As much as I have got (back) into celebrating Christmas in recent years, the number of festive films, songs, jumpers and so on really cannot make up for being surrounded by family and friends. I can’t say I ever thought it would happen so imagine my surprise when my sister first announced the idea of her family all coming to Japan (from their home in Australia) this winter including Continue reading
The original idea was for us to spend about a week in Myanmar but things didn’t quite go to plan and so we ended up just spending a couple of nights there. We probably spent more time sorting out our visas at the embassy in Tokyo than we did in the country itself! All of that wasn’t going to stop us from Continue reading
Many of the parks and children’s playgrounds in Japan, particularly in Tokyo, are quite poor compared to other countries in terms of space, surroundings and a lack of grass. However, a handful of them do tend to possess extremely creative structures and they will be explored in this series.
Nickname: Panda Slide
Location: Ushirogouchi Continue reading
Other than attending the track cycling for a couple of days at the ill-fated Tokyo 2020 Olympics I really can’t remember too much else about those games apart from what happened in one sport, and perhaps surprisingly that was one that made its debut at those games which were held a year later than planned due to Continue reading
It may have been five years since I last attended Tokyo ComicCon but due to the Coronavirus pandemic I’ve only actually missed a couple of events in 2019 and 2022. Having got used to not going I can’t say I was ever really planning to go this year. It’s amazing what the offer of a Continue reading
Even though I’ve been a Kashiwa Reysol “fan” since 2004 there were quite a few lean years in the middle when I just didn’t follow the J-League at all. Typically that period was the most successful for Reysol as they won six different titles in five consecutive seasons including back to back J2 and J1 titles. I missed it all so was hoping that this Emperor’s Cup Final match would be the first time they Continue reading
Seasons one and two (as well as the prequel season zero) of alphabet dating certainly pushed the boundaries of what a “date” is, and that continues in season three with even more tenuous examples for each letter of the alphabet. For the record, doing something together (no matter what it is!) counts as a date in this series which is not always about visiting glamorous places and doing exciting things but just getting out there and exploring locations we wouldn’t normally go to. Without further ado, lets kick off the final season of alphabet dating with what we did for the fourth set of letters…
P is for Continue reading
It’s quite hard to believe that Oasis split up nearly 15 years ago. The Gallagher brothers went their separate ways but forever live (or should that be ‘Live forever‘!) in the shadows of that band despite their subsequent successes. Their respective live dates are still hugely popular as was the case for this four date tour of Japan by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (NGHFB). I was there for the opening night in Tokyo and my wife was with me for her first ever concert of this kind.
This concert in Tokyo on December 1st was my seventh time to see Noel play live but was actually the first time I’d seen him under the Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds moniker. I am a big fan of his not-so-new band (they have actually been around for 13 years now!) but have just never Continue reading
As well as family time, nature is often at the forefront of any trip we take to the Izu Peninsula. On our most recent trip to this part of Shizuoka Prefecture towards the end of November we encountered a sign that said “tap the nature” which is certainly not a phrase I’ve ever heard before. No doubt it’s the result of poor computer translation but we did follow the instruction on the sign and was rewarded for it by a wonderful sight which was new for us.
Hotel Harvest Amagi Kogen is a place we’ve visited before and the reason for going there on the second day of this trip was to see the colourful Continue reading
Hearing the crowd (or even the commentator!) shouting “handball” is one of the great sounds of football matches around the world, and a second or two later the referee makes a decision which will either delight or frustrate those fans. It’s perhaps a little sad though that this form of handball is far more famous than the sport of the same name!
This fairly minor indoor sport has been a regular Olympic sport since 1972 (1976 for the women’s game) although it was first played at the Berlin 1936 games outside. Thank you Wikipedia for that information! Despite having been an Olympic sport for my whole life I am sure I Continue reading
Tokyo Fox (東京狐) 