Dining Out: Namja Town in Sunshine City (Ikebukuro)

Posted on January 9, 2017 by tokyofox

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 →

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

The Weight of Being Gifted the Tokyo Museum Grutto Pass!

Posted on January 6, 2017 by tokyofox

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 →

Posted in Japan Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

TF Flashback: Driving Across the Nullabor in Australia

Posted on January 3, 2017 by tokyofox

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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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TF Top 20……Tokyo Fox Hits Of 2016

Posted on January 1, 2017 by tokyofox

So 2017 has only just begun and already Tokyo Fox is looking back!! For about seven years now there have been exactly ten new posts on here each and every month and these are the twenty from 2016 which got the most hits. I have excluded all TF Top 10…….list entries from this feature so the TF Top 10……Tokyo Fox Posts Of All Time marking a decade of this website does not feature. Of course those entries from earlier in the year had more time to accumulate hits which may explain why so much of the top 20 is from the first half of 2016 as Leicester City were on the verge of achieving a miraculous Premier League title win. That may explain the inclusion of many foxes-related posts in this list. A couple of posts from the latter half have sneaked in though…

1. On The Trail Of John Rain (雨) Part X – Paris – With the help of the author himself these posts often do well in the wake of him tweeting the link to his thousands and thousands of followers on that particular social media platform. More details here

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2. Leicester City Supporters Night In Tokyo Bar – What a time to have our first Continue reading →

Posted in Leicester City, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

TF Top 10……Filming Location Trips For 2016

Posted on December 30, 2016 by tokyofox

Last year was a feast of filming locations and it was always going to be difficult to better that but that’s not to say that Tokyo Fox hasn’t brought you anything in the way of location blog posts this year too.

This 8th proper full year of filming locations may be a little 007-centric at times and certainly includes topping up pre-existing entries but there are some completely all-new Japanese locations as well as a Thailand one.

Here then, in no particular order, is the TF Top 10……filming location trips for 2016…

1. Babel, 2006 (Click here)

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2. Kamichu!, 2005 (Click here) Continue reading →

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Countdown to Christmas 2016 in Tokyo

Posted on December 26, 2016 by tokyofox

For the second year running I was in Tokyo for Christmas but it was a little different this time as Christmas Eve and Christmas Day both fell on the weekend with the 23rd a national holiday too. That meant my wife was not at work and around to spend it all with me! Hmmm, I’m still wondering if that was good or not! Ha!

It seems to have been picked up by the UK media quite a bit in recent years and indeed it is true that eating fried chicken, particularly that of Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a big thing at Christmas in Japan. I first blogged about it back in December 2007 in a post about Japanese festive traditions.

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Turkey is very scarce in Japan so back in the 1970’s KFC promoted itself as Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Life, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Review: Films Inspired By Japan – Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983)

Posted on December 23, 2016 by tokyofox

It may be lacking in plot and have some fairly average acting at best but there’s something alluring about this WWII film which goes way beyond the beautifully, haunting self-titled theme song. ‘Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence‘ is a powerful character-driven war film albeit one without any real action.

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Despite having the word Christmas in the title, this movie is a world away from your typical festive films though I seem to remember it often being shown very late at night (back in the 1990’s) in the UK schedules at this time of year. I had actually been trying to locate a copy of this for a few years but had no luck when I asked at the rental stores and the prices on Amazon and eBay were ridiculously high. Then David Bowie died at the start of this year and Continue reading →

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Tokyo Daytripper: Todoroki Valley

Posted on December 20, 2016 by tokyofox

Tokyo may be a city somewhat lacking in green areas but that’s not to say there is nowhere to go to take a break from the concrete jungle. There are a handful of beautiful gardens and parks but little did I know that there was an unconventional green space amidst the densely populated Setagaya ward.

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Just a couple of minutes walk away from Todoroki Station on the Oimachi Line is Todoroki Valley; an attractive walking towpath stretching for just over Continue reading →

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Cycling to Lake Tama & Back!

Posted on December 17, 2016 by tokyofox

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Many years ago whilst searching for cycling ideas in Tokyo and the surrounding area I came across this wonderful link which was about a bicycle ride one guy took around this area in Saitama prefecture. From that moment my heart was set on completing a similar ride one day but I thought it best to wait for either the cherry blossom or Autumn leave seasons which are both quite short windows of opportunity.

With a couple of days holiday at the end of last month the chance of doing this cycle ride was finally there and, a day after hiking up Mount Takao, I hopped on my bike and left the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre in Itabashi ward at 9am with Continue reading →

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Cosplaying at the 1st Proper Tokyo ComicCon

Posted on December 14, 2016 by tokyofox

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Over the years of convention going I’ve realised that these events are as much about the people and the other fans you meet throughout the day as they are the special guests and the other exclusive content. That is all further heightened when you dress up in character and wander round the exhibition hall taking Continue reading →

Posted in Quirky Japan, Star Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments