T-Joy, my favourite new cinema in Japan?
Regular readers of my blog may recall my entry about my first trip to the cinema since arriving in Japan. This post is a follow-up, as I recently went to the cinema again, but this time in a different city and with a different chain. "Lilo and Stitch" hit the big screen, and as a huge fan of the fluffy blue ball of energy, I had a strong desire to see the remake.
However, I was surprised to find that very few cinemas in Kyushu were offering subtitled versions. Given that this is a Disney film and the house of mouse essentially owns its own monopoly. I assumed that finding subtitles would be easy, especially since during my last trip, I went to see the Minecraft movie late in its run and was able to find several options in my city that offered subtitles.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case this time. Perhaps Kyushu isn't a fan of blue alien dogs, or maybe they didn't think there would be enough interest to warrant many subtitled showings. Whatever the reason, I had to search a bit further and eventually found a showing in Kurume, Fukuoka. This was being shown at T-Joy a chain of cinemas in Japan.
Once again, I was able to purchase tickets online, which saved me from stress thanks to Chrome's translation tool. The tickets were reasonably priced, and I quickly received a QR code along with a booking reference to use at the venue. This method proved to be convenient and smooth. I simply entered my reference code, and the tickets printed out. As before, the screen numbers were displayed on a board, which would turn green when your screen was ready.
T-Joy's offerings in the snack department were impressive. They provided a variety of popcorn flavors, including caramel and salt, and even allowed customers to mix flavors. In the UK, my go-to snack is usually a mix of salted and sweet popcorn, so I really appreciated T-Joy's option of slightly different flavored combinations. They also offered chip buckets and a range of snack deals. All of this was at a reasonable price, which is quite rare in the UK, where snacks often cost an arm and a leg.
Again, the option to buy merchandise for the movies being shown was a very nice touch as it is something we do not have in the UK.
T-Joy offers a unique feature, the joint seat, which I found to be a fantastic quirk. These seats, which have no middle armrests, must be booked together, making them perfect for a cozy date night at the movies. In some cinemas in the UK, there are options to watch films in beds or similar double seats, but those are only available in select small non-chain theaters. Unfortunately, there are none in my area, and even if there were, I would have found it difficult to justify booking those seats with my mother, as we don’t have that kind of cuddly relationship.
However, I digress! My experience at T-Joy was enjoyable, and I felt more at home this time around. The movie was great, and the snack options were good, although some chicken nuggets were a bit dry. Overall, I would return to this chain for another movie screening. I highly recommend checking out this brand if you find yourself in Japan and looking for a cinema experience.
