The Hairy Bikers Asian Adventure – South To Kyoto

Posted on March 16, 2014 by tokyofox

It’s very rare in this day and age of television viewing that I actually have to wait a whole week to watch the follow-up programme of something I’m interested in but thats exactly what I had to do regarding the second Japan-based episode in this series which aired on BBC2 last Thursday. I was very keen to see what a non-Tokyo programme would involve given that the capital city has featured prominently in many programmes over the years.

You can watch the episode here

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First to feature is Fuji Yoshida in Yamanashi-ken which is not exactly a huge distance from Tokyo but its still a couple of hours away. They visit the oldest noodle restaurant in the area and learn how to make udon (thick noodle) which starts off with Dave pounding the dough with his feet and brings to the proceedings a nice little reference to his time on ‘Celebrity Come Dancing‘ last year. The whole process really is a work of art and it brings it home how much time, effort, energy (and heart!) is put into each bowl of noodles.

Renowned for their cooking locations the guys make ramen noodles in the foothills of Fuji-san and they even make the pork broth part of it from scratch too. Those watching in the hope of seeing some weird Japanese inventions get their wish during this part as they have an egg contraption on hand which can shape the soft boiled eggs. I’m not sure how many British viewers watching will bother to follow suit but has that ever really happened on food television?! I, for one, enjoy watching such shows but have never really felt the urge to try and replicate such a dish.

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Mount Fuji is the most climbed mountain in the world (one that I conquered back in 2007) and its peak is only really visible for 100 days a year which sadly doesn’t include their time in the vicinity but that doesn’t seem to bother them too much. Their eyes light up when they see the spiritual mountain and they giggle with excitement. The word “privilege” is used many times by Si throughout the programme and this was one such time.

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Before leaving Fuji behind they take an onsen in a scene which does come with a warning that those of a nervous disposition may want to look away before their naked bottoms are seen on screen. Now, I’m no fan of hot spring baths but this setting does look wonderful and the kind of one I wouldn’t mind taking one day.

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On reaching their destination of Kyoto they ride their bikes through the geisha district of Gion and on to the buddhist temple where they spend the night. The next morning they’re on breakfast duty and make tofu dumplings. Such cooking is labelled shojin ryori which loosely translates as cooking of the purified mind and their task shows the work and discipline involved in making tofu and indeed being a monk too!

Like Si, I have stated in the past that tofu is boring but recently I’ve started eating it far more regularly for breakfast and certainly when its mixed in with natto and okura its lovely. Similarly, the tofu they taste during their temple stay looked really nice.

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Of course they couldn’t go to such a place without meditating and yet again they take it on and reflect on it in such a positive manner. Its just about being still and quiet which in the modern world is very difficult to do is how Si sums it up in a quick soundbite.

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The pair know their audience and inform them where certain ingredients can be bought as well as suggesting alternatives too. At the buddhist temple they make tofu, aubergine and lotus roots stew for their monk and from that purity they then move on to okonomiyaki which has them drooling with excitement as they cook the pancake-style dish for a 5-a-side football team. I was a bit surprised to learn that this basic dish is the most popular fast-food in Japan despite the western invasion of burgers and so on. As I mentioned in my review of the Tokyo episode it is nice to see such people bumbling with enthusiasm and excited by food which I probably take for granted these days.

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The merit of Anthony Bourdain’s programmes on the Travel Channel, and more recently CNN, is that he (mostly) sampled the everyday food of the regular person and that is what this duo did by including Japanese service stations in their adventure. Back home these places are hardly renowned for the quality of food and its debatable whether they are in Japan but one thing which I can be sure of is that every single service station has its own speciality snacks and this is the kind of thing that interests me. However, the duo, particularly Si, are not impressed by the melon buns which they have!

Before embarking on their trip to Japan the bearded men had a trilogy of quests; Tsukiji fish market, Fuji noodles and perhaps the defining moment of their trip was to try Kobe beef on its own turf. This kind of meat is said to be the finest in the world and boy are they excited to be there. No cows in the field there as the wagyu are treated so preciously that they’re not allowed outside. However, the idea that such Japanese cattle are fed beer, massaged, listen to opera and lie on straw beds are sadly a myth.

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After using the Kobe beef in sukiyaki, cooked for the owner of the prized beef cows, the two down-to-earth northern lads return to Kyoto for a kaizaki banquet of 16 courses dating a long way back. This is all eaten in the company of an apprentice geisha known as maiko. Yet again their reaction to everything is refreshingly positive.

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They compare the art of it all to being like theatre and the fan dance and games which follow, a world apart from playing darts down your local, are lapped up with relish. That was to be their final event in Japan and just goes to show that it can be a great place to visit for a trip. Progressing beyond being seen just as a visitor is a different kettle of fish altogether and can have its frustrating moments but watching this show can make one feel how lucky we are to live in such a country.

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Having really enjoyed this series I may even take a dip into their back catalogue to see what they’ve done in the past. The series isn’t over yet and South Korea is still to come which doesn’t interest me quite as much as Hong Kong, Thailand and Japan but I’ll definitely be tuning in as its really nice to watch people who are passionate about their interests and that certainly includes these two humble, infectious hairy bikers.

Posted in Japan Life, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

15 ‘Fake’ Bond Filming Locations

Posted on March 13, 2014 by tokyofox

Part of the appeal of the 007 franchise for many is that the 23 official films have given viewers a snapshot of world travel taking them to all corners of the globe. The list of countries the secret agent has been to is pretty exhausting but as ever in the film industry all is not what it seems. Of course the world famous Pinewood Studios have been used countless times to portray all kinds of exotic locations but there are also many other examples of when James Bond locations have been faked. Cleverly edited establishing shots of a city’s landscape mixed in with the fake locations are a long-used movie trade trick and some of those go un-noticed whereas others are more visible. Here, in alphabetical order, are the details of 15 such places.

Afghanistan ‘The Living Daylights‘ (1987) – For Timothy Dalton’s debut outing as 007 this Central Asian location was actually filmed in the desert of Ouarzazate in Morocco which has played host to many films. ‘Lawrence Of Arabia‘ (1962), ‘The Mummy‘ (1999), ‘Gladiator‘ (2000), ‘Hanna‘ (2011), ‘Salmon Fishing In The Yemen‘ (2011) as well as parts of the TV series ‘Game Of Thrones’ were all filmed at this door of the desert city.

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The standout sequence in “Afghanistan” sees Bond escape from a Russian air base by aircraft. Whilst trying to diffuse a bomb he is attacked by henchman, Necros and as they scrap away the loading ramp opens and a net containing opium bags tumbles out of the back of the plane taking Bond and Necros with it. The net remains attached to the aircraft as the two men fight to the death clinging on to it as it hangs in the wind. 

Azerbaijan ‘The World Is Not Enough‘ (1999) – Hankley Common in Surrey, also used to replicate Bond’s family home in ‘Skyfall‘ (2012), is used for close-up shots of the Azerbaijan’s oilfields. Cuenca in central Spain is the site of the oil pipeline. A skiing sequence of events in the “Caucasus Mountains” was filmed on Mont Blanc near Chamonix on the Italian-French border.

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Capital city Baku is all fake; the exterior shots of  Electra’s palace is Küçüksu Palace in Istanbul, while the interior is the Luton Hoo Hotel, Golf and Spa (also used in ‘Eyes Wide Shut‘ and ‘Four Wedding’s And A Funeral‘) in the glamorous town of Luton, Bedforshire (UK). The casino bar is Halton House in Buckinghamshire and the airport where Bond exits the country is Northolt Airport, South Ruislip.

Bolivia ‘Quantum Of Solace‘ (2008) – Unhappy with MI6 officer Strawberry Fields’ (Gemma Arterton) choice of hotel as part of their cover, Bond takes her by taxi to a far more upmarket hotel. The Andean Grand Hotel in ‘Bolivia’ isn’t really a hotel but is actually the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (National Institute of Culture) in the World Heritage area of Casco Viejo in Panama City.

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The main villain Dominic Greene, holds a party which Bond attends with Agent Fields shortly after he seduces her. The location of this is of course not La Paz in Bolivia but the Old Union Club in Casco Viejo where all the rich people used to go and party. The ruins were scouted out for the film in October 2007 and is (as it was back then) now like an old shell but believe it or not it was completely revamped for shooting which can be seen in the ‘On Location’ dvd extra.

China ‘Skyfall‘ (2012) – Though the aerial shots are real the rooftop pool scene was actually filmed in London in Canary Wharf at the Virgin Active Classic Health Club. Still in “Shanghai” Bond follows hitman Patrice into a high-rise building but yet again its London and the Broadgate Tower at 201 Bishopsgate although its the entrance on Primrose Street which is seen.

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Croatia ‘From Russia With Love‘ (1963) – Istanbul’s Sirkeci station plays itself as the Turkish station where the Orient Express departs from and it also stands in for Zagreb.

Cuba ‘Die Another Day‘ (2002) – Cadiz in Spain fills in for Cuba’s capital Havana but the cigar factory where Bond goes searching for Zao was actually shot inside Simpson House in Hackney in north London

Haiti  ‘Quantum Of Solace‘ (2008) – Due to its diversity Panama doubled up for a couple of countries; the aforementioned Bolivia and Haiti. Colon fills in for Port Au Prince and sees 007 gets into a bit of a tussle in a hotel and rides along a crumbling street to the waterfront docks in another dangerous part of the city.

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Kazakhstan ‘The World Is Not Enough‘ (1999) – Sites in Spain, England and Wales were all used to replicate this Central Asia country. Tudela in Spain is where 007 meets Christmas Jones. The pipeline terminal is the Motorola building in Swindon, Wiltshire (UK) but the actual pipeline is Snowdonia in Wales. The explosion was filmed at Black Park colliery in Chirk, North Wales.

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Madagascar ‘Casino Royale‘ (2006) – Bond chases bomb-maker Mollaka from a snake-mongoose fight to the ‘Nambutu Embassy’ which was actually Nassau in the Bahamas; a place synonymous with previous Bond films. The “Madagascan” construction site is part of a military base at Coral Harbour on New Providence Island.

Montenegro ‘Casino Royale‘ (2006) – Bond and Vesper check into the Hotel Splendide which is actually the Grand Hotel Pupp in the town of Karlovy Vary, Bohemia on the west side of the Czech Republic.

North Korea ‘Die Another Day‘ (2002) – Would you believe it that Aldershot (UK) was used to replicate the world’s most repressive country?! Although it was mostly shot on the backlot at Pinewood, parts of this Hampshire town’s military training area was also used for the opening sequence.

Russia ‘GoldenEye‘ (1995) – The Russia bungy jump at the start was Tusker Dam in Hittnau, Switzerland. Epsom Racecourse doubled up as the St Petersburg Airport, the tank chase was filmed in Leavesden (UK), Hertfordshire, St Petersburg Square was Somerset House (which was used as MI6 HQ two years later in the next Bond movie ‘Tomorrow Never Dies‘) in London, the interior of the Russian church is St Sofia’s Cathedral in Bayswater on the aptly named Moscow Road. It’s exterior is Brompton Cemetery near Earls Court and the “Grand Hotel Europe” is the Langham Hilton at Portland Place in London.

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Serbia ‘From Russia With Love‘ (1963) – The previously mentioned Sirkeci station in Istanbul was used to portray three stations in three countries including Serbia capital Belgrade.

Siberia ‘A View To A Kill‘ (1985) – The pre-title credits may be set in Siberia but were actually filmed at a couple of places; Glacier Lake in south-east Iceland and the Vadretta di Scerscen Interiore on the border of Switzerland and Italy.

Slovakia ‘The Living Daylights‘ (1987) – Bratislava (now Slovakia but back then it was Czechoslovakia) is where the 15th entry in the James Bond series begins. 007 is assigned to aid the defection of a KGB officer from a concert hall in Bratislava. This was all shot in Vienna which is less than an hour away.

Vietnam ‘Tomorrow Never Dies‘ (1997) – The caption on screen may say Halong Bay (Vietnam) but it is actually the limestone rock karsts of Phuket Bay in Thailand. It’s capital city Bangkok also stood in for the Saigon high-rise which Bond and Wai Lin abseil down. Many websites state that the building used was the Westin Banyan Tree Hotel BUT it is actually the Sinn Sathorn Tower on Krung Thonbrui Road, a kilometre down the road, where they make their escape on motorbike.

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Of course there have been many more ‘faked’ locations in the Bond films, usually with places around the UK filling in for other British and European towns and cities.

Many, many thanks to Tony Reeves
Posted in James Bond, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

‘Tokyo FoxCast’ Podcast Available To Download For Free On iTunes

Posted on March 10, 2014 by tokyofox

It’s got to be said that I never had any intention to make a podcast of my interview with BBC Radio Leicester’s Ian Stringer. The original idea had been to just use the Voice Memo app on my smart phone to record it and then type up the conversation ready for entry under the ‘TF Interviews……‘ title. However, that was on the understanding that it would be of short duration but on discovering that we had actually yapped away for 25 minutes I couldn’t bear the idea of writing out the whole thing. It was basically too long so I decided to further explore the idea of putting it up online.

I’ve been a huge fan of podcasts since they burst on to the scene in the middle of the last decade and I get through a great deal of them each and every week. To be able to add my own podcast to them was a very appealing idea and so I began to look into how it was all done. It wasn’t quite as easy as I thought it would be and at first I thought it was never going to happen. Then, a couple of days later I came across this great video on YouTube which showed exactly how to do it.

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Following the instructions was quite easy to start with and it took hardly any time to sign up for a PodOmatic account which publishes podcasts. It was quite pleasing to get it uploaded on that site but my goal was to get it up on iTunes and potentially a huge market. Transferring it from PodOmatic to iTunes was a little bit more difficult and I went through a few stages of frustration but eventually I was able to submit it to them and within 48 hours they’d mailed back saying it had been accepted and was online waiting to be downloaded. My philosophy is very much a warts and all interview with the behind the scenes warm-up stuff included (i.e. I couldn’t work out how to edit out the first few seconds!!) for all to hear!

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The ‘Tokyo FoxCast‘ podcast has been available to download on iTunes for a couple of weeks now and it’s a shame that I have absolutely no idea how its faring or how many times its been downloaded. Yes, I know there are apps to chart the success (or failure!) of your podcast but I just wish iTunes would reveal this kind of information. So that’s my first podcast in the bag and it was great fun learning how to do it but will there ever be another one or even a series of them?!

If you haven’t already downloaded it then you can get it here

Posted in Japan Life, Leicester City | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Hairy Bikers Asian Adventure – Tokyo

Posted on March 8, 2014 by tokyofox

Following on from their adventures in Hong Kong and Thailand this pair of British TV personalities fulfilled a lifetime ambition when they came to Japan for a couple of weeks. Two Japan shows have been filmed and the first one, which aired on BBC2 last Thursday, was centred around their time in the gastronomic capital of the world known as Tokyo.

You can watch the episode here

As the programme gets under way it is actually the sound of ‘Japanese Boy‘ by Aneka which plays over the top rather than the usual ‘Turning Japanese‘ track but of course that gets used later on in the programme.

Now I’d never seen anything by the Hairy Bikers (Si King and Dave Myers) before but over the four episodes of this series (thus far) it is quite easy to see how these two over-weight middle-aged men with beards and tattoo’s have been accepted in to so many peoples living rooms each week. They come across as such nice, likeable chaps with their warm infectious enthusiasm and easy to understand style. The presentation can seem a bit kid-like at times but its that simplicity which I’m fond of. Their strong and passionate interest in the country, its food and everything else was nice to see and they were just laughing and enjoying themselves whilst never making fun of the locals.

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They start off in Akihabara at a maid cafe (above) but not the one I took my recent guest  to the other week! The duo learn about kawaii culture at ‘Maid Dreamin‘ and Si is given a heart shaped omurais (rice omelette) with a ketchup drawn cat added by the maid. Dave has a bear katsu curry rice dish. They didn’t say it but you can sense that this kind of place is a bit weird for the pair.

Their first cooking showcase takes place on the banks of the Sumida-gawa river where they cook tonkatsu (breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet) (below left) and then, 20 years of dreaming comes true for the guys when they go to Tsukiji fish market with a 4am start at the place where 2000 tonnes of fish arrive everyday from all around the globe. We’re told that Japan eats three times more fish than the UK which surprised me as I would’ve thought it was way higher than that. Of course fish is very important for Japanese cuisine and they say that Japanese sushi is overtaking some sandwiches as the choice of lunch for many British people.

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Anyway, Dave gets to make and serve his own sushi (above right) which may sound like a very simple thing (and it kind of is!) but for a chef like him its very exciting he’s truly delighted to have done it and was grinning like a young kid who just got the cream.

Now, some people may turn their noses up at them making a California roll (which they do at Kiyosumi Gardens teahouse) but you’ve got to remember that they are making this programme for a British audience of whom a majority may be put off by the nori (seaweed) being on the outside of the roll. Hopefully by starting on such dishes (below) some Brits will hopefully gain a taste for it and move on to the real thing afterwards.

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Ryogoku is next for a spot of sumo action (below) but not watching it. Instead they eat chanko nabe hot pot with their host and two other huge wrestlers who they inevitably have a sumo fight with, whilst wearing the proper wrestling attire that Karl Pilkington didn’t quite wear in ‘An Idiot Abroad‘ in 2011. Yet again their enthusiasm shines through and they end up gaining a better understanding of a sport that they knew very little of beforehand.

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“A miso soup a day keeps the doctor away” is a new one on me but the bikers are keen to make rice miso which they did somewhere in Chiyoda-ku with a group of women (below) who they agree to prepare something for. The Japanese ladies of course react to the tasting in true Japanese TV-style which is always over the top and very predictable!

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‘Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown‘ on CNN at the end of last year focused on Tokyo nights and that side of the city is further explored here as they go out on the lash with three sararimen (business men). I always tell people back home that a night out in Japan is a little different with food dishes replacing a bag of crisps. Thankfully though the beer is always flowing and the guys, wearing ties and jackets, sample a range of yakitori cooked from the heart which is what the chef tells them.

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You see, the chef in ‘The Ramen Girl‘ (2008) wasn’t just making it up when he told Brittany Murphy’s character that the food has to come from the heart. Whatever they do the Japanese pour their heart and soul into it and appreciate and respect food of all levels as indeed do the hairy bikers and I now look forward to the next episode where they travel to other parts of Japan.

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

TF Recipes #3 – Natto On Toast

Posted on March 5, 2014 by tokyofox

No sooner had Tokyo Fox wrapped up the last TF Recipes entry and thoughts turned to what the next specialities could be. Natto (fermented soy beans) had been chosen and, what do you know, but within a few weeks those scamps at RocketNews24 had published an article detailing pretty much the same thing albeit with a hint of honey and some sesame seeds added.

Natto is the one Japanese dish which can meet resistance from foreigners and Japanese alike due to its smell. On top of that its also incredibly sticky and stringy but its very healthy as its packed with nutrients. Maybe its just my nose but I really can’t notice its supposed powerful aroma. I’ve developed quite a taste for natto in recent months and often eaten it at breakfast along with tofu and either okura or cucumber.

Ever desperate to try out some new dishes of mixed fusion we tried natto-on-toast with honey butter which was more down to the fact that the normal butter ran out rather than trying to replicate something similar to what that “other website” did.

If you thought the previous two Japanese toast specialities were a bit complicated with a massive five instructions to follow then fear not as natto-on-toast only has the four steps!! Follow them to make this authentic (?) Japanese dish…

Step One: Assemble your ingredients and put one or two slices of bread into the toaster for 2-3 mins.

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Step Two: Use a knife to spread butter on the toast (if desired) followed by the honey butter.

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Step Three: Take the natto and whisk it up with chopsticks or a fork until its bubbling and frothy. Then add it to the toast and it should look like something like this.

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Step Four: Put the natto-on-toast in your mouth and eat it.

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But what did it taste like I hear you ask. Only one way to find out!!

Posted in Food & Drink | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

TF Interview…..With Football Commentator Ian Stringer

Posted on March 2, 2014 by tokyofox

Following the soaring success of the last TF interview with author Tim Andrewartha its about time for another one. Whilst in the legendary Gonpachi (a.k.a. the ‘Kill-Bill’ place) restaurant in Nishi-Azabu I sat down with BBC Radio Leicester’s football commentator Ian Stringer. Having been interviewed by him at Meiji Shrine a couple of days earlier for a feature on the stations breakfast show I decided to turn  the tables on him and probe him about his thoughts on Japan, Leicester City and commentating.

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N.B. This is just a condensed sample of the interview. If you want to hear the full interview then its available as a podcast on iTunes. Click here to get it for FREE!

So what brings you to Tokyo Ian? The Tokyo Marathon is why I’m here. I’m taking part on Sunday for the Leicester baby loss appeal. (You can donate here). It’s one of the six world marathons and a relatively new addition to the marathon scene and Tokyo’s where I wanted to go.

And what’s the backstory on your Marathon stuff I started in 2012. I ran my first marathon in London for the Leicester City Foxes Foundation; Alan Birchenal’s one in a million appeal. He convinced me I should give it a go so I did. I raised a few quid for the foundation, I think it was 19 grand. I got bitten by the marathon bug after that so that year I ran in London, Windermere, Wolverhampton, Leicester and Bangkok and then the following year a few more. It’s just a personal thing. I started in 2012 so I’m still relatively young in my marathon running experience.

You’ve clocked up a fair few there! Yeah that’s 8 and it will be 9 if I finish the Tokyo one which I hope so!

I can see you have a very interesting diet so can you tell us a bit more about it? It’s kind of a Palio diet really. I’m not eating potatoes, bread or grains so lots of meat, vegetables and fruit, a bit of dairy but no refined carbohydrates because of the way in which they’re digested. Certainly no sugar! I’ve had no sugar for the last four months and its going well but the Tokyo marathon will be the first time I’ve tried to run the marathon without the aid of sugar.

What are your impressions so far of Japan ? Well I’m basing my impressions on a visit to the capital city of course as I’ve not been anywhere other than Tokyo but I love it, absolutely love it. I adore the place. Its clean, incredibly efficient and seems crime-free. I think I’ve seen one police car in four days. I’ve not seen any litter. Trains are on time. There’s somebody looking after every job. Everyone takes pride in what they do. The food is magnificent. We’re sat in a restaurant now where a guy has cooked me on open coals a fish which I imagine wasn’t caught too long ago. So everything’s been positive so far. It’s a wonderful city. I’ve met some wonderful people, (seen some) incredible views and I’m very fortunate to even be here…and of course I’ve met the Tokyo Fox!!

How did your Leicester City story begin as a fan? Where did you used to sit or stand? My dad took me to my first game when I was three and we’d go down to Filbert Street a couple of times a season. My first experience was in the Double Decker (stand) but from the age of, probably seven, I was in the Kop, in pen 4. I was pushed down to the front by my dad. He stood at the back with his friends. I was mascot when I was ten, away at Wolves. We lost 2-1. Colin Gibson scored the goal of the season but Steve Bull scored twice; the first one before I’d even got out of the changing room! So mascot, season ticket holder, member, Junior Fox, visits to Wembley more times than I can remember so very early I fell in love with the club because my dad forced me to but when its a club like Leicester City you rely on your offspring being the future of your club and thats certainly the way with my little boy.

So how about a time when you think you called it to perfection. …in terms of goals away at Leeds was an important goal. Nugent scored with four minutes to go and I feel I got that one right. We actually have a commentary coach; a guy called Rob Noffman who works for 5 Live and he gives us some very formulaic insights into our commentary. He’ll listen to our 90 minutes and tally how many times you say the score, the time, identify the station and he’ll also mark you on how you can beat the crowd to an incident so when a shot comes in if you hear the crowd go “ooooh” you kind of don’t need to say whats happened because people know. Its too late. Now I’ve got the advantage of having the speed of sound on my side so we’re marked and assessed on whether we can beat that and be on top of the goals and say where was the ball, who scored, how long to go and encapsulate what your audience will be feeling at local level when that goes in. National level as well but when its international football Mike Ingham calling an England goal will have a degree of partisan approach to the commentary whereas if it was Fulham v Arsenal he’ll be relatively balanced for a goal but its knowing your audience and calling it right at that time, there and then.

What’s criticisms are labelled at you or the radio coverage and whats your response? Twitter is an interesting place to gain information but remember that its only a certain proportion of your audience who are tuned into social media. The masses will listen and potentially enjoy…..silently. I mean how many people write into ‘Top Gear‘  and say great show, well done, keep going! You don’t do you?! You’ve got to assume that you’ll have some happy customers given the listening figures at the moment are very, very good. Negatives are some people don’t like certain elements. There are purists out there who believe that they should know where the ball is every second of the game.

Which City players would be in your all-time XI and you don’t need to name the whole team! Kasey Keller was a very good goalkeeper and Kasper Schmeichel is a fine goalkeeper too. Simon Grayson will live long in the memory. Steve Walsh and Matt Elliott defensively. Mancini would be in there. Neil Lennon. Muzzy Izzet. Steve Claridge is my favourite Leicester player ever so my front pairing would probably be Lineker and Claridge.

What’s the most famous number or contact you have in your phone? Maybe Sven. Gary Lineker maybe. Those two will do for now!

Who are your favourite commentators on TV and radio? I’m a big fan of Simon Brotherton. He’s on top of everything. He calls the action very, very well. I admire the pace in his voice. Your job is to convince people that at that second they should be turning their radio up by changing your pace and pitch and allowing the listener to sit on the edge of the seat and feel for their volume control and up it because something could happen and I think Brotherton does that very well. Obviously Mike Ingham and Alan Green are the BBC’s top guys but then you can’t look past Ian Darke, Alan Parry and Jon Champion. There’s an awful lot out there. Darren Fletcher. I think he’s a very good commentator. I like him a lot and he’s brilliant on 6-0-6.

Is there another sport you’d like to try your hand at in terms of commentating on it? Sumo!! The temptation of course is to say Formula 1 because of the glamour attached but I’d probably say that at the minute with Andy Murray’s strong position in the tennis world it would be a real blessing to follow him around the world. Likewise, Justin Rose is probably in the peak of his career right now. Can you imagine calling a Ryder Cup putt?

I think many people think you and our manager Nigel Pearson hate each other. I don’t believe that so what’s going on when the mic’s not on? Nigel and I get on really well. He’s very guarded as an individual, not just with us. He’ll never come out with soundbites like Ian Holloway! Always a handshake pre and post-interview and usually a whack on the back! There was one at Birmingham the other day when we were talking about Jack Hobbs and he’d been linked with the club and I knew it was ‘agent-talk’  but we’ve gotta ask it and he played the game and said he wasn’t sure about that and that he didn’t comment on speculation. I said “well you could end the speculation by telling us” and afterwards it sounded really frosty but he gave me a massive whack on the back with a huge smile as he walked off and he winked as if to say “I’m playing the game.” He’s a man of principle, honour and trust and he’s a man who, as a journalist, you’ve gotta do your ground work with. I don’t think we have a bad relationship. I think we have a good solid working relationship and I have to say he’s one of the best football managers Leicester City have had.

If you could choose any guest to have on the Football Forum (Monday’s 6-7pm) who would it be? It would be Martin O’Neill because I think our audience would enjoy it. You can’t pick your guests on who you individually want. I think he’d be desired by our audience. I think he’d make an incredible guest and I’d love to get him on. He’d offer great insight so maybe one day!

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Ian did of course complete the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday 23rd February. His time was 3 hours 55 minutes. Congratulations to him for all his efforts and for allowing Tokyo Fox to interview him. 

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Tokyo Daytripper: Ian Stringer Special!

Posted on February 26, 2014 by tokyofox

Imagine leaving your familiar surroundings of home to visit a country where you’re slightly consumed with uncertainty and having a radio fanboy constantly asking you questions about players you’ve interviewed or people you work with. Well that was the case for Radio Leicester’s Ian Stringer this last week as he had to put up with me guiding him round for a few days!!

The legendary voice of Leicester City games (500+ live matches under his belt now) on the BBC was in town very recently and Tokyo Fox had the privileged position of being in charge of most of his itinerary not counting the Tokyo Marathon which was of course his main reason for being here!!

Anyone who read the last entry will know that we met at Harajuku station and moved on to Meiji Shrine which was where we did the report for the BBC Radio Leicester breakfast show. As I eluded to in that interview we would be going on to Harajuku’s Takeshita-dori and on towards Shibuya and the impressive scramble-crossing which I enthused about in a manner which took me by surprise! This place rarely fails to amaze first-timers and for me is still the number one thing to witness in Tokyo.

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Once we’d looked around a few shops (Tokyo Hands, Kamo Soccer Shop and Don Qixote) it was time for a spot of classic conveyor-belt sushi lunch. Things weren’t that straightforward though as Ian’s pre-marathon diet (known as the Palio diet) of no sugar, no bread, no potatoes, no noodles and no rice meant that his sushi was more like sashimi! Still, it meant more rice for me!!

At night Shinjuku’s Yasukuni-dori is an awe-inspiring spectacle of vibrant colours amid the cluster of high rise buildings full of restaurants and bars. The view has featured in so many movies and TV programmes over the years and I guess its become the classic shot (alongside Shibuya crossing) of the neon lights of Tokyo really hitting the foreigner visiting these shores. That was certainly the case for Ian who loved this area and of course many pictures were taken of this area when we reconvened later that evening for a quick wander around the Kabukicho area followed by a a few meat dishes in a couple of a Japanese-style bars.

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Nezu jinja Shrine (below) is quite famous for Japanese people but less so for tourists so it was quite nice to go somewhere away from the crowds. I thought this place would be quite good for its mix of serenity, bright red torii gates and the fox deities which guard the place. Believe me, there are not many fox connections in Tokyo so such tenuous links were all we could find though there would still be one more! After walking back through  Ueno Park we took a train a couple of stops down the Yamanote line to Akihabara which is famous for its electric town, otaku culture and maid cafes!!

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@home cafe is a place I’ve been to a few times over the years when I’ve had guests visit and is usually one I relish as it tends to put the person I’m with so far out of their comfort zone. Ian was most taken aback that a maid was playing Connect 4 with a customer and the ‘moe‘ hand action movement and song you have to do when your drink is served was bizarre to say the least. No visit to one of these places is complete without a polaroid photo with one of the maids and at 6ft 3 he got a lot of reaction from the maids and even when on his knees he was still pretty much the same height as the maid he was photographed with! (For some reason his photograph has the wrong date on it!)

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As for that fox reference I promised you earlier, that was on the overly sugar-concentrated drink I ordered. Usually they use the chocolate sauce to draw cats in your drink but I demanded kitsune (fox) and you can judge for yourself how good it is!

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The worlds busiest transport hub is Shinjuku station and that was where we began our third and final day together. Sadly we were a bit too late, and on the wrong side of the gates, to see the tidal wave of humanity pouring onto its trains during rush hour. The main reason for meeting in Shinjuku was to take him up the Metropolitan Government Building which was a good idea as thats exactly where the Marathon would be starting two days later. He’d already been up the Tokyo Sky Tree on his first day so he’d witnessed the wall-to-wall concrete skyline that goes well beyond Tokyo’s borders. These two-towers in Shinjuku are 202 metres high and the observation deck on the 45th floor of each tower has a souvenir shop (as one may expect) which is quite good.

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Gonpachi in Nishi-Azabu is perhaps more famously known as the ‘Kill Bill‘ restaurant as it served as the inspiration for the ‘House of Blue Leaves’ in Tarantino’s 2004 film. That would be our final stop but a memorable one and one that he really loved. I’m glad to report that the free salad bar is back (it wasn’t there the last time I went but was the first time) and this place is very cosmopolitan now with many foreigners among the chefs and waiters as well as the customers too!

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I’d warned him a couple of days before that I wanted to turn the tables on him and interview him for Tokyo Fox which he gladly accepted and we did that amid the atmospheric shamisen background music sounds of this very nice, cavernous, rustic-themed place.

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Tokyo Fox On BBC Radio!!

Posted on February 22, 2014 by tokyofox

BBC Radio Leicester’s football commentator Ian Stringer has been in Tokyo this last week ready to take part in tomorrows Tokyo Marathon and last Wednesday morning Tokyo Fox made an appearance on the station’s breakfast show presented by Jonathan Lampon. Having got in touch via the medium of Twitter a few weeks ago we continued to exchange quite a few mails and I said I’d be more than happy to help him out on his trip here so we agreed to meet up outside Harajuku station that morning.

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We wandered through the inner gardens which lead to the Meiji shrine chatting away excitedly and not really taking in the place too much. Before not too long Ian was telling me that he was going to do a feature piece for that mornings breakfast show. It was about 01.15am back in Britain so he needed to get it recorded and mailed back to the radio station ready for use which was done via the help of McDonalds wi-fi!!

Anyway, part of the recording featured an interview with me which I was a bit worried about as my voice isn’t so radio friendly! Using the voice memo on his phone, he just started recording and began to set the scene a few metres away from me and then suddenly I was being asked a few questions about why I supported Leicester City, my hometown, my reasons for being in Tokyo, life in Japan, the places I was gonna take him after the interview, whether I was going to follow that nights big game against local rivals Nottingham Forest and so on. Beforehand, I had expected to freeze and not have much to say but I got into it and waffled on about all kinds of cr*p which surprised me. I have to say that I loved doing it and was buzzing afterwards as we exited the park.

I didn’t actually get to hear it back till a couple of days later and though a bit strange and cringeworthy at times, I did love it, particularly the reaction of the presenter afterwards. It took a while for me to realise that he was just reading the words Ian had sent him in his accompanying mail which were jokingly dictated by myself!

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With my parents being avid Radio Leicester listeners, I have grown up listening to the station when in their presence which was of course quite often! As a lifelong Leicester City fan I have naturally always followed their football output so I was delighted to meet up with the guy who is doing what I, and many others, consider to be the dream job! Typically, my parents missed the show that morning which was a shame as I’d have loved for them to hear me coming out of their radio.

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Thankfully, these days we can quite easily catch-up with what we miss so if you did miss it then you can listen again to it here. I’m featured at 7.27am which is 1 hour 27 into the programme but please be aware that this link will not work after February 26th as BBC content is only available for a week.

Posted in Japan Life, Leicester City | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

8 (Not So) Gr-Eight Observations Of Japan From Yesteryear To Celebrate Our 8th Birthday

Posted on February 20, 2014 by tokyofox

The phenomenon that is social media hadn’t really taken off in the early months of 2006 when I, along with the help of friend Gideon, set up this website. Tokyo Fox went online on February 20th with no real aim or focus other than keeping a record of things for myself and giving my parents the chance to actually know what I’ve been up to. Its never really caught on with too many of my actual friends but it has managed to find an audience with a few hundred people everyday, most of whom are usually just doing google searches of movie locations or whatever.

I was surprised as anyone else that Tokyo Fox made it past the first one or two entries but here we are eight years on and its still going strong despite social media having pretty much killed off most bloggers. To mark the occasion, I have handpicked the eight articles on here that have shaped the brand. Some people have said that Tokyo Fox is like the BBC sports show ‘Grandstand‘. No, not a dated format with no place in the modern world but a framework for showcasing many different things!! Of course the filming locations take most of the glory with the other stuff like film reviews, cycling trips and places in Japan holding up quite well too. However, when the site started with this entry (read it here, its pretty awful!) what followed for the first few months were observations of how customs and life are so different here. Of course I was fairly knew to it all back then so take what I said with a pinch of salt!

So to celebrate our 8th birthday I have dug deep into the Tokyo Fox archive to bring you eight articles from back when we were just getting started. I’d hate for you to miss any of the quality observations just because you recently stumbled upon our site. If you’re a devout Tokyo Fox reader, thanks for sticking around!

1. The great chopstick question – How many times can Japanese people ask you if you can use chopsticks? The answer is many many! More details here

2. White Day a.k.a. March 14th – What the hell’s this all about? Marketing!! That’s about the size of it! More details here

3. Getting caught short at work – A busy schedule doesn’t always allow time for toilet breaks but when you’ve gotta go you’ve gotta go! More details here

4. The only gaijin in the village – Who are these other foreigners doing here?! This is my patch and you’re not welcome!! More details here

5.  Show me the money – Japan is modern for many things but its attitude to credit cards isn’t one of them! More details here

6. Bumping into people – Don’t mind me!! More details here

7. Japanese people too honest for their own good – Honesty is not always the best policy is it?! More details here

8. Only in Japan – A nice moment to let one not get too frustrated by other things in this country. There are many positives and this is one such example! More details here

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Tokyo Daytripper: Elephant Temple In Tokyo!

Posted on February 16, 2014 by tokyofox

Go to any one of the thousands of temples that exist in and around Tokyo and you’ll find that it is more than likely guarded by foxes, dogs or lions but there are a few exceptions. Last September I reported on the shrine in Shibuya which is guarded by wolves and back in November, whilst getting my Myanmar visa, I took a bit of a detour to this temple in Minami Shinagawa as I had a couple of hours to spare. Not exactly a day trip, or even a half day one, but thats the banner under which this article will fly!

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This temple is located at the end of a narrow alley leading from the main road and immediately stands out due to its unusual but very beautiful elephant gate which is very Indian/hindu looking in its appearance. The gate is counted as a Tangible Cultural Property of Shinagawa Ward…not that I have any idea what that means exactly!!

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Of course elephants are no strangers to the pages of Tokyo Fox having featured prominently on our recent trip to Thailand where we spent a day doing elephant training up in Chiang Mai which helped gain a deeper affection for these huge animals. While its fair to say the same level of appreciation can’t quite be acquired at this temple, seeing elephants standing guard (one with tusks and one without) is a unique sight and as you go in to the complex there are some golden-coloured elephants, buddha statues, paintings and lotus motifs symbolising fortune, purification and faithfulness in Buddhism.

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It’s thanks to the excellent Rurousha blog that I even knew about this place and her site tells the story (in much better words!) of some woman falling asleep and in her  dream a bull elephant bearing a white lotus flower circles her a few times before striking her with its trunk and magically disappearing into her body thereby creating a baby!

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So there you have it, another interesting little place tucked away in the huge metropolis of Tokyo which is proof that there are many hidden delights out there for one to find by just getting out there and taking a look around.

Shinryō-ji temple can be found at 2-7-25 Minami Shinagawa and Aomono-Yokochō is the closest station on the Keikyu Main Line.

Posted in Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments