Hiking In Fukushima Pt II: Goshikinuma

Posted on July 4, 2012 by tokyofox

So what exactly did I end up doing on my first day in Fukushima I hear you ask! Following the setback mentioned at the start of ‘Hiking in Fukushima Pt I‘ I decided to head back to Koriyama station which I had passed through a short time before. My plan was basically to just switch the two one-day itineraries and so I headed on to Inawashiro from where Bandai Toto buses to Goshikinuma thankfully run a lot more often. Half an hour later, after an arduous morning, I was at my destination where I did the 3.7km nature trail around Five Colours Lakes. For the record they get their name due to the colours – emerald green, cobalt blue etc – created by the mineral deposits from volcanic eruption.

       

This Bandai-san area in Fukushima has been on my ‘to do’ list for many many years now and having cancelled the trip there in October due to averse weather conditions I thought I’d try again. Mount Bandai is in my background in the photos above and below. Bishamonnuma was the first lake and the biggest one with an amazing turquoise colour and giant koi (carp). Seeing this beautiful lake was a bit of relief after all the travelling I’d done so far that day.

       

The area is supposedly famous for Asiatic black bears but I was very sceptical of such claims despite the sign above saying to beware of the bear. I’d probably have to say that my favourite lake was the one below which was far more peaceful and tranquil with less visitors and also minus the rowing boats seen at the first place.

     

I walked the leisurely hiking trail end to end and then back again as I didn’t want to wait for a bus at the other end. Besides I had time to kill and so the 17.10 bus to Inawashiro station worked out well as I was able to instantly catch an express train to Koriyama where I had a hotel booking.

There wasn’t too much to do ahead of the following days trip to Jyododaira apart from seeing this geiger counter thing (below) outside the station which I assume has something to do with radiation levels in the area which is only about 34 miles (55 km) west of the infamous Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. I filled my bottle with tap water the next morning and have felt no ill effects of such a ‘dangerous’ activity! A couple of minutes away from that is the Koriyama City Fureai Science Center “Space Park” which has an observation deck on its 24th floor where I could see fine view of the towns below and the mountains in the distance.

     

Furthermore, just getting to Fukushima station and back was a new experience for me as I rode on the Shinkansen (bullet train) for the first time ever which was one of the things I wrote about last October regarding ‘Things I’ve never done in Japan‘.

 

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Hiking In Fukushima Pt I: Jyododaira

Posted on July 1, 2012 by tokyofox

With a weeks holiday under way and not too much going on I decided to get away from the city for a couple of days. I went to Fukushima and on my arrival just after 9am I was shocked to discover that the one bus a day to Jyododaira was only available at weekends and though this was one hell of a setback I guess I should be mightily relieved that the following day was a Saturday and that I was booked to spend the night in Koriyama.

The next morning I returned to Fukushima station and took the bus for about 90 minutes to Jyododaira. With there only being one realistic return bus (there is one 75 mins after you arrive!) time was of the essence. The information guy said it was a 4 hour round trip but I never believed that for a moment and was confident I could do it in just over half that time…..and I was right! Within 80 minutes I was on top and was pretty impressed at the view of the volcano which was situated right next to the car-park (on the other side) where I was dropped off.

 

However, little did I know that a far more beautiful sight was to come on the other side of the mountain I had just ascended. This was a stunning view and within seconds cloud was covering the view but thankfully that passed by not so long after. Taking some of the photos below was actually quite slow given the crumbling nature of the debris. One fatal slip and you could easily see yourself tumbling down the mountain!

       

The actual climb and descend was also fantastic with area’s of gleaming white ice amid grass covered mountains and lush green forest. Some of the views were very Swiss-like or so I assume anyway as I only have limited knowledge of that country’s landscape having only visited for a short time a couple of years back.

            

Once back at the car park I shot up the steps at lightning pace to walk the rim of the crater seen in the pictures at the top of this page. I didn’t have time to circle the volcano or rather I didn’t want to risk missing the bus as I had to get back to Tokyo as soon as I could for a mates birthday party. Up close the views looking down into the volcano were not as spectacular as those from the top of the mountain but still more than satisfactory for those visitors only wanting a small slice of climbing/hiking action. I splashed out 100 yen on a kunsei tamago (smoked egg) once back at the car park area to reward myself for my hours of hiking in the warm sunshine.

       

How to get there: Apart from koyo (Autumn leaves) season only one bus a day goes to Jyododaira. It leaves from stop 11 on the east side of JR Fukushima station at 09.50 and/or 10.00 from the west side. It costs 1760 yen one way whilst the return journey is at 15.40 and arrives back at Fukushima station at 16.50. This journey is 1240 yen.

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On The Trail Of John Rain (雨) Part III – Tokyo

Posted on June 29, 2012 by tokyofox

It’s back due to popular demand from none other than Barry Eisler; the author of the John Rain series of books. Thanks to Twitter, I had a very short but enjoyable conversation with my favourite author earlier this month after he very kindly put a link to this site on his twitter feed. That resulted in this site getting a record number of hits in one day for the original ‘On the trail…‘ article from a couple of years ago which saw me spend a day cycling around all the (remaining) Tokyo locations featured in four of the first six Rain books.

Mr Eisler suggested I let him know if I ever did the Tokyo locations from ‘The Detachment‘ which I said I had already done but never included on this site. I actually did them last November so here goes….

 

‘Body & Soul’ in Minami Aoyama, ‘Cafe de L’Ambre’ in Ginza (above) and ‘Campbelltown Loch’ in Yurakucho (below) are all Continue reading →

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‘Beyond The Movies’ – Behind The Scenes + Full Interview

Posted on June 26, 2012 by tokyofox

‘Beyond The Movies’ is the title I’ve been using for the last few years on my Facebook film-related albums which feature mostly shooting locations but also include screenshots, memorabillia, exhibitions, toys, events and anything which takes the reader beyond the surface of that particular movie. These albums include Star Wars, James Bond, Jason Bourne, Terminator, Back To The Future, Mission Impossible, Super Heroes, Tokyo, Kansai, Asia, The USA, Australia, Europe, The UK and so on.

I often (well occasionally) get asked how I find out the details of each shot which I take so here, by way of a recent online interview I did, is a sneak-peak behind the scenes look at how things fall into place at the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre in Tokyo.

 

Here is the full transcript of the interview which will no doubt be edited down quite a bit when it finally sees the light of day later in the year.

How did this obsession come about? I’ve always been interested in seeing such locations but after years of travelling and seeing the usual stuff like waterfalls, beaches, churches, temples and so on I became a bit bored of just doing the sights when I visit a place so hunting down these famous filming locations allowed me to see places in different ways whilst getting off the well worn and proverbial beaten track at the same time.

Do you choose your holiday destinations based solely on films shot there? Apart from maybe Tunisia I have never solely gone to a place just for locations but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t play a major part. Its usually a combination of a few things.

What were the first filming locations you went to? The first one I really remember was one of the Fijian islands which was used in the Tom Hanks survival movie ‘Cast Away‘ but that was way back in 2002. It wasn’t until a trip to Phuket in Thailand in 2008 with my mate Ethan that I realised I was more interested in seeing the island from the James Bond film ‘The Man With The Golden Gun‘ and the hostel and beach from ‘The Beach‘ rather than your typical usual touristy sights. Of course a couple of those places I’ve just mentioned are sights in their own right but the hostel certainly isn’t and that was fun.

What has been your favourite location? There have been many. Something like Petra in Jordan which featured in ‘Indiana Jones & the last Crusade‘ was great but that’s a famous sight in its own right so I’d have to say that its the Star Wars stuff in Tunisia. Random places completely unknown by locals who have never seen the saga.

 

What’s been the most difficult one to find? Some of the ones here in Tokyo actually. I needed help from a couple of Japanese people to help me find locations from ‘The Grudge‘ as there was nothing in English and my Japanese skills don’t quite stretch to searching pages and pages of information written in Japanese kanji.

Have you ever failed to track down a place? Yes and I’m still a little gutted about it as it was a big important one. My driver and I just could not locate the igloo in the south west of Tunisia which was the exterior of the Lars Homestead in Star Wars Episodes IV and II.

What preparations do you make in advance? I watch the film with a notepad and pen taking notes on the time of the scene and using the pause button regularly. I then draw a rough sketch of the scene I want to replicate. The end credits of the film sometimes give a bit of fairly vague info on the locations or who the producers thank can give a helping hand. Basically I utilise the DVD extras to maximum effect by watching ‘making of…’ documentary, deleted scenes & listening to the directors commentary. Computer-wise I used to copy photos of scenes from the web if they were available and then printed them out for comparison shots. In recent times I have become a bit more modernised and use my iPad or iPhone to store the pictures on which is far better than a badly printed screenshot picture. I have also used my PSP in the past for ‘Memoirs of a Geisha’ and ‘Bourne Identity’ stuff but the UMD format is basically a failed one so isn’t going to be so beneficial as very few films were released as a PSP video.

      

What resources do you use to help you? Having decided where I want to go to on a trip I cross-reference that place with ‘The Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations‘ (Tony Reeves) book and website which is the grandaddy of filming locations information. Furthermore, I search Wikipedia, YouTube and the net in general where other movie fans have posted their stuff online but its not always so easy as certain ones, particularly the ones here in Japan, are not detailed well. Imdb can sometimes be as vague as just saying the country name but its filming locations section occasionally if I’m lucky goes much further in detail and even gives addresses. I also search out books and programmes with Mark Dermul’s Star Wars books in particular assisting me for finding the exact points which George Lucas used.

You appear in a lot of your photos so who takes them for you? Apart from a few trips with friends the vast majority have been taken by myself using a tripod and timer. For the record I appear in my pictures to stop people wanting to steal them off the internet and pass them off as their own…and of course because I’m very vain! haha!

Where does the name Tokyo Fox come from? Well my team Leicester City, who play in the league below the Premier League, are nicknamed the Foxes and I live in Tokyo so there you go.

What kind of person looks at the Tokyo Fox website? Good question! Apart from my parents, who themselves probably skim over all the film stuff, I know of very few of my family or friends who regularly look at it. I get a lot of hits for the Star Wars, Bourne, Back to the Future, James Bond, Terminator locations in particular from like-minded fans scouring google in search of these places which have played a part in movie history. Of course theres other stuff on there about Japanese life and travel etc which is quite popular too.

Do you have any plans to release a book? Well I’ve certainly considered it a few times and did start work on a Japan filming locations title but as ever these things get put aside while other things in my life take over. I’d like to pull my finger out one day and get something published but whether it will happen I don’t know. Watch this space…

 

What locations would you like to see in the future? Hmmm, not too many must-sees left but I am going to New York next month which has more films set there than anywhere else. Other than that then maybe Guatemala to do a Star Wars shot and maybe some of central america may be of interest. I still have places to see in London and it would actually be nice to travel my own country a bit more in the name of shooting locations.

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TF Film Review: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Posted on June 23, 2012 by tokyofox

I’ve been complaining for years about Japan always being last to see films released but every so often the tables are turned. I’ll be honest and admit that I probably wouldn’t have gone to see this if it hadn’t been for the fact that it was to have its worldwide Premiere in Tokyo followed by limited advance screenings a week ahead of its national release and two weeks before the UK and the USA.

When it was announced that the aptly named Marc Webb was making a new Spider-Man movie my initial reaction was inevitably that of “why?” given that there had already been three Spider-Man films in the last 10 years. However, as time moved on this seemed to be less of a problem and I was really looking forward to my evening out in Shinjuku with friends Andrew, Rina and Yuka. I even worked my way through the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man trilogy from the last decade in the days before as part of my preparation for this viewing and enjoyed the simplicity of them.

Andrew Garfield is the youthful looking (he’s a 28 year old playing a 17 year old high school kid!) American-born British actor portraying the latest Spider-Man incarnation and he does a fine job in the role though I do think his Peter Parker is a bit too cool at times with all the skateboarding tricks and just his overall style. At 24 the very cute Emma Stone is also playing a girl way younger than reality but can just about get away with it.

 

Spider-Man is the only teenage superhero out there (is that really such a claim?!) and doesn’t really hide his alter-ego at all from his acquaintances in this film. His adversary Dr Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), later ‘The Lizard’ is an intrigueing character to begin with which may just be down to him only having one arm but yet again in a Spider-Man movie I really wasn’t too keen on how such a villain came about.

This was actually the 1st time for me to see a movie in the 3D format and as I expected I wasn’t that fussed about it. Sure there were some great effects but the glasses are not comfortable for me to wear and gave me a bit of a headache. When a film is 136 minutes in length I need all the help I can get in being comfortable, and though the seats were the best in the house, the special glasses didn’t aid my comfort.

Don’t get me wrong for I have probably come across as quite critical here but I did really enjoy this slightly darker, grittier re-boot which is also quite light and frothy in places. Its a good action film and will keep you entertained but I really don’t think this re-telling  adds too much to the original trilogy as we know about his dead father, the spider bite, being bullied and the consequences that lead to his uncle being shot.

Tokyo Fox Rating 7/10

You can see the New York ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ Filming Locations here.

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Dining Out: Whoopi Goldburger!

Posted on June 20, 2012 by tokyofox

Going out for a burger isn’t usually worthy of an entry on this site but the place I went to a couple of weeks ago is an interesting little place. Apart from the occasional 100 yen burger from McDonalds I rarely ever eat burgers here in Japan and never do I think its worth splashing out around a 1000 yen+ on one as I’d rather spend that money on something else. However, I made an exception for W.P Gold Burger (1-9-4 Shibuya) which is just round the corner from one of my schools and situated on a quiet back street.

 

The place is basically a tiny bar with about 10 counter seats and supposedly standing room for customers when its busy! I’ve since read that the bar is made from boat parts but I can’t say that I noticed that. As it was the evening when we went we had to buy a drink but at 500 yen a beer it wasn’t all that bad. There are plenty of other types of international beers available too.

     

Two Hokkaido guys run the bar which was showing skateboarding action (I am a former skateboarder y’know) on the small TV located above a collection of fake moustaches! Not sure what that’s about but of course the main reason for going is the food. The majority of the nine burgers on offer are named after a famous celebrity in pun-tastic fashion. I’m talking Whoopi Gold Burger, Kevin Bacon Burger & Charlotte Gains Burger to name a few. Even by my standards they are awful puns! The huge Aussie beef patties seemed to have some spices added to them and the hand-made mash (or fries) which came with it contained some special salt which gave it a really interesting taste.

 

Its not often one advises potential visitors to go to the toilet but its worth at least taking a peek at the decor in this one which includes a picture of some nudie ladies, a poster of where nuclear reactors are around the world and beneath that is the message seen on the door in the photo below left.

 

Posted in Films, Food & Drink, Japan Life, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Live International Rugby In Tokyo: Japan Take On Samoa In The Pacific Nations Cup

Posted on June 17, 2012 by tokyofox

Wishing for a break from all the football at Euro 2012, my friend Mostyn and I decided to head on down to Chichibunomiya to see some international rugby. The Brave Blossoms, presently ranked 16th in the world, were hosting Samoa who are actually the ninth best international rugby team according to the IRB (International Rugby Board) world rankings.

 

This wasn’t actually my first time to see the Japan national team in action as I Continue reading →

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Review: Films Set In Japan – The Barbarian And The Geisha (1958)

Posted on June 14, 2012 by tokyofox

‘You Only Live Twice‘ or ‘Walk Don’t Run‘ may be the more famous of the older films set in Japan but I recently encountered one from nearly a decade before those. Of course I was very much aware of John Wayne as an enduring American icon before watching this but I had never seen any of his films in full and it seems that this particular one was a little different to his signature ones.

Chatrooms here in Japan are often full of foreigners living here complaining about all manner of things but if they think they are sometimes discriminated against then its nothing compared to the enormous hostility that Townsend Harris (John Wayne) and his helper Henry experienced when he was sent to 19th century Japan to serve as the first U.S. Consul-General in this country.

To the directors credit the film doesn’t do what many international films set in Japan do and have everyone speaking English all the time. There are significant amounts of Japanese dialogue with a voice-over updating the story throughout and Harris relies on his sidekick Henry to translate which is a common way for foreigner visitors to communicate here yet rarely used in films.

As the title implies the barbarian Harris attracts the attentions of a Geisha and sure enough we see the Geisha in performance; dancing, singing, playing the koto and entertaining to the sounds of the mysterious Orient. Her initial hostility and dislike inevitably turns to mutual respect and love. However, this human story only plays a small part in the scheme of things for the bigger picture is of the clash and conflicting interests between Japan; a traditionalist, internalised, isolationist country and the externalised rising nation of America.

 

There are some dramatic scenes regarding cholera epidemic and the destruction of the town which results in Harris going to Edo to convince someone or another to open up the country. Japan just wants to be left alone but Harris, being a man who gets things done through the power of words and persuasion rather than brute force, tries to convince Japan that it is a nation importantly located at the crossroads of international shipping.

With the film being set long before the accelerated growth in the country it is quite nice to get a glimpse of Japan from a different era to what I know. The film was a bit of a box office flop and its maybe easy to say why as it’s plot isn’t too strong and the romance of the film isn’t exactly gonna set your heart racing. However, it does cover the intended topic with relative ease and the visual elements of the picture are sufficient enough to help you get through the 100 minutes without reaching for the remote control.

 

Tokyo Fox Rating 4/10

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Tokyo Filming Locations #11 – Ju-on: The Grudge 2 (2006)

Posted on June 10, 2012 by tokyofox

Of course this site focuses mainly on the locations of foreign productions but from time time we go off track whether it be soaps, dramas or even books. This time I hunted down a couple of pivotal locations from Japanese language film ‘Ju-on: The Grudge 2‘ as I had a long break in Hibarigaoka a couple of months ago so I went one stop (by express train on the Seibu Ikebukuro line) to Tokorozawa in Saitama.

Usually I document the locations in chronological order but this time its probably best to do them in the order of finding them so first up is the bridge which features in the films dramatic final chapter on 82 minutes.

    

This was really easy to find despite there being very little on the internet (in English) about its whereabouts.

      

If you take the west exit and go down the steps you will see a Koban (Police box) and Seiyu department store to your right so go down that road following the tracks for about five minutes.

     

There is one crossing before the out of sight bridge so you will have to turn left before hanging right after only about 10 metres. Go down that road until you hit the bridge.

      

Its address is 16-11 and it really couldn’t be any easier.

      

Now for the trickier location which has mystified many. Head down the road with the steps directly behind you (and the two tall apartment blocks in the distance in front of you) and you will soon come to a small car park area below.

 

Turn left and go through it sticking close to the left side and you will see a very narrow alley (above) which you go down and round a couple of corners and then you will see it.

       

I couldn’t get an address for the house but it is in block 14 which if you don’t know anything about how Japanese addresses work will mean nothing to you!

I should thank a blogger called Rachel as, even though she didn’t give directions on her site, she did show enough pictures for me to go on and find this house which is part of Japanese horror film history. It first appears after 8 minutes and again on 34 and 64 minutes.

         

The great thing about both locations is that they are in a quiet area and so with few people around you can (if you want!) take the kind of photos I did without too much embarrassment. I have a tripod which is recommended if you want to actually take a peek over the tall white fence as I did below. The other photo is of the back of the house.

 

For other Japan filming locations click on the links below:

You Only Live Twice    Lost In Translation    Kill Bill    Babel    Godzilla    Walk Don’t Run   Into The Sun    Monster    Wasabi    The Grudge    The Ramen Girl    The Toxic Avenger Pt II    The Wolverine    Memoirs Of A Geisha    The Last Samurai

Posted in Japan Filming Locations, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Tokyo Daytripper: The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum

Posted on June 7, 2012 by tokyofox

Whilst walking amongst a very local flea market in a nearby park a few weeks ago I was lucky enough to be able to pick up a bonsai tree at a heavily discounted price. It has since taken pride of place in my apartment (well maybe not but it sounds like the right thing to say!) and I’ve been taking care to water it and expose it to sunlight where possible which not too easy when I have no garden, balcony or even a proper window sill!

 

Of course my first experience of these amazing little specimens came from watching ‘The Karate Kid‘ (1984) in the mid-80’s when Daniel-san entered the janitors workshop (below). This was Mr Miyagi’s passion and he gave one to Daniel-san’s mum as a gift.

 

Viewers who stuck with the franchise even got to see Daniel help Miyagi set up a bonsai tree shop (above) in the rather lame second sequel ‘The Karate Kid Part III‘ (1989).

Omiya up in Saitama prefecture isn’t too far from Tokyo and is a place I have seen featured in the local listings magazines over the years for its bonsai museums and with my new-found interest in this part of Japanese culture I went there last Sunday to learn a bit more.

 

The museum opened in 2010 and has displays of bonsai pots, suiseki (beautifully shaped) stones, pictures, historical bonsai materials and of course the bonsai trees themselves. There are actually quite a few bonsai nurseries in Omiya making up what is known as Omiya Bonsai Village but one was enough for me so I just went to the museum. Can’t say that I learned a hell of a lot but I did pick up a few tidbits of useful information regarding growing techniques and formal forms of decoration which I won’t bore you with. For some reason you can’t take photos at the museum apart from a small section of the miniature trees on display behind the bamboo fence in the picture below.

     

The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum can be found at 2-24-3 Toro-cho, Kita-ku in Saitama. It’s a five minute walk from the east exit of Toro Station on the JR Utsunomiya line. Entry is 300 yen.

You can see my Karate Kid filming locations blog entry here.

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