"Lost in Translation" Tokyo Tour

Have you seen the movie “Lost  in Translation”?  I would recommend it to anyone who loves Japan.  It is not a great story for sure, so don’t expect any special plot.  What it does do extremely well though is capture the sights and sounds of Japan, particularly Tokyo.  I don’t think that is really an easy thing to do, so I applaud Director Sophia Coppola for giving the viewer a real good feeling of what it is like to actually be in Japan.

So being a big fan of the movie (I actually own a copy), I thought it might be fun to take a tour of some of the actual filming locations in Tokyo one day.  A few quick searches on the internet and 15 minutes later I had all the material I would need.  Armed with a willing expeditionary party, one late Saturday afternoon we headed off from Shinagawa to our first stop – Shabuzen Restaurant in Shibuya.  Shabuzen is a Shabu – Shabu place, and is located in the basement of the Creston Hotel in a residential section of Shibuya.  Despite it being a mere 10 minute walk from the main madness of modern day Shibuya, it is not an easy place to find.  It really amazes me how you can walk just a short distance from a very crowded, hip and ultra-popular place in Tokyo and be in a very quiet area like this.  Some day I need to stay at this hotel, although it is a little pricey compared to my usual dormitory in Shinagawa.

This restaurant is from the scene in the movie where Bill (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) have their little fight in a booth while ordering lunch.  The lunch menu pictures all looked the same to Charlotte and Bill uttered his famous line after ordering a coke (or was it tea?) – “I’m switching to beer”.  Since they filmed the movie the restaurant has been extensively remodeled, and the booth seats have been replaced with chairs.  The picture above is what the same booth looks like today (yes we sat in EXACTLY the same place which was part of the plan!  Notice the same rail on the wall.  Sorry for the grainy photo!).  The food here is good and the atmosphere is relaxed.  We all enjoyed our meal and then moved on to our next tour stop –Karaoke Kan (also in Shibuya).

Karaoke Kan is a chain of Karaoke boxes, and the one used in the movie is just a short 10 minute walk from Shabuzen back towards Shibuya Station.  It is in a crowded commercial area, and while the check in is on the ground floor just off the street, the actual boxes are on upper floors and you need to take an elevator to get there.  The targeted box, room 601 is a corner “party room” with a very cool circular window that gives a great view of the street down below.  The picture above is of Scarlett Johansson singing The Pretenders “Brass in Pocket”.  Notice the room number at the top of the door.  The next picture is from our session there.  The room can hold around 10 people and is a great place to take a group and have fun!

Our final stop on the tour was the famous New York Bar, located on the top floor of the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku.  The Park Hyatt is one of the most beautiful hotels in Tokyo.  It is a very expensive and classy place.  It is modern in every aspect, as it actually occupies the top 14 floors of the Shinjuku Park Tower skyscraper.  The check in desk is on the 41st floor and the New York Bar is near the top – on the 52nd floor.  It offers nightly jazz, and some of the best views of Tokyo.

This hotel was actually the main location used for the movie “Lost in Translation”.  Not only did the main characters stay at this hotel, but the New York Bar was a key place from many of the scenes.  We went up there with the same intention Bill Murray did in the movie – to have a glass of whiskey (Suntory Hibiki of course!) and relax and listen to the music.  What a great place, but don’t forget to bring your wallet as it, like the rest of this hotel, is not cheap!!!

What a wonderful way to spend an evening in Tokyo.  Maybe next time I will seek out some of the other interesting film locations!  "For exciting times, make it Suntory times!!!"