"Street addresses are approximate, and buildings extend vertically both up and downwards, so the place you're looking for is probably not visible from the sidewalk. This is true even for movie theaters, which are rarely standalone buildings in Tokyo; only one of this year's TIFF festival venues, the charmingly retro CineSwitch Ginza, was accessible from the street. The rest were part of larger complexes, multi-use buildings that also housed bars, offices, and the ever-present shopping malls."
"But when attending a film festival in Japan, it's advisable to allow some extra time for when you inevitably take the wrong elevator or turn down the wrong alleyway in search of a venue you've never been to before. It helps that the Tokyo Film Festival has a presence on the streets surrounding these venues: Walking past a block-length banner displaying posters for every film in the program,"
"But when you get close enough to the venue, another voice joins the chorus, accompanied by a familiar sight: A volunteer in a grey hoodie, welcoming festivalgoers while holding a sign with the name of today's film in English and Japanese. If you show them your badge and make eye contact, they'll gesture in the direction of where you need to go."
Tokyo's street addresses are approximate and many buildings extend vertically, so destinations often cannot be seen from the sidewalk. Movie theaters are rarely standalone; most festival venues occupy multi-use complexes that include shops, bars, offices, and restaurants. Finding a venue can require extra time for wrong elevators or alleyways. The Tokyo Film Festival provides visible cues — block-length banners and street Q&A events — to confirm neighborhoods. Street noise mixes with commercial jingles and callers, but volunteers in grey hoodies holding bilingual signs guide badge-holders toward entrances. The noise of the street disappears when you step into the theater.
Read at Roger Ebert
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