Australia 2012 Pt III: Alice Springs

Posted on April 2, 2012 by tokyofox

Back in 2001-02 I spent a year travelling around Australia with the emphasis very much placed on the word ‘around’ meaning that I never bothered to go to the centre. With the exchange rate half that of eleven years ago it gives one even more reason to not visit Alice Springs as its so expensive to leave the coast, get to the middle, do some tours and then get back to the coastal cities. However, as it was the only major area I hadn’t covered I decided to cough up the money as there would be no greater time to go given the time-off which I’d been granted by my work.

Arriving in Australia’s centre just before midday I took a bus from the airport before ending up at ‘Annies Place’ backpackers and then I was out fairly promptly to book the following days tour. After that I walked up to Anzac Hill which may have been a very small hill but it was one which offered some great views across the small town of Alice.

      

The Royal Flying Doctor Service followed after that which was very interesting and brought back memories of the late 1980s when the BBC had on a show called ‘The Flying Doctors‘ which I vaguely remember watching. Amazing to hear about how this unique non profit organisation provides routine medical services to the isolated areas of the outback.

Across the road from there was the Reptile Centre. I popped my head round the door more out of curiosity than anything else almost hoping that I’d missed the last session of the day so that I didn’t have to spend $12 on the entrance. However, the lady said I was just in time. Only a day or two later did I realise how lucky I’d been to experience it as there are only three demonstrations a day. We got to hold three reptiles; a blue tongued lizard, a snake and a gecko…..I think! Anyway, it was an entertaining afternoon and really good fun as we were able to hold on (if we wished!) to them for more than the usual five second photo opportunity which often exists for such an activity.

          

Despite my feet suffering from a few blisters caused by my sandals I took a fairly long walk early evening to Lasseters Hotel Casino but not to gamble. No, I went there purely and solely because it featured briefly in ‘The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert‘ in 1994 and was the place where the trio of drag queens put on a performance at.

 

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Australia 2012 Pt II: F1 Australian Grand Prix

Posted on March 31, 2012 by tokyofox

The 2012 Formula One season got under way at Albert Park in Melbourne a couple of weekends ago and I just happened to be in town to see my first live race. I’ve often had slight regrets that I didn’t attend the 2001 Grand Prix whilst I was so close to its location in St Kilda.

From booking my trip to Australia I always had in mind the idea to go to the race on the Sunday but I’d never given a thought to attending the qualifying session the day before that too! However, my brother-in-law Carl thought it would be nice to take my nephew Eifion to the day of events and so my sister Ruth and I joined them for a family day out whilst my mum and dad got to spend a day with Anesta.

 

The great thing about the Australian Grand Prix is that you can Continue reading →

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Australia 2012 Pt I: Family Affairs

Posted on March 28, 2012 by tokyofox

The idea of returning to Australia for a holiday was far from my mind until six months ago when my parents told me that they would be visiting my sister and her family in Melbourne this month. That got me thinking that it would be a nice idea to meet up with everyone for a bit of a family reunion. After that everything fell into place and I managed to get the time off work and on March 16 I met up with them all.

The main reason my parents go to Australia every year is to see their grandchildren and having seen sister Lorna’s son George over Christmas I was eager to get acquainted with elder sister Ruth’s kids for the first time. Of course I had seen my nephew Eifion just after he was born in 2007 and again at Lorna’s wedding one year later but that was before he could talk or walk so didn’t really count so much in the scheme of things. My niece Anesta had only been seen previously on Skype and I hadn’t spoken to her in any way. Its fair to say that that didn’t change too much during my time in Melbourne as she was very wary of me and my dad too albeit to a lesser extent with him. That’s not to say that it was bad but it took her a while to warm to us though she was curious about me from the start and did often ask of my whereabouts after that. By the end of my time at their house she had just about got used to me.

         

A fair bit of the time I was in Melbourne was spent playing with the kids in the house with their many toys as well as some of the ones I bought for them with the whoopee cushion (and its fart sounds) being the inevitable favourite. On top of these juvenile things we also did a few things as a family which included:

* Taking a walk in the woods somewhere down on the Mornington Peninsula – I never bothered to visit this area during any of my previous visits to Melbourne not that we really saw too much of it on this first family trip of the holidays.

    

* Watching ‘The Wiggles‘ live in Frankston – This is a very popular group of ageing children’s entertainers who wear coloured jumpers and dance and sing. Their show was a slick production which kept the many children and the grown-ups entertained for its 75 minute duration. We went to a nearby park after and then onto lunch by the beach with some of their songs sticking in my head way beyond this one day!

     

* Riding on Puffing Billy Railway in the Dandenongs – This is in the very northern part of Melbourne and was a good place to take the kids due to the amount of ‘Thomas the Tank Engine‘ related stuff on show. We took a short ride amid on-off showers on what is one of the worlds most popular steam heritage railways. Thankfully the weather improved afterwards for our picnic in the park.

                  

* Having a farewell dinner at a very child-friendly Italian restaurant.

   

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Review: Films Set In Japan – The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)

Posted on March 25, 2012 by tokyofox

As someone who can’t drive and has no interest in cars I had no interest in this franchise for many many years and just assumed it was dumbed-down, brain-dead, lad-popularist titilation designed for people…..well people like me who have a short attention span and just wanna see some mindless action and car chases on screen for an hour and a half. That probably still stands true but despite my scepticism and desperate urge to hate these films I have somehow ended up enjoying them. I have seen four of the five films thus far in a real random order starting with the third installment thanks to the obvious Japan connection.

   

Last years ‘Fast Five‘ was the guilty pleasure of the year and surprised not only me but many others too given its rating on sites likes Imdb and Rotten Tomatoes. Since then I have gone on to see the first two ‘Fast and Furious‘ films and so now seems like a good time to take a closer look at the ‘Tokyo Drift‘ one which is supposedly set after the fifth one on its timeline.

Needless to say, the script and story are hideous. The acting is on a par with that of Vin Diesel and Paul Walker which is to say that it is equally awful but I never got bored during the film and probably by the end of it just about got more than I bargained for from it.

Like all international films which come to Tokyo it seems that Shibuya Crossing has to feature and whilst the real one is seen for a scene or two its quite clearly not the real thing when we see one of the most absurd car chase scenes supposedly disperse the masses of people who cross in all directions every three minutes.

This time the action follows Sean (Lucas Black) who plays an American tearaway who comes to Tokyo to live with his military father in order to avoid a jail term (why? who knows!) and inevitably he gets caught up in the underground world of drift racing in a low-rent area of the Japanese capital. To his credit, Sean is a white guy who makes more of an effort to fit in with the Japanese culture than usually happens in these ‘fish out of water’ movies where they usually make fun of or perhaps begrudgingly accept things.

Main protagonist DK is easy to dislike and the other main Asian-American character is Han who helps Sean adapt to Japanese society but I’ve always thought of him as someone who brings very little to the franchise other than ticking the box for having an Asian-looking person in the film. Probably not his fault but down to the producers not giving him anything too exciting to do.

Overall this third instalment is just about above the satisfactory mark, despite its cheesy dialogue, but just be sure to park your brains outside before you watch this flick!

Tokyo Fox Rating 6/10

Posted in Films, Japan Life, Review: Films Set In Japan | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

London Filming Locations: Basic Instinct 2 (2006)

Posted on March 21, 2012 by tokyofox

What’s going on here then?! Basic Instinct filming locations!! In fact these aren’t even from the 1992 thriller but the hilarious sequel which actually is funny but not in the conventional way as its the ludicrous plot which is seemingly treated so seriously by all those taking part.

It’s so daft that even ex-Leicester City striker is in it at the start. OK, he only played a few games for the Foxes and is far more for famous for plying his trade with other teams as well as his off-the-field problems but with a site called Tokyo Fox I have to jump on to these tenuous links to my club! His character is off his head on drugs as crime novelist Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) drives them through the Limehouse Link Tunnel in her car at high speed before inevitably crashing at Heron Quays into the water below. What’s more ridiculous is that despite no ramp the car flies off the bridge at a height way greater than it is!

Freemasons’ Hall (below) on Great Queen Street in Covent Garden is on screen after 11 mins and is the court where Tramell is found to be suffering from risk addiction. With a  quite interesting design this hall has been used in many other films including the ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’, ‘Agent Cody Banks 2’, ‘Johnny English‘ and the interior was used by director Paul Greengrass in ‘Green Zone‘ as the Republican Palace.

P1020786  P1020787

I have to say that I didn’t go out of my way to find any of these locations but did so when they were nearer far more interesting ones and before I knew it I had unwittingly accumulated a number of places featured in this not-so-anticipated follow-up. First up is the phallic shaped gherkin officially known as Swiss Re Tower (below) which is the office of Police Psychologist Dr Michael Glass (David Morrissey) where Tramell is waiting for him on 21 mins in anticipation of him becoming her therapist. The London landmark can be seen in glittering style again on 25, 44 and 55 minutes.

      

After a wild sex session with his date fuelled by the image of Tramell’s face on her book besides their bed, Dr Glass gets a phone call from his ex-wife who is in a distressed state. He takes a taxi to 4 Princelet Street (below) on 40 minutes where her journalist partner Hugh Darcy has been found strangled to death. Furthermore, Darcy had been writing a negative story about Glass which leads him to think Tramell is trying to frame him for murder.

 

Tramell is followed by Dr Glass to Diamond Jack’s (below) at 5 Walkers Court on the hour mark where he catches her in an orgy although she does see him peering through the glass roof. It appears again after 85 minutes.

   

65 minutes in is when Hakkasan (below) at 8 Place is the bar where Glass has an altercation with his ex-wife shortly before she is found murdered. This place also appeared in the 2002 film ‘About a Boy‘.

The Magpie at 12 New Street (below) close to Liverpool Street Station is not a gay bar although it did seem like it in the film where it was full of male-only police officers. It can be seen after 78 mins where Glass goes to talk to Detective Washburn and hand in some possible evidence found in Tramells fridge.

Dr Glass lives at Stone Buildings (below) which is seen on 83 mins and is where Washburn catches up with Glass to fill him in on the forensic report.

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    Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels    Batman Begins/The Dark Knight    The Italian Job    Snatch    Rom-Com Special    Skyfall    Notting Hill    The World Is Not Enough

Posted in Hentai, London Film Locations, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 36 Comments

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

Posted in Films, Japan Life, Review: Films Set In Japan | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

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

Posted in English Teaching, Japan Life | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

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 , , | 9 Comments