Can’t Take My Eyes Off You

Posted on June 22, 2011 by tokyofox

Back in December of last year I was at one of my schools Christmas party’s (stick with me here as it is relevant!) playing ‘pass the parcel’ when my friend James started up just the first few bars from the chorus of ‘Can’t take my eyes off you’ and amazingly it became a big sing-a-long, added atmosphere to the game and was repeated many times throughout the night. Later that night we were talking about the song and I said it was by Andy Williams which it is but I didn’t know that his wasn’t actually the original. That is by Franki Valli.

Fast forward a few months and I am in a standing bar in Shibuya on a Saturday night. James turns up and we get the idea in our head to try and get the catchy chorus bit chanted by as many as possible. Its cringeworthy stuff not that we care and unbelievably a fair few join in. I’m drunk but incredibly James doesn’t drink at all! Its not too dis-similar to a feature on Scott Mills’ Radio One show where him and his mate Chris try to get the ‘Home & Away’ theme tune sung in very public places. Our version is not so brave as we are relying on the crowds being drunk!

Since then the song has never been too far away from head which is not always so good. As a result I looked at the lyrics and realised how quite simple they were and how the final word of all the lines are easy rhyming words using the /aɪ/, /eə/, /ʌ/, /u:/ and /i:/ sounds. I have been playing this song across many of my classes over the last few weeks and I’ve gotta say that I am still not tired of hearing it.

The song will probably be put bed now as James (pictured below in the white shirt) had his leaving party on Saturday night which inevitably included one last rendition of this classic.

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Review: Films Set In Japan – Black Rain (1989)

Posted on June 18, 2011 by tokyofox

This was directed by Ridley Scott (of ‘Blade Runner’ and ‘Gladiator’ fame) and filmed mostly on location in Osaka but due to the typical amount of red tape involved in doing things in this country he got disillusioned with it all and ended up finishing the movie back in California.

Black Rain stars Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia and this film certainly uses stereotypes when portraying the difference between American cops and Japanese police as well as looking at the Yakuza. Our two heroes capture Sato; a member of this Japanese mafia and have to escort him back to the land of the rising sun (the film predictably starts with a typical sun/red circle image) on Northwest Airlines which is a blatant example of product placement in the film. The film shows its age as Douglas’ character is able to smoke whilst on board. Anyway, this Yakuza guy escapes when they get to Japan and they then embark on getting him back amid some gang war over counterfeit money or something like that.

I’m no big fan of Douglas but I do think he portrays a good cop in this and ‘Basic Instinct’. In fact, his characters in both films are pretty much identical! Ken Takakura plays the typical Japanese police officer who does the job by the book which inevitably ruffles the feathers of the two NYPD cops. Over time they learn something from each others cultures blah blah blah (I think I said exactly the same in ‘The Last Samurai’ review!). Its cliché-ridden of course but as I’ve said before I like this in my films!

I had hoped to visit Hankyu Umeda Mall when I was in Osaka back in May and I did but the place, where the naive, fresh-faced youngster Garcia unwisely responds to a biker snatching his jacket, has changed completely over the last couple of decades.

Yet another film which is longer than it needs to be. I did get a bit bored at times during the film but overall its an 80’s film which I think holds up quite well in the present era.

 

Tokyo Fox Rating 6/10

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Justin Lee Collins – Turning Japanese

Posted on June 14, 2011 by tokyofox

In February this year Channel 5 in the UK had a short three-part series under the overly-used ‘Turning Japanese’ name. Back in 2007 ITV2 had Kelly Osbourne Turning Japanese and this one featured comedian Justin Lee Collins throwing himself deep into the culture of this country.

Inevitably these programmes about Japan focus mainly on the weird and unusual things which I kind of understand as thats what gets the attention of the overseas public. However, when the focus is on things like bra for men, love-dolls, Kubukicho hosts, themed restaurants etc it’s not exactly showing what life is like for the average Japanese person! Needless to say, this probably won’t stop many people back home thinking that these things are common place in Japan!

I am a fan of JLC and particularly liked his ‘Bring back…’ Channel 4 series and this was also interesting to me for obvious reasons. To his credit he did throw himself in at the deep end without too much prejudice and stayed away from making the usual stereotypical comments. Of course he had difficulty getting his head around some things (but so did the translator Mai) but he wasn’t too judgmental and didn’t revert to the comparison-to-back-home analysis which most of us have been guilty of in the past.

At the outset he did say that he wanted to get beyond the cliches and find a connection with the country. He said he didn’t have an interest in robots or manga which I was relieved about as those areas have been covered many times. The second episode was the one I enjoyed the most as it was mostly about ‘manzai’ in Osaka which is a fast and furious type of comedy featuring double acts consisting of a straight man and a funny man. This really showed the differences in humour between our two nations. British humour is based on what we hear whereas Japanese is on what they see and that is slapstick comedy which is considered a bit old fashioned in Britain.

The most entertaining part had to be the bar which has a monkey for a waiter which JLC said was the “most disturbing thing I’ve ever seen in my life” to which he added that it wasn’t right. You can see that part here in a five minute youtube video. Trust me, its worth watching and saves me the hassle of describing it to you.

Other things to be included in the programmes were crowded trains, vending machines, capsule hotels, hiring a dog, finding partners, karaoke for pensioners, Tokyo apartments, weird ice-cream flavours and particular focus on stressed out salarymen (business-men) who cope with it in different ways. For those who can’t handle it there is Aokigahara Forest at the foot of Mount Fuji which is more commonly known as suicide forest. This provided some of the series’ more serious and shocking parts.

Posted in Japan Life, Quirky Japan, TV Shows | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Review: Films Set In Japan – The Last Samurai (2003)

Posted on June 10, 2011 by tokyofox

Back in 2006 I gave this film a very short brief review with brief being the word! I only said it was better than expected but too long for my liking which I say for any film over two hours. In preparation for my recent trip to Kansai I decided to watch it again. Whilst I (still) don’t mind it, it’s not my kind of film and it just goes to show how the filming locations and the movie itself can work hand-in-hand both ways. As you’d expect its the film first which often leads to the interest in the locations but this one worked the other way round with me.

Most of the film was made in New Zealand but Japanese locations included Chion-in temple and Nijo-jo in Kyoto and Engyoji temple in Himeji as featured in my ‘The Last Samurai filming locations’ article recently.

The film may move along at quite a slow pace and may be predictable in its outcome (hence the title!) but the casting, costumes, landscapes, storyline and film direction are very good with some fine battle scenes to boot. Hans Zimmer’s score incorporates traditional wood flutes and thunderous drums which adds a nice touch and adds to the suspense, sadness, empathy and joy.

The samurai have only one true goal which is to serve their Emperor and believed that to die under his service is an honour. The Japanese are accustomed to killing themselves in shame after defeat which they think is a noble death whereas Cruise’s character Algren shows his resilience, determination and perseverance by continuously rising again after defeat. As far as I know this is the film that really brought Ken Watanabe to western audiences for his poignant portrayal as the leader of the last clan of Samurai. The scenes between Watanabe and Cruise held my interest in terms of their feelings of hostility, compassion and camaraderie.

He may often get a hard time from the critics but Tom Cruise is loved by his fans and in this epic he perhaps delivers his most powerful performance in cinema. The Last Samurai shows a human story of one Westerner learning to embrace another culture but unlike most other films set in Japan it is done in a more subtle way where both parties realise they can learn from one another and after a hostile start they develop a respect for each other.

 

Tokyo Fox Rating 7/10

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Kansai Filming Locations: 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994)

Posted on June 6, 2011 by tokyofox

 

Hikone brings the curtain down on my Golden Week trip to Kansai. At just under two hours away from Osaka, it is situated on the shores of Lake Biwa which is Japan’s largest freshwater lake. Hikone’s most famous historical site is Hikone-jo castle. This was my favourite castle of the trip which is perhaps surprising as it was the Continue reading →

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Kansai Trip 2011 Pt V: Osaka

Posted on June 3, 2011 by tokyofox

Japan’s second city was my base for the duration of my Golden Week trip but I actually spent very little time there apart from showering and sleeping in my three-star Shin-Osaka hotel. May 5th was Childrens Day in Japan so there was quite a bit of action on the streets which created a bit of a festival experience.

 

After that I met up with John and Neil at Osaka-jo Koen park where we went to see what is perhaps the city’s most famous landmark. Osaka-jo castle also had some live performances going on in terms of dancing, singing, street artists and so on. Some guy brought a load of lizards which were getting a lot of attention from the kids who wanted to touch the creatures. Me too of course! For years I have thought about getting my picture painted but usually I just can’t be bothered to wait. However, this time I saw a man doing them for 500 yen (less than 4GBP) in just five minutes. Well I guess you get what you pay for as anyone can see that it looks more like Wayne Rooney than yours truly!

          

My other days on this Kansai trip were all pretty busy so it was nice to just relax and take it easy on this day. We had an afternoon pizza and beer session before ending up in the heart of Osaka where we had a couple more drinks before John had to get his train back to Tokyo ready for work the following morning.

 

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Kansai Trip 2011 Pt IV: Kobe

Posted on June 2, 2011 by tokyofox

When I left Kobe behind (after a short stop-off) at the end of 2005 I had a very low opinion of the place and thought it to be really boring. I realised this time that my mistake then had been to get off at Kobe station rather than Sannomiya which is the heart of Kobe and has a nice feel about it. The reason for getting off here on the way back to my Osaka hotel from Himeji was to meet up with mates John and Neil of whom the latter had recently moved nearby. I had a quick look round the place before meeting them. No major sites but I did go to the Earthquake Park to see the memorial pictured below. The clock was damaged at 5.46 on the morning of January 17th and now indicates that time as an eternal reminder of the earthquake.

Whilst it wasn’t of magnitude compared to the one in Tokyo on March 11th it obviously still had a devestating impact on the area with over 6,000 dead, 415,000 injured, 100,000 homes devastated and 185,000 homes in need of partial reconstruction.

I didn’t have the time or energy to bother going to the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park which preserves part of a concrete pier destroyed back in 1995. Some of the pictures below were taken on my previous trip and give a good idea of how strong the earthquake was.

     

On my way to meet Neil (pictured) and John I passed by an Indian restaurant named Gaylord! Its actually a worldwide chain and I have seen their restaurants in Hong Kong and London. I am still amused each time I see the restaurant name!

 

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Kansai Filming Locations: The Last Samurai (2003)

Posted on June 1, 2011 by tokyofox

Most of this 2003 epic was shot in New Zealand but there were still a few interesting scenes filmed in the Kansai region of Japan. 12 minutes into the film sees the appearance of Chion-in Temple in Kyoto albeit with a bit of CGI. Although the steps lead to a temple it is not directly at the top or as dominating as the one in the picture (below) Four men including Tom Cruise are seen climbing the steep steps which are on the other side of the main entrance gate which is protected by two guards in the film.

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The action moves on to Daikodo (Main Hall) at Engyoji temple on the 41 minute mark which is where Algren (Cruise) meets Katsumoto (Watanabe). This is at the top of Mount Shosha in Himeji (west of Osaka) and provides the hilltop backdrop for Katsumoto’s mountain village.

Screen Shot 2015-11-18 at 09.46.11    cruise&watanabe  kansai GW 2011 206    

There is even a laminated picture card among the information pamphlets on the little souvenir shop counter in this building and it features five screenshots from ‘The Last Samurai‘.

The garden temple is opposite the wooden bit featured above and appears after 71 minutes as Watanabe and Cruise talk about something or another. The DVD extra’s reveal that it wasn’t filmed during the cherry blossom season and that those flowers were added to the place.

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The Buddha seen below also features for a few moments. No photos can be taken inside (I presume) so I settled for a sly zoom-in one from outside.

 

It’s not all Kansai though as there is a very brief shot of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on 79 minutes. Its the typical picture postcard type view of the place which I have seen and photographed many times over the years.

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How to get to Engyoji: Take bus #8 at Shinki Bus Terminal East gate of Himeji Kita station (if coming from JR Himeji station then exit the station and turn left and you will see the bus station across the road). Get off at the final stop which is ‘Shosha Ropeway’. A special ticket (1300 yen) gets you return bus and ropeway tickets. The temple entrance is 500 yen payable when you get to the top of the ropeway.

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    Ju:On The Grudge    The Ramen Girl    The Toxic Avenger Pt II    The Wolverine    Memoirs Of A Geisha    The Last Samurai    House Of Bamboo

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Kansai Trip 2011 Pt III: Himeji

Posted on May 25, 2011 by tokyofox

The second full-day of my trip saw me go west to Himeji which is famous for its castle. At the moment its not too much to look at though and nor will it be for for the next five years as its under reconstruction and basically has a huge bag covering up the main part.  Luckily I saw the castle five years ago in its full glory (below) so I wasn’t too gutted to see it in its current state. On that previous visit it was closed but I did see the inside of it this time.

 

If you’ve ever seen James Bond in ‘You Only Live Twice‘ (1967) then you may recognise this place as the ninja training school. I had one screenshot with me and was most surprised to see that the stone statue thing behind Sean Connery was still knocking about. It can be found in the West Bailey and needless to say I was the only person in the whole place who took an interest in this piece of concrete!

 

Despite being made nearly 45 years ago it was still possible to locate some of the shooting scenes which feature below.

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Another film to be shot at Himeji-jo was Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Kagemusha‘ (The Shadow Warrior) in 1980 which is set in medieval times. This movie became known to me as it was bankrolled by 20th Century Fox who were convinced by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola to fund the remainder of the film in exchange for its international distribution rights after Toho Studios couldn’t fulfill the budget demands of the film.

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Himeji-jo wasn’t actually my first stop of the day though as I took a 30 minute bus ride to Mount Shosha which needed an additional ropeway to get there. The reason for visiting this mountain was to visit the sacred and peaceful Engyoji temple which is a nice 25 minute walk away. This mountaintop temple complex gets you away from the really big crowds and the wooden auditorium of Daikodo is lovely though not as old as one may think as in true Japanese fashion it was dismantled, repaired and restored in 1959 having originally been constructed at the end of the 15th century.

     

Posted in Films, James Bond, Japan Filming Locations, Japan Travel, Movie Locations | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

Kansai Trip 2011 Pt II: Kyoto

Posted on May 22, 2011 by tokyofox

I spent two of my days on this trip in Kyoto with the majority of the places having some movie relevance but there were a few other ones which didn’t feature in any Hollywood production. It is often said that while Tokyo is the capital of Japan, Kyoto is the real Japan but I don’t see how that can be true when almost everyone there is a tourist!

After Fushimi-Inari I went to Nijo-jo which I had failed to visit on my two previous visits to Kyoto due to time constraints and maybe a lack of energy on my part if my memory serves me correctly. In all honesty I don’t think I really missed out on too much those times! It was nice enough and the palace gardens were fairly pleasant but it didn’t possess too much in the way of the wow-factor…….or maybe I was in a bad mood after being told by the official photographer that I couldn’t use my tripod. Unlike Japanese people I actually questioned him as to why and the best he could say was that it was dangerous which was just laughable when the place was almost desserted! There was nothing at the castle entrance about tripods not being allowed but I couldn’t be bothered to contest it too much by going back to the ticket office to complain. He probably just hates tripods as they are preventing him from getting money from taking group photos and so on in front of Ninomaru Palace!

 

I went to Kinkakuji which is known as Golden Pavillion in English. I visited here in December 2004 and stubbornly refused to go in a year later with my mate Asif but this was my first time to be in Kyoto out of Winter season so I went in, took a few photos (the first time to do so with a digital camera) and left!

 

Kiyomizudera temple was next on my list and took an eternity to get to thanks to the amount of traffic on the Kyoto roads mid-afternoon. Sadly it was difficult to capture the perfect picture as the sun was shining so brightly not that it stopped the masses from taking their photos! The one below is the best of a bad bunch!

 

A couple of days later I returned to Kyoto and went to Yoshimine-dera (mentioned in Kansai Trip 2011 Pt II) and then on to Chion-in temple. Somehow I got lost on the way and ended up at the top of the huge steps which saved me from ascending them and becoming out of breath like most other tourists. I didn’t look around this temple so much.

 

Heian-jingu shrine (below) was close by to that which is one of my favourite Kyoto temples. Popular but not on the level of Kinkajuji and Kiyomizudera and with enough space to wander fairly freely. This time I paid to go in its gardens and as nice as they were I am not sure the 600 yen entrance fee is such good value for money.

     

Gion was my final port of call in Kyoto. It’s famed for being the geisha district but I knew there was pretty much bugger all chance of actually seeing a real one. Needless to say but this pretty little area was packed full of tourists. I was very tired by this stage so didn’t hang about too long as I wanted to meet up with my mates John and Neil for some early evening drinks at The Hub which is a chain claiming to be a British bar though in reality its far removed from being anything too like one.

     

On the way to and from Kyoto I passed the giant Meiji chocolate bar near Takatsuki station and tried to snap it but it was difficult to capture it too well due to the speed of the train at that time.

 

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