You Only Live Twice (film) Mie Hama were eventually chosen and started taking English classes in the UK. Hama, initially cast in the role of Tanaka's assistant, had difficulty with the language, so the producers switched her role with Wakabayashi, who had been cast as Kissy, a part with significantly less dialogue. Wakabayashi only requested that her character name, "Suki", be changed to "Aki". Filming of "You Only Live Twice" lasted from July 1966 to March 1967. The film was shot primarily in Japan. Himeji Castle in Hyōgo Prefecture was depicted as Tanaka's ninja training camp. His private transportation hub was filmed at the Tokyo
You Only Live Twice (song) in Bayswater, London. Sinatra later recalled that she was incredibly nervous during the recording, and it took around 30 takes to acquire enough material. Producer John Barry eventually created the final product by incorporating vocals from 25 takes. Roy Wood described Barry's string introduction to his song "You Only Live Twice" as "absolute perfection". Mark Monahan of "The Daily Telegraph" described the lyrics as "mysterious, romantically "carpe diem" ... at once velvety, brittle and quite bewitching". David Ehrlich of "Rolling Stone" ranked "You Only Live Twice" the third best James Bond theme song, calling it "a classic." The song is