Category Archives: Japan Life

On The Trail Of John Rain (雨) – Prelude

I had a rare Saturday off work last month so took the opportunity to embark on my latest cycling challenge. Unlike my past ‘Cycling the Yamanote Line’ and ‘Cycling the A-Z of Tokyo Stations’ adventures this one involved no stations. I … Continue reading

Posted in Books, Cycling, Films, Japan Life | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

News Of My Flood Is Finally Leaked!

I was woken up in the early hours of the 14th September by a dripping sound coming from my kitchen area. Initially I thought I had just left my tap on as anyone else would probably think. However, on closer … Continue reading

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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 , , , , , , , | 26 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

Posted in Japan Life, Japan Travel, Sport | Tagged | 1 Comment

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

Posted in Japan Life, Japan Travel, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments