The Japanese Way Of Sending Someone Off To That Place In The Sky

Posted on November 2, 2015 by tokyofox

Earlier in the year, I got to experience something very Japanese that not so many of the foreigners I know have got to encounter. No, I’m not talking about mud festivals, sumo wrestlers making babies cry or even playing Pantsu Getta but I’m referring to a attending a funeral.

Sadly, my wife’s grandmother on her mother’s side passed away back in February. She was in her 80’s which is a typical lifespan in a country where the life expectancy of Japanese women is just over 86 thus making them the world’s longest-lived females.

I didn’t feel it was appropriate to write about such an event at the time but now a fair amount of time has passed, and in the wake of Halloween and all things spooky, it seems like a good time to regale some of the events of what is a two day event in Japan. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

TF Top 10……London 007 Filming Locations

Posted on October 31, 2015 by tokyofox

-for-a-scene-where-m-witnesses-an-attack-on-mi6-headquarters.jpg  Screen Shot 2015-09-10 at 09.59.15

Since 1962, the James Bond films have seen the Secret Service agent go all around the world but it is London which is the true home of 007. The nations capital has featured (in part) in many of the 24 movies and here, in no particular order, is the Tokyo Fox Top 10……London 007 filming locations… Continue reading →

Posted in James Bond, London Film Locations, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Spook-tacular Halloween (2015)

Posted on October 28, 2015 by tokyofox

IMG_2821  IMG_2879

Due to the way that the calendar fell this year, our annual kids party in Hibarigaoka was actually my first taste of anything Halloween-related in 2015. With no new costume for this party or for October 31st itself (assuming I even bother to go out this year!) it’s fair to say that the build-up has pretty much bypassed me thus far.
Continue reading →

Posted in English Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TF Top Ten-uous……Halloween Themed Filming Locations

Posted on October 25, 2015 by tokyofox

With Halloween night soon approaching it seems like a good opportunity to delve into the Tokyo Fox archives and bring you some flimsy links to one of the years most exciting calendar events featuring movie locations relating to horror films, superhero films and other franchises with some dark, mysterious connections.

So here, in no particular order, is the Tokyo Fox top ten-uous……Halloween themed filming locations…

1. Ghostbusters (1984) – Well this one just had to be included as it’s quite possibly the most celebrated film regarding ghosts and this New York firehouse is a real operating station with a Ghostbusters badge on the pavement in front of it. More details here

ghostbusters2_06  P1010316  Continue reading →

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

Dining Out: Back To The Future Cafe In Ikebukuro

Posted on October 23, 2015 by tokyofox

The media has been awash with ‘Back To The Future Part II‘ (1989) features all week as the future became the past and I have absolutely loved it. As a huge fan of the films, the year 2015 seemed like such an exotic time when I first saw the film as a skateboard-mad child who dreamed of emulating Marty McFly.

For a franchise that basically ended in 1990, it has maintained it’s position as one of the most popular movies ever and it is one that continues to delight old and new fans alike in various ways. Last Summer we got to go one of the BTTF Secret Cinema screenings in London, Tokyo Fox was recently invited to HollyCon 5 and I got to meet stars Christopher Lloyd and Claudia Wells and now there is a BTTF cafe open in Tokyo for a limited time.

However, I was unaware of this place until some of my students mentioned it as my first class of the day started last Wednesday on BTTF day. Inevitably I used the BTTF soundtrack throughout my lessons (intro, background, outro music) and no sooner had they entered the room to ‘The Power Of Love‘ and they were telling me of this special cafe in Tokyo. They must have seen it featured on Japanese TV that morning and so later that day I researched the place and inevitably it was on the whacky, zany RocketNews24 website.

IMG_2788  IMG_2790  Continue reading →

Posted in Films, Food & Drink | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Click: Japan – BBC TV Special (2 Episodes)

Posted on October 21, 2015 by tokyofox

Screen Shot 2015-10-21 at 10.17.19  Screen Shot 2015-10-21 at 10.20.55

“Welcome to Japan where everything is slightly different” is the opening gambit for this two part special of the BBC’s flagship technology show and rarely have eight words summed things up so profoundly. The country’s fascination with robots is a common theme throughout these ‘Click‘ shows and it is keen to use them to promote a high tech image of Japan for the millions of visitors ready to visit these shores in the build up to the 2020 Olympics.

Japan used to be a technological world leader and many western people continually think of it as a huge technologically advanced country and it still is…… Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Life, Japan Travel, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown – Japan (Okinawa)

Posted on October 14, 2015 by tokyofox

The current CNN incarnation of Anthony Bourdain’s food and travel show is now in it’s sixth season and for the third episode the witty, sarcastic and profanity-using American chef/TV personality returned to Japan. However, this time the destination was Okinawa; the most southerly prefecture which has somewhat surprisingly featured very little when it comes to the likes of American and British TV shows featuring Japan.

Bourdain is no stranger to these shores having visited many times over the years on previous shows like ‘A Cook’s Tour‘ and ‘No Reservations‘ but this was the first time he’s ventured as far south as these few dozen small islands that lie 400 miles south of mainland Japan. This episode aired on CNN this Sunday just gone (Oct 11th) with Okinawa following on from episodes on Cuba and Marseilles. The remainder of the season will continue on to Ethiopia, San Francisco Bay Area, Borneo, Istanbul and Charleston is South Carolina.

You can watch the episode here

Most of the content in this programme was new to me as I have only ever visited some of the prefectures smaller islands rather than staying on the main island. It is no real surprise to hear that it is more laid-back, less frenetic self-serious attitude of the mainland. First up was a spot of tōgyū (bull sumo) which sees the heavy animals fighting against each other rather than versus a human and dates back to the 17th century. Like watching any other sport in Japan, there is a range of food on sale at the arena and Bourdain enjoys yakisoba (wheat flour noodles) whilst watching this native spectator sport.

Screen Shot 2015-10-13 at 14.54.02  Screen Shot 2015-10-13 at 14.58.23  Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink, Japan Life, Japan Travel, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Back To The Future Event At HollyCon 5 In Tokyo

Posted on October 11, 2015 by tokyofox

Great Scott! HollyCon Tokyo 5 took place recently and Tokyo Fox was lucky enough to be invited to the Grand Palace Hotel in Iidabashi for Tokyo’s version of San Diego ComicCon. This years event was very heavy on ‘Back To The Future‘ stuff which was rather apt given that it’s 30 years since the original was released and of course 2015 is “the future” that they visit in ‘Back To The Future Part II’ (1989).

Special guests were the legendary Christopher Lloyd a.k.a. Dr Emmett Brown and Claudia Wells, who played Marty McFly’s girlfriend Jennifer Parker in the original 1985 movie. She didn’t return for the sequels with Elizabeth Shue taking the role not that I even realised this for many, many years!

About 100 of us were ushered into the Diamond Room in ticket number order (I was #70) where there was a clock tower set prop on one side and some seats were laid out for us either side of a red carpet running down the middle of the room. Many of the people in attendance chose to stand behind the seating areas to get a better view of the special guests when they entered. I was getting very excited but there were a few false-starts as the first person to enter through the smoke machine and walk down the red carpet was the Japanese MC who came out dressed as Marty McFly and we had to subsequently do some silly group chant shouting ni-sen-jyu-go (2015) and punching the air. Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Leicester City Shop In Bangkok Airport Pt II

Posted on October 8, 2015 by tokyofox

IMG_1632  IMG_1626

In a country where local kids and adults alike often wear the shirts (usually fake ones!) of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal shirts, it is a mystery to many why Leicester City has it’s very own section in a couple of Suvarnabhumi Airport’s sports shops in Thailand.

The reasons for that were explained in last years blog when I wrote about my frustration at not going through Bangkok’s main Airport despite having been in transit in Thailand’s capital city a fair few times. Even though I didn’t manage to visit, I still cobbled together an article using pictures sent by mates who have passed through the airport and been bemused as to why there was Foxes merchandise everywhere!

Continue reading →

Posted in Asia Travel, Leicester City | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

On The Trail Of John Rain (雨) Part IX – Phnom Penh

Posted on October 5, 2015 by tokyofox

Naturally John Rain is the main star of the Rain series of books and not surprisingly he has a string of allies and an even longer list of enemies. To date, the author Barry Eisler has released four short stories (via download only) featuring a selection of these characters and ‘The Khmer Kill‘ (2012) follows his closest ally Dox in Cambodia.

Dox is a freelance assassin and former Marine Sniper with a Southern twang who first appeared in the 2005 third Rain novel ‘Rain Storm‘ (now retitled as ‘Winner Takes All‘) proving himself an able and trustworthy partner for Rain and subsequently they have gone on to co-operate and even form a friendship in the Rain books which have followed. Continue reading →

Posted in Asia Travel, Books | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments