TF Flashback: Ten Days In Fiji (2002)

Posted on August 4, 2015 by tokyofox

“Where the hell’s Fiji?” is what Marlon asks his best friend Truman (Jim Carrey) in ‘The Truman Show‘ (1998) in response to his pal’s admission to having itchy feet. He goes on to explain where the South Pacific Ocean country is using his golf ball showing that you can’t get any further away before you start coming back.  Continue reading →

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Review: Films Set In Japan – Unbroken (2014)

Posted on July 30, 2015 by tokyofox

Due to the content of this film it has never come out in Japan and probably never will (other than maybe a minor release). Elsewhere though, it was released last Christmas but as it didn’t get reviewed on Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review show on BBC Radio 5 Live, this inspirational true story completely escaped my attention until very recently.

Some Japanese nationalists asked for the film and the director to be banned from Japan which usually wouldn’t matter too much but given that the director in this case is the very high profile Angelina Jolie that is unlikely to ever happen, especially given the public thirst for such A-list celebrities visiting these shores.  Continue reading →

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Tsukuba 2015 Pt II: Mt Tsukuba

Posted on July 27, 2015 by tokyofox

With three mountains ascended in Hokkaido in June, the idea of climbing mountains has been very much in my mind of late, and it was actually Mitake-San that I was planning to do but when my wife said she wanted to go to Wan Wan Land in Ibaraki-ken the idea of climbing Tsukuba-san was a big reality.  Continue reading →

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Tsukuba 2015 Pt I: Wan Wan Land – Japan’s Dog Theme Park

Posted on July 24, 2015 by tokyofox

With over 35 million people crammed into Tokyo Metropolis, space is at a premium and so huge apartment blocks dominate the skyline. Though Japanese people have a strong affection for animals the downside of living in such dense areas is that many landlords do not allow their residents to keep pets of any kind. Furthermore, keeping a pet in a high-rise building without a garden is not such a good idea and needs the owner to take it out more often than in many other countries.  Continue reading →

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Hokkaido 2015 Pt VII: Sapporo

Posted on July 18, 2015 by tokyofox

Given that Hokkaido’s main city is nearly 50km away from New Chitose Airport we didn’t actually visit Sapporo on arrival like most people presumably do. It wasn’t till our third night, following our Lavender Farm trip, that we arrived in the city for a night out as we thought Saturday (27th June) evening would be a bit more interesting there rather than further south in the countryside!  Continue reading →

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Hokkaido 2015 Pt VI: Sapporo Dome

Posted on July 15, 2015 by tokyofox

Coming off the back of a lengthy round-the-world backpacking trip, the 2002 World Cup Finals happened at a great time for me as I was free to watch pretty much every moment of the tournament and it made such an impression on me that I even moved to Japan. During that World Cup, England played their five games at the following:

* Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama (52,721): 1-1 vs Sweden (2 June 2002)

* Sapporo Dome, Sapporo (35,927): 1-0 vs Argentina (7 June 2002)  Continue reading →

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Hokkaido 2015 Pt V: Mt Usu

Posted on July 12, 2015 by tokyofox

Prior to our arrival in the area of Lake Toya neither Ethan or I were unaware of the volcanic lava-dome that is Shouwa-shinzan until we drove by it with a look of bewilderment on our faces. Intrigued by it we set off the next day to see it up close and then climb Mount Usu but having spent longer than expected looking around the remnants of the 2000 disaster we were short on time so had no real option but to take the Usuzan Ropeway up to the crater rim walk.  Continue reading →

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Hokkaido 2015 Pt IV: Lake Toya

Posted on July 9, 2015 by tokyofox

Having been unable to get any accommodation on our first night in Hokkaido we learned our lesson from thereon (not that either of us particularly minded spending a night or two in the car!) and booked a place to stay a night in advance each time. To mix up things a bit we decided to stay at a ryokan (Japanese-style inn) in Toya-ko following our ascend of Mount Tarumae.  Continue reading →

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Hokkaido 2015 Pt III: Mt Tarumae

Posted on July 6, 2015 by tokyofox

Prior to this trip to Hokkaido I was told time and time again that the end of June was the best time to visit and that there is no rainy season there. That may be true but it certainly doesn’t mean that there is no rain! Far from it, as it rained on pretty much every day of our trip to Japan’s most northerly main island!

The rain was fairly relentless as we spent a few hours at Shikotsu-Toya National Park climbing Mount Tarumae and it didn’t take us too long at all to have some wonderful views looking back over the Lake Shikotsu with the mountains in the background. Continue reading →

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Hokkaido 2015 Pt II: Lavender Farm

Posted on July 3, 2015 by tokyofox

A short while after booking this trip to Hokkaido, Ethan and I realised that collectively we knew very little about the island but one thing that I did know about however was the seasonal Lavender Farm. I was quite surprised to discover that the usual blooming season would coincide with our trip and so our plan was to head off there straight away once we’d picked up the rental car in Chitose near the airport. However, the recent weather meant that this season was to be a late one! Continue reading →

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