There are certain things you expect to find when hiking through the mountains of Japan, like towering waterfalls, serene temples, and little stands selling soba noodles and dumplings. If you’re lucky, you might even run into some of those awesome hot-spring bathing monkeys.
And if you’re really lucky, you’ll bump into Chewbacca and Darth Vader if you happen to be on the same trail as this cosplayer and his awesome outfits.
Between Gundam, Evangelion, and a host of other mecha anime and video games, Japan has plenty of domestic contributions to the sci-fi genre. The country also has space in its heart for Star Wars, though, as shown by all the public art projects and special figures with a Japanese twist you can find here.
One of Japan’s most passionate Star Wars fans is unquestionably Suzuki Ryutaro. Also known as Twitter user @Startours2jp, you might think that screen name is a reference to the popular Disneyland attraction, but it seems the more likely explanation is that Ryutaro travels Japan while dressed as Star Wars characters. Here he is hiking through the Asashi mountain range that straddles Niigata and Yamagata Prefectures.
Needless to say, the presence of a Wookie came as a surprise to several of his trailmates.
▼ Stopped for a rest outside a mountain lodge
Chewbacca isn’t the only Star Wars character Ryutaro occasionally assumes the persona of. Here he is dressed as Darth Vader and visiting a Shinto shrine to pray that he wins a prize in the ANA/Star Wars cross-promotional campaign.
He also sometimes moves down the chain of Imperial command with his stormtropper armor.
▼ Hanging out with the kindly grannies of Miyagi Prefecture’s Tashirojima, one of Japan’s numerous “cat islands”
▼ The starry skies of Oku-Nikko in Tochigi Prefecture make a suitable stand-in for deep space.
▼ Ryutaro doesn’t mention where this phot was taken, so we’re just going to assume it was somewhere on Hoth.
But the natural splendor of the mountains and forests is only half of Japan’s charms, and sometimes Chewbacca is drawn to the country’s concrete jungles.
▼ Feeling a little shaggy, Chewie wonders whether he should go into the barber shop on the left or the pet shop on the right for a trim.
▼ Looks like he’s also considering upgrading his bowcaster to an ax.
So next time you’re out and about in Japan, keep your eyes peeled for these visitors from far, far away. And if it’s drizzling, maybe consider loaning them your umbrella.
▼ All that fur has to be a serious pain to dry.
Source: Jin
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