The 1st Ever League Clash Between These Local Rivals In Japan Actually Deserves To Be Called A Derby!

Posted on April 2, 2025 by tokyofox

The use of the word derby in football seems to be more and more prevalent these days as  the people behind club social media accounts think of interesting and creative ways to market fixtures whether it be based on personnel who have represented both sides, shirt colours (the orange/green/purple derby etc), similar sounding names (Kashiwa and Kashima), anagrams (Tokyo & Kyoto) or whatever. There really seems to be no end to it but there was no need for such tenuous links last Sunday (30th March) though as this fixture was actually related to good old-fashioned geography.

The combination of relegation for Continue reading →

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On the Fox Trail……in Japan’s Fox-Blessed Hot Spring Town

Posted on March 30, 2025 by tokyofox

In the latter half of the last decade the ‘On The Fox Trail…’ series spawned over 20 posts, and I really did think I had covered pretty much any fox-related place in Japan. That wasn’t the case though as this fox-blessed hot spring town somehow bypassed my attention.

It was only whilst I was checking out the nearest stations on Google Maps for accessing Renofa Yamaguchi’s football stadium last August that I came across a few interesting sights. Yabara is actually the closest station to the Ishin Me-Life Stadium but Yudaonsen is also within walking distance and proved to be an Continue reading →

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My Furthest Away Day Trip At A Rather Inconveniently Located Former World Cup Stadium

Posted on March 26, 2025 by tokyofox

At the start of this month I was looking at Futbology (an app for ground hoppers) when I noticed someone had been to Miyagi Stadium. Not only that but he had actually seen Vegalta Sendai in action rather than Mynavi Sendai Ladies team or Sony Sendai FC * who sometimes play there. I was somewhat surprised as Vegalta play their home games at the Yurtec Stadium but subsequent research told me that new turf was being laid there so Continue reading →

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The World’s Largest Bronze Statue Really Is Impressive In Both Size & Wonder

Posted on March 22, 2025 by tokyofox

It seems like many Buddha statues have some kind of claim to fame whether it be the tallest, longest or biggest one made of whatever material in whichever country, city or region.

This Buddha statue in Japan is the largest bronze statue in the world but I sadly wasn’t aware of it until shortly after I’d made a Continue reading →

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All-White On The Night As Guitar-Hero Jack Rocks Out In Tokyo!

Posted on March 18, 2025 by tokyofox

Just three nights after seeing Kylie, we were at another concert but this one couldn’t have been more constrasting in style!

It was back to more regular and comfortable territory for me as my wife and I went to Toyosu Pit in Koto Ward (Tokyo) to see the genius behind The Continue reading →

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Kylie Minogue Performs Live In Japan For The 1st Time In 14 Years & I Was There For It!

Posted on March 14, 2025 by tokyofox

Over the last few decades I’ve seen around 150 live music performances (mainly thanks to seeing multiple acts at UK summer festivals) but very, very few of them have involved pop groups or singers. Whilst I have seen the likes of Robbie Williams and All Saints as part of festival line-ups I’ve definitely never seen a pop act in their own solo show but that changed very recently when my wife and I saw Australia’s greatest export live in concert.

Whenever I go to Ariake in Koto ward (Tokyo) it is almost always in the name of tennis but this time it was to see the princess of pop who was back in Japan performing live for the first time since 2011. Until this concert date was announced last year, I was completely Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Our 3 Days In Seoul Was Far From A Full-On Korean Experience!

Posted on March 10, 2025 by tokyofox

After moving to Tokyo, it took a while for my first foreign trip to happen but when it did the destination was South Korea which is no real surprise given its close proximity to Japan. That initial trip to the capital city for a few days in extremely cold conditions was mentioned briefly in the inaugural Tokyo Fox post but it then took nearly a decade for my next trip. That was when my wife and I spent a couple of nights with my number one American friend Ethan who was living in Seoul at that time with his family.

This three day trip was never really going to be a big dive into Korean culture but there was still a smattering of local Continue reading →

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7 Nights In Izu: Is The Picture Postcard Cinder-Cone Mountain Becoming Too Touristy? Plus Japan’s Best Zoo & Over-Eating!

Posted on March 6, 2025 by tokyofox

Whilst some people love the variety of a different place and activities for their holiday each year, there are also many others who are more than content to just the do the same every time. I’ve long been of the attitude that change is best. I still am but situation and circumstances change and so that is why the the first few days of this latest trip to our holiday home pretty much mirrored exactly what we had done 12 months earlier.

Not too much of note happened on the first couple of days but the first morning of 2025  began (as it did last year!) with a short bus ride to Continue reading →

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#WeStopAtNothing! Visiting All The Platform Zero Stations In Fukuoka

Posted on March 2, 2025 by tokyofox

There’s something slightly mystical and Harry Potter-like about these platforms and one has to wonder why some stations have them whether it be because it’s been added on that particular side of platform 1 or just because they began their numbering from zero! I’m not sure if I’ll ever visit all of them but certainly hope to tick a few more off as the years go by! The challenge continues with a visit to all the platform 0 stations in Fukuoka!

1. Haruda Continue reading →

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Inside The Castle Grounds Which Featured In Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021)

Posted on February 27, 2025 by tokyofox

When it comes to movie history, Himeji-jo in Hyogo Prefecture is probably the most famous castle in Japan as it featured in the James Bond film ‘You Only Live Twice‘ (1967) as well as two Japanese movies by legendary director Akira Kurosawa; ‘Kagemusha‘ (1980) and ‘Ran’ (1985). A few years ago I blew the trumpet for Hikone-jo in Shiga Prefecture which was used for two lesser movies by way of ‘3 Ninjas Kick Back‘ (1994 and ‘The Hunted‘ (1995) and now it is time to rave about another hidden gem.

Admittedly, I had never heard of this castle until I watched ‘Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins‘ (2021) in the year of its release. I was most surprised to discover that Continue reading →

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