Viewing Japan’s Famed Cherry Blossoms Earlier Than Ever Before But How?

Posted on February 28, 2026 by tokyofox

Back in the early 2000s, I read a book by Canadian author Will Ferguson about his journey following the cherry blossom trail from south to North in ‘Hokkaido Highway Blues: Hitchhiking Japan‘ which was later retitled ‘Hitching Rides with Buddha‘. He spent five years in Japan during the 1990s and has still seen a far, far greater amount of sakura (cherry blossoms) than me despite residing here much longer than him. I can’t recall ever seeing anything of the iconic flower outside of Tokyo or Saitama though.

That finally changed last weekend (February 22nd) when we were in Continue reading →

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Taking You Inside the House Which Will Turn Your Life Upside Down!

Posted on February 24, 2026 by tokyofox

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to experience the life of an insect crawling across the ceiling of a room? This unique place featuring inverted rooms can help you do that!

This attraction came to my attention earlier a year or two ago in one of those Instagram reels which automatically play as you scroll through your feed. I can’t remember exactly but it was something along the lines of the most unique buildings in the world. A few places in Japan covered on Tokyo Fox many moons ago in the ‘Tokyo Modern Architecture‘ series featured in the list and one of the other buildings was Continue reading →

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10 Reasons Why the Tokyo Fox Blog Has Been a Failure (20th Anniversary Special)

Posted on February 20, 2026 by tokyofox

It’s been 20 years since the Tokyo Fox blog began but it’s not going to be celebrated here as I kind of did that for previous anniversaries. The story of this site was told in the 10th birthday special, and five years later I shared the most popular and least popular posts from each year up to that point including how many hits they had had.

Those landmarks were very much the heyday in terms of recognition and popularity with the average number of daily hits at one time getting close to the 10,000 mark. It’s a more modest Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Was Island Hopping in Japan’s Tropical Paradise All That It Cracked Up To Be?

Posted on February 16, 2026 by tokyofox

With around 50 inhabited islands, Japan’s most extreme south is an area often considered to be the tropical paradise of the country, so when I was on my way there 20 years ago, I was very much looking forward to experiencing a warmer climate than Tokyo as well as the fine beaches, turquoise waters and traditional culture. It promised much but did it live up to expectations?

At that point in my life, I was only really aware of this deep south-west part of Japan because it had been the Continue reading →

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Quality Father-Son Time Hiking on the Peak District Border

Posted on February 12, 2026 by tokyofox

As I mentioned in my previous post about the Peak District border, my original plan was to just take the train to see the station with an Oasis connection and then return to Leicester. However, when my dad showed an interest, it turned into a father and son day out taking in a few other sights in the area.

There is of course a lot more to this area of Derbyshire (UK) than having a railway station feature on the sleeve of an Oasis single in the mid-90s, and I was ultimately very glad that I got to Continue reading →

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Japan’s Premier Bouldering Tournament Climbs to New Heights!

Posted on February 8, 2026 by tokyofox

As a Brit living in Tokyo, watching the Olympics every four years on Japanese TV can be tough as they naturally tend to focus on their own competitors who have a chance of winning a medal. Unless it’s in athletics, swimming or gymnastics then watching a British athlete win gold on live television here is quite rare and I can only remember seeing it once in the last Olympics.

In August 2024, Tony Roberts won Olympic gold in bouldering and presumably I only ever got to see this happen because there were some Japanese competitors involved! I can’t say I knew too much about the sport before then (I still don’t!) but with the Japanese involvement I ended up seeing a fair amount of the competition unfold.

Many people often turn their noses up a bit at the sight of new sports being added to the Olympic Games as was the case with Continue reading →

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A Double Delight of Derby-Day Lower League Football Is A Real Throwback To The Glory Days of Proper Football

Posted on February 4, 2026 by tokyofox

Attending any Leicester City home game taking place whenever I go back to the UK is very much a given but there was some other football on my radar this time as I had plans to take in a few other matches from much further down the football pyramid beginning with a local derby in my hometown.

Over the last few years, Harborough Town FC have risen through the leagues and are now in the seventh tier with an ever-growing fanbase. That was certainly helped by the epic Continue reading →

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Exploring The Mysterious WWII Bunkers of a City Within Easy Reach of Tokyo

Posted on February 1, 2026 by tokyofox

As memories of WWII gradually fade, its relics offer us a glimpse of what it was like back then and it is hoped that such remnants of the war will be preserved for future generations. There are a few examples dotted in and around Tokyo such as a damaged building in the western provinces of the capital and Saitama’s remains of the Japanese Army’s military facility and cliff tombs. On top of that, half a dozen bunkers are located within easy reach of central Tokyo and I recently visited them. 

During the war, such bunkers were built as storage facilities and to protect fighter planes from enemy attacks. Incredibly they are still scattered throughout a city in Continue reading →

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Some Might Say This Is an Essential Train Station For Oasis Fans to Visit!

Posted on January 28, 2026 by tokyofox

Amidst all the hype surrounding last year’s Oasis lucrative comeback tour I must’ve seen something on YouTube which reminded me of the shooting location for one of their most famous sleeves which just happened to be located within reasonably close proximity to my hometown base on my recent trip back to the UK.

The four singles from debut album ‘Definitely Maybe‘ (1994) were followed by standalone song ‘Whatever‘ and the first release from ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?’ in April 1995 was ‘Some Might Say‘ which became the band’s first UK number one. CD singles may sound like an ancient medium for the younger generation of music fans but back in the day they were Continue reading →

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Review: Films Set In Japan – Rental Family (2025)

Posted on January 25, 2026 by tokyofox

It’s overly common for international media to focus on the quirkier side of things when it comes to shining a spotlight on Japan. Renting the likes of boyfriends, girlfriends, friends, pets, families and so on is one such example that’s been covered a fair amount over recent years by American chat show hosts and YouTubers, and it has even been the subject of a few other movies too. This one, directed by Hikari, is a Japanese and American co-production that focuses on helping people connect to what’s missing in their lives.

Brendan Fraser’s Philip Vanderploeg is a struggling American actor in Tokyo whose most famous work is a popular toothpaste commercial from seven years ago. In search of a solid acting job, he is one day given Continue reading →

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