It’s no secret that when George Lucas first began devising the Star Wars mythology, he drew heavily from Japanese influences.
Read MoreStormtrooper helmet art at the Mo Hitotsu no Star Wars Ten exhibition in Shiodome, Tokyo, on Christmas Day 2016.
Kylo Ren addresses a group of younglings (most likely before slaughtering them with his crossguard lightsaber) during the 2017 Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan.
The Sapporo Snow Festival's 'White Star Wars' Snow Sculpture
In 2017, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, the 69th annual Sapporo Snow Festival unveiled a massive, Mount-Rushmore-like snow sculpture of the characters Kylo Ren, BB-8, C-3PO, and R2-D2.
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'Star Wars' in Japan - Menu of Off-Blog Content
There is some content on this site that is related to Star Wars in Japan, but that is scattered throughout photo galleries on the home page. This post serves as a menu for that content.
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Tokyo Disneyland's version of Star Tours first opened in 1989, though a major revamp of the ride occurred in 2013, to bring it in line with the "Adventures Continue" model.
Photo Tour of Star Tours at Tokyo Disneyland
Imagine you are at Tokyo Disneyland. You started your day in Adventureland, and now, after walking and riding some rides, you have completed almost a full circle, moving clockwise around the park, to Tomorrowland.
This is where the Star Tours hangar dwells.
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A visiting parade float from the city of Aomori lights up a darkened room at the "World of Star Wars" exhibition, which ran for twelve days in Tokyo in December 2015.
The Nebuta Room - Aomori's 'Star Wars' Parade Floats
Star Wars fans, your feast for the eyes continues.
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A costume display, featuring Rey and BB-8 from The Force Awakens, welcomes visitors to the "World of Star Wars" exhibition in Shiodome, Tokyo, on December 23, 2015.
'The World of Star Wars' Exhibition & Taco Bell in Japan
With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in theaters, here’s a Flashback Friday post, reprinting and updating a post from The Gaijin Ghost’s old abandoned Blogger page. This also serves as the inaugural post in our “Star Wars in Japan” series, which should be very fun for Force-sensitive geeks.
Timed to coincide with the worldwide theatrical release of The Force Awakens on December 18th, 2015, Japan’s first big year of Star Wars promotions came to a fabulous end last winter with a special, free, camera-friendly exhibition at Nippon Television Tower in Shiodome, Tokyo.
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Lava letters run down a rock, spelling out the name of the attraction, outside Journey to the Center of the Earth in Mysterious Island at Tokyo DisneySea.
Journey to the Center of the Earth: Guided Photo Tour
It spits you out of a volcano. Park experts have called it "the flagship attraction" at Tokyo DisneySea. And while the actual ride is a fleeting, two-minute affair, half dark ride, half rollercoaster, the intricacy on display in Journey to the Center of the Earth—one of two Jules-Verne-inspired attractions in Mysterious Island—makes for a truly immersive, one-of-a-kind theme park experience.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks onstage between acting legend Meryl Streep and other VIPs at the Tokyo International Film Festival on October 25, 2016.
The Tokyo International Film Festival: 2015–2016 Photo Tour
Every year in late October, the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF-JP) kicks off in the Roppongi Hills complex, located in the affluent ward of Minato. 2015 and 2016 were no different; the 45 images in this post relate to those years, when globally renowned actors and directors like Koji Yakusho, Helen Mirren, Robert Zemeckis, and Meryl Streep made appearances. The focus here is the festival’s opening day, where you’ll see what it’s like to attend a screening, and then engage in a bit of people-watching from the public viewing area during the red carpet ceremony.
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Clockwise, from top left: chef's head at the southern tip of Kappabashi, statue of the mythical kappa in front of a store, and shelves of plastic sushi and other fake food.
Photo Tour of Kappabashi Kitchen Town
Kappabashi is the kitchenware corner of Tokyo, hence its nickname, "Kitchen Town." A colossal chef's head marks the southern entrance to this offbeat neighborhood, which bears a certain novelty as a place to go window-shopping.
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Around the time of StormRider's closure at Tokyo DisneySea, the hashtag #StormRider_Forever was trending on Twitter, as fans sought to immortalize the attraction with tributes.
A Brief History of StormRider/SeaRider at Tokyo DisneySea
Once the centerpiece of Port Discovery at Tokyo DisneySea, the StormRider attraction flew its last flight on May 16th, 2016. This post serves as a scrapbook for the ride, with a brief write-up and 25 photos chronicling its history.
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