Every City Godzilla and His Friends Have Ever Attacked

Godzilla is a nigh-unstoppable monster fueled by nuclear power and reptilian fury, but he’s also a tourist. Over the course of 32 movies, Godzilla and his many kaiju friends and enemies have visited tons of cities. Sure, they probably crush a few people and shoot lasers at a couple tanks, but they’re also taking in (and destroying) some of the world’s most iconic locales.

Although Godzilla and his monstrous buds most often attack Japan, they’ve managed to rack up plenty of frequent flier miles. Here’s a rundown of every city they’ve attacked. Now, this list probably isn’t perfect. Godzilla doesn’t demolish a major city in every movie. Some take place on Monster Island or empty fields (this happened in the ‘70s when budgets for the movies were tight). Other times, Godzilla breezes through an unidentified city or lightly trashes a suburb that’s not quite within Tokyo’s city limits; let’s include those as wider metropolitan areas. Deciding whether or not a monster has “attacked” a city, or merely caused collateral damage while defending it from another kaiju, complicates things further. Contact the author if you spot any glaring omissions, and we’ll try to fix it up… just like the Japanese government fixes up the following cities over and over again.

Tokyo (13)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Godzilla and his fellow monsters have attacked Japan’s capital, a city that currently boasts a population of more than 13 million people, more than any other metro area. Tokyo was the site of Godzilla’s first attack in the original 1954 movie. (He actually ravaged it in two separate visits, but for the purposes of this list, we’re counting each movie as one appearance.)

Tokyo is essential to the Godzilla mythos, but he’s not the only monster that’s helped trash the joint. King Kong, Megalon, Destoroyah, and Megaguirus are among the many kaiju that have caused some gigantic property damage to the city.

Attacked in: Godzilla (1954), Mothra (1961), King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962), Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973), Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), The Return of Godzilla (1984), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995), Godzilla 2000 (1999), Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000), Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2001), Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004), Shin Godzilla (2016)

New York City (3)

As you can see, it’s a very sharp drop-off, from the kaiju’s favorite target to the runner-up. Overall, the Big Apple has arguably been attacked by giant monsters more than any city (even Tokyo), but in the Godzilla franchise, it’s only been hit three times. Godzilla blasted the United Nations while under alien mind-control in 1968’s Destroy All Monsters and laid a bunch of eggs in Madison Square Garden in the much maligned 1988 American Godzilla. Aside from that, the city was also hit by the flying monster Rodan in 2004’s Final Wars.

King Kong exists in the Godzilla timeline thanks to their 1962 showdown, though he did not attack New York in that movie. A poster for Godzilla vs. Megalon showed the two titular monsters fighting on top of the Twin Towers, but they never even left Japan in the actual movie, so that doesn’t count.

Attacked in: Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla (1998), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Fukuoka (3)

The largest city on Kyushu, Japan’s southmost island, has been hit by monsters three times, though the Big G himself has only graced the city with his destructive presence once in 1994’s Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. Before that, Rodan attacked it in his standalone movie and King Ghidorah dropped by as part of his ‘91 rampage.

Attacked in: Rodan (1956), Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), *Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)

Tokai (3)

This city was famous for being home to the first nuclear power plant of its kind in all of Japan, and as a result, kaiju have made pit stops for some of that sweet, sweet atomic juice. Godzilla visited twice, briefly, while the giant shrimp Ebirah clawed through in Final Wars.

Attacked in: Godzilla 2000 (1999), Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Osaka (2)

Osaka is one of the few cities that’s made two appearances in the series, and it stands out for being the second city Godzilla ever laid to waste. Godzilla and Anguirus battled there in the second movie of the series, Godzilla Raids Again, which came out in 1955. The two trashed Osaka Castle, a historic landmark in the bustling modern city. It made another appearance decades later, when Godzilla and the planet monster Biollante threw down in Osaka Bay.

Attacked in: Godzilla Raids Again (1955), Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)

Yokohama (2)

The second-largest city in Japan (not counting Tokyo’s 23 special wards) has been attacked by giant monsters twice, which seems fitting. Godzilla wrecked the big Cosmo Clock 21 Ferris wheel while fighting Mothra and Battra in the ‘90s, and then stomped on the city again while fighting Mothra and King Ghidorah a little less than a decade later.

Attacked in: Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Nagoya (2)

This major Japanese port city has been hit twice. Godzilla did some damage during his first meeting with Mothra in the 1964 movie, and then Mothra’s evil counterpart, Battra, attacked the city again in 1992.

Attacked in: Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992)

Paris (2)

Somewhat surprisingly, the French capital is one of only a small handful of cities that have been sacked by kaiju twice — but Godzilla himself has never ravaged the city of lights. Gorosaurus wrecked the Arc de Triomphe in Destroy All Monsters, although that honor was almost certainly supposed to have gone to Baragon, a monster known for digging (the monster suit was in terrible condition, so Gorosaurus did the job instead). The mantis monster Kamacuras attacked the city again in Final Wars. Those two movies, Destroy All Monsters and Final Wars, account for a lot of the series trips beyond Japan’s borders. Expect to see their names again.

Attacked in: Destroy All Monsters (1968), Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Kyoto (1)

Kyoto, Japan’s historic former capital, has only been hit by kaiju once, but it was a doozy. Godzilla, Rodan, and a new Mechagodzilla, created by the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center, have it out in a laser-filled battle royale.

Attacked in: Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)

Tateyama (1)

This somewhat minor city in Chiba Prefecture made only a brief appearance in the series, when Godzilla attacked in the opening scene of Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.

Attacked in: Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)

Hong Kong (1)

Godzilla only hit Hong Kong once, in the opening scene of Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, when a flaming red version of the monster lets off some steam before his meltdown later in the film.

Attacked in: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

Hakone (1)

Hakone is just a resort town within sight of Japan’s Mount Fuji, but it was unfortunate enough to play host to Godzilla and Baragon’s fight in GMK.

Attacked in: Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)

Kobe (1)

SpaceGodzilla flies over Japan’s sixth-largest city without ever making landfall, but his mere presence overhead still destroys lots of buildings.

Attacked in: Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla (1994)

Sapporo (1)

Godzilla makes a minor but devastating visit to the largest city in Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido, trashing the television tower, a local landmark.

Appears in: Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)

San Francisco (1)

The second American Godzilla production in 2014 brought the big G to the other side of the Pacific Ocean for the first time, when the kaiju and two MUTOs utterly wrecked the place in a massive battle. Even though this version of Godzilla was taller than any before him, he still isn’t quite as big as he looks in the very cool poster for the movie.

Attacked in: Godzilla (2014)

Honolulu (1)

Before heading to Northern California, though, Godzilla and the male MUTO threw down in Hawaii’s capital.

Attacked in: Godzilla (2014)

London (1)

Destroy All Monsters is one of the more globe-trotting entries in the Godzilla series, as evil aliens send an entire roster of monsters around the globe to wreak havoc. They send Manda, a serpentine kaiju, to tackle London.

Appears in: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Beijing (1)

Mothra’s larval stage crawled through Beijing during the Destroy All Monsters attack. It ended up doing a lot of damage for what’s essentially a big ol’ caterpillar.

Appears in: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Moscow (1)

Rodan flies over Russia in Destroy All Monsters, but since he whips up a destructive supersonic wind in his wake, that’s all he needs to do.

Appears in: Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Sydney (1)

When the alien invaders of Final Wars unleash monsters across the world, they send “Zilla” to Australia. No, not Godzilla, but the version of the monster that appeared in the hated 1998 American movie. The real Godzilla defeats Zilla in just two moves, ending the shortest monster fight in franchise history by blowing up the Sydney Opera House.

Appears in: Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Shanghai (1)

The same aliens who sent Zilla to Sydney also sent Anguirus, Godzilla’s first foe, to Shanghai.

Appears in: Godzilla: Final Wars

Phoenix (1)

Final Wars really is a world tour, as a bunch of cities make cameos as some random monster knocks over buildings. Kumonga, a giant spider, takes Phoenix, Arizona.

Appears in: Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Okinawa (1)

King Caesar was the mammalian guardian of Okinawa Island in Terror of Mechagodzilla, but he didn’t attack any proper cities during his debut appearance. However, he did cause some urban chaos as part of the big monster attack in Final Wars.

Appears in: Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)