Igadevi's Japan Trip 2004~Hamanako Pal Pal

On July 12th, 2004, I took a trip down to Hamamatsu, which is a little under halfway between where I was living at the time
(Nagahama) and Tokyo, via Shinkansen. A short bus ride from the station takes you to Hamanako Paru Paru ("Hamana Lake
Pal Pal"), this neat little amusement park, where you can take the ropeway (or cable car) across part of the lake up to the
overlooking mountain area and get a nice view of the entire place. For more about it, check out the official website. So what's so
special about this place? Well, it was used in the last two episodes, #97 & 98, of the original Kamen Rider series! Having only
seen the place before in a 30+ year-old TV series, it was quite a thrill to see it in its current state. Several significant scenes in the
episodes were shot here, I'll go through them as I saw them. I've also taken some screen captures from the episodes themselves
to give you some idea of how it looked "then & now:" While a lot has changed, a lot is still the same as it was in 1973.

Ropeway: In episode #97 Hongô & Taki ride on one of the cars to get up to Gelshocker's base atop the mountain (where there's
a now museum in real life.) You can actually see the Pal Pal park in the way-off background, and now it looks very different,
although the distinctive "Hotel Empire" you'll be seeing a lot in these pics confirmed that this was the right place (as well as
Kodansha's Kamen Rider 1 File magazine, which is how I found out about all this in the first place.) Later on Rider 1 fights a
Revived Gani-Kômoru on top of one of these cars, as it moves up and across the lake.

Pal Pal itself: Used during the big brawl in episode #98, where Rider 1 & 2 fight a bunch of Gelshocker henchmen before fighting
Hiru-Chameleon (Black Shôgun's mutant form) himself atop a moving roller coaster (one of the coolest fights in the whole series.)
The coaster itself unfortunately seemed to have been taken down (probably due to age, it's been replaced by a more
contemporary version) but a few things are still there, mostly updated and/or repainted. But check out the entrance, that changed!

Mountain (It's got a name, I'm just too lazy to look it up): This is where Black Shôgun's dramatic final scene was filmed. I actually
saw the very rock that Hiru-Chameleon attempts to blend in with (only to get a Rider Double Chop) and it was interesting how
much the area around it has changed. It was almost barren in the show, whereas now it's all overgrown with trees and vegetation.
The rock itself is on a fairly steep slope, so this was the best picture I could get (although the aforementioned Rider 1 File
magazine has a virtually identical picture, so that's how I knew this was the right rock.) Standing on the place where one of my
favorite Rider villains went kaboom was a powerful moment indeed.

Afterwards, I hopped on the bus again and went a little ways south to Murakushi, which is a nice little town known amongst
original series addicts like myself as....(drum roll) Gelshocker's Supreme Headquarters! Yes, after a grueling hour or so walk
(thanks to getting off at the wrong stop) I reached the shoreline of the lake (which is actually like a lagoon, as it lets out into the
Pacific Ocean.) This is where the final battle between the Double Riders and the revived Gelshocker Kaijin army in episode #98
was filmed. It's been revamped over a lot since the 1970's, as the above photos will attest. But yes, that's the same road where
Hongô & Ichimonji get ambushed by the Gelshocker mutants, in both 1973 & 2004! The lake, on the other hand, is virtually the
same (not that lakes change that much.)

Ah, here's the famous roadside staircase where a Revived Ei-Dokuger gets booted in the face by Rider 2. Well, in publicity
photos anyway (like the Calbee card pictured here.) You can see it in the actual show, when Rider 2 & Ei-Dokuger fight on the
ledge next to the staircase. You can see the end of the railing on the very edge of the first pic on the bottom row. Next time I go,
I'll have to bring some friends to reenact those photos!

And here's the beach where Rider 1 & 2 chuck Mukade-Tiger into the air, and you know, since they're the Double Riders, he
gets blown up real good. There's also some miscellaneous fighting that goes on all around this area, which can be seen in the
episodes as well as publicity photos. That place where there's now a parking lot is one, for example.

Right before they confront the Leader of Gelshocker, the Double Riders can be seen standing in front of this bridge, which,
despite now being refurbished and repainted, is still there! Just off screen would be where Gelshocker Headquarters is located,
under the waves of the lake. Of course the *actual* Gelshocker HQ interior where the big boss himself appears was probably a
sound stage somewhere in Tokyo, but in the story anyways, this was the place!

And I couldn't resist taking some pictures with the Gashapon Kamen Rider Leangle I picked up in Pal Pal. Hopefully by the time I
go back, I'll bring along a Rider 1 & 2!

One thing I now find extremely funny: when Hiru-Chameleon gets kicked out of the coaster by Rider 1, he lands close to where
that rock is on the mountain. In the show, a simple quick cut makes it look like he just tumbles out and falls onto the ground. But
in real life, he would have had to fall up a couple hundred feet to reach that location. That's the magic of editing!