A Busy Fortnight of Star Wars Day Festivities in Osaka, Tokyo & Yokohama

Posted on May 10, 2026 by tokyofox

This year’s “May the 4th be with you” festival of events may not have had a mammoth Celebration Japan event preceding it like last year but there was still a lot of other things going on and I managed to take in as much of it as I could across the country’s three biggest cities (as well as a few extras in Hiroshima) over the space of a fortnight in the Japanese holiday season known as Golden Week.

Going in chronological order we start with my last day of work on April 28th which finished a few hours earlier than usual due to a couple of cancellations. Rather than go home straightaway I cycled seven kilometres to Continue reading →

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London Day-Trip: Graffiti Tunnels, Wax, Movie Locations, Modern Architecture, Quirky Museums, A Unique Platform & The Famous Cock!

Posted on May 7, 2026 by tokyofox

As my wife wasn’t with me on my recent trip back to the UK, I hardly spent any time in London outside the airports I flew in and out of. However, I still wanted to visit there so decided to embark on a day trip squeezing all that I could into the 12 hours I would be in the capital.

It was actually snowing when I left my hometown in the early hours of the morning on January 2nd to get the 7:20 am train down to London St. Pancras station. On arrival I headed off straight away to the Continue reading →

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This Italian-Themed Concert Was Too Good an Opera-tunity to Turn Down!

Posted on May 3, 2026 by tokyofox

When it comes to opera my knowledge doesn’t really go too far beyond ‘Nessun Dorma‘ and a few other notable songs in popular culture which have featured in films or been used in TV montages during major sporting events like the Olympics and the World Cup. However, that changed a little bit recently when my wife and I attended a local opera performance featuring the only soprano singer I know!

Charlie’s Angels!

Up until the end of March, I taught English every week to a wonderful young soprano singer who Continue reading →

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A Near-50km Cycle Trip to Watch & Meet the Winners at Tokyo’s Best Value Tennis Tournament

Posted on April 29, 2026 by tokyofox

For many fans, tennis is all about the Grand Slams and seeing the world’s top players in action. Understandably, that is very appealing and something I’d like to do but it is unlikely to happen anytime soon so I have to make do with what Japan offers. Thankfully, there are a few international tournaments in Tokyo each year and they are all very appealing to me as they offer a more intimate and up-close experience featuring some slightly lower-ranked players.

Over the years I’ve cycled past the Ariake Coliseum a few times but this was the first time to specifically ride there for a tournament. It was a mere Continue reading →

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Circling Tokyo’s Iconic Yamanote Line on Foot! (Part 2)

Posted on April 25, 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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Modern Architecture Outside of Tokyo #10 – Osaka, Hyogo & Tottori

Posted on April 21, 2026 by tokyofox

 

For over a decade Tokyo Fox has focused on the modern architecture of Tokyo with a long-running ten-part series featuring over 100 interesting-looking buildings. During that time, I have also taken photos of some unique structures outside of the capital city but had no place to showcase them until now. This is Volume 10 which includes some more weird and wonderful buildings in Osaka, Hyogo and Tottori.

5. Maishima Continue reading →

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2008 Vs. 2025: How Did These 2 Star Wars Celebration Japan Conventions Differ?

Posted on April 17, 2026 by tokyofox

Since 1999 there have been 16 Star Wars Celebration fan conventions. The majority of these events have been in the USA but there have been four in Europe and two in Japan. The first Japanese ones in 2008 was four years before the Disney takeover and also in a limited-digital era of interaction. Times had changed a fair bit by the time it returned to Japan 17 years later. I’m lucky enough to have been at both of them but how did they differ?

Dates: Star Wars Celebration Japan 2008 ran for three days between 19-21 July with the final day being on Marine Day, one of Japan’s national holidays. On the other hand, the 2025 version took place from April 18-20.

Climate: The hot & humid summer played host to the 2008 event whereas last year’s was Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: 4 Days of Movie-Location Hunting in Kyoto & the Surrounding Area (2011)

Posted on April 14, 2026 by tokyofox

Visiting the Star Wars locales in Tunisia in 2009 whetted my appetite for doing something similar a bit closer to home. Those Tokyo shooting location posts weren’t particularly good but they did catch a bit of attention and indeed featured in a magazine and newspaper in Japan. Fast forward 18 months and I took a trip 500 kilometres south to the Kansai region (Osaka, Kyoto etc.) to track down the movie locations for a handful of international productions including ‘Lost in Translation‘ (2003), ‘The Last Samurai‘ (2003), ‘Memoirs of a Geisha‘ (2006) and ‘You Only Live Twice‘ (1967) among others.

The overnight bus from Tokyo to Osaka was long and sleepless. Why I didn’t book a ticket to Kyoto or just disembark there I really don’t know! As it was, I took Continue reading →

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Waxing Lyrical About This World-Renowned Celebrity Spotting Place

Posted on April 10, 2026 by tokyofox

Glitz and glamour in London with a vast number of celebrities from the world of TV, film, sport, politics, royalty and music is the dream for many people. That all became reality for me a few months ago but not all is as it seems as this was not a Variety Show Performance or whatever but just an afternoon at one of London’s premier tourist attractions. I’m sure you knew that already though but hey I have to come up with some kind of opening!

Back in 2014 my parents-in-law accompanied my wife and I on our summer trip back to the UK and the one thing they wanted to do was visit Continue reading →

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TF Top 10……Reverse Culture Shock Experiences I Had Back in the UK

Posted on April 7, 2026 by tokyofox

After being nowhere else but Japan for the last six years it was perhaps inevitable that I’d experience some reverse culture shock when I went back to the UK for the festive season a few months ago. Many of these have been mentioned on the pages of Tokyo Fox before but that was many, many years ago when I was still finding my feet in Japan and blogging about such differences.

1. Opening hours – Japan’s lust for convenience means Continue reading →

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