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A few LIT-related photos from my recent trip to Japan..

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2013 12:39 pm
by tpl89
I was fortunate enough visit Tokyo earlier this month for a week and stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo (because much of my favourite film was shot there!). Here are a few pics of LIT locations:

The exterior of the hotel, (thankfully both the interior and exterior still look much the same as in the film). The building that it is in (Shinjuku Park Tower) is incredibly tall (771ft at its highest)
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The sky lobby (where Charlotte and Bob have their initial goodbye)
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When I booked, I e-mailed the hotel shortly afterwards to request a room facing Shinjuku station (purely so I could reenact the Charlotte on the windowsill scene). They were able to accommodate my request and gave me a room on the 44th floor:
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Shibuya crossing, sadly no dinosaurs on the big screen when I was there:
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Following in Charlotte's footsteps I took a day-trip to Kyoto, via the Shinkansen:
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This is Nanzen-ji, where Charlotte sees the wedding:
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The gardens behind the Heian shrine, with the stepping stones:
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The front of the Heian shrine:
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Back to the Park Hyatt, the pool (apologies for low image quality):
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And finally, the view at night. The red lights at the top of the buildings glow so beautifully (like the DVD menu screen):
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I hope you enjoy the photos. I really recommend visiting Japan to anyone. Don't be daunted at all. I went alone and with very limited Japanese language skills (ie. I had a phrasebook) and had a fantastic time. The people are so polite and friendly and I really hope to go back soon.

I visited various other non-LIT related places around Tokyo and Kyoto, I'll post a link to my Flickr page when I get round to uploading the rest of my photos.

Posted: Fri Dec 27, 2013 1:39 pm
by foxchosen
This is incredible!
I'm so jealous :lol:

Can't wait to see the flickr album.

I was actually thinking that it wouldn't be too hard to take some hi-res panorama pictures of Tokyo at night and add some subtle red glows, maybe a few faint lines down at the streets to have some cars as well... sure would be a nice screensaver :)

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 3:45 pm
by Too Young
Great pictures!

I too would like to Visit Tokyo someday, I might just have to travel there alone as I am not sure too many people would want to go.
Not sure I would be able to afford staying at the Park Hyatt hotel though, how much is it a night?

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:11 pm
by tpl89
Too Young wrote:Great pictures!

I too would like to Visit Tokyo someday, I might just have to travel there alone as I am not sure too many people would want to go.
Not sure I would be able to afford staying at the Park Hyatt hotel though, how much is it a night?
I was in the same boat; i.e. wanting to visit Japan but putting it off as I was apprehensive about going alone. However, after a re-watch of LIT I just thought 'f*** it, life's too short' and booked a trip alone. I have no regrets!

In terms of the Park Hyatt - it is bloody expensive and there are loads of very nice hotels in Tokyo that are much cheaper. I booked both my flights and the hotel through British Airways and the room worked out at approx £300/night.

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:27 pm
by Too Young
£300 :shock: yeah think that's out my price range for now...
Can you just visit the hotel bar from the movie though if you are not a guest? Maybe that would be a better option.

I too live in UK so I know you can fly direct from London for around £500-600. As you said I'm sure there's much cheaper hotels, ideally another high rise hotel with a view.

Is it still expensive for day to day things like taxis, trains, food/drink etc? My friend went backpacking round the world and said Tokyo was by far the most expensive place he visited. Depending on when you go maybe some months are cheaper?

Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:55 pm
by tpl89
Too Young wrote:£300 :shock: yeah think that's out my price range for now...
Can you just visit the hotel bar from the movie though if you are not a guest? Maybe that would be a better option.

I too live in UK so I know you can fly direct from London for around £500-600. As you said I'm sure there's much cheaper hotels, ideally another high rise hotel with a view.

Is it still expensive for day to day things like taxis, trains, food/drink etc? My friend went backpacking round the world and said Tokyo was by far the most expensive place he visited. Depending on when you go maybe some months are cheaper?
I know, their room rates are crazy, I doubt I'll be able to revisit for the foreseeable future.

Fortunately the bar is open to the wider public, as are the restaurants within the hotel. I'm not too familiar with other hotels in Tokyo but you shouldn't have trouble finding somewhere with good views that is cheaper than the Park Hyatt. Tripadvisor, as ever, is a good place to check out.

I didn't find day to day prices particularly expensive; but then, I don't travel much and am used to London prices - so perhaps in global terms, Tokyo is quite expensive. However, the quality of service and produce was very high wherever I went.

Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 11:11 pm
by samwright8380
Wow, how did I miss these? Great photos, they're so evocative! It seems like things haven't changed at all since the movie was made over ten years ago now.

I'm really surprised at the cost of flights also nowadays.

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 3:51 am
by Bob_san
Yes the photos and commentary are great thanks for posting this!

Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2016 4:38 pm
by Luigi
Great photos. I'm finally going to Tokyo for the first time tomorrow. It's a business trip though - so I won't have much time to visit any LiT-related places. I will try to do my best... :)

Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 6:40 pm
by samwright8380
Luigi wrote:Great photos. I'm finally going to Tokyo for the first time tomorrow. It's a business trip though - so I won't have much time to visit any LiT-related places. I will try to do my best... :)
I hope you had a fantastic trip!