Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Lung Cheung Road Pedestrian Bridge

Another random location that I recently found for this film was the rather distinctive railings that form the pedestrian bridge on Lung Cheung Road close to what is now Plaza Hollywood and Diamond Hill MTR station. The film was shot back when Tai Hom (this area) was still very much a squatter village and you can discern some of the huts at the back of the screen shots. In the background include some still-standing high rise blocks such as the Fung Wong Chuen Building and Fung Cheung Building over in Wong Tai Sin.

The bridge design is quite distinctive but in the 1970s the main road was about half the size it is now. Lung Cheung Road has since been widened to almost twice its original width and as a result the original footbridge had to be extended. They managed to replicate the same design for the newer (northern) half of the bridge. This film was made when only the original (southern) section was in place. If you want a rough comparison you can click on this GoogleEarth link. The marker at the bottom of the post keeps snapping to a location just north of the bridge.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - King's Road, North Point

I thought I had finished with Karate from Shaolin Temple but I accidentally stumbled across a location that was previously unidentified. The scene follows this one, as Musashi is stopped by one of Wu's friends and is spotted by the gang boss's men. As Wu's man makes it back to their hideout, there are a couple of location shots of him making his way there. This is one of them and was filmed on King's Road at the curve of the road close to Oil Street. In fact you can see the entrance to Oil Street just to the right of the minibus. It's a bit blurry in the screencap but the building there was called the 宏興鷓鴣菜大廈 - that is the name written vertically down the side of the building in red characters. The building is still around but has been converted into some serviced apartments by "Shama".

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Baptist Hospital, Waterloo Road

Wu heads out to find a doctor for Musashi to help him with his wounds and heads to a nearby hospital to look for one, unsuccessfully. The hospital is the Baptist Hospital, or at least the original version of it. It's been expanded and redeveloped significantly since the film was made. The entrance portico you see below was facing west onto Waterloo Road opposite Cornwall Street.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Diamond Hill Cemetery, Kowloon

The cemetery at Diamond Hill features in several scenes of this movie although this was before it underwent a massive modernisation and many of the graves on the lower slopes (near to what is now Po Kong Village Road) were removed/relocated for the construction of new columbarium and crematorium buildings (that can be seen here). This movie was also shot prior to the hill - the "Diamond Hill" that gives the area its name - being removed to make way for what is now a cluster of schools and the Po Kong Village Road Park. Hong Kong is big on preserving names, but physical things...not so much.

Lion Rock is at top left

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Fei Ngo Shan Road, Kowloon

After leaving the Yuen Yuen Institute, Musashi is undergoing a personal crisis as he grapples with whether or not he should be helping Wu. The following sequence was shot at the junction between Fei Ha Road and Fei Ngo Shan Road. Musashi is stopped by one of Wu's friends, Chang (Gwan Jing-leung) who asks him to try and find out some information for them about the bosses movements. However, the pair are spotted by a couple of the boss's henchmen.

The first image below shows the view down Fei Ha Road as Chang races to catch up with Musashi. The following images shows the junction as the car turns around on the curve. The final image shows what was the art-deco style property at #6 Fei Ngo Shan Road in the background. Remember that property because it will pop up in another film I have lined up after this one.

Looking down Fei Ha Road from the junction

The junction between Fei Ngo Shan Rd and Fei Ha Road

The art-deco spire of 6 Fei Ngo Shan Road in the background

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Yuen Yuen Institute, Tsuen Wan

Wu pursues the boss man to the Yuen Yuen Institute where he and Musashi get into it as Musashi mistakenly tries to protect the boss from who he believes to be the bad guy. This is also the same place where Wu meets Musashi again later and the pair are seen by the gang, leading to Musashi's capture.

The place has changed a bit over the years but elements seen in the screen shots below are still around such as the small pagodas and the archway behind the actor in the second image. However, I don't think the yellow arch seen in the last two images is still around and believe it was replaced by the current larger ornamental gateway.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Shap Sze Heung, Sai Kung

Regular readers will be familiar with the Shap Sze Heung area of northern Sai Kung because it has been featured in a whole bunch of famous 1970s and 80s era kung fu films (for example Drunken Master, Knockabout and The Prodigal Son). In this film it is where Wu and his sister chase down the gang in their car before forcing them out and chasing them to another location for a fight.

The main road in the screencaps here is Sai Sha Road, the main road linking Sai Kung with Ma On Shan.

Pat Sin Leng in the distance

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - KCR Railtrack, Shatin

I can't give a specific location for these following screencaps but will say that the first one was obviously taken at the northern end of Shatin due to the proximity of the slopes of Ma On Shan on the right handside. Train enthusiasts may be more interested in the engine number here - 57. Marcus Wong of Checkerboardhill notes that this was one of 3 engines bought in 1961. Apparently it was damaged in 2009 and eventually scrapped in 2014. As you can see in the images below, this was before the system was double-tracked (circa 1979) and electrified (1983).

In the film, Wu and his sister are following the gang and their boss onboard the train, but at some point the pursuit turns into a car chase.

Bruce Lee fans may recognise Fung Ngai as the gang boss.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Lion's Club Pavilion, The Peak

After getting to the Peak on the tram, Reiko and Wu go to the nearby Lion's Club Pavilion to talk about Musashi and the gang boss and Wu's need for revenge. It turns out the gang boss is responsible for the death of Wu's father.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - The Peak Tram

Following Reiko's return from Macau, Wu meets up with her to find out if she was able to get any information out of Musashi. They travel on the Peak Tram. I expect the marker to be snapping to nearby buildings rather than to the Peak Tram track.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Canidrome, Macau

The final stop on the tour of Macau is the former Canidrome. The pair go for some dog racing at Macau's (now former) Canidrome. The place was finally closed down in 2018 and about 500+ greyhounds were sent overseas for adoption. I believe the arena is now a multi-purpose sports ground called the Lin Fong Sports Centre. Old Streetview images (I think from circa 2010) show the arched entrance was still intact at the time but it could easily have been demolished by now. It's been a while since I was up there (2007?). Perhaps worth checking out the next time I go for a trip?

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Monte Fort, Macau

We're not done with the sightseeing yet because the pair head back up to the centre of town and the Monte Fort.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Estrada de Santa Sancha, Macau

After visiting Penha Church, the pair walk down the Estrada de Santa Sancha. The rather elegant balustrade belongs to the Palacete de Santa Sancha - the former Macau Governor's residence before the handover of December 1999. It now serves as a guesthouse for the Macau Chief Executive. The view is along this stretch of the road with the Palacete in the background.

What you might notice in GoogleEarth for the streets of Macau is that the street overlay is offset. This is due to the GPS system that China uses and it affects the whole of Macau, so I can only assume Macau uses the same system. No doubt HK will adopt it at some point.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - Penha Church, Macau

Next up is a trip up to the top of Penha Hill and its namesake church. It's been a popular filming location over the years. This is the first time I recall the chapel inside being featured though, but I am probably wrong after seeing so many films over the years.

Karate from Shaolin Temple - Kazuma Kenji (1976) - St Paul's Church Facade, Macau

The pair do some wandering around and sightseeing, taking in the inevitable trip to Macau's most famous location. These days you can't even move around here due to the sheer volume of tourists from mainland China.