Category Archives: Japan Life

A Spiritual And Physical Challenge

A few years ago I saw the second season of Jack Osbourne’s Adrenaline Junkie series on youtube. It featured many daredevil stunts of which I have done a few (bungy jumping, jungle trekking, marathon running, rock-climbing, kayaking, thai-boxing, kushti wrestling, skydiving etc) … Continue reading

Posted in Japan Life, Japan Travel, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Star Wars Shop In Tokyo!

A couple of months ago I found out about a Star Wars shop in Koenji which is a station lying nine minutes west of Shinjuku. Despite living in Tokyo for many, many years I didn’t know about this place and … Continue reading

Posted in Films, Japan Life, Star Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

A Banana Vending Machine In Tokyo! You Better Believe It!

There’s no doubt that Japan is the land of vending machines. Among a population of 120 million it is said that there is one vending machine for every 20 or so people which equals erm……a lot of machines! The majority of … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Drink, Japan Life, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Hugo In Tokyo Pt III – Tourist Central

Hugo’s first few days were spent very much in Tokyo’s urban centre taking in the typical guidebook sites. I took him to the likes of Shinjuku, Harajuku and Shibuya on day one with the former including the Metroplitan government building which … Continue reading

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Hugo In Tokyo Pt II – Hiking

Without a guidebook and pretty much no knowledge of what was in Tokyo, Hugo came with very few ideas other than going to a zoo, a beach and a water-park! Of course these things are all probably a bit different … Continue reading

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Hugo In Tokyo Pt I – The World Cup

My friend Hugo arrived from Sweden on June 19th with a promise of spending my week off with him sightseeing, drinking and watching the World Cup. The former part can be seen in more detail in the next couple of … Continue reading

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Tokyo Daytripper: Yoshimi Hyakuana WWII Cliff Tombs

Having finally found the place I willingly gave up just 300 yen (about two pounds fifty) to enter Hyakuana which translates as 100 holes. A good name and that’s all it is as there are actually more than double that … Continue reading

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Tokyo Daytripper: Gan Kutsu Cliff Face Hotel

On Friday I took a train an hour away from where I live to Higashi Matsuyama as I wanted to see some WWII caves and tunnels which I found out about recently on a couple of excellent sites that can be … Continue reading

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Lost In Translation?!!

Here are two amusing shop signs which are located close to a couple of the schools that I work at each week.   I have no doubt that the owners were very unaware that what they thought was good English would … Continue reading

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A Sign Of (Slight) Power!

Where I work in Shibuya has a short walkway area leading to the lift which takes people up to the school on the fourth floor. This area is undercover and protected from the wind and rain. With the majority of Japanese … Continue reading

Posted in English Teaching, Japan Life | 2 Comments