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.
Click on the link within each short summary, and it will open up another window, taking you directly to the page where the content is posted. Just to be clear: things like Tokyo Disneyland’s Star Tours attraction, and the city of Aomori’s Star Wars parade floats, are not covered here, as those have already received blog coverage in posts archived on the sidebar. Rather, this post is intended as a kind of catch-all for everything not found on the blog.
If you’re using a smartphone, the sidebar may appear at the bottom of the blog page. Either way, everything is filed under the “Star Wars in Japan” heading. You can also use the “Star Wars in Japan” tag at the end of this post to navigate to other related articles.
Star Wars Visions
Photos from this exhibition at Tokyo City View in Mori Tower make up part of a gallery on the home page entitled Roppongi Hills - 2015–2016 Events. The Gaijin Ghost visited the exhibition on Star Wars Day 2015.
This was the Ghost's first time celebrating the official Star Wars holiday, whose date forms the perfect pun ("May the 4th be with you.") That year, even astronauts in the International Space Station got in on the fun, taking time out of their schedule to hold a screening of Star Wars: A New Hope above the earth.
In Tokyo, people had to settle for a hanging model of a space station: namely, the second dreaded Death Star.
The Star Wars Skywalk at Tokyo Skytree
The Tokyo Skytree gallery is lighter on Star Wars photos than the Shiodome Star Wars Exhibitions gallery (see below). Frankly, the actual Star Wars aspect of the otherwise memorable “Skywalk” was less interesting, too.
Still, you can see a few relevant pics sprinkled in there. The Gaijin Ghost happened to catch the Skytree observatory on a clear day, when Mount Fuji was visible in the distance. It was beautiful to sea the sun going down with Fuji in the background and the Sumida River in the foreground.
The city is always beautiful during the golden hour, that magic time before and after dusk, when the city lights are coming on, but the sky is not fully dark yet.
Mo Hitotsu no Star Wars Ten
While the 2015 “World of Star Wars” exhibition at Nittele Tower in Shiodome, Tokyo, received its own dedicated post, its 2016 sequel — the Mo Hitotsu no Star Wars Ten exhibition — only received a fleeting mention at the end of that post.
Photos from both exhibitions are grouped together in the Tokyo - Shiodome Star Wars Exhibitions gallery on our home page. The name of the 2016 event simply means “Another Star Wars Exhibition” in Japanese. Apparently, the phrase mo hitotsu no, when uttered in this context, has less of a prosaic ring to it than the word *another* does in English?
Whatever the case, this free, photo-friendly event featured lots of nifty Rogue One costumes, as well as a life-size AT-AT Walker and Jedi Training Academy (just in case anyone was jealous of the ones at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida).
Shock Star Wars Exhibition
Update: December 2017. “Shock Star Wars Exhibition” ran in the same venue as Mo Hitotsu no Star Wars Ten. Photos of it can also be found in the Tokyo - Shiodome Star Wars Exhibitions gallery on The Gaijin Ghost home page.
While there were less costumes on display at this exhibition, and Shiodome overall seems to be experiencing a law of diminishing returns with regards to its Star Wars events, one big highlight this time was getting to see the Japanese-style Star Wars folding screen that director Rian Johnson helped unveil at Byodoin Temple in Kyoto in September 2017.
Star Wars in Japan Yearbook
Tacky souvenir? A set of old Star Wars lightsaber chopsticks, bought way back in 2010, from a store in Akihabara Electric Town. They now make light-up versions of these.
This a brief timeline of photos, from other random Star Wars sightings around Tokyo. These photos represent instances where something Star Wars-related has popped up in Japan’s capital, just as an anomaly, and not because it was tied to any deep promotional event for the franchise (at least not one that a travel blog like this would want to cover).
You need only scroll down for this one; the photos are right here, plucked from the Ghost’s online galleries and computer folders.
Click on the link in the caption, where applicable, to see the source gallery for each photo. Who knows, one of those links might just be the backdoor that will send you off on an exploration of some place new and exciting.
The first-ever digital release of the Star Wars movies on iTunes and other platforms came on April 10, 2015.
Star Wars toys on the shelf at Toys "R" Us in Fuchu, Tokyo, circa mid-April 2015. Later that same month, the Toys "R" Us location on Odaiba Island became the site of "Destination Star Wars."
“Destination Star Wars“ was a special section in the Odaiba store that led the charge in overstocking Star Wars goods. Two years later, many of the new Force Awakens goods would still be on the shelves of stores around Tokyo, with figures of obscure characters like Constable Zuvio posting clearance prices.
Shibuya cosplayer dressed as a Stormtrooper on Halloween Night 2015. This picture was taken right at Hachiko Crossing. Shades of Danny Choo, the original Tokyo Dance Trooper.
Cosplayer dressed as Darth Maul, waiting to catch a JR Yamanote Line train in Shibuya Station, on Halloween Night 2015.
Force Awakens display in the lobby of Toho Cinemas Roppongi, circa late December 2015.
Life-size statue of the new First Order Stormtrooper.
Fountain in the lobby of Toho Cinemas Roppongi.
Ashigaru Stormtrooper unboxing, late December 2015.
Ashigaru Stormtrooper, posed against the backdrop of the Japanese flag.
Huge inflatable Tsum Tsums outside the Parco building in Shibuya on Star Wars Day 2016.
The Tsum Tsums were there in order to help promote the release of The Force Awakens on home media.
Tokyo cosplayer dressed as Kylo Ren for Halloween 2016.
Large-scale Rogue One banners at the entrance to Toho Cinemas Shinjuku in Kabukicho, Tokyo.
Banner beside the escalator up to the theater lobby.
Rogue One character posters on the wall of the theater lobby.
Ronin Boba Fett figure on display in Toys “R” Us Odaiba, June 2017.
“Destination Star Wars” section in Toys “R” Us Ikebukuro, weeks after Force Friday II, September 2017.
Constable Zuvio figures, still sitting on the shelf two years later.
The Star Wars corner in Kiddy Land Harajuku, November 2017.