Photo Highlight: The Back Side of Terror

On the Jungle Cruise ride at Disney parks in the U.S., there’s a famous bad joke where the boat passes behind a waterfall and the skipper directs the passenger’s attention to the amazing sight of “the back side of water.” The pedestrian path outside Tokyo DisneySea yields the equally impressive(?) sight of the back side of the Tower of Terror attraction, as pictured here on June 26, 2023.

Since the tower is backed up against the wall, it’s only when you’re outside the park that you can see it from this vantage point. The palm tree-lined path runs parallel to Tokyo Disney Resort’s monorail line and continues up to the Maihama Coast Boardwalk, where you can walk alongside Tokyo Bay, hear the crashing of the waves, and see Tokyo Gate Bridge in the distance. Along the way, you’ll also see the back side of the resort’s new Toy Story Hotel.

Photo Highlight: Gamera in Chofu

A mural of the giant prehistoric turtle, Gamera, outside Kadokawa Daiei Studio in Chofu, Tokyo, on June 15, 2023. While the monster is not as much of a household name as his kaiju cousin, Godzilla, no less than five Gamera B-movies appeared on Comedy Central’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the 1990s. The silhouettes of host Joel Robinson and his space companions, Tom Servo and Crow T. Robot, would sit in the front row of a theater and riff, offering humorous running commentary on each film, beginning with Gamera, the Giant Monster (1965).

There are also several Gamera wall decorations in Chofu Station, and when you get outside, you’ll see a sign for “Cinema Town Chofu,” explaining the city’s history as a movie studio hub. Heading toward the Tama River, Kadokawa Daiei Studio — which also has a pair of statues from the Daimajin film series outside it — is about a 13-minute walk down the street from the local movie theater, Aeon Cinema Chofu. If you take a walking route in the opposite direction to the popular Jindai Botanical Gardens, you might pass by the costume department for Toho Studios, too.

Photo Highlight: Hasedera Temple Hydrangeas

People gather for hydrangea viewing along the Prospect Path at Hase-dera Temple in Kamakura, Japan, on June 6, 2023. The temple holds a 30-foot wooden statue of the goddess Kannon in its main hall, and it’s about a 7-minute walk from both Hase Station and the famous Great Buddha of Kamakura, which has drawn visitors like former U.S. president Barack Obama.

During the rainy season, over 40 different varieties of ajisai (hydrangeas) can be seen at Hase-dera. The Prospect Path, where most of them are, carries a slow-moving line of people a short way up Mount Kamakura, where you can also take in a commanding view of Yuhigahama Beach and Sagami Bay. From now until Wednesday, June 21, a combined ticket for the temple and Prospect Path (with timed entry for the latter) can be purchased via a link on Hase-dera’s Japanese website for ¥900.

To see more pictures of Kamakura, check out this gallery.

Photo Highlight: Rainy Yurakucho Evening

In addition to regular posts, for the summer, I’m going to try something different and do some bite-sized entries like this, where it’s just a single photo taken in the last 48 hours, along with a short write-up that doesn’t go beyond the home page. (So, you won’t have to click “Read More” and hit the jump to anything.)

This picture is from yesterday evening, outside Yurakucho Station in Central Tokyo. It’s not even June yet, but it feels like the rainy season (tsuyu) has already started, with hydrangeas coming out to bloom and the weather forecast showing almost straight rain and clouds for the next ten days. We were on our way back to Tokyo Station from Toho Cinemas Hibiya, where we went to see a matinee movie. It was a few minutes after sunset, and the juxtaposition of city lights with a rain-slick road and elevated train station during the magic hour gave the walk a romantic feel.