Cinema
Going to the cinema in Japan can be fairly expensive. With tickets priced at 1800 yen, people often wait until releases come out on video or DVD (it usually takes four months or less). There are also some ways of cutting down the cost of a cinema ticket. On the first day of every month, it is National Cinema day and all tickets become 1000 yen. Besides that, every Wednesday is Ladies' Day. Tickets for women are again, 1000 yen. Unfortunately this doesn't mean that all films are free, if Wednesday falls on the first and you are a lady.
Late night shows are held at some cinemas including Movix. After 8pm tickets become 1200 yen. There is another way to get a small discount at Movix. If you go to their web site, find, then click on 割引クーポン and print off the page that comes up, you get 200 yen off. It is also possible to get a discount on tickets at Loft. A ticket shop is located in the stairwell between the ground floor and the basement. It sells tickets for films for either 1300 or 1500 yen, but only for the major cinemas.
A lot of cinema auditoriums in this country are impressive, with good sound and big, comfortable seats. The concession stands aren't very expensive either, so it isn't all bad news. Still, fizzy drinks and large helpings of sticky popcorn aren't very good for you.
The Japan Times Cinema listing page is a good place to find out film times.
There are plenty of large video rental stores, such as Tsutaya, in the Kansai region. Nevertheless, one drawback of using them is that it can be difficult to watch films in any language other than English. Aside from a handful of titles (including the DVDs of Zatoichi and Hero ), most foreign videos don't have English subtitles. There are however, two places in Central Kyoto which offer both a wide, interesting selection and some subtitled foreign language films.
Located just north of Oike on Fuyacho-dori, this place is a little hard to find. It's next to a hairdresser's on the second floor of a nondescript gray building. At first it looks unremarkable, especially in direct comparison to the expansive shop floor of Tsutaya, but the selection here is astonishing. Perhaps a labour of love for the shop's effusive owner, everything is precisely organized. On the left hand side are several folders in which copies of the video covers are kept. They are alphabetized by director, or if you prefer, sorted by genre. The David Lynch section for example, contains, alongside his features, some (probably quite rare) TV pilots and there is interestingly, a small section devoted entirely to the directorial work of Alan Alda. There are also early works by David Cronenberg, many classic older films, eighties comedies and some more experimental pictures. Getting a membership is pretty straightforward. It's possible to get through the process without any Japanese, but speaking a little helps. In addition, there is a complex system which offers discounts on early returns and money off vouchers for rentals. The owner seems to understand it. He has a small selection of foreign videos with English subtitles behind the counter too. They include some pictures by Fassbinder and a few older Japanese films (by Kurosawa and Mizoguchi) You will have to ask him about these. Tapes can be borrowed for up to a week, which makes returning the films more convenient if you live away from the centre. The shop only carries videotapes and doesn't really stock recent releases, but it's certainly recommended if you are interested in watching films outside the mainstream.
Green E Books opened in 2004 and is primarily a friendly second-hand foreign language bookshop. Recently (as of July 2005) it has become home to a DVD rental service catering to foreign residents. There are around 1200 titles available including Japanese, European and American films. It's possible to browse a list of films at the Green E Books website