Parents In Japan 2016 Pt III: Osaka

Posted on June 1, 2016 by tokyofox

Although Kyoto was the main place to see in this area I decided that Shin-Osaka would be a more convenient and cheaper location to base ourselves in case we wanted to go to Nara, Kobe or Himeji which are all slightly easier to get to from Osaka. Our hotel was only a short walk from Shin-Osaka station but we didn’t discover that till the second day as on our arrival we struggled to locate our hotel. The rooms were tight to say the least but naturally included everything one could possibly need.

We headed out locally on the first night to see what Shin-Osaka had to offer. Not much it would appear but there were a few options and we eventually settled on a restaurant (below) specialising in kushiage (deep fried skewered meats and vegetables dipped in tonkatsu sauce) washed down with a few beers to celebrate the most momentous of days for any Leicester City fan.

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It was an early start for me the following morning as I Continue reading →

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Parents In Japan 2016 Pt II: Hiroshima

Posted on May 29, 2016 by tokyofox

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Both my parents agreed that, family stuff aside, the highlight of their holiday to Japan was our day trip to Miyajima where we all climbed Mount Misen. On my last few visits to see the in-laws I’ve been seeking out alternative sightseeing spots to the obvious ones but this time there was no need for Continue reading →

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Parents In Japan 2016 Pt I: Tokyo

Posted on May 26, 2016 by tokyofox

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The start of the Golden Week holiday season in Japan coincided with my parents coming to visit us for the first time in over a decade. Nothing more than dinner at our new-ish place on the first day and the following day began with a longer than expected walk around the Imperial Palace (above), past the National Diet Building and on to a rather expensive lunch at the Hotel New Otani (below) in Akasaka-Mitsuke.

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After lunch we left via Yotsuya station and went a couple of stops on to Continue reading →

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Dining Out: Hotel New Otani

Posted on May 22, 2016 by tokyofox

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Believe it or not, I actually had no input when it came to making a reservation for lunch at Hotel New Otani which has an association with James Bond having appeared in one of the Sean Connery films back in the 1960’s. Needless to say, I was fairly happy for us to  take my parents there when they were back in Japan recently after a 11 year gap. My original thinking was for us to all have lunch at the Shinjuku Park Hyatt where we went on the day we got married and which was also a filming location in ‘Lost In Translation‘ (2003). However, that was all booked up so I left it to my wife to sort out and she ended up making a reservation for Hotel New Otani not that she had any idea about the 007 connection!
Continue reading →

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Golden Week J-League Football In Kobe

Posted on May 19, 2016 by tokyofox

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Watching J-League matches close to home is hard enough at the best of times due to work, family and kick off scheduling so to take in a game whilst away from Tokyo needs a fair bit of luck. Fitting in games around sightseeing, travel and other commitments is never easy but somehow I’ve managed to get lucky in Hiroshima (last year in Golden Week), Sapporo (last June) and Kobe this Golden Week can now be added to that list.

Under it’s former name; the Kobe Wing Stadium, three World Cup group games (Russia 2-0 Tunisia, Sweden 2-1 Nigeria, Brazil 2-0 Belgium) took place during June 2002 and furthermore it has been announced as one of the venues for 2019 Rugby World Cup. This was a bonus for me as I have Continue reading →

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Leicester City’s Asian Influence Helps Win Premier League Title

Posted on May 16, 2016 by tokyofox

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Miracles happen, they really do. Who in their right mind ever thought Leicester City could ever even challenge for the Premier League title let alone go on and win it in such style! Not me, that’s for sure! For 32 years I have supported the team of the city I was born in and I never, ever believed we had any chance of achieving what has recently happened. I thought the best we could ever really do was to win an FA Cup or perhaps make it into the top six but even those dreams seemed beyond us given the way football has gone in recent years with the so-called big teams always having the financial clout to dominate. My beloved Leicester City have changed all of that though and the story of our title success has gone global and given hope to so many other clubs.

Leicester has the highest proportion of Asian Indians or British Asians anywhere in Britain and it’s football fans have a lot to thank other parts of Asia too for their success starting inevitably with  Continue reading →

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Riding On The Star Wars Rapi:it Train

Posted on May 13, 2016 by tokyofox

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On September 4th last year it was #ForceFriday and the journey towards ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens‘ (2015) began. From that date onwards, all manner of marketing promotions and tie-ins relating to the saga were introduced in the run up to the much anticipated December release.

Among the thousands of promotions in Japan were the ANA R2D2 and BB8 airplanes and, continuing the transport theme, there was also the Star Wars Rapi:it train. However, this was Continue reading →

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Tokyo Daytripper: Narita-San Shinshoji Temple (Chiba)

Posted on May 10, 2016 by tokyofox

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There’s far more to Narita than the Airport but making the effort to travel over that way is another thing. I’ve wanted to return to the Narita-San temple complex for many years but have always felt it too far to go just to see some temples! In my mind the best option was to visit the town before taking an evening flight but that never quite happened. However, when we finished sightseeing in Sakura earlier than expected, the chance was there to visit Narita before continuing on to Continue reading →

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Tokyo Daytripper: Sakura Tulip Festival (Chiba)

Posted on May 7, 2016 by tokyofox

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There’s been a few posts recently on Tokyo Fox about sakura (cherry blossom), and though this one is also about flowers, it’s actually about the city in Chiba called Sakura. The reason Scottish Neil and I left Tokyo so early on Sunday a couple of weeks ago was to make the most of our day trip and take in a couple of sights before watching Kashiwa win away at Kashima.

We arrived at Keisei Sakura station in Chiba just before 10 am which by chance was perfect timing for Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Universal Studios Japan (2005)

Posted on May 4, 2016 by tokyofox

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The ‘Back To The Future‘ ride at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) will close on 31st May 2016 meaning that the ride will become completely extinct as the ones in Florida and Hollywood closed in 2007 much to my annoyance as I really wanted to ride it again. On my last visit in 2011 I was unaware that the ride had been replaced by ‘The Simpsons‘ ride but I guess I should just be grateful that I did get to experience it on my first trip in May 2002.

For my Christmas holidays in 2005 I went on a brief tour of Japan that started in Fukuoka, continued on to Hiroshima and finished in Osaka albeit with plenty of side-trips to the likes of Kyoto and Nara too. I stayed at Keisuke’s for five nights and on our first day Continue reading →

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