A Wild Showadoriginzahodo Bridge Appeared!

It was only a few months back that I learned the name of that ubiquitous 4-way overpass bridge ( identified by hamanosilence as the “Showadoriginzahodo Bridge”), and it's been popping up EVERYWHERE, like in a latter episode of the Toshiaki Karasawa drama "Private Banker"...

Karasawa, Anna Tsuchiya and Nankai Candies Shizu-chan visit the bridge

...as well as the latest episode of the riveting Keiko Kitagawa/Nao Omori child-abduction drama "Anata wo Ubatta Sono Hi Kara"!

Keiko Kitagawa and Nao Omori

Watching these scenes, I can really see the allure of shooting here- every angle has a terrific backdrop no matter WHICH direction! This is definitely a place I wanna visit if I EVER do get to Japan- who knows, I may even see them shooting yet another drama scene there!!

A Sculpture Mystery Solved

 Got the identification of yet another classic J-drama Deja-Vu hot spot solved, and through the most intersting of ways! Redditor spellbunny was in Japan, walking around Shinjuku when they came upon a sculpture that they INSTANTLY recognized- It was the sculpture where hapless otaku Tsuyoshi (Atsushi Ito) meets up with his dream date Saori (Misaki Ito) in the TV adaptation of the classic Densha Otoko story!

Posting “Any Densha Otoko fans recognize this spot? I was wandering around Shinjuku and randomly found this spot and was AMAZED!!!” Spellbunny’s thread was filled with other excited Densha Otoko fans who also immediately recognized the sculpture as that pivotal place in the drama!

Below: Atsushi Ito and Misaki Ito in Densha Otoko at the sculpture

Well, as for me, I ALSO immediately recognized the statue...but not because of Densha Otoko (which at the time  I admit that I had not seen!), but through two OTHER dramas that it appeared in: the popular NHK asadora Churasan with Ryoko Kuninaka...

...and the wacky Yume Wo Kanaeru Zo with Asami Mizukawa!

Some of you may even remember me posting about it waaaaay back in 2010, where I wondered if it was some "famous statue or something", LOL!  I had no idea, but I wouldn’t find out what the sculpture was until some 15 years later!!

It was in spellbunny’s reddit thread that redditor RedditEduUndergrad2  finally identified the piece and place for us, linking the googlemaps coordinates to the Shinjuku Monolith Building and leading us to that corner with that sculpture! WOW! 

Continuing on, RedditEduUndergrad2 continued:

“The area around Tocho/Tokyo Metroplitan Govt Building is a very popular area to film. Probably because of it's proximity to the Shinjuku train station making it easy for staff to get to and the number of hotels for stars and guests. The area directly around Tocho also has a very wide path with long streets and not a lot of foot traffic most of the time.”

And that’s how a random reddit comment uncovered another J-drama Deja-Vu mystery location for me!! The things you can learn via the jdrama community continues!

The "Tinkerbell Office" Makes an Appearance in EYE SEE

The Office Tinkerbell House made yet another of its many apperances, this time in an episode of the Haru crime drama EYE SEE! Yep, any time the director needs to show a person of interest in an  affluent neighborhood, that abode I first saw in Hanbun Aoi is always used!

They even made it up the stairs to show the famous exterior of the house and its swimming pool!

This time the gang (Haru, Koji Yamamoto, Shintaro Morimoto) even ventured a bit of a ways down the street, giving us more details of the surrounding homes...

The Office Tinkerbell Office...where will it appear next!

The Original "J-Drama Deja Vu" Location is Back!

Seems like YEARS and YEARS since I've seen good old reliable Yokohama Business Park as a backdrop for any dramas, a real shame since once upon a time it was nearly everywhere, but it happily appeared in the latest episode of  "Maruhi No Mitsuko" where Haruka Fukuhara went to contemplate things....

Gee, everything there seems so colorful and GREEN right now! A PERFECT place to collect one's thoughts....

As some of you know well, Yokohama Business Park was the first "J-Drama Deja Vu" site I began noticing in the backgrounds of the dramas I watched, and it still holds a huge sentimental attachment for me!

Yokohama Business Park…where will it turn up NEXT?!!!

A Mystery Bridge Identified: It’s the “Showadoriginzahodo Bridge”!

A few entries back I posted on that ubiquitous 4-way overpass that seemed to appear in every J-drama at some point or another recently, and wondered aloud just where the bridge was located in Japan! 

Well, it seems my eagle-eyed colleague Hamanosilence was readily able to identify it, not just by its familiar structure but the hotels and buildings in the background! Come to find out, the overpass is called the wonderfully theatrical and fun Showadoriginzahodo Bridge located in Ginza!!! 

Another J-Drama Deja-Vu spot pinpointed and tagged!

Going onto Google, seems it’s quite a popular landmark, and I spent the evening perusing the information and photographs of the structure, way to many to post about here!!! Looks like this is yet another location that I'll want to visit if and when I ever get to Japan myself!

Wonder if Yua Shinkawa will be up there waiting for me....

J-Drama Deja-Vu: That 4-Way Overpass

 You all know of my obsession with documenting locations and backdrops that are constantly used in J-dramas, and I guess I should mention the overpass bridge pathway that they use whenever they show characters walking home from work at night. 
This is one backdrop that you see CONSTANTLY in dramas, so much so that if I were to even TRY to keep track of all the appearences I see of it on a regular basis, it would take up the entire blog! Guess they like to use it because of the bridge’s extensive lighting system which not only illuminates but makes for a nice backdrop.

Belwo: in Watashi, Teiji de Kaerimasu with Yuriko Yoshitaka, Osamu Mukai and Yusuke Santamaria

Aoshima kun wa Ijiwaru with Anne Nakamura and Mitsuomi Takahashi

A recent appearance in Classmate no Joshi, Zenin Sukideshita with Yua Shinkawa

And even a daytime appearance in Watashiwo Moratte Tsuioku Hen with Sayu Kubota!

 Occasionally I’ll see it and, taking a few screen-caps, would think, ‘Well, I should mention this bridge sometime in my J-Drama deja-Vu posts….”

Consider yourselves served!

PS: Where exactly IN Japan is this Overpass, anyway?