Review: Films Inspired By Japan – Ronin (1998)

Posted on August 14, 2016 by tokyofox

When I first sat down to watch this I felt slightly reassured by its well-known cast of Robert De Niro and the safe pair of hands that is Jean Reno. The former may be a legendary actor but that hasn’t stopped him from making some truly awful films. Thankfully, this wasn’t one as it is actually very good.

Warning: Contains spoilers!

This gritty tale of trust is set and filmed in France (Paris and Nice) and it is these settings, along with the musical score, which really drives this movie for me. It’s a slow but tense opening as the viewer tries to figure out what exactly is happening – someone has something some other people require and they want to get it. Yes, it really is that vague!

ronin  ronin_us1sh

Just after the half way point in this 121 minute film, there is a conversation between Sam (Robert De Niro) and Jean-Pierre (Michael Lonsdale) about the Ronin myth giving an explanation about Continue reading →

Posted in Review: Films Inspired By Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tokyo Daytripper: Chiba-jo Castle

Posted on August 11, 2016 by tokyofox

IMG_7049  IMG_7029

“There’s a castle in Chiba!” is often the reaction of the Tokyo-ite folk I teach when the subject of castles occasionally pops up into conversation. I then confirm that there is indeed one and that I have been there a couple of times with the first trip being a long, long time ago during my Continue reading →

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

London Filming Locations: Buster (1988)

Posted on August 8, 2016 by tokyofox

This soppy 90 minute film doesn’t half romanticise criminality and ignore the violent assault of the train driver that really happened on August the 8th, 1963 when the Great Train Robbery took place. Phil Collins stars as Buster, the loveable rogue who steals a suit at the start of the film from a mannequin before hailing a taxi across the road from Broadway Market (below).

Screen Shot 2015-09-18 at 21.56.05  Screen Shot 2015-09-18 at 21.43.00

Buster and his wife June (Julie walters) live at 30 Beck Road (below) in Hackney which is seen after 4 minutes. Both Cambridge Heath and London Fields on the Overground Line are around ten minutes away on foot.

Screen Shot 2015-09-18 at 21.45.24  Screen Shot 2015-09-18 at 21.46.56

Just after the half hour mark, Abady House (below) on Page Street in Westminster appears and one of these flats is supposedly Continue reading →

Posted in London Film Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

On The Fox Trail……In Oji (Tokyo)

Posted on August 5, 2016 by tokyofox

It’s not only Leicester City taking the Premier League by storm that has made 2016 the year of the fox but also back in March I realised my dream of visiting Zao Kitsune Mura Fox Village in Miyagi prefecture and that was followed by a family trip to the stunning Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto in the wake of Leicester claiming the title.

The Oji Kitsune-no-gyoretsu Fox Parade featured in the ‘TF Top 10……Quirky Japanese Festivals‘ post back in March. A group of local residents, dressed in traditional costumes and wearing fox masks, walk between two shrines on New Years Eve each year culminating in celebrations around bonfires.

DSC08429  DSC08425

With the new season nearly upon us, and hoping for some luck, I decided to follow the Fox Parade trail from shrine to shrine whilst decked out in the new Leicester shirt and with only my Filbert Fox cuddly toy for company. Starting in reverse, the morning began at  Continue reading →

Posted in Cycling, Japan Life, Leicester City | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

TF Top 10……Films Set In Brazil

Posted on August 2, 2016 by tokyofox

The Summer Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro are imminent and the world will focus on the Brazilian city for a month lapping up everything to do with it and the South American country. True to form, Tokyo Fox is most interested in filming locations and over the years there have been a handful of movies featuring Brazil though it has to be said they were not all filmed there!

Here then, in no particular order, is the Tokyo Fox top 10……films “set” in Brazil…

1. Fast Five (2011) – The film that really propelled this franchise into the big time  following on from four fairly average films in the series. Thanks to aerial shots and quick editing many viewers were deceived into thinking it was the real Rio but it was actually filmed in Puerto Rico as their government offered some very beneficial tax incentives to influence the decision to film there. The locals were unimpressed with the Rio stereotypes that included heavily armed drug traffickers, corrupt police, laughable accents and sexy women.

Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 21.59.36  Screen Shot 2014-06-25 at 21.55.49

2. Moonraker (1979) – Bond confronts antagonist Jaws on a cable car going up Sugar Loaf mountain. The atmosphere shots of the Rio Carnival were filmed a year before the film itself was shot but the ‘Brazilian’ training camp was actually Continue reading →

Posted in Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tokyo Daytripper: Tokorozawa Aviation Museum

Posted on July 30, 2016 by tokyofox

Despite having worked in close proximity to this place for about six years I had never even heard of this place until earlier this year when I was talking to a student about the Chikatetsu Subway Museum in Kasai. I casually asked him if there were any other transportation museums in and around Tokyo and what I got in response were a few other places. Of course the Railway Museum in Omiya was mentioned as was this aviation museum…..but given the title of this post I guess that is “plane” to see!!

As soon as you leave the leave the station there is an ANA plane on display (below).

IMG_4713  IMG_4672

Turn right at the ANA plane and head down the cobbled path for a bit before taking a left turn where you will see Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

July J-League Jaunts Taking-In Two Chiba Teams

Posted on July 26, 2016 by tokyofox

As far as I’m concerned there’s only one team in Chiba and that’s Kashiwa Reysol! The reality though is that there are actually two sides based in this prefecture and they both play in yellow! The other team is called JEF United and they play at the Fukuda Denshi Arena in Soga which opened in 2005. The closest station is Soga which is awash with JEF-related decor going as far as having team shirts painted on the toilet cubicle doors!

IMG_7057  IMG_7055  IMG_7058  IMG_7061

On a mission to get round as many grounds as possible, Scottish Neil and I teamed up again to watch another J-League match last Sunday (July 24th) and Shimizu S-Pulse were the visitors. I chose for us to join the Shizuoka-based team in the away end for a couple of reasons. Continue reading →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

TF Top 10……”Alternative” Tokyo Filming Locations

Posted on July 23, 2016 by tokyofox

Japan’s capital city has fairly strict laws when it comes to filming on the streets of Tokyo which is why we so often see scenes shot in hotels and in the back of taxi’s driving through the neon lights. It’s certainly not easy for the production companies to get permits and so guerrilla-style filming has been done a fair bit in the past. The other option is to seek out the “alternative” types of places which feature in this post such as stores, public buildings, nightclubs and so on.

Previously, this site has presented you with movie-related Tokyo compilations of the top places to stay and eat as well as bridges and temples/shrines and now it’s time to showcase the best of the rest. Here, in no particular order, is the Tokyo Fox top 10…”alternative” Tokyo filming locations…

1. Big Apple Slot & Pachinko Parlour @ 1-16-1 Soto-kanda – ‘The Wolverine‘ (2013)

Screen Shot 2014-01-29 at 22.25.47  IMG_4429

Logan and Mariko escape Yakuza gangsters at a funeral in Zojoji and end up Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Filming Locations, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

SHINJIrarenai! (Unbelievable!!)

Posted on July 19, 2016 by tokyofox

The following article was written specifically for the Summer issue (#20) of J-Soccer magazine; Japan’s number one English language football publication. The editor chose the title for the piece and is rather fitting as the Japanese word shinjirarenai means unbelievable.

IMG_6782 IMG_6929

When Shinji Okazaki became the seventh Japanese player to grace the English Premier League since it’s inception in 1992 he surely can’t have believed he would join the other notable Shinji in picking up a winners medal. There was always a strong chance that Kagawa would win the Premier League with Manchester United, as he did during his first season in 2012, but no-one, absolutely no-one could have predicted the same for Okazaki.

IMG_6044  IMG_6023

Just as Japanese fans were licking their lips at the prospect of Okazaki teaming up in the Bundasliga with the incoming Muto he was on his way out of Mainz and heading to a team in England which he’d been linked with at the start of January 2015. His new team Leicester City had been Continue reading →

Posted in Leicester City, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Taiwan 2016 Pt IV: Longshan Temple & Ximending

Posted on July 16, 2016 by tokyofox

The capital of Taiwan is a very nice place and one that we really like but it’s certainly not the most beautiful of cities appearance-wise. Whilst there are some great sightseeing spots in and around the city we didn’t really do them this time and I have fairly vague memories of my trip ten years ago (other than what I wrote on here!) when I spent the majority of my time outside of the city.

IMG_6474  IMG_6479

This trip was mostly about just sampling a load of local food and visiting Jiufen so it’s fairly Continue reading →

Posted in Asia Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments