June 24, 2008

Tokyo Movie Experience Part 1

Do you know what it's like to go see a movie in Tokyo? It's pretty much the same as in the U.S. except for the ticket prices* and movie lineup.

Multiplex cinemas, シネマコンプレックス cinema complex or シネコン in Japanese, was launched in Japan in 1993. The number of multiplex cinemas increased rapidly like mushrooms after a rain, and by the end of 2006, 72% of the total movie theaters had become multiplex cinemas--a sort of American cultural invasion, which I welcome. (Source: TV station.jp )

TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills (shown above) is one of the most "Americanized" movie theaters in Tokyo. It's clean, large, and new, and I love it. The interior is suggestive of the near future. Click here to see great photos of the interior design.

As I explained in Golden Week and Movies, when it comes to movie release dates, there are the time lags between the U.S. and Japan. I've taken some photos of posters outside the movie theater. You will get some idea on the movie lineup in Japan at this moment. The Bucket List is still showing.


The movie that I chose was...to be continued in my next post...

*A movie ticket costs 1800 yen (≈$16.68). We don't have matinees here in Japan. Do you want to save money? Special rate tickets are available at 1000 yen (≈$9.27) per ticket, such as "Ladies Day Tickets" on Wednesdays and "Movie Day Tickets" on the first day of each month.

2 comments:

Meghan said...

That place looks awesome! And while Japan continues to get American movies, I think it's interesting that more and more Japanese movies/novels are being used as ideas for American movies. The Ring, Speed Racer and Battle Royal are a few examples, though the Japanese originals are better.

Karen said...

Meghan, that's a very good point!
While I was writing this post, I didn't think about that Japanese movies being used as ideas for American movies. Speed Racer! I can't wait to see it! I'll take you to the place next time when you come back to Japan. :)