What the Fukuoka! Adventures in Search of an Elusive Giant Goddess Statue

Posted on June 5, 2026 by tokyofox

Whenever I discover that there is a sizeable Buddha or Kannon statue in a town or city that I am about to visit, I find it difficult to resist making space for it in my schedule.

With limited time on the northern tip of Japan’s most southern main island, my original plan did NOT include the 17-meter-tall white goddess statue located about six kilometres south of a Shinkansen (bullet train) station. However, when I managed to do everything I’d planned to do ahead of schedule I decided to squeeze in a visit to Continue reading →

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#OrangeDay: A Double Header of Dramatic End-of-Season Matches

Posted on June 1, 2026 by tokyofox

These days the people behind club social media accounts always seem to be thinking of interesting and creative ways to market fixtures whether it’s based on geography, personnel who have represented both teams, kit colours (the orange/green/purple derby etc.), similar sounding names (Kashiwa and Kashima), anagrams (Tokyo & Kyoto) and so on. I decided to get in on the act too by creating a hashtag for my own special day of events.

For a couple of months now I’d had an early evening football match featuring Shimizu S-Pulse earmarked for attendance. Then, a bit more recently I became aware of a rugby match taking place earlier the same afternoon and a short time later I realised that I could easily go to both as they were taking place quite literally just down the road from one another. Two different sports on the same day and both of the “home” teams play in the same colour. Not only that but they were both Continue reading →

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Circling Tokyo’s Iconic Yamanote Line on Foot! (Part 3)

Posted on May 27, 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 little six-year-old chihuahua would do a mix of walking and being carried either in my arms or in his backpack.

The 35-kilometre route for the whole Yamanote line was broken down into five parts. The 1st part consisted of a walk between Tokyo station (JY01) and Nishi-Nippori (JY08), Part 2 began back at Nishi-Nippori and continued on to Ikebukuro which is where Continue reading →

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This is the Way! On The Mandalorian & Grogu Promotional Trail in Japan

Posted on May 23, 2026 by tokyofox

‘The Rise of Skywalker‘ (2019) was the last Star Wars film in cinemas in 6.5 years ago but instead of being caught up in the hype that went with the release of the ninth and final (?) part of the Skywalker saga my mind was more on season one of ‘The Mandalorian‘ which was underway.

After three seasons (as well as important appearances and storylines in ‘The Book of Boba Fett‘) of the streaming series there is now ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu‘ movie which will give fans the chance to Continue reading →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #48 – Momozono Park

Posted on May 20, 2026 by tokyofox

Many of the parks and children’s playgrounds in Japan, particularly in Tokyo, are quite poor compared to other countries in terms of space, surroundings and a lack of grass. However, a handful of them do tend to possess extremely creative structures and they will be explored in this series.

Nickname: Peach Garden Park

Location: Momozono Park, Continue reading →

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A Regional Football Derby at a Modern Stadium Located Right by the Sea

Posted on May 16, 2026 by tokyofox

Having been to Japan’s newest topflight stadium last May, I decided to look elsewhere for some football action whilst in Hiroshima for four nights over the Japanese holiday season known as Golden Week (late April till early May). There are usually two rounds of fixtures in the J-League divisions which naturally increases your chances of being able to watch the team you want to see at home.

There were regional matches taking place at grounds I’d never been to in Hiroshima which was appealing but then I began to look a bit further afield and decided to treat myself to Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Heritage Buildings, Tasty Treats, An Awe-Inspiring Mountain, Tea Country, Snorkelling & Long Dong in & Around Taipei

Posted on May 13, 2026 by tokyofox

My solo trip to Hong Kong a few months prior to this one reignited my interest in travelling to other countries. Back in 2006 the two cheapest places to travel outside of Japan were Seoul and Taipei. Having done the former at the start of the year I decided to hit Taipei for a few days not that I knew too much about the city when I booked it for that August.

After my research though I was very much looking forward to the trip and wasn’t disappointed. Overall, I didn’t Continue reading →

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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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