[5][1] At Nikkatsu, Watari starred in such films as Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter and Toshio Masuda's Outlaw series.

When Nikkatsu shifted to focusing on Roman Porno films in the early seventies, Watari was one of many actors who left the studio.

[6] Watari was due to play the main role in Kinji Fukasaku’s film Battles Without Honor and Humanity, but because of illness he was not able to appear.

[9] In 1976, Watari won best actor of Blue Ribbon Award for his role in Kinji Fukasaku`s film Yakuza Graveyard.

[5] In Japan, Watari is probably still best known for his role as Keisuke Daiomon in the detective series "Seibu Keisatsu" on TV Asahi.