I rarely go to the movie theatres, and I haven't gone inside of one since I left Canada. So, it worked out that my girlfriend wanted to go watch a movie with me in Hibiya. Christmas was also just around the corner, so naturally Frozen 2 was the logical choice of film. Additionally, there were illuminations all over Tokyo, so we made a date night and went out. So this is how my first time at a Japanese movie theatre went.
The Hibiya theatre was probably one of the fancier theatres I've seen. Before visiting, that honour would have been given to the Scotiabank Theatre in downtown Vancouver, so do take that first sentence with a grain of salt. It was on the fourth floor of a building and was lit quite well. There was a lot of space, and I was told that it could get quite busy during peak hours.
There was a giant screen playing trailers of the movies that were being shown at the moment in the lobby entrance. There was also a Godzilla statue here, and it made me wonder if a Godzilla statue was the mark of a good theatre in Tokyo, recalling the theatre in Shinjuku. Past that, the refreshments counter took up most of the space. In front of it was a vast empty area that allowed for massive lineups, but since it was a Tuesday, there was only two or three people waiting around.
Next to the counter was a sort of souvenir shop. It sold merchandise related to the movies on the list of shows, so I assumed its wares changed constantly. It also sold a selection of gummy candy much like you would get in Superstore in Canada. My girlfriend had to peel my eyes away from the candy section as we went to the refreshments counter.
Before the movie started, we bought some popcorn and a curious new snack: a rainbow churro. There were different flavours of popcorn, but the limited flavours all came in paper bags that made an obnoxious amount of noise, so I was recommended against it. I picked up a tub of caramel popcorn, and it looked like a significant amount. The rainbow churro was a decent buy, but I don't think I'll be getting it again. It was rainbow coloured thanks to the sugars that striped it; each colour was a different flavour of candy. I don't know what I was expecting, but the whole thing tasted like a bowl of dry Froot Loops. While I didn't dislike the item, I wasn't raving about it.
After a few minutes of waiting, we got our tickets checked and we went in to the theatre. At the entrance of the theatre showing our movie, there was a convenient little map of the area. We were the on of the first people inside, so I got to see a large number of rows of seats. Either it has been a long time since I've been to a theatre, or the place was big.
The chairs were also a lot different. The cushions of the seats were actually comfortable and had a decent amount of padding. They were also spotless. Plus, there were cup holders. The trays that our popcorn came in was designed to fit in this holder, so the cup holders also doubled as tray holders. This was a small but convenient feature that I was really happy about.
By the time I settled down, the pre-movie trailers and advertisements started to play. Unlike in Canada, this particular theatre didn't have any interactive games. I believe this is because of the Japanese people's adherence to movie etiquette, staunchly following the 'no phones' rule. There was a short animatic reminding the movie-goers to be quiet, take no videos, and turn of cell phones in the theatre. Not once during the movie did I see any phone screens, at least until the end credits.
Speaking of end credits, the lights stayed off during the entire credits sequence. This both impressed me and made me impatient. Sure, there was a little bit of a treat at the end of the credits roll, but Frozen 2 isn't part of the Marvel cinematic universe, so I was pretty sure there wouldn't be any hints to any story points. It was interesting to note that the only other foreigners in the theatre were the only ones to leave during the ending credits (side note: there were seventy-eight people in attendance, with only five people being foreign, including me.) Everyone stayed quiet and in their seats for the most part.
When the lights came back on, there was only the hushed bustle of people getting ready to leave. Just outside the screening area was a pair of theatre staff that gathered the trays at a speed that took me by surprise. I remember blinking and seeing that the tray I was holding had disappeared from my hands and was stacked on top of other trays.
We left the theatre and walked towards Tokyo station through an illuminated part of Yurakucho. Despite the workers setting up barriers for a parade the next day, the stretch of road was still nice to look at. Golden lights snaked their way up every tree here, giving the appearance of an enchanted street. Occasionally the lights would form patterns overhead, with small accents of other colours.
The walk through here was short, but it was a good way to wind down. It seemed that this area wasn't one of the more popular places to go see illumination, as there weren't that many people about that were casually strolling. There were some areas that I saw along the way that seemed to have their own illumination as well, but I thought that the areas seemed too small for it to have been worth it.
Anyway, that's it for this post. Thanks for reading!
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