Category Archives: Movies

DUNE – With a Japan Zone Twist

Dune - Timothee Chalamet and Rebecca Ferguson

If, like me, you’re old enough to remember the original 1984 movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic novel, you’ll likely have an opinion about the upcoming remake of Dune. In my case, it’s a sense of optimism that the new movie –due for a December 2020 release if Covid-19 permits – will be a much more solid and faithful telling of a really compelling story.

The cast looks impressive (no Sting!), with a mixture of veteran and youthful stars. Timothee Chalamet may be Hollywood “flavor of the month” but he’s a very solid and versatile actor, and director Denis Villeneuve has already proven his chops by pulling off what nobody though possible – a really strong Blade Runner sequel that some claim even surpasses Ridley Scott’s original.

So what’s the Japan Zone angle? Glad you asked.

One of the movie’s locations was Budapest, Hungary. And it was to the Origo Film Studios in Budapest that we shipped a large order of jikatabi footwear in the spring of 2019. As was the case after we provided footwear for previous Hollywood blockbusters (47 Ronin with Keanu Reeves, Wolverine with Hugh Jackman, and the most recent Star Wars reboot) we looked and looked to see if the jikatabi were actually used, but given that feet are usually either out of shot or in the distance, it’s remarkably difficult to spot them.

So, it was with a sense of excitement that I checked out the recently released trailer and promo photos for Dune. Boots are in view, but as yet no definitive jikatabi shots. Still, it looks like a movie definitely worth checking out. And they’ve even included a bit of classic Pink Floyd in the soundtrack!


Hollywood Movie Tabi

47 Ronin, Wolverine movies featuring jikatabi
47 Ronin, Wolverine movies featuring jikatabi

Here at Japan Store we deal mainly with individual customers who just love to stand out from the crowd in their jikatabi. We often get larger orders from theater and opera companies putting on a Japanese-themed production or just after a different kind of look. But every now and again we get a slightly different kind of order.

A couple of years ago we got an order from a movie production company that was buying up all sorts of Japanese items for an upcoming Keanu Reeves vehicle, featuring a cast that includes some of the most talented actors in Japan. Unfortunately the production of “47 Ronin” has been beset by setbacks and has still not hit movie theaters. But we’re assured that it’s on the way and that you’ll be able to see a host of top stars wearing our jikatabi this Christmas.

If you just can’t wait to see Hollywood-meets-Japanese-footwear, we also supplied jikatabi to the company that made the Hugh Jackman X-Men flick “The Wolverine“, which is currently showing here in Ireland. We also recently shipped some items to Disney in California, who will be using them in the movie “Tomorrowland“, planned for release next year.

And this week we’ve received some orders from a company based at Pinewood Studios in the UK. So far no official word on what the movie will be, but we here at Japan Store have our suspicions. And regardless of the movie, we’re always happy to see our jikatabi being worn on the big screen.