viggo mortensen and karl ubran in japan gundam — courtesy of Moviestar Magazine│picture by Miho Kato

During the Japanese promotional tour for “Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” in January 2003, Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) and Karl Urban (Éomer) took advantage of their free time for some dedicated shopping sprees. Volume 99 of the Japanese film magazine Moviestar features an in-depth coverage of Viggo and Karl’s adventures during their day off on January 22nd, 2003.

Below you find the translation and scans from Moviestar Magazine, provided by Brego.net.

A day in Japan with Viggo Mortensen and Karl Urban

At 8:00 in the morning, Viggo came down barefoot to the lobby of what is known as the most popular hotel in Japan, bringing us two gifts. One was a bottle of tequila for Mr. Sakazume, a buyer for Rock Sales Inc., and the other was a calendar-sized self-portrait, framed by Viggo and his son, Henry, complete with Viggo’s autograph. My impression of Viggo, after spending the entire day with him on the 22nd, is that he is a man of thoughtful delicacy.

Viggo mentioned they arrived at Narita Airport on January 21st and went straight to Ginza for the preview of The Two Towers. They attended a welcome dinner hosted by the film company, featuring ten courses. Though they felt it was impolite not to finish all the dishes, they were full by the third or fourth. Viggo’s friend and co-star from American Yakuza (’93), Ryo Ishibashi, visited him at the hotel, and they enjoyed catching up.

viggo mortensen in Japan gundam — courtesy of Moviestar Magazine│picture by Miho Kato

Viggo bought a computer in mid-January and has been working on an original script. He canceled his plans to visit museums to continue writing in his room. Meanwhile, Ms. P. from Perceval Press, who accompanied him to Japan, scouted the location for a book signing. She was pleased to see a long queue of female fans at Tower Records Shibuya, arriving with the first train at 4:30 AM. She called Viggo to report the situation. When asked where he wanted to go in the afternoon, Viggo requested a shop with lots of Sanrio products, noting Hello Kitty’s popularity among adults in the US.

At 2:00 PM, Viggo came down with Karl Urban (Eomer), whom he had invited. I was surprised by their appearance: Viggo wore a jacket over a T-shirt that read “No Blood for Oil” in Japanese. Both he and Karl had similar slogans sewn onto their jackets. I offered to tidy the rough hand-stitching, but Viggo declined, saying he did it intentionally. We then headed to the Meiji Shrine.

Viggo had been writing on T-shirts and sewing messages on jackets alone in his room. When we arrived at the shrine, he was deeply inspired by the tranquil setting and eagerly asked for explanations about everything. He recalled past visits to Japan and shared memories with Karl. After cleansing his hands, he wrote wishes on an Ema, likely for world peace. We then moved on to Harajuku’s Kiddy Land, snacking on freshly steamed Sakamanju (100 yen).

viggo mortensen in japan lord of the rings — courtesy of Moviestar Magazine│picture by Miho Kato

The highlight of the day was Kiddy Land. Viggo went straight to the section he wanted and browsed various Hello Kitty items, though he didn’t buy anything there. In the Licca-chan doll section, he found a Jenny doll in a sailor uniform he liked, but since it was a sample, he bought similar dolls instead. Meanwhile, Karl was in the Thomas the Tank Engine section, likely shopping for his son.

Next, they visited the Gundam section, where they spent nearly 20 minutes seriously examining the items. Both bought several Gundam products. Viggo’s knowledge of Japanese heroes was impressive. He then inquired about the Ultraman section, returning with arms full of merchandise, including a figure set of Baltan Alien for Karl’s young son, confirming first that it was indeed a villain.

viggo mortensen and karl urban gundam japan — courtesy of Moviestar Magazine│picture by Miho Kato

Despite their growing collection of toys, Viggo still didn’t want to leave. Karl and the rest of the staff went to the Oriental Bazaar, a famous souvenir shop. Viggo eventually left the toy store with a Masked Rider Ryuki figure and joined us. At the bazaar, he bought Japanese-style letter sets and postcards, possibly as gifts. The cashiers, charmed by his Hollywood star status, were thrilled.

Karl, who had expressed a long-standing desire to visit Japan, was excited to buy matcha and tea ceremony items. He mistakenly bought incense for funerals, which we corrected. Meanwhile, Viggo purchased a black T-shirt with the word “WA” (meaning peace) and creatively fashioned it around his hat.

As it grew dark around 4:30 PM, we asked Viggo, who was feeling a bit hungry, if he preferred sushi or a sandwich. He quickly chose sushi, but Karl, recovering from a stomach issue, opted for something cooked. We ended up at a nearby tearoom for sandwiches and café au lait, which they enjoyed.

Viggo was very polite, thanking us as he got into the car. He gave Kato, our photographer, a bottle of caramel sauce for bread, recommending it with buttered toast. When we arrived at Tower Records Shibuya at 5:30 PM, around 100 female fans were eagerly waiting. Viggo greeted them warmly, and the excitement carried over into the signing event.