London Filming Locations: Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

Posted on March 18, 2012 by tokyofox

The film that put director Guy Ritchie’s name on the map starts off in Shoreditch with Eddie and Bacon on the run from the cozzers having had their street stall scam rumbled. Its the films opening scene and is accompanied by ‘Hundred Mile City’ on the soundtrack by Ocean Colour Scene. This is a pretty difficult location to describe but its on the Pedley Street side of a bridge crossing the train line from Cheshire Street. The steps (below) are covered in graffiti and look a little different compared to the darker, grittier London portrayed by Ritchie on the 2 minute mark.

 

Hatchet Harry’s sex shop (below) is in Shoreditch not too far away from the films opening stairwell scene. It appears on screen after 6, 15, 40, 87 and 91 mins and is at 42-44 Cheshire Street and is actually a shoe shop called Blackman’s Shoes.

  

Side by side on Park Street are the gangs hideout and Dog’s place (below) at 15 and 13 respectively but I was really disheartened to see that it is now a ‘Paul Smith’ designer clothes shop which is all a far cry from the dark, dirty colours in the screen grab. This area is first seen 8 mins into the film when both sets of lads enter their hangouts just missing each other by seconds. The exterior appears again on 53, 64, 83 and 85 mins.

  

St John Street has been used for a few films and at number 40 is the bar which is run by Sting (below) who plays the father of Eddie who is one of the gang members. It appears on screen after 14, 96 and 100 mins as ‘JD’s’ but in reality it is known simply as Vic Naylor.

  

The steps leading to Winston’s dope business (below) are at Stables Market on Chalk Farm Road in Camden. All you’ll find at the top of the stairs are some toilets!

IMG_6518  IMG_6516

The gang turn up for a game of poker at Repton Boys Club on 18 mins (below) where ex-boxer Steve Collins makes a cameo as the bouncer. This place is also on Cheshire Street and the exterior is seen briefly again after 26 and 30 mins.

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Samoan Jo’s is more commonly known as The Royal Oak (below) on 73 Columbia Road near the flower market. It first appears after 19 minutes and is where Bacon is later served some elaborate cocktail having asked for a refreshing drink! This very boozer has featured in a few other films and TV shows over the years.

 

For other London filming locations click on the links below:

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace    Trainspotting    Mission: Impossible    Lara Croft Tomb Raider    The Bourne Ultimatum   Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone   James Bond    About A Boy    Quadrophenia    Bridget Jones’s Diary    Goodnight Sweetheart    Basic Instinct 2    Batman Begins/The Dark Knight    The Italian Job    Snatch    Rom-Com Special    Skyfall    Notting Hill    The World Is Not Enough

Posted in London Film Locations, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , | 42 Comments

London Filming Locations: Goodnight Sweetheart (1993-1999)

Posted on March 15, 2012 by tokyofox

We take a little detour from the usual filming locations to take a one-off look at a few pivotal shots which were used in this popular 1990’s BBC sitcom featuring Nicholas Lyndhurst. He played Gary Sparrow who became an accidental time traveller going back and forth between the 90’s and the war torn 40’s in a love story where he juggles two women; one from each era.

Ezra Street (below) in Bethnall Green plays the part of the passageway Ducketts Passage which when he walks down it leads him back in time to wartime London. The litter bin and telephone boxes were props added to make it look more 90s-like.

   

As the camera switches angles we see Gary in the 1940’s continuing on down the lane (below).

  

He finds and enters The Royal Oak pub (below) where he meets landlady Phoebe. The screenshots featured here are from the first ever episode which was when Gary stumbled upon that time period and so was not dressed for the era as he was on all subsequent visits of which there were many.

 

Having bought and subsequently watched the complete six series of the show last year I was very excited to locate this pub which also appeared as ‘Samoan Jo’s’ in ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels‘ and as an East end boozer in ‘The Krays‘. It can be found at 73 Columbia Road, E2 7RG close to the famous flower market.

For other London filming locations click on the links below:

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace    Trainspotting    Mission: Impossible    Lara Croft Tomb Raider    The Bourne Ultimatum   Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone   James Bond    About A Boy    Quadrophenia    Bridget Jones’s Diary    Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels    Basic Instinct 2    Batman Begins/The Dark Knight    The Italian Job    Snatch    Rom-Com Special    Skyfall    Notting Hill    The World Is Not Enough

Posted in London Film Locations, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Review: Films Set In Japan – Gung Ho (1986)

Posted on March 12, 2012 by tokyofox

Michael Keaton plays a cocky, obnoxious, arrogant and disrespectful American called Hunt Stephenson whose big car manufacturing company in Pennsylvania is on its knees and needs buying out by Japanese firm Assan Motors. He goes to Tokyo to convince their bosses to buy the plant. ‘Don’t get me wrong‘ by Chrissie Hynde provides the soundtrack to a montage of ‘fish out of water’ scenes showing Stepehson’s arrival in Japan and includes him:

* crawling out of a capsule hotel

* wandering through Akihabara’s electric town

* looking at some typical Japanese dishes and then moments later exiting McDonalds!

* being confused by the station map

* asking a non-English speaking Japanese guy where Assan Motors is

* ending up in a rice paddy having taken wrong directions

* trying to stop a passing train and then riding on the back of someones bicycle as a result

I think Keaton portrays Hunt very well and finds himself caught in the middle of a war between his American colleagues and the Japanese bosses. He wants to stick up for the workers but he also has a sly side to him and wants to save his own ass while also doing what is right for the community which relies on the car plant.

‘Gung-Ho’ director Ron Howard shows how two very different work ethics operate and how they need to cooperate to succeed.  The individual-orientated American workforce work to live but are often caught up in trade unionism whilst the teamwork-orientated Japanese live to work and live and breathe their company. Of course they appear here as emotionless, robotic workaholics (where ever did they get that idea?!) who are made to feel part of the company as a whole and seek to produce quality products whilst examining defects instantly as opposed to the “its not my problem” attitude of the American characters. The Japanesese management struggles with things that are acceptable in the American workplace such as reading the newspaper on the toilet and Hunt, a working class guy with average intelligence who possesses people skills, has to smooth over the cracks acting as an intermediary.

A failed and shamed Japanese worker is given one last chance to become a success and is in charge of the American workers who are not permitted a union, are paid lower wages, are moved around the factory learning every job, and are held to seemingly impossible standards of efficiency and quality.

The 112 minutes of ‘Gung Ho‘ is a humourous look at the conflicting workforces, with their strengths and weaknesses equally considered. Admittedly, most of the humour is derived from how different and “weird” the Japanese are as well as other cultural things such as eating with chopsticks, bathing together in the river near the factory and doing exercises as a group before starting work which all adds to the strain in their relationship. Of course theres a moral to the story showing how people from different cultures can come to a compromise for the good of all……or something like that!!

 

Tokyo Fox Rating 6/10

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Reasons To Like Living And Working In Japan

Posted on March 9, 2012 by tokyofox

The inevitable response to my two Room 101 posts was “well, if you don’t like it then you should move” but that really is missing the point. People have a right to moan about wherever they live or the situation they live in but I think it all depends on the depth of the complaints and I can honestly say that none of my gripes are felt really strongly. Anyway, as it’s approaching the 1st anniversary of the great earthquakeI, guess its right to balance out those last two posts with some more positive things about the city which has become my home.

Like I said in the Room 101 Japan post some of these really do depend on what side of bed you get out on that morning. Anyway, here in no particular order are my top reasons why I’m content with living and working in Japan:

* Good customer service – Whenever I go away I soon realise how good it is. Less waiting, a friendly smile and they seemingly have a desire to actually want to serve you. Stores are  packed full of staff (probably too many to be fair but lets stick with the positives) rushing around to provide the best customer service.

* Clean streets – Shopkeepers take pride in their part of the pavement outside their store and can often be seen sweeping up rubbish or leaves.

* Cherry Blossom parties – A great excuse to drink on the cheap with friends not get stared out! Read more here.

* Efficient trains – So efficient that you can get frustrated when they are running out of sync. The standards have been set and lateness is a big disappointment.

* Japanese girls  – Sure, theres more to Tokyo than the never-ending supply of hot girls despite what the media are constantly saying about Japan’s declining population.  They always really make the effort to look as good as possible whether they be going to a restaurant or bar or even just to go shopping! If they step outside their apartment they always looks their best. Read more here.

* Lost and found – If you lose it you have about a 99% chance of getting it returned to you. Read more here.

* The food – So much great Japanese food as well as everything else. I was that guy 10 years ago or so saying “Well, I’ll eat a fish finger but theres no way I’m eating raw fish. Yuk!” How times change eh!

* Acceptance of all bank notes everywhere – Most other countries don’t like to accept payment with the big bills but thats never a problem in Japan where you can buy anything, however cheap, with a ¥10,000 note.

* 24 hour city – Many cities say they are 24 hour ones but its just not true. However, Tokyo is and all its convenience stores, McDonalds and lord-knows-what-else are open all the time.

* No Pressure – Us foreigners don’t have the pressure to conform to the norms of Japanese society like the locals do.

* Karaoke – I don’t go so often these days but the many karaoke boxes around the city are a great place to continue a party through the night.

* Izakayas – I love going to cheap Japanese styled izakaya bars and eating a range of dishes with my beer.

* 100 yen shops – The amount of stuff they have in these is unbelievable.

* Mount Takao – If one needs respite from the city there is a mountain in Tokyo about 90 minutes away which is easy to climb, has good views of the city, a monkey zoo and in the Summer there is an amazing value garden party every day. Read more here.

* No pressure to leave restaurants – You can order just one cheap drink and stay there for hours and the staff won’t bat an eyelid.

* Don’t have to get up early – My job starts around lunchtime in the week so I don’t need to use an alarm clock on those days.

* Premier League Live at night time – More live games are available here (and indeed in most places outside the UK) than back home which means I can more than keep up with all the goings on in the best league in the world. Its just a shame that Leicester aren’t in the top division!

Too much positivity here? If so, then you may be more interested in reading about the things in Japan I’d love to consign to Room 101. Click on the following links:

Room 101: Japan Special          Room 101: Japanese Cyclists Special

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Room 101: Japanese Cyclists Special

Posted on March 6, 2012 by tokyofox

As promised in my Room 101: Japan Special blog entry I would expand upon the number one annoyance for me living in this country. Now firstly I should say that I have also been guilty of doing most of these at times during my reign in Japan. Before you say “thats rich coming from you” or words to that effect I will tell you that I only occasionally end up doing some of the things below unlike certain Japanese people who commit these faux-pas time and time again. So here, in no particular order, are my top 10 bicycle-related complaints:

* Screeching brakes – the sound that makes you shudder. Oil your damn brakes!

* Cycling on the wrong side of the road – possibly my biggest complaint. They even have the nerve to expect me to move out of the way potentially endangering me to traffic coming from behind me. On top of this they often go round corners in such style.

* Bell-ringers on the pavement – this is just rude but still some cyclists expect all pedestrians to just make way for them.

* U-turn people – whether its a change of direction or moving ones bike from where its parked so many people don’t anticipate that someone may be walking or cycling behind them at that moment.

* Texting whilst riding – a skill in itself but one surely can’t be focused whilst doing this.

* Cyclists with umbrellas – surely more hassle than its worth as you still get wet and furthermore you can’t cycle as fast.

* Cyclists oblivious to any other traffic – so many Japanese seem to be in their own little world whether they’ve got their iPod’s on or not. They just expect pedestrians and motorists to make way for them.

* Those stupid handlebar gloves – yeah they may be useful when its cold but they just look ridiculous.

* Blocking off junctions – no common sense sometimes when waiting to cross a road whilst blocking off traffic coming across their path. They don’t anticipate that someone maybe going along the path they’re about to turn into.

* Parked bicycles – usually they are parked very neat thanks to the work of the ojisan who line them up outside stations but its a free-for-all outside the supermarkets and convenience stores where exits are blocked, other bicycles are blocked-in and the path or road is significantly narrowed.

Too much negativity here? If so, then you may be more interested in reading about the things I love about living and working in Japan. Click on the following link:

Reasons To Like Living And Working In Japan

Posted in Cycling, Japan Life | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Room 101 – Japan Special

Posted on March 3, 2012 by tokyofox

One of the most common questions I get asked is what I like about Japan and though there are many things they are quite hard to define. What is far easier to answer is what annoys me about living in this country. Of course a few of these things depend on what side one gets out of bed in the morning but below is a top ten list of some things I’d like to banish to Room 101:

10. Rules/Administration/Paper work/Red tape – Rules are rules in Japan and thats it. Everyone sticks to them (well the majority do!) which is fair enough but theres often no room for them being slightly adapted. To get anything important done at City Hall or Immigration usually involves a ridiculous amount of paper work. Read more here.

9. Katakana and Japanese-English – this is the Japanese-way of writing foreign words but the problem is that it must fit in with the sounds available in Nihongo meaning that some words when read are a mystery due to them being Japanified. Read more here.

8. Accessories – the Japanese are obsessed with them and this seemingly goes beyond those ridiculous over-sized ones hanging from mobile phones (making them anything but mobile!) to pets almost being treated as accessories. Dogs are often carried everywhere and pampered with clothing and other such treats not usually given to pets.

7. Wastage – so much food is left over not to mention the excessive amount of carrier bags given out willy nilly in stores. Despite the initial reduction in electricity use after the earthquake so much is still wasted on things like excessive air-con,  little escalators and even those technical toilets. Read more here.

6. High pitched squeaky voices – As cute as they are, Japanese girls are obsessed with ‘kawaii’ culture which includes speaking in this annoying style to supposedly make themselves sound like a kid.

5. Train Announcements – They treat passengers as complete dumb-asses with constant information repeated of the next station and which lines to change to at that station. Useful maybe but surely almost everyone knows where they’re going when they board. The driver often then repeats this information. This almost-constant looping of the announcements means train rides aren’t as quiet as they could be.

4. Dumbed-down TV – So-called celebrities squealing ‘oishii’ in unison on the many food-obsessed TV programmes while we have kanji flashing and pinging on screen with someone’s reaction always needed to be seen in a small box in the corner of the screen. Read more here.

3. Wrapped in cotton wool – So many Japanese seem to have been molly cuddled so much throughout life whether its the ridiculous air-con or heating temperatures used inside, masks being worn, medicine being taken for any slight ailment as well as over-frequent reliance on going to hospital or just using umbrellas when theres a spot of rain in the air. Even if its just wet outside the umbrellas go up en-masse. All of these things seem a far cry from the days of its samurai! Read more here.

2. Smoking rules – the opposite to the Western world as they are trying to prevent it outdoors here but inside its a free-for-all. Japan is a long way behind other countries on this issue. Read more here.

1. Japanese cyclists – so many complaints that it has its own blog entry! Read it here.

* This article was partially inspired by an article on my mates blog last year.

Too much negativity here? If so, then you may be more interested in reading about the things I love about living and working in Japan. Click on the following link:

Reasons To Like Living And Working In Japan

Posted in Japan Life, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Back To Hakuba

Posted on February 29, 2012 by tokyofox

After three years away I returned to Hakuba in Nagano for a couple of days snowboarding this week. It was also my first trip away with Asif for nearly six years (due to him being away from Japan for that time!) after previous trips together to Seoul, Kyoto, Nokogiri-yama and Hakuba itself.

My last time snowboarding in 2010 was fairly disastrous so I was a bit apprehensive about such things happening again. For some reason our bus from Shinjuku was just a shuttle to Ikebukuro which we could so easily have done ourselves by train. Anyway, the bus was fairly empty so we could spread out a bit not that it helped me get more than a very short nap.

We were on the slopes at Happo-One (my first time on this mountain) in lovely sunny conditions between 9am and 4.30pm on day one and have the strange red burn marks on our faces to show for it! Other than a couple of ever-so-painful buttock splitting falls on my ar*e and a bit of cramp the day passed off without too many accidents.

Back at our hotel we had an onsen (hot spring bath) followed by dinner where we realised we were the only guests! Dinner didn’t pass without incident as I dropped a spoonful of rice in my green tea whilst Asif set light to his chopstick trying to put out the cooker fire and no I have no idea what he was trying to do either!

 

We were in bed (no not together) and instantly asleep at 9am and though I woke up at 3 or 4am I fell back to sleep and could have slept (or rather stayed lying down!) for a lot longer! It was snowing on day two as indeed it was back in Tokyo which I was aware of thanks to snow (ouch!) many Facebook updates. So much for getting away for a couple of days of snow! The day did improve weather-wise and we bumped into a group of colleagues which was nice albeit brief.

 

I think my carving skills have improved a bit but I still lack the real bravery needed to bomb it down the slopes slicing across the slopes from side to side. I was still suffering quite regular cramp and had a reoccurrence of last years shin/calf problems. Two days was nice but in all honesty I could have left after just the one day without too many regrets. Asif summed up the experience more succinctly saying he was just happy to have come back in one piece!

You can see my previous Hakuba trip reports by clicking on the links below:

2006 (a)      2006 (b)     2007     2008     2009

Posted in Action & Adventure, Japan Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Review: Films Set In Japan – Stratosphere Girl (2004)

Posted on February 26, 2012 by tokyofox

This modern art film is a short 84 minute story (always a good thing in my book!) about an 18 year old blonde girl called Angela who gets into a conversation with a Japanese DJ about going travelling to seek adventure and before you know it she is flying to his home country after he tells her she can get a job working as a hostess. She is portrayed as an imaginative but innocent looking girl who gets involved in a world of deception, crime and illegal foreign workers.

Naturally the plot is very thin but there’s something in there about her being an aspiring artist who for some reason is interested in finding out a lot more about the disappearance of a former hostess named Larissa who is presumed dead. As she digs deeper she discovers that everyone goes quiet and pretends to know nothing when the topic of her disappearance comes up. It follows her time in the Japanese capital via flashes between her drawings and the actual (albeit dreamy) live scenes all told in a non-linear fashion that’s simpler than past films which have used this method of storytelling.

The majority of the story involves a load of these Euro-blondies working in the Tokyo hostess industry and the Japanese men who exploit them in the name of entertaining corporate salarymen. ‘Stratosphere Girl’ shows a character study of these girls and the competitiveness of the industry where Angela’s colleagues are envious of her.

It may be a short film but it could have been a lot shorter were it not padded out with many cutaway shots of Tokyo highways. It’s supposed to be a Tokyo film but, apart from the seedy underworld, it doesn’t really let the viewer discover too much about this unique  developed world city.

‘Stratosphere Girl‘ builds up quite an interesting plot development only for it too drop off in a surprising but ultimately disappointing, rushed ending. Despite its many shortfalls it has to be said that this movie is consistently interesting and entertaining throughout. It is also visually beautiful and very easy on the eye and I’m not just talking about the many young blonde girls in this film! In fact there is even a line on the end credits stating that ‘no blondes were harmed during the making of this film!’

 

Tokyo Fox Rating 6/10

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London Filming Locations: Bridget Jones’s Diary

Posted on February 23, 2012 by tokyofox

This entry incorporates some of the locations from the two Bridget Jones films; the good ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ and the much-maligned but not-actually-that-bad ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’. The first place to start has to be Bridget’s flat (below) which is above the Globe Pub at 8 Bedale Street in the heart of the Borough Market.

  Christmas trip 2011-2012 099

Hugh Grant plays Daniel Cleaver and his apartment is not so far from Bridget’s and is at Clink Wharf Apartments (below) on Clink Street opposite the old prison which is now a museum.

  

Momo is the restaurant (below) where Bridget gets advice from her friends before her first date with Daniel Cleaver. It is located at 25-27 Heddon Street just off Regent Street.

 

Picadilly Circus is of course famous for its illuminated sign which flashes up messages from Bridget’s diary in both films. The first screenshot below is from the first film and the Coca Cola real thing slogan is from ‘Edge of Reason’.

   

The films romantic finale takes place in the snow at Royal Exchange Buildings (below) in Cornhill very close to the Bank of England. Its here that Bridget catches up with Darcy and is relieved to see him present her with a new diary so that they can make a new start together as one.

  

And so its the happy ending at the end of ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ and from there we move on to the sequel where early on in the film Bridget is told to dump Mark Darcy by her friends inside The Light Bar (below) at 233 Shoreditch High Street.

 Christmas trip 2011-2012 380

Moments later she arrives at his house to discover the truth about Rebecca. This house can be found at 9 Kings Street in Richmond (below) and is actually out on a bit of a limb compared to most other filming locations in the capital. However, I was at a family dinner nearby a couple of days after Christmas Day and so was able to pop out for a few minutes to snap the place seen below right.

  

Undoubtedly the most memorable moment from ‘Edge of Reason’ is the fight scene between Colin Firth and Hugh Grant which ends up Kensington Gardens (below) amid its fountains.

  

For other London filming locations click on the links below:

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace    Trainspotting    Mission: Impossible    Lara Croft Tomb Raider    The Bourne Ultimatum   Harry Potter & The Philosophers Stone   James Bond    About A Boy    Quadrophenia    Goodnight Sweetheart    Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels    Basic Instinct 2    Batman Begins/The Dark Knight    The Italian Job    Snatch    Rom-Com Special    Skyfall    Notting Hill    The World Is Not Enough

Posted in London Film Locations | Tagged , , , , , | 41 Comments

Rice To See You, To See You Rice!

Posted on February 20, 2012 by tokyofox

When my friend Clare left Japan five years ago she had some things to give away which, being the scav that I am, I felt the need to take. Among the items I took was a rice cooker and I had good intentions to use it but sadly it just collected dust as the years rolled by. I came very close to using it at the start of 2010 but it never quite happened. However, a few months ago I finally did get round to using it and have been using it almost weekly ever since. Its not used more regularly due to the unsociable hours which I work during the week which mean its far too late to cook when I get home between 9.30-10pm.

  

It’s been quite nice cooking some simple rice dishes such as:

Taco rice which is a popular example of Okinawan cuisine and consists of taco-flavoured ground beef on a bed of rice with cucumber, cheese and I replace tomatoes with carrots.

Hoikouro (above) consisting of pork accompanied with cabbage, green peppers and carrots.

Unagi-don which is a bowl of rice topped with some eel warmed up in the microwave.

Maguro-don which is pretty much the same but with tuna instead of eel.

 

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