Category Archives: Japan Travel

Tokyo Daytripper: Japan’s Most Prominent Black Castle, A Samurai Frog Statue, Dangerous Buildings, Unique Stations & A Man With His Instrument Out!

When it comes to Japanese castles I’ve said many times that they’re all quite similar in terms of white colour, style and appearance but there are some which look a little different, and I was lucky enough to find time … Continue reading

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TF Flashback: The Time When I Cycled To All Tokyo’s Best 25 Sights In One Day!

These days YouTube is absolutely awash with creators doing all kinds of random and pointless challenges, but they really weren’t so common 15 years ago when I embarked on what is still my longest ever themed cycling ride. For the … Continue reading

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TF Flashback: The Dog-Themed Amusement Park & Climbing One of Japan’s Most Picturesque Mountains

Surveys in recent years have often resulted in Ibaraki being named as the least attractive prefecture in Japan which certainly suprised me as I’ve had many lovely day trips over the years to see various sights in the area. On … Continue reading

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TF Top 10……Sights Along The Train Line Connecting Northern Tokyo & Saitama

Running north from Ikebukuro Station way up into the deepest parts of Saitama Prefecture and beyond, the Tobu Tojo line has long played a very important role during my time in Japan. Other than Kawagoe (a.k.a. Little Edo) though it … Continue reading

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Unstaffed Stations Of Japan #22 – Endō (A Filming Location!)

Think of train stations in Japan and the mighty Shinjuku station is sure to come to mind for many people. That is the world’s busiest train station, and Japan monopolises the top 50 list with only five of them not in … Continue reading

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#WeStopAtNothing! Visiting All The Platform Zero Stations In Nagano

There’s something slightly mystical and Harry Potter-like about these platforms and one has to wonder why some stations have them whether it be because it’s been added on that particular side of platform 1 or just because they began their numbering … Continue reading

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A Day In Yamaguchi Prefecture: The Fox-Blessed Hot Spring Town, A Feast of Football & A Few Notable Stations!

As far as day trips go, this one had all the trademarks of a typical Tokyo Fox one as it included train stations, foxes and football which have all played a fairly significant part over the years in terms of … Continue reading

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Original-Style Vending Machines, Cleaning Out The Gutters, Tennis Coaching, Toilet Problems & Some Breathtaking Moments!

At the end of June my wife and I went to our family holiday home in Izu (Shizuoka Prefecture) for the first time in six months. Not surprisingly the garden in particular was a bit of a mess but we … Continue reading

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Golden Statue Hunting In A Low Mountain Valley Not So Far From Tokyo!

“I love gooooooold” said one of Mike Myers’ many characters in ‘Austin Powers In Goldmember‘ (2002), and when it comes to statues I can only agree with the gold-obsessed Dutch super-villain. In search of seeing some fine examples of this … Continue reading

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The Reality of Being a Blogger! (Part 2): 18 B-Grade Sights In 3 Prefectures In 60 Hours!

Just 36 hours after returning from my travels around Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga and Aichi, and I was off again on another short trip further afield. After an absence of ten years, it was time to return to Japan’s most … Continue reading

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