Kurosawa sights
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22 November 2012
22 November 2012
That’s a good question.
At one point, I actually did some preliminary research for a page that I hope would one day list interesting places for a Kurosawa fan to visit, but due to other commitments I haven’t been able to get very far. But in case it helps any, here are the Japanese locations that I have marked down so far. Do bear in mind that it misses an awful lot, including Kurosawa’s birth place, family home, or any of the major filming locations.
Perhaps someone else here may be able to add to the list, or has visited these places and can tell whether they are worth it. I think that I have been only to Himeji, and can tell that it’s definitely worth the visit, Kurosawa or not.
Kyoto, Japan
Ishihara Ryokan
Inn where Kurosawa stayed when in Kyoto
http://almostaustralian1.wordpress.com/2010/03/23/in-the-house-of-akira-kurosawa/
Toei Movie Land
http://samayoeruneko.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/movie-magic/
Tokyo, Japan
Seven Samurai Mural (Toho Studios)
https://akirakurosawa.info/forums/topic/seven-samurai-mural
http://www.tohostudio.jp/general/info.html
http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/nobish/1161toho.html
4 Kurosawa restaurants
Mifune restaurant
http://www.mifune-project.com/en/index.html
Azumino, Japan
Daio Wasabi farm
One segment of Dreams was filmed here
http://www.azumino-e-tabi.net/en/contents03+index.id+2.htm
Kurosawa Film Studios
http://www.kurosawafilmstudio.com/
Himeji, Japan
Himeji Castle
Used for both Kagemusha and Ran
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himeji_castle
Imari, Japan
Akira Kurosawa Satellite Studio (museum)
No longer in existence
22 November 2012
For me, the Daio Wasabi Farm already mentioned by Vili would be a must. Looks like they just updated their website to make it a bit more user friendly: http://www.daiowasabi.co.jp/
I keep marvelling at the beautiful pictures taken there…
22 November 2012
This is terrific – thanks for this 🙂
27 November 2012
Hey Pete,
This might be a little morbid, but I would certainly wish I could pay my respects…here’s Kurosawa’s gravesite: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=4608
On a lighter note, I would at least get to the gate of Toho, even if it were not possible to get a tour:
2 December 2012
Pete — if you do happen to visit any of these places, it would be interesting to hear what you thought about them!
I’m going to be heading over to Japan in January 2013 and I’d really like to take in a few Kurosawa-related sights (I’m thinking of visiting Nara, for example) – are there any sights I should definitely make sure to see?