Day 19 : Kabukicho Tower
by JD Porterfield on
I wanted to take it easy today, so yesterday I had decided I would just go see a movie today and then that would be it. A nice relaxing day with a single activity so that I would definitely not get stuck in Shinjuku all day again. A bit of a spoiler, but I was actually successful this time!
Last night, I had purchased a ticket to see The Super Mario Bros. Movie because I had heard it was really good. I had also decided to see the movie in Kabukicho Tower's 109 Cinemas Premium Shinjuku movie theater since it had promised to be a luxurious experience. Since the regular seats were ¥4,500 (around $33) I would hope so!
To start off the day, I got lost trying to get out of Shinjuku Station. In general, I actually would say that navigation within the stations in Tokyo is pretty easy but when it comes to a few stations (Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Tokyo Station), I think that the wayfinding for the entrances/exits to the stations is really bad. Like if you are trying to find your way to a different train line that is alright. I haven't had any issues when I transfer within Shinjuku. But when you need to exit Shinjuku Station at a particular exit, that can be kind of hard if it's one of the less popular exits.
I ended up just exiting in some random exit but it turned out I had gone the wrong direction. No worries, I thought. I can see the tower so I can just directly walk to it without need for directions.
I mean it's right there!
Unfortunately, my confidence would be my downfall. I ended up walking towards it until I was blocked by the impassable elevated train tracks. I then chose to walk the wrong direction and ended up walking an extra 10 to 15 minutes longer than I would have if I had arbitrarily chosen the other way (or just looked at Google Maps!!). Luckily, I had baked in an extra 15 minutes into leaving time so that I would be 15 minutes early to being 30 minutes early to the film starting.
After I made it to the tower successfully and started riding the escalator to the 9th floor where the theater is located, I noticed that all of the white parts on the exterior of the tower (see the first pic) were actually some kind of stickers or something like they have on car or bus windows sometimes (the little dots). I only took a picture because in my mind I began to imagine a world where someone had to put each sticker on by hand rather than them having a machine to do it. Can you imagine doing that for 40 hours a week? How long would it take to do the whole building? lol
This theater has a 'lounge' area with concessions and a bar but it was a bit too crowded to feel luxurious or like a "calm space" as the site describes it. The concessions (but not bar) are included in the ticket price though so you can go and get as much free popcorn or beverages as you like. They have multiple types of popcorn and drinks so I thought that was pretty nice. I got an iced coffee because I had only gotten 4 or 5 hours of sleep and I think that helped. I thought the coffee was particularly bad but I don't really know anything about coffee so maybe it was actually good? It was good at keeping me alert and awake though at the very least!
The theater itself was nice. The seats were not bad but the rows were spaced closer than you'd find in the US. I think that even though this is marketed as a luxury theater, the seating experience in the US is far superior, at least at the nicer US theaters with reclining chairs. These chairs were plush but I don't think that the "A tier seats" have motorized reclining functionality (or recline very far due to the rows being narrower), that would be reserved for the "S class" which is another I think ¥2,000?
Anyway, the seats were comfy enough for me to hang out there for quite some time if I had to. The picture and sound quality was top tier though. The screen was huge, especially considering how many seats there were and the sound system was using Dolby Atmos which Wikipedia told me is good. And it did sound really good. The audience was also exceptionally well behaved and I don't think I heard a peep from another audience member the entire time. I was towards the front so I couldn't tell if people were just silently laughing like me or just watching completely stoically though haha
The movie was also a lot better than I had expected, and I liked that some of the stereotypes I would have expected weren't followed (sorry trying to not spoiler!). I would definitely recommend watching this movie!!
Overall I think that the theater was good but not really ¥4,500 good. I think one good thing about the price is that it greatly reduces the chance of children being in the theater - there were none in mine. That can be pretty nice if you are looking for an absolutely silent viewing experience at a movie that would otherwise have tons of kids at the theater. If you happen to have kids, no offense!
Oh before I forget, one weird thing you might encounter if you do watch a movie in Japan is that theatergoers will stay in the seats until the credits finish. Only after the credits will you hear the rustle of others getting ready to leave the theater. I don't know if it's always the case but I had been aware about it thankfully (not trying to have a faux pas), so I waited a few seconds after the credits started rolling to see what would happen instead of instantly bursting forth from my seat like some kind of geyser of energy. Nobody moved so I followed suit. I don't think it's because there was an after credits scene, although there was one, because in the US even if that is the case you'd have people leaving. Or even if they aren't leaving they might start talking during the credits. I did not see any of that here! Pretty crazy, but actually kind of nice. Maybe it gives you time to reflect on what you watched before just going back to the rat race.
After my socially-mandated reflection period, I checked out a few of the other floors since this towers first 9 floors are considered an entertainment complex. The top 5 of the 9 are the movie theater and a traditional theater. Floor 4 has some weird VR things. Floor 1 & 2 are restaurants and floor 3 is where I was mainly interested since it has crane games and an arcade.
Although the building had been relatively calm when I entered, by the time the movie had finished, the building had filled up so the arcade was packed.
In the end, it didn't matter too much though because after looking around at most the games they were more expensive than similar places and they looked like they would be harder to win. So it ended up being fine that it was too crowded for me to grab a machine anyway. I do really like the look of it though.
After I finished looking around, I checked out a couple more crane game places on the way back to the station and (luckily) didn't win anything. Once I got home I napped for like 3 hours to catch up on some sleep!
But one last thing before I go that I need to share lol
So there's this cute mascot character for the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei subways/buses etc) system. Look how cute it is in this warning to not use a phone while walking! I find it especially cute in with the angry or alarmed face.
Anyway, it took me a bit of digging because there isn't really much English information on it but apparently this mascot is modeled after the Sakura Tram and is named "Toaran" (とあらん). Here are some of the recent birthday posts LOL
Unfortunately, the merch was really limited and online only so I won't be able to snag this year's, but I am going to try to see if there is non-limited merch available somewhere haha
It actually turns out that Toei transportation actually has a bus mascot character as well called "Minkuru" (みんくる). I personally don't find it as endearing as Toaran, but I can appreciate its cuteness lol.
They also have a joint YouTube channel so that's pretty fun! Instant subscribe from me. I have no idea why the "Minkuru Shopping" video is dubbed in English though LOL Although that is kind of useful, maybe I can do the route they mention in the video as a Minkuru pilgrimage!
edit: It turns out that an older video on their channel has been dubbed and graphics re-edited for an English audience! Very cool.
From this "Suiminkuru" video, counting Minkurus to go to sleep. It's a play on words bc "suimin" means sleep + Minkuru's name