Godzilla gets a head in Kabukicho

I should have done this article a long time ago because Godzilla is a Tokyo icon.  He’s been in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho since 2015, right after he turned sixty.  I couldn’t turn up to take his photo on the big day. My first chance to get there was in 2019.  Only I would turn up four years late.  I’m surprised he didn’t come to my apartment and stomp on me.  Sorry big guy!

Still, four years late was better than never, right?  I doubt he has changed much.  People tell me he still looks the same, and I believe them.  I’ve seen the photos.  He’s the same.

His head is visible atop the Shinjuku Toho Building, forty meters up.  Yes, just his head and some claws.  It is a cool head.  That head is so cool that thousands of people walk past him every day and snap a pic.  Even at sixty-five, the King of Monsters still draws a crowd.

What more can I say? If you need advice about taking his photo, you can photograph him with anything.  Smartphones, point, and shoots or DSLRs all work.  Any camera will work.  You need to remember one thing!  Godzilla’s head is high off the ground, so the smaller your lens, the smaller he will look in your picture!  You could go up to the coffee shop on the same floor as he is, but those pictures don’t usually have the same impact.

The last time I photographed the monster was in September 2021.  These are the photos you see here.  I took most of them with my 100-400 mm.  With that, I was able to get some very nice close-up shots.  The other lenses I used were the 16-55 and the 55-200 mm, to include the street due to their wider fields of view.

And that time, we got a James Bond poster in the shot! Is the spy bigger than Godzilla?  Only the box office can tell us.  Anyway, Daniel Craig looks very cool.  No Time to Die will surely be another huge blockbuster.

And there is one piece of advice I can give for taking these pictures.  The head doesn’t look very spectacular in daylight, so I recommend early evening when the sun goes down.  The fading light will add a little more drama to your photo.  He even gets lit up at that time, making things a little more atmospheric.  I’ve wanted to get those shots for ages.  But, time and weather have always prevented that from happening.  For the time being, these will have to do.  One day, I will get some good night shots!

Where is Godzilla in Kabukicho?

You can find him in Kabukicho above the Shinjuku Toho Building.  He is only a short walk from JR Shinjuku and Seibu Shinjuku stations.  

If you leave from JR Shinjuku’s east exit, the walk to Godzilla is straightforward.  

You could also go there via Shinjuku Subnabe, an underground mall.  Once underground, Exit 10 will put you in an excellent position to get to Godzilla.  Be warned.  That route will be pretty maze-like to the uninitiated.

Here is a Google map:

For similar photo spots in Tokyo, look at:

• Giant Maman spider in Roppongi 

• King Kong in Sangenjaya

Wrapping up

If you are looking for other Godzillas in Tokyo, there is always the one in Hibiya. It is relatively small, only three meters in height, so you can get much closer. The big one, though, is this one in Kabukicho.