Tokyo Fox’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Overview

Posted on July 22, 2026 by tokyofox

It has been said that the most memorable World Cup for many football fans is the one they experience around the age of 11 (give or take a year or two!) so for me that fell between Mexico ’86 and Italia ’90. Both of those tournaments hold special memories for me and it really did feel special to have some matches taking place in Mexico this time.

The majority of matches were hosted in the USA (with some in Canada too) though and it was eventually Spain that reigned supreme. I only saw them in live action in the latter stages but hadn’t actually considered them for the top prize prior to that as they never really Continue reading →

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Allez Les Bleus! France Provide a Reality Check for Japan at the World Rugby Nations Championship in Tokyo

Posted on July 19, 2026 by tokyofox

During all my time in Japan I’ve managed to see the majority of the top test-playing international rugby teams at some point but there have been a couple of notable absentees for a while.

The title of this post reveals that one of those teams was the current Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Turkish Delight in the City Situated on 2 Continents

Posted on July 15, 2026 by tokyofox

Late night or early morning flights in my experience tend be just after midnight or at about 6:00 am. On this occasion though my flight from Amman (Jordan) to Istanbul in Turkey was right in the middle of that time zone.

The 3:15 am flight might have saved me on a night’s accommodation, but I did Continue reading →

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The Side of Hiroshima Most Tourists Don’t Get to See!

Posted on July 11, 2026 by tokyofox

12 months on from our last trip to Hiroshima and we were back but this time things were a bit different and not in a good way.

At the start of the year beloved family dog Cocoa Continue reading →

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The Inaugural World Rugby Nations Championship Begins in Front of a Packed Tokyo Crowd as Japan Hosts Italy

Posted on July 7, 2026 by tokyofox

“The miracle of Brighton” in 2015 helped propel Japan’s national men’s rugby team towards the upper echelons of world rugby. That famous win against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup in England was one of the greatest upsets in global sport and things got better four years later when they hosted the tournament and defeated the likes of Ireland and Scotland in the Pool stages. Japanese rugby was very much on the rise but could it be sustained?

Sadly, Japan is located in a remote part of the world compared to all the other powerhouse nations of the sport. Joining the Six Nations tournament in Europe was never really likely but the southern hemisphere Rugby Championship did seem a more likely proposition for helping the Brave Blossoms progress with regular top-tier matches. That has never materialised though leaving the Continue reading →

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Was I Bowel-ed Over by My Visit to Japan’s Premier Toilet Museum?

Posted on July 4, 2026 by tokyofox

There’s nothing us Brits love more than a bit of toilet humour so when I heard there was a museum devoted to such matters I thought it was a place I just had to see.

Whenever I hear the word Toto two things come to mind. One of them is the American rock band famed for the early 80s hit single ‘Africa‘ and then there’s the toilet manufacturer. The latter has a museum in Continue reading →

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The Art Museum That Has Eyes on You Before You Look at It!

Posted on July 1, 2026 by tokyofox

Usually when one visits a museum, it is to see whatever is being exhibited inside but the beauty of this place is very much the distinctive external appearance.

With two rectangular prisms protruding from the building, the cantilevered structure of this museum resembles bulging robotic eyes or binoculars. This aesthetically pleasing structure is the Continue reading →

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TF Top 10……Football Match Day Experiences In 2026 So Far (Part 1)

Posted on June 27, 2026 by tokyofox

The ever-changing poses of Tokyo Fox!

In 2025 I went to 33 football matches in Japan and the UK which was the most I’ve ever done including my years as a season ticket holder at Leicester City back in the 1990s. Yet again the idea was to scale things back a bit this year but here we are just ahead of the midway point of the year having already been to ten matches in Japan as well as two in the UK. For the record, I have decided not to include the UK ones in this ranking list.

This first batch of matches features six different stadiums and grounds in Tokyo, Kanagawa Continue reading →

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Circling Tokyo’s Iconic Yamanote Line on Foot! (Part 4)

Posted on June 23, 2026 by tokyofox

Needing some original Sunday morning dog walking ideas, my wife and I decided to walk round the famous green train line which passes through most of Tokyo’s urban centres in a loop. I should point out that our Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: My 1st Time in the Middle East Was Absolutely Epic

Posted on June 19, 2026 by tokyofox

When I decided to visit the Middle East, the likes of Iraq, Israel & the Palestinian Territories were my top choices but I felt they were probably too much of a big step for my first time in the region so I subsequently went for a safer option.

It may be surrounded by more news-prevalent countries like Syria, Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia but Continue reading →

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