Hibiya's Godzilla Statue

by Armand Vaquer

This coming December 5 marks the 15th anniversary of the Godzilla statue in Hibiya, Tokyo.

The statue was erected on that date concurrent with the release of the final Heisei series Godzilla movie, Godzilla vs. Destoroyah on December 9, 1995.

I've visited the statue several times during my five trips to Japan, the first being my 2001 trip for the Tokyo International Film Festival premiere of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. Of course, one must have a camera on hand (as I did) for the obligatory photos of the statue. Godzilla fans traveling to Japan consider a visit to the statue as a "must."






Left, my first visit to the Godzilla statue in Hibiya came in November 2001.



Above, the statue is visited by members of G-TOUR in August 2004.

Above, to kill some time before going to Toho International to meet with Masaharu Ina, I stopped by the statue and found a television crew conducting an interview in October 2005. The statue is in the background at left.




Using a digital camera in Japan for the first time, I took this photo (right) of the statue in April 2007. It was the photo used on the cover of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.



Information on how to get to the Godzilla statue in Hibiya is included in The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan.






Toho Co., Ltd. has erected a new statue of Godzilla at the front of the studio. Visitors can go there to view it along with a new mural of The Seven Samurai.




Above, also from my 2007 trip to Japan, Japanese office workers are taking cigarette breaks near the statue.

Godzilla Toy Tuesday! Four Godzilla Figures In One Box And The Destroyah That Roared

Godzilla Yuji Sakae Concept Works 4 Figure Set By Bandai



I imagine that all of you Godzilla figure collectors out there are all too familiar with buying boxed G items from Japan.

What's the most annoying thing about these figures? Well, unless you can read Japanese, you can't tell exactly which figure from the set is in the box.

No need to worry here, because all four of these Godzilla figures come in one package.

Yes, four figures......one box.

Takes all the guess work out, doesn't it?

This Yuji Sakae Concept Works 4 Figure Set from Bandai includes the original Godzilla from 1954's "Gojira", 1962's "King Kong vs Godzilla", 1964's "Mothra vs Godzilla", and the melt-down version from 1995's "Godzilla vs Destroyah."

Four of the greatest Godzilla designs in one package!

This one is an import, so there is only one to be had, first come, first serve. Everyone else will just have to be in awe of the one who gets it.

Destroyah Complete Figure With Sound




Over the past decade and a half, Bandai has manufactured some really great deluxe figures of Destroyah, and today I have a real gem for you.

It's fine to have a bunch of figures on a shelf that just sit there, and don't do anything, but this Destroyah comes with authentic movie sounds.

That's right! This bad-boy roars!

Imagine the look on the cat's face when this baby goes off!

Again, this is a Japanese import that very hard to find here in The States, so act fast before they are all gone for good.

See Also: Godzilla T-Shirt Tuesday! Entertainment Earth Special Edition! / Godzilla Toy Tuesday! A Really Red Anguirus, A Godzilla Figure From 1993 And Another That Is Big And Expensive / Godzilla Toy Tuesday! Godzilla 1964, Walking MechaGodzilla And The Tiny Monster With A Huge Head / Godzilla Toy Tuesday! Godzilla Final Wars & Godzilla Raids Again Figures