TF Flashback: 12 Hours In Qatar – Was It Enough Time To See All That Doha Offers? (2014)

Posted on December 4, 2024 by tokyofox

Hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022 put the little-but-loaded Gulf state of Qatar on the map for many people, and a decade ago I had the chance to see the capital city Doha for a short time on a layover on the way back to see my family at Christmas. Travelling to Qatar took me out of my way a fair bit and only saved a tiny amount of cash compared to a direct flight but I was keen to return to that part of the world whilst I had the chance. I had 12 hours in Doha to see and do as much as I could but was it enough time and was it all worth it?

Having arrived at Doha International Airport at 4:30 am, I paid QAR100 Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Getting In The Mood For The Oasis Reunion At The Band’s 30th Anniversary Exhibition In Tokyo

Posted on November 30, 2024 by tokyofox

The recent announcement of Oasis reforming for a world tour has got many old and new fans of the Manchester band very excited. News in August of the Gallagher brothers reforming the band for a UK tour was followed by further dates in Ireland, Canada, the USA, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Australia, South Korea and Japan albeit not in that order.

By pure chance, the announcement of the two Japan concerts at Tokyo Dome on the weekend of October 25-26th next year, as well as the ticket lottery application commencing (22nd November), was the same day that a friend and I went to see the Oasis Live Forever exhibition on the penultumate day of its existence in Tokyo.

Aptly dressed in my Liam Gallagher-style green parka!

For some reason, news of this exhibition at Roppongi Museum (November 1st-23rd) had completely Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Step Back In Time For A Taste Of Nostalgia At This Local Game Centre

Posted on November 26, 2024 by tokyofox

There’s something about nostalgia that many people have a great love and affection for, and there are of course lots of museums dedicated to preserving such important periods in a country’s history. This place certainly seems like a relic of the past but it is still open for business nearly 50 years after it first opened.

This old-fashioned game centre and sweet shop wasn’t somewhere I just found by accident as I saw an article about it in a Japanese magazine from last year which talked about the place exuding a mysterious aura whilst being popular with both young and old people.

Getting there involved a tram ride on the Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink, Japan Life, Japan Travel, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Rugby Fans Should “Try” & Visit This Themed Shrine In Kyoto!

Posted on November 22, 2024 by tokyofox

It’s been an incredible rise in fortunes for the Japanese men’s national rugby team over the last decade or so with the pinnacle being at the World Cup they hosted five years ago.  However, the last few years have seen the Brave Blossoms struggle to progress or even maintain those spectacular heights of 2019. Given their recent form they could do with some extra help, and this shrine may offer the answer!

Shrines dedicated to sport are nothing too new in Japan as a baseball one can be found in Saitama, a generic sport one lies in Koto-ku (Tokyo) and there is also a rugby one in Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Quirky Japan, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

USA Is Actually Closer To Tokyo Than You May Think!

Posted on November 18, 2024 by tokyofox

The closest mainland American city to Tokyo is Los Angeles at just under 9000 kilometres away but USA is actually much closer to Tokyo than you may think! In fact it is ten times closer to the Japanese capital city than L.A. but how is that so?

Japan’s most southern main island of Kyushu lies around 950 kilometres south-west of Tokyo with the closest prefecture being Oita in the north-east. It possesses a town with the most American of names. This is no American-style themed park though and neither is it anything like Johnson Town in Saitama!

Ever since hearing about Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

I Had An Ice Day Watching This Winter Olympic Sport For The 1st Time In Tokyo

Posted on November 14, 2024 by tokyofox

Having attended many summer olympic sports I thought it was time to turn my attention to some winter action but it was actually my lack of attention which nearly resulted in missing this figure skating event!

Only a few days before this NHK Trophy tournament did I even remember it was on and that I had a ticket as it’s not exactly a sport I follow in any way! I purchased the ticket about half a year ago and then forgot all about it. When I found it, I was a bit taken aback by how much I had paid for it all those months ago!! With all the extra fees charged, it cost nearly Continue reading →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Traditional Japanese Hybrid Sport You Didn’t Know About!

Posted on November 10, 2024 by tokyofox

There is an ever growing number of hybrid sports out there such as chess-boxing, cycle ball, foot golf, pickleball and slamball. Some of them sound pretty cool and interesting whilst others just seem totally bizarre and ridiculous. As for a combination of horse riding and archery, that surely can’t be real can it?

Surely such a sport is just the work of fiction!

Well actually it is, and it has a long history dating back to 10th century Japan before becoming more established and famous in the Kamakura Period (1192-1334). Whether Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Life, Quirky Japan, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TF Top 5……Public Toilet Designs In Tokyo #3 (Urine For A Treat!)

Posted on November 6, 2024 by tokyofox

To celebrate the unofficial toilet day on November 10th in Japan I have decided to deposit a third compilation of interesting public lavatories in Tokyo. The Tokyo Fox site sure is plumbing to low depths but hopefully you will be bowel-ed over and end up thinking it’s an excrement idea!

Japan is such a backwards country at times when it comes to many things but if they put just half as much effort into those things as they do in coming up with toilet ideas then it really might help move the country more into the 21st century. Most of the toilets included here are of the modern variety which have become more common place in the Shibuya ward area in recent years.

To get to the bottom of the matter, Continue reading →

Posted in Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Highs & Lows of This Year’s International Tennis Tournament In Tokyo

Posted on November 2, 2024 by tokyofox

The sports stadium or arena in Japan that I’ve visited most frequently is not actually Hitachi-dai (the home of my Japanese football team Kashiwa Reysol)! Neither is it Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka; the closest stadium to the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre. It’s also not Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground which hosts many top tier rugby matches. Instead it is the home of tennis in Tokyo.

The terribly-named Ariake Continue reading →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

TF Flashback: A Mouthwatering Food Tour of Singapore (2014)

Posted on October 29, 2024 by tokyofox

The late Anthony Bourdain’s food based TV shows really helped me to be a lot more daring when diving into international cuisine and I subsequently gained a much greater appreciation for food-related travel. Going to this particular place soon became far more appetising than it had ever done in the years before when I travelled around much of Asia without much thought for visiting the city-state-island-country of Singapore.

A night flight was immediately followed by a taxi to Continue reading →

Posted in Asia Travel, Food & Drink, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments