or LED screens but … the shots we get are pretty amazing."
"The mix of periods in Tokyo is really extraordinary," adds
Aikawa. "We're known in film and television as the very
modern city with neon and light, so the idea that right in the
middle of all of that sits a temple from the 1300s is sort of a
crazy thing … but this is how we live here and it's fun to be
able to show that."
HOPES DASHED
When the pilot was completed, Aikawa would assume
leadership of the location team for the remaining seven
episodes of Season 1 and be invited back for its second.
Thinking ahead, they had searched for practical locations
that would not only work for Season 1, but for all that might
follow.
When the second season ramped up in June of 2022,
Aikawa's first calls were to the owners of four key locations
from Season 1. He had no idea that he and his team were
about to deal with major issues … with all four!
For the many scenes set at The Meicho, production had
been able to secure two full floors of the building: one which
was dressed entirely by the art department to serve as the
main floor of the paper, and the other used for crew staging
and holding for the hundred or so background playing
"reporters." But the building had changed hands—and the
new owner was not very excited about hosting the production
company.
The building that served as the Chihara-kai headquarters
and Yakuza gangster Ishida's office was set to figure heavily
in Season 2 and Masa found that it was freshly on the market
with a buyer already at the table.
Meanwhile, a new building was being erected right next
door to the house that had served as the home of detective
Katagiri and his family. Not only would scenes not match for
Season 2, which picks up exactly where Season 1 left off, but
Aikawa would have to enlist the support of whoever owned
that new building as well!
Lastly, the building where the police station had been shot
was simply no longer available and no amount of negotiation
could change that reality.
So, negotiations would have to begin anew with the three
remaining locations, and they simply had to secure them—no
matter the cost.
"It was a major negotiation," says Aikawa, "and if I'm being
completely honest, for a little while, I wasn't entirely sure we
would get them back. But from my point of view, there was
no other option. We just had to make it work, and so we did."
The Architect's house. Photo by James Lisle
