Nagoya Filming Locations – Mr Baseball (1992)

Thanks to two sports stars it was actually the city of Nagoya which helped open my eyes to the country which would become my home many years later. One of those was former Foxes favourite Gary Lineker who played for Nagoya Grampus Eight during the inaugural J-League season in 1993.

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The other was the fictional baseball player Jack Elliot (Tom Selleck); an aging Major League baseball player whose only offer was from the Chunichi Dragons in Nagoya. There may be better and more famous movies about Japan but Continue reading →

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A Day In Osaka

Osaka-jo Castle and some local food have pretty much been part of my itinerary on my previous three trips to Osaka but this time I was just stopping off there for a few hours whilst going between Hiroshima and Nagoya. This layover-like trip (6-7 hours) was to include none of the classic Osaka suggestions for things to do as I was in town to seek out some lesser known wonders of Japan’s second city.

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My primary concern was the two Inari shrines featured in the ‘On The Fox Trail……In Osaka‘ post but in between that duo of places was another Continue reading →

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On the Fox Trail……in Osaka

There’s a map of Japan on the inside cover of ‘The Fox And The Jewel‘ (by Karen A. Smyers) showing all the major Inari worship centres of the country. There are 14 in total with two in Osaka so as I was going between Hiroshima and Nagoya on the way back to Tokyo, I decided to stop off there to visit them along with some other things.

After a very early morning start I was at Shin-Osaka station just before 9:30 am and within an hour I was then on the outskirts of the city in the foothills at Hyōtanyama Inari Shrine (8-1 Hyotanyamacho, Higashi-Osaka) once I’d managed to get my bearings.

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Despite being a shrine guarded by foxes it seems that the star of this place is actually a Continue reading →

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A Day In Yamaguchi Prefecture

The bordering prefecture of Hiroshima is a sizeable one covering a vast area consisting of some fine places that I have earmarked as future travel destinations. Without a car though some of them are very difficult to get to but not these ones although the first place was certainly further away than I originally anticipated.

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On my arrival at Shinnan-yō station mid-morning I quickly glanced at the map outside the exit and promptly set out to locate my prime destination which was Kawasaki Kannon a.k.a. the breast temple. That quirky place was located at the top of some steep steps and as I looked out across the city there were some fine views including Continue reading →

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Simply The Breast Temple In Japan

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The female body form is one that understandably attracts great attention and many are prepared to go to great lengths to just see a pair of boobies! Tokyo Fox is no stranger to breasts (Haha! Never thought I’d say that!) following previous notable posts in the past on this theme including Oppai Purin (breast pudding) and the magical F-Cup cookie!

This time I went on an epic journey to see some mammaries but it’s probably not what you think although the title of this post does give it away a bit! This trip into Yamaguchi prefecture (from Hiroshima) took a little over two hours by train and then there was a 30 minute walk on top of that! Rather excessive I’m sure you’ll agree but my wife had already returned to Tokyo for work so I needed to do something with my extra day though god knows what her parents must’ve thought when I said I was going all that way to see this unique temple!!

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The breast temple is in an area called Kawasaki which as it turns out is also the name of the city in Kanagawa where the Penis Festival takes place on the first Sunday of April each and every year. Such great symmetry!

On the face of it, the temple comes across as a normal place of worship but once you’ve Continue reading →

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Away Days in Hiroshima

Miyajima-guchi station is the gateway to Miyajima and it’s World Heritage listed Itsukushima Shrine. Almost everyone arriving at the station is about to visit the island but not Tokyo Fox though! One likes to do things differently and so I headed in the opposite direction on a fairly lengthy walk up into the hills just to see the exterior of an intriguing looking building which I’d read about in a magazine.

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When I arrived at Itsukaichi Station that morning my idea was to go eastwards towards the city but then I changed my mind completely. 12 minutes later I was at my destination station and set off on a forty minute journey to see the bizarrely named  Continue reading →

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Living the Local Life in Hiroshima

The food may be different but the Japanese New Year is quite similar to the British Christmas in that it’s spent mostly in the home with family eating and drinking. Despite staying in Tokyo for the Christmas period in Tokyo the lure of spending the New Years holiday with her family was always going to be difficult for my wife to resist so we returned to Western Japan for our fourth visit of the year. This time though we ventured over to Hiroshima closer to New Years Eve unlike the year before when we flew over on December 26th.

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We ate a wide variety of food during our stay with my in-laws and first up was fugu (above) which I haven’t eaten since Continue reading →

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Dining Out: Namja Town In Sunshine City (Ikebukuro)

Not only can you eat an abundance of delectable cuisine in Japan but you can often experience creative themed restaurants and cafes offering interesting and unforgettable memories too. When I first arrived in Japan all those years ago I was always keen to visit such quirky places but the novelty wore off a bit as the years progressed.

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However, every now and again I am happy to visit such places and this was one such occasion. After our rabbit cafe experience back in November we popped a few doors along to the huge Sunshine City shopping complex in east Ikebukuro as I wanted to go to Namja Town which is a bit of a Continue reading →

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Tokyo Museum Grutto Pass

You’d think having a special pass that entitles you to free (or discounted) entry to nearly 80 museums in Tokyo would be a fantastic privilege. Indeed it is. However, with this booklet of coupons comes two high-pressure months of trying to use every spare moment to visit places you’re maybe not even interested in! On the other side of the coin, some of these museums you didn’t realise would interest you, do spring a surprise or two!

Grutto Pass

One of my students told me about the pass last Summer and it sounded a wonderful idea. Two months where you can visit 79 museums (as well as zoo’s) in Tokyo for Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Driving Across the Nullabor in Australia

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One of the most common questions I get asked by students is why I came to Japan. I’ve talked on here countless times about World Cup 2002 being an influence but the main reason for my interest in this country is to do with my time in Australia, particularly Perth. Whilst spending ten weeks in Western Australia I met many Japanese Continue reading →

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