Tokyo Daytripper: Sayama Koen Park & Lake Tama

Posted on April 15, 2016 by tokyofox

The cherry blossom season often seems to come and go before I’ve barely even noticed it but this year it seemed to be a particularly long one. I certainly didn’t expect it and so I’m quite surprised myself to be posting a third consecutive sakura post! One week on from our trip to Shinjuku Gyoen Gardens, my wife and I embraced the pink flowers again but this time we went further afield albeit still within the boundaries of Tokyo.

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This place first came to my attention a year or two ago as I searched for ideas regarding cycling adventures in Tokyo. One day I will cycle there from the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre and go around both Lake Tama and the smaller Lake Sayama but it’s Continue reading →

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Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens

Posted on April 12, 2016 by tokyofox

When it comes to sakura (cherry blossoms) viewing, I really believe that the best places are the ones lining some of the rivers and roads around Tokyo. The sakura is far more prominent in these area’s yet many, many people descend on the various parks and gardens of the capital to get their fix of the pink flowers. Not sure why. I guess it’s not just about the cherry trees but also the atmosphere and ambience that comes with being in an official and proper place rather than just being on a random street. Who knows?!!

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I’ve already posted about our trip to Shinjuku Gyoen gardens but a couple of days prior to that I went to Koishikawa Korakuen gardens to see both cherry blossoms and the Continue reading →

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Shinjuku Gyoen Gardens

Posted on April 9, 2016 by tokyofox

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The cherry blossom season is upon us again in Tokyo and as ever the locals have been getting very excited about the blooming of the pink flowers. Despite what they may think, having four seasons and such seasonal events really is not exclusive to Japan but they certainly seem to be celebrated here more than elsewhere. They really are a huge deal and pretty much the whole population descend on parks and gardens to embrace the occasion.

One of the most popular places is Shinjuku Gyoen Gardens; usually a nice quiet place offering a bit of respite from the hustle and bustle of the Kabukicho district of the area. Not during the hanami (cherry blossom party) season though, thats for sure!  Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: My One & Only Trip To Nara (2005)

Posted on April 7, 2016 by tokyofox

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One of the guys I met at the Tokyo Leicester City supporters meet-up the other day was from Nara; the former ancient capital city of Japan which lies 20 miles south of Kyoto. It was nice to talk about the place and I said it would be lovely to return there one day. I later realised that I had never actually written about Nara on Tokyo Fox so let’s rectify that straight away! Continue reading →

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Leicester City/Okazaki Fans Tokyo Get-Together

Posted on April 4, 2016 by tokyofox

At the start of April 2015 Leicester City were rooted to the bottom of the Premier League seven points from safety and now one year on they are top of the table and seven points ahead of nearest rivals Spurs. What an incredible 12 months it’s been for Foxes fans. Of course, there’s no way in hell I’m gonna say it’s all over but, as it stands, things are looking pretty good!

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When I was interviewed by Ian Stringer on BBC Radio Leicester in February 2014 I jokingly told him that I was the “Chairman of the Leicester City Supporters Club – 1 member and growing.” It was a flippant throwaway comment but two years on and Continue reading →

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24 hours In Sendai

Posted on April 1, 2016 by tokyofox

Ahead of this trip I asked a number of students what to do in Sendai and true to form they all said to eat gyutan (beef tongue). Food in Japan really is an obsession and whichever part of Japan I mention the response is usually food-based. It had already been one hell of a long day by the time we arrived in Sendai on the back of visits to Zao Fox Village and Funaoka. After a short rest break at our hotel we popped out to get some gyutan and it was only by chance that we stumbled upon this popular restaurant (below) where you are limited to one hour.

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The Tall White Statue Towering Over Sendai City & Beyond!

Posted on March 29, 2016 by tokyofox

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There’s something about Daibutsu (buddha) and kannon statues which keep me coming back for more and more. As mentioned in a long forgotten post in May 2006, I have seen my fair share of them, and an extra few have been added to the collection since that post nearly a decade ago. Over the years in Japan I have seen the famous ones in Nara and Kamakura as well as the record breaking ones in Ushiku (the worlds 3rd tallest statue at 110 metres high) and Nokogiri-yama which is Japan’s largest. Obviously height isn’t a measure of what is large!

I’m not certain where the one in Sendai sits (or stands) in the scheme of things but Continue reading →

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A Quick Stop In Funaoka

Posted on March 26, 2016 by tokyofox

Whilst in the vicinity of Miyagi prefecture I thought we’d make a quick stop in Funaoka en-route to Sendai. Having left the awesome Zao Fox Village just after 1pm we managed to get a shared taxi without waiting and this time went to Shiroishi station (as opposed to Shiroishizao which is a stop on the shinkansen) and from there we took the Tohoku Line a couple of stops to Funaoka.

It wasn’t exactly a top priority but with no real urgency to get to Sendai, and having been recommended it by a student, I thought we might as well drop by Funaoka Castle Park to see a pretty tall statue (24 metres including the four metre stand) standing atop the hill. Well I say we, but in the end it was just me as my wife decided against it preferring to just relax in the station instead!

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The 300 metre long slope car was not in operation but it only took me about 10-15 minutes to hike on up to the top where a splendid looking Continue reading →

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On The Fox Trail……At Zao Fox Village (Miyagi)

Posted on March 24, 2016 by tokyofox

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The fox (kitsune in Japanese) has long been an important animal in local folklore and mythology. Inari is the rice god and so powerful that humans can only communicate with him by sending requests via his messengers; foxes, who were seen as protectors for they ate rodents trying to eat rice. Furthermore, foxes can change into beautiful women that bewitch men, they are believed to possess superior intelligence, magical powers, long life and they gain power as they grow older. It is for these folkloric reasons that the fox is such an intriguing and mystifying animal to many.

Of course, none of this matters too much to me as my main interest in foxes stems purely from it being the nickname of my beloved Leicester City Football Club. The fox image was first incorporated into the club badge in 1948 as the county of Leicestershire is famed for foxes and fox hunting. Having watched the foxes (which it has to be said is a name only ever really used in the media!) win again in the Premier League, and on the back of just three hours sleep we left Tokyo very early last Sunday morning to visit the spiritual home of Tokyo Fox.

Japan is the land of places devoted solely to one animal whether it be owl, cat or dog cafes, the monkey onsen, deer parks or islands full of rabbits or cats. We’ve been to some of those over the last few years but Fox Village in Miyagi Prefecture was the one I have very much wanted to visit ever since I heard about it a few years ago. Continue reading →

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On Screen #8 – Arabian Peninsula

Posted on March 20, 2016 by tokyofox

Mention the words Middle East and many westerners may well have negative thoughts  but replace those words with Arabia instead and far more evocative and romantic images are likely to come to mind. Filming in the area known as the Arabian Peninsula has been fairly limited but the world’s richest country, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has featured in recent times for a number of films.

The cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the UAE have undergone substantial development over the last couple of decades. High rise ultra modern buildings have been popping up all over the place and nowhere was this more noticeable than in ‘Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol‘ (2011); the fourth instalment in the Tom Cruise movie series based on the 1970s TV show.

The 829.8 metre high Burj Khalifa in Dubai is the worlds tallest man made stricture and it quite memorably featured in one of the most hell raising scenes as Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) finds himself climbing around outside using high-tech adhesive gloves in order to access and hack the building’s security systems. Tom Cruise even did his own stunts.

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‘Sex And The City 2‘ (2010) was memorable but not for the on screen content. Continue reading →

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