Ultraman statue located outside Soshigaya-okura station welcomes fans to Ultra Town. Photo by Daisuke Ishizuka. ©TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS.
Author: Daisuke Ishizuka
55th anniversary statue of Ultraseven. Photo by Daisuke Ishizuka. ©TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS.
Tsuburaya Productions' original ULTRAMAN series premiered on Japanese television on July 17, 1966. Leading up to the series' debut, a stage show was filmed before a live studio audience to introduce viewers to the story, cast and characters of ULTRAMAN. This TV special, THE BIRTH OF ULTRAMAN, was broacast on July 10, 1966. Therefore, July 10th is “Ultraman Day” in Japan, and that date is now celebrated annually by Ultraman fans all over the world.
Tsuburaya Productions was located in Setagaya, Tokyo from its founding in 1963 until 2007. The Soshigaya-okura station on the Odakyu-line was the closest train station to the original Tsuburaya Productions offices, and the shopping area around Soshigaya-okura is named "Ultra Town" for its many Ultraman statues and displays.
In 2012, I wrote an article about the "Ultra Town" for SciFi Japan. Now, two more monuments were built there. One is a staue of Kanegon from ULTRA Q episode #15. Kanegon is not a terrible monster, but a friendly character, so it was chosen from many Tsuburaya characters for the new monument. Another one is Ultraseven. The year of 2023 was the 55th anniversary for Ultraseven so the monument was built in a park near the former site of Tsuburaya Productions.
Though Tsuburaya Productions has moved, the "Ultra Town" lives on and continues to develop.
The Coin Monster Kanegon, one of the newer additions to Ultra Town. Photo by Daisuke Ishizuka. ©TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS.
Photo by Daisuke Ishizuka. ©TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS.