Pepsi Pink

Posted on November 11, 2011 by tokyofox

Saw this latest weird Pepsi flavour in the convenience store by chance on its launch date a few days ago.

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To see previous flavours just click on the links below:

Pepsi Mont Blanc    Pepsi Baobab    Pepsi Azuki    Pepsi Shiso

Pepsi White    Pepsi Blue Hawaii    Pepsi Ice Cucumber    Pepsi Gold

Posted in Food & Drink, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘An Idiot Abroad’ In Japan

Posted on November 8, 2011 by tokyofox

Creators Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant very much added to their already impressive portfolio of television work last year with ‘An Idiot Abroad’ on Sky One which featured their mate Karl Pilkington visiting the seven wonders of the world. In some way the episode featuring Petra and the Dead Sea inspired me and certainly whetted my appetite for going to Jordan back in June of this year.

Now for anyone who hasn’t seen it the format may just sound like any other travel documentary show but Karl is a wonder in himself as he has lived a very sheltered life but is more than happy with it as he never wanted to travel and didn’t go abroad till he was 21. He is very British as he’s not easily impressed especially when something is considered to be wonderful by so many. He has a very unique outlook on life and speaks his mind without thinking in a way which is not so prevalent in todays P.C. society. This is both funny and stupid but his comments really do come across as being without any cynicism or nastiness.

 

Despite his protests at the end of the first series the show came back in September for a second series which saw Karl checking off some of the ‘100 Things to do before you die’. He got to choose his ‘Bucket List’ but of course Gervais and Merchant threw in a few surprises and so far we have seen Karl living on his own desert island in Vanuatu, doing the trans-siberian express, swimming with dolphins (changed to sharks!) in Australia, whale watching in Alaska, meeting a Gorilla in Uganda and driving Route 66 in the USA. The final episode of the series was aired last Friday night in Britain and featured Japan which I was very excited about as I have absolutely loved all the episodes so far giving me some real laugh-out-loud moments.

On his arrival in Japan he went to a cat cafe which (to most foreigners) is one of those quirky ‘only-in-Japan’ weird things and is certainly not something that appeals to me but that may be because I have a cat allergy! Karl then did a bit of sumo albeit with his boxer shorts still on underneath the ‘nappy’. In true ignorant British style he says “Its just something for fat people to do which is good as there aren’t many sports for fat people!” As he pointed out at the time he has already done wrestling during the series so this did feel a bit tiresome as we’ve seen him beaten up before.

The beauty of the show is that Karl has no idea of what he will be doing or where he will be going in the lead up to the main reason which he is in that country/part of the world for. Gervais and Merchant feel that he needs a cosy hotel to sleep in after his sumo encounter which (for me) inevitably resulted in him spending a night in a capsule hotel (“a coffin with a cat-flap” to quote Karl!) which is still one of those things I’ve never done during my time in Japan. Neither have I been on the shinkansen (bullet train) which takes him to some place in the countryside which I’ve not even heard of. As a man of simple pleasures who prefers fish-fingers to sushi, eating a fermented fish delicacy does not please him too much!

He then meets a zen master in Kyoto which leads to some funny scenes such as mopping a floor which was cleaned a few hours earlier. Why bother?! Japanese tea ceremony is something I’ve heard a lot about but is also a tradition which I will just never understand. Likewise for Pilkington who moans in trademark style about it taking so long (“they couldn’t get a job in a cafe because the queues would be horrendous”) though by the end he does change his tune a bit saying that its great that they’ve made an event out of something which most of us do without even thinking about it. The main reason Pilkington was in Japan was to climb Mount Fuji but before he does that he gets a good (?) view of it from Fuji Q Highland. The views from the top of Fuji itself were far more impressive than what I witnessed when I climbed it back in 2007.

Though still great I found the Japan episode of this series (S02 E07) the least funny or interesting one which I can only guess is due to my emotional attachment to the country and the fact that most of the stuff featured wasn’t new to me. In fact it may not have been new to those who have never stepped foot in Japan as the likes of capsule hotels, robots, pre-work exercises, pointless inventions, electronic toilets, sumo and so on have been seen in a number of British shows about Japan from the likes of Justin Lee Collins, Adam & Joe, Kelly Osbourne and Jonathan Ross.

Posted in Food & Drink, Japan Life, Japan Travel, Quirky Japan, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

A Spook-tacular Halloween (2011)

Posted on October 31, 2011 by tokyofox

Three 90 minute kids parties in the space of 5.5 hours in Hibarigaoka school yesterday left me feeling exhausted. I should have known better really but when asked a while back I was more than happy to team-up again with colleague and friend Lai-Keun following our Kung-Fu Panda party success back in August.

     

All three lessons followed a similar pattern with differing levels of success which is not to say that any were awful or even bad but the first party of very young kindergarten students did have a few problems such as students coming late and a couple of cry babies who just wouldn’t part from their mums. Inevitably they needed a bit more help, support and direction from the Japanese staff but it went quite well given the number of kids in the group which was way more than an average class in our school.

                    

Whilst it took us a bit of time to find our feet in the first one (and it seemed to last hours in my mind!) the second and third ones flew by particularly the second KG class where and all-but-one kid was dressed up. As well as the more standard activities like chain drills, stations, hide and reveal, hunt the flashcard, race and draw we (I say ‘we‘ but Lai-Keun was the one who actually came up with most of the activities featured!) also did:

* pumpkin bowling with character bottles replacing skittles

* ‘hit the pinata’ which when broken exploded with candy for the students to grab

* throwing mini-pumpkins through the eyes, nose and mouth of a huge cardboard pumpkin

* stick the tail on the witches cat

* ‘Mummy wrap’ where one member of each team is wrapped up like a mummy using toilet roll

There was also a craft activity or two in each with pumpkin plates being made in the first two kindergarten groups where the kids just had to stick the facial parts on the orange pumpkin plate. The first also raced to stick the lexical items on a couple of ‘haunted house’ posters and the final elementary group made a vampire or bat toy thing using a toilet roll. Long running Childrens BBC programme ‘Blue Peter’ would be proud of such an activity though this one would have taken up a whole show!

            

Posted in English Teaching, Japan Life | Tagged | 8 Comments

Review: Films Set In Japan – The Grudge (2004)

Posted on October 28, 2011 by tokyofox

With Halloween on the horizon I thought it would be topical to review a horror movie. ‘The Grudge’ is actually a re-make of ‘Ju-on’ but unlike most re-makes it is done by the same director Takashi Shimizu albeit with an American cast. Now I’ve never seen the all-Japanese original so I sadly can’t compare the two but I’ve heard that this 2004 version isn’t half as scary. I’ve gotta say that, apart from a couple of brief moments, I didn’t suffer too many chills down my spine during its 98 minutes duration.

This film stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ fame) who plays an American nurse called Karen working in Tokyo. A series of mysterious deaths occur at a house in Aoyama which sadly (for a locations buff like me anyway!) can’t be visited as it was just built on a soundstage at Toho Studios. She then encounters the supernatural spirit which possess the victims, claim their souls and pass on the curse to some other poor b*stard! To be honest its pretty hard to give too much of a sh*t about deaths of people you don’t ever really get to have much, if any affection for and that includes Gellar who is given a surprising lack of screen time given what I said a moment ago about her being the star.

 

‘The Grudge’ shows a series of vaguely connected events in a non-linear narrative and contains all the usual horror film trademarks such as black cats, shadows, creepy noises, creeking doors, slamming doors, lifts, attics, haunting music, mirror reflections, scary sound effects, books which turn pages automatically and it is for this reason that I was a bit disappointed with the film as it just doesn’t bring anything new to the horror genre. Having said that, my expectations before watching it were low so in one sense I didn’t actually mind it! Furthermore, as beautiful as Japanese girls are, they sure do make scary villains which I guess must have something to do with their long black hair.

I’ve spent a fair bit of time this last year trying to work out some of the locations of this movie for there is very little information on the internet regarding exact sets. The places I have successfully identified include the University which Karen and Doug attend and the restaurant where the latter works. The University is in Takaido (on the Inokashira line which runs between Kichijoji and Shibuya) and is actually a medical college. The restaurant is called Fungo Dining and can be found in Nishi Shinjuku and is where a scared Karen turns up leading to Doug asking his boss if he could go home early. Exciting stuff! Far more interesting is the building where a guy tops himself in the movies opening moments and I was most surprised to learn that this took place by Yanagibashi bridge where the Kanda and Sumida rivers meet; a place I was at back in April when I cycled the length of the river in one day.

 

I have a strong interest in films set in Japan (hence the title of these reviews!) but if it wasn’t for this fact I don’t think I’d be too fussed about the film. There must have been some interest there though as it spawned two sequels with the first one also taking place in Tokyo which I will no doubt review one day!

 

Tokyo Fox Rating 7/10

Posted in Films, Review: Films Set In Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dining Out: Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant

Posted on October 24, 2011 by tokyofox

When it comes to my all-time favourite movies I often forget about ‘Forrest Gump‘ but it’s got to be up there near the top and only a few months ago did I hear that there were a couple of Bubba Gump Restaurants in Tokyo which were inspired by the 1994 movie. In the film “Bubba” and Forrest Gump agree to go into the shrimp business as partners after the end of their service to the U.S. Army. However, “Bubba” dies in the line of duty and following his triumphant victory in a ping-pong tour Forrest earns enough to buy himself a shrimp boat. Of course theres way more to the story than that but this is not the place to go into such details.

It’s a rarity in Tokyo but the ‘Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.’ restaurant in Kasuga is actually located in a very picturesque area among the shops, boutiques, restaurants and theme rides of LaQua. There’s even a fountain in front of it which has water displays every hour similar to that outside the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

 

Just round the corner from the restaurant is a mock-up of Forrests bench (where he tells his story to a stranger in the film) for the photo opportunist featuring the logo, his bag and even his trainers which are so big you can slide your feet into them.

 

As someone who is always on the look out for movie related stuff I jumped at the chance of going here last weekend when a colleague invited me along. The themed restaurant is full of interesting Gump-related stuff like ping-pong bat drink menus, memorabilia from the film, licensed merchandise, quotes on the wall and tables, screenshots, food & drink with specific Forrest Gump names and to get the attention of the waiter one has to flip over the blue ‘Run Forrest Run’ sign to a red ‘Stop Forrest Stop’ one meaning that they will stop by your table to take your order.

     

I actually really liked this place but its not the kind of restaurant one returns to too often and especially not with such sky-high prices! I splashed out on a pina colada type cocktail (1200 yen) and we kind of shared our meals; shrimp rigatoni and “I’m Stuffed!” Shrimp (shrimp stuffed with crab, baked in garlic butter with cheese and served with rice) which were 1980 yen each! They were both really nice (and so they should be at that price!) and really filling too but we decided to move on to a way cheaper place for a couple more drinks but not before I had my photo taken in front of the cream-coloured suit worn by Tom Hanks in his academy award winning role.

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

Review: Books Set In Japan – ‘The Man With The Red Tattoo’ (2002)

Posted on October 20, 2011 by tokyofox

A slight tweak on the Tokyo Fox ‘Review: Films Set In Japan…’ series for this one-off special book review. I’ve never read any 007 novels and I only came across this a couple of years back when I was surfing the net in search of the filming locations for the 1967 film ‘You Only Live Twice’. I’d forgotten all about it until I saw it in a second hand book shop a few weeks ago so I picked it up (I paid for it too!) as I was interested to see what parts of Japan the story takes place in.

   

This James Bond adventure was written by Raymond Benson and is in some ways the natural follow-up to the aforementioned movie even though they are over thirty years apart. Of course Bond never really ages and his ally Tiger Tanaka is back albeit not in tip-top condition following a triple bypass.

The book doesn’t stray too far from the film formula with a host of symmetrical characters and sets. For example, Agent Rieko Tamura is a carbon-copy of Agent Aki in ‘You Only Live Twice’ and Bond experiences traditional Japanese culture this time via a chase through the Kabuki theatre as opposed to going to see some sumo action in ‘You Only Live Twice’.

Unlike the Bourne franchise, Bond stories have always taken place at famous sites around the world and this book is no exception as it features Hachiko, Meiji shrine, Yoyogi Park, Kabuki-cho in Shinjuku, Tsukiji fish market, Kabuki-za theatre, the Great Buddha in Kamakura as well as places up in Hokkaido which I’m not familiar with. As a locations geek I’m never too keen to see such landmark places appear in stories and this particular one did feel like a guide-book at times as the history of the places was worked into the story. Maybe thats ok for readers who don’t know about Japan but personally I didn’t see a need for such lengthy background of the places featured. Chases through both Tsukiji fish market and Kabuki-za seem to only happen in order to give the author a chance to pad out the book with some facts about those places.

I found the book fairly easy to read and therein lies a kind-of problem as I often fail to get a proper real grasp of the plots in the movies but thats almost of secondary concern among the gadgets, girls, catchphrases and action.

The photos below are of places that feature in ‘The Man With The Red Tattoo”:

Hachiko statue outside Shibuya station & Meiji Shrine in Harajuku (below)

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Mejiji Shrine outer gate, Harajuku & Studio Alta in Shinjuku (below)

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Kabukicho area in Shinjuku (below)

  

Bond stays on the 30th floor of the Imperial Tower which is part of the Imperial Hotel & Tsukiji fish market (below)

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The remains of Kabuki-za theatre in Ginza & The Great Buddha, Kamakura (below)

 

Takanawa Prince Hotel in Shinagawa (below)

 

Posted in Books, James Bond, Japan Life | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tokyo Daytripper: For Fox Sake! Not Another Trip To Kawagoe!

Posted on October 15, 2011 by tokyofox

This blog is called Tokyo Fox and that is my username on twitter too but there are very few references to Leicester City (whose nickname is the Foxes and is where my name obviously derives from) on here these days apart from a solitary post-Christmas report on my annual trip to the City Stadium. That’s not gonna change too much in this post either but it does have a fox reference of some sort.

I have been to Kawagoe four or five times before and its fair to say I’m quite tired of the place and its attractions but I continue to go as its only 30 minutes away from my place. Back in May I went to Fushimi-Inari temple in Kyoto which is a beautiful place full of foxes (stone ones) but little did I know that the animal would feature at other temples around the country. Kita-in is the most famous temple in Kawagoe but next door to that is one with a foxy theme. The Japanese traditionally see foxes as a sacred, mysterious figure and the key often seen in the mouth of it has something to do with rice granary.

    

The main attraction of Kawagoe is the old Kurazukuri street (a street lined with traditional warehouses keeping in with the Edo period look of the place) as well as the bell tower. Going under the tower there is a tiny temple with people queueing up to pray for whatever they pray for. Probably not too much as they no doubt feel under pressure to get the process of throwing their coin in and clapping their hands in prayer out of the way as soon as possible so the next person can do the same. Just next to that is another small torii gate through which there are two foxes guarding the temple.

     

Posted in Japan Travel, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

iPod Docking Station

Posted on October 12, 2011 by tokyofox

My iPod is nearly six years old but only recently did I purchase a docking station for it. I’ve never really felt the need for one as I usually just listen on the computer or headphones but with the former on its last legs and the latter not being so good for ones ears I thought it would be nicer to be able to listen to all my podcasts (and some music too of course) in a more conventional way.

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For twenty years now I’ve had a love for radio (more so than TV in some ways) and its a pretty much unknown fact that I listen to the Chris Moyles Show on Radio One on the BBC iPlayer every night when I get home (why would anyone know that?!). I love listening to it each night though I think if I was back in England listening live I’d prefer him to actually play some music and go to the news on time (and not ten or even twenty minutes late as can happen!). Anyway, I have been downloading his and fellow DJ Scott Mills’ podcasts (free downloads?) since I got my laptop at the same time over half a decade ago. The Matt Edmondson show on the same station is a funny recent addition to the networks podcasts.

I’ve never listened to BBC Radio 2 by choice but in the need to fill a gap in my life during the football-free Summer I decided to download podcasts from Chris Evans, Steve Wright and Simon Mayo who I enjoyed listening to on Radio 1 back in the 1990’s.

Despite all my film-related posts and expeditions I am far from being a film buff though I’d like to know a bit more so I started listening to Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review show on BBC 5 Live which has been going for over a decade and its 10th anniversary programmes a few months ago were very interesting. On the subject of films I have been listening to ‘The ForceCast’ Star Wars podcast each and every week for two or three years now and that has recently expanded with some spin-off podcasts which are not of such strong interest to me but as they are automatically download I feel the need to give them a listen. I’m just too nice! Actually, thats the reason I listen to the 5 Live Football Daily. I started downloading it in the World Cup when my mate Hugo was here so that we could wake up and listen to the reports and so on. After that had finished it continued to download and before I knew it it had become part of my daily routine. Weekly football podcasts from BBC Radio Leicester, Foxblogger and the Guardian’s Football Weekly were soon added to my playlist.

On the topic of sport I have been enjoying 5 Live’s ‘Fighting Talk’ for many, many years now and is perhaps still one of my favourites. Danny Baker has been part of my radio life for a long, long time now and listening to his Saturday morning radio show (albeit in pod format a few days later usually!) always provides interesting listening.

Unlike sport I don’t really keep up with the news back home too much so the ‘Daily Bacon’ 5 Live show helps fill that void a little although my inclination to listen usually depends on what celebrity is interviewed as they promote their latest book, film or whatever. My cousin Alex (of Motorhomo fame!) even got a mention from presenter Richard Bacon about a month ago which certainly took me by surprise although he thought Motorhomo was a type error!

I have no idea what frequency Radio 4 is even on but that is no reason to not download some of their content and some of their comedy shows have been a good way for keeping up with the world of political satire.

Since writing this entry in draft form Apple’s former CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs has sadly passed away leaving a very strong legacy in his wake. The iPod was perhaps Apple’s greatest breakthrough as it changed the way we listen to music which in turn led to radio stations producing podcasts of their most popular shows in order to compete. The rise of the iPod meant there was a demand for other related products and it may have taken me a while but the addition of the docking station has been a very welcome one for me.

Posted in Films, Leicester City, Music, Sport, Star Wars | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Things I’ve Never Done In Tokyo

Posted on October 8, 2011 by tokyofox

Over the many years I’ve lived in Japan I like to think I have done more than most in terms of seeing and doing things. Of course there are quite a few places I still haven’t been to outside of the capital such as Hokkaido but here are a few things I’ve never done in Tokyo:

* Eat sushi at Tsukiji Fish Market – This place appears in all the guide books and is often part of peoples ‘bucket list’ but I have never felt the urge to get up at a stupid time to see the tuna auctions at about 5am followed by a sushi breakfast. Likewise, as much as I like raw fish, its not usually on my mind at the end of an all-nighter. I have been to the market when I cycled Tokyo’s Top 25 sights in one day last year but naturally didn’t see too much fishy action in the afternoon.

* Go up Tokyo Tower – I’ve been there a few times but never felt the need to pay a high amount of money to go up to the top to see a view which can be seen for free from many other buildings such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Building in Shinjuku where you can see Tokyo Tower. Much better.

* Ride the Shinkansen – I’ve been to Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto etc) a few times but have always gone on the far cheaper night bus. I will only ride on the ‘bullet’ train when I am short on time.

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* Sleep in a capsule hotel – Been wanting to do this for years but again it comes down to money and the fact that I have my own place means waiting for a few hours for the first train is a better option. I intended to stay in one when I went to Kansai in May but knew I wouldn’t want to do it for more than one night so a hotel won out in the end.

* Watch people from Starbucks at Shibuya Crossing – The greatest view of the world’s busiest crossing but I don’t like coffee so am unlikely to ever go there. No doubt chances of getting a window seat are not high.

* See Christmas illuminations – The Japanese like these decorations in the run-up to a day which they don’t even celebrate. I don’t care about illuminations or as we prefer to say Christmas lights.

* Go to an onsen – Just having a bath is something I’ve rarely done in the last 15 years as I find soaking so boring. The Japanese are obsessed with bathing and taking scorching hot onsen. They may stereotypically be shy but not, it seems, when it comes to parading around naked in front of others. In fairness I have kind of done this but only ever after a busy long day of snowboarding and then it is actually OK. I include this as I’ve never had the desire to specifically go somewhere for these hot springs.

* Go to a fireworks festival – These take places every Summer and are frequented by thousands of people which is reason enough to stay away in my opinion. I was on my way to one in Tokyo Bay back in 2005 or 2006 when my mate mailed to say it had been postponed due to the rain. That was the closest I’ve ever come to attending a ‘hanabi’ festival.

* See the Japan national team play live – Part of the reason I came to this country was because I loved watching the 2002 World Cup so much and I had hopes to see the ‘Samurai Blue’ in action but my working schedule and a decline in the teams performances have meant I’ve kind of lost interest.

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* Cultivate a bonsai tree – OK, I probably never really expected to do this but thanks to Mr Miyagi in ‘The Karate Kid’ (1984) I thought this was what Japanese culture is all about and that I might even do it myself one day!

* Watch Kabuki – Friends invited me a few years ago and I was all set to go just in the name of crossing it off a list of things to be done in Japan……..but then I decided that I really didn’t have an interest and would rather spend my money and time on anything else!

Posted in Japan Life, Japan Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Senior Teacher Position

Posted on October 5, 2011 by tokyofox

I have been working for my company at Shibuya school since 2005 and don’t really have any desire to move ‘up the ladder’ but when the Senior Teacher position became available in that school recently I decided to go for it. The bigger schools usually have a Senior Teacher in that school four days a week who does a few extra things around the school (sorting out flashcards, organising parties/events etc) in return for a measly pay rise.

Such positions are often advertised around our Tokyo schools but I have never applied for them as I don’t wanna change schools and leave Shibuya where I work two and a half days a week. As I don’t want to leave there this could be seen as the ideal post for me. For years I have worked under the present Senior Teacher with maybe one eye on replacing him one day…….which I never thought would come in all honesty. He has decided its time for a change and so the post was advertised. Given that I know the school set-up well and have had quite a lot of involvement in events over the years I applied with confidence and found out that another colleague was applying who had been rung up by our boss and offered the position. However, he was bemused that the vacant position was then advertised to all. After mailing my covering letter I was invited to go into the head office for what just sounded like a quick chat about the job. As it was it was actually a proper interview and to be honest he didn’t really sell me the position during that half hour meeting. Some of the questions and situations presented to me were far trickier than I had anticipated but I thought it went well enough and was told at the end that I would hear back later that day.

However, that day just happened to be the day of the typhoon in Tokyo so the decision was left hanging in the air over-night for understandable reasons. Overnight I was wondering about the job quite a bit and realised that maybe it wasn’t the job for me as it would give me some stress which I rarely get. Now I know that most teachers in our company think its an easy job (and it probably is!) but you do need to take a far more active involvement in how the school is faring in terms of student numbers and in a way your head is on the chopping block if things start to decline which is kind of out of your hands but could easily happen given the decline of the industry in Japan in recent years.

I woke up in a better frame of mind the following day but was slightly relieved when my boss said that I hadn’t got the job. Of course I was a bit annoyed that I didn’t get offered it as I felt I was the perfect candidate to bring continuity to the school but the boss felt the school needed a new, fresh change and so the one female candidate got the position. Girls often seem to get offered these positions as the company needs female teachers who don’t usually stay around as long as the guys who tend to get involved with Japanese ladies. Its not very common for the opposite to occur so giving them a bit of responsibility is one way of trying to keep them from leaving the job/country. Anyway, as I’ve never met or heard of the successful applicant I can’t say too much as I don’t know her situation, plan or how she came across in her interview. Whether or not I would bother applying for the position again should it become available further down the line I really don’t know at this moment.

Posted in English Teaching | 2 Comments