The company will, in the near future, announce a filmmaker to helm the film for an intended 2012 release. The film will fall under the company’s co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Toho will distribute the film in Japan."

"Godzilla" is coming back -- this time, with Legendary Pictures taking the lead, co-producing and co-financing with Warner Bros. for release in 2012.

Legendary announced Monday it had obtained rights to the iconic monster character from Japan's Toho Co., which has overseen more than 25 "Godzilla" films. Toho will release the pic in Japan.

Legendary said it's planning to announce a director shortly.

In addition to Legendary, producers on the new film will be Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will exec produce.

"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."

Legendary noted the film will fall under its co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Legendary's productions with Warners have included "The Dark Knight," "300" and "The Hangover."

Speculation about a new "Godzilla" has been active since last summer. The Bloody Disgusting web site reported in August that the project was in development.