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The Gaijin Ghost

A photoblog, where you become the phantom foreigner, exploring travel destinations in Japan.
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Omoide Yokocho, Shinjuku's 'Memory Lane,' and the Question of Tokyo's Real Influence on 'Blade Runner'

October 29, 2017

Tourists, even locals of the right persuasion, often invoke the movie Blade Runner when talking about Tokyo. Director Ridley Scott’s 1982 science fiction film is full of evocative images, some of them clearly Japan-inspired, like that of a geisha popping pills on a giant advertising screen above a rain-drenched neon metropolis. Our first introduction to Rick Deckard, the film’s main character, played by Harrison Ford, comes outside a noodle bar, whose elderly counterman beckons him with Japanese greetings, like “Irasshai,” and “Dozo.” But to what extent, really, did Tokyo inspire the look of Blade Runner?

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Tags kabukicho, shinjuku, film-lover's guide to japan
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#Kabukicho - Tweetstorm Travel Guide (Blog Version)

May 5, 2017

This post uses short self-quotes from a Twitter thread to narrate a photo tour of Kabukicho, the red-light district in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The pictures here are drawn from the Kabukicho photo gallery on The Gaijin Ghost home page.

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Tags shinjuku, kabukicho, golden gai
The main hall of Hanazono, a Shinto shrine in Shinjuku, Tokyo, whose bells are said to be the inspiration for the face of the Disney character Baymax.

The main hall of Hanazono, a Shinto shrine in Shinjuku, Tokyo, whose bells are said to be the inspiration for the face of the Disney character Baymax.

The Shinjuku Shrine That Inspired the Face of Baymax in 'Big Hero 6'

April 29, 2017

In 2014, the Disney animated feature Big Hero 6 made its world premiere at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival. It was an obvious choice for this film to debut in Japan’s capital, given that Japanese culture played such a heavy influence on the film’s production design.

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Tags golden gai, shinjuku, tokyo international film festival, film-lover's guide to japan