TF Top 5……Public Toilet Designs In Tokyo #2 (Urine For A Treat!)

Posted on November 7, 2023 by tokyofox

To celebrate the unofficial toilet day on November 10th in Japan I have decided to deposit a second compilation of interesting public lavatories in Tokyo. The Tokyo Fox site sure is plumbing to low depths but hopefully you will be bowel-ed over and end up thinking it’s an excrement idea!

Japan is such a backwards country at times when it comes to many things but if they put just half as much effort into those things as they do in coming up with toilet ideas then it really might help Continue reading →

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A Double Dose Of Water Sports Action At Tokyo Aquatics Centre

Posted on November 4, 2023 by tokyofox

The delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics took place in 2021 across 43 venues; 8 new permanent ones, 25 previously existing facilities and 10 temporary places. Some of the new constructions included Japan National Stadium, Musashino Forest Sports Plaza, Oi Hockey Stadium, Ariake Arena and Tokyo Aquatic Centre. Due to the pandemic very few people actually got to step foot inside these places though. Just over two years later and I finally went to the latter. Twice!

The search for new sports this year has unearthed some interesting experiences which are largely unknown by people closely associated with that particular sport. As I began to check out water sports in Tokyo (there was almost nothing in English on the internet) I came across a couple of events at Tokyo Aquatic Centre in Koto Ward so purchased some tickets and Continue reading →

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TF Top 10……Godzilla-Themed Sights In Japan!

Posted on November 1, 2023 by tokyofox

November 3rd is being marketed as Godzilla Day by Toho as it’s the 69th anniversary of the original films release. The first period-piece Godzilla movie, ‘Godzilla Minus One‘ (known as ‘Gojira -1.0‘ in Japan) is released in Japan on that date with it being set during the American occupation of Japan (1945-1952) which means it’s a kind of Continue reading →

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Riding On Japan’s Most Futuristic Luxury Liner

Posted on October 29, 2023 by tokyofox

There may have been a fair amount of train-related posts on Tokyo Fox in the last few years (stations, dangle-trains, railway cafes, Metro challenges etc) but when it comes to actual trains I know very little. I wasn’t even aware of this futuristic luxury liner until my wife said that she wanted to ride on it. Within a couple of weeks a plan had been made to ride on it with our ever-faithful dog joining us too for a rare outing (for him!) beyond the borders of Tokyo.

The rounded front gives it a very sci-fi look

This silver-coloured spaceship-style limited express train known as Laview runs every Continue reading →

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Very Few Parks Will Tricera-Top This One In Tokyo!

Posted on October 27, 2023 by tokyofox

Not long after compiling last years top 10 list of must-see dinosaur-related places in Japan I then found out about another park in Tokyo with some dinosaurs in it. Not only that but it was just a short distance from the temple guarded by a pre-historic creature. That’s always the way I guess, and when I’ve found another nine places I’ll make a second compilation post including this one!

These dinosaurs are part of a children’s traffic park located just Continue reading →

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TF Top 10……Alternative Sights In Tochigi Prefecture

Posted on October 24, 2023 by tokyofox

 

The surrounding areas of Tokyo offer plenty of choice when it comes to day trips from the capital. Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama all have great places within 60-90 minutes travelling distance and Ibaraki prefecture (particularly Tsukuba city) is actually just 45 minutes from Akihabara. What to do though when you feel you’ve covered much of what those prefectures offer? The answer is Tochigi. Nikko is the most famous attraction and then there’s Kinugawa Onsen too. Main city Utsunomiya is famous for its gyoza dumplings but this list, in no particular order, is all about the less famous sights in the region.

1. Pyramid Continue reading →

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Cobra Kai Inspired Me To Go To A Real Karate Tournament But How Did Reality Compare With Fiction?

Posted on October 21, 2023 by tokyofox

It’s fair to say that the Karate Kid films in the 1980s had a profound affect on my life, and since the Cobra Kai series began in 2018 it has become my all-time favouite TV series. Of course it’s not only about karate but that is a staple. However, it is a sport which I’ve pretty much never watched outside of this franchise so it was time to change that and see what it was like in reality.

2023 has been a year of watching many different live sports including a fair few I’ve never previously seen in the flesh. Karate was one of those and so when I heard that the 13th World Continue reading →

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Alphabet Dating In Japan With My Wife Who Really Was Still Completely Unaware Of The Task At Hand! (S03E02: F-J)

Posted on October 18, 2023 by tokyofox

 

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 second set of letters…

F is for Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: A Whirlwind Tour of Five Prefectures In Japan’s Northern Region (2018)

Posted on October 15, 2023 by tokyofox

 

Just five weeks after my previous trip to Japan’s Tōhoku region in the north of Japan I was back for a more widespread adventure taking in five prefectures including four that I had never previously visited. All of this was done using local trains and due to their more limited nature in this part of the country I had to plan everything very carefully which often meant having to run to various locations and back! I was away for five nights this time and these were the main highlights…

Day 1: I travelled up to Continue reading →

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Why Is There A Landmark Dedicated To Tomato Ketchup In This Yokohama Town? (Plus Bonus Vegetable Monuments)

Posted on October 12, 2023 by tokyofox

In 1859 Yokohama was the first port to open to international trade in Japan after 250+ years of isolation. It therefore became the birthplace of Japan’s modernisation as it gradually adopted cultural innovations and trends from overseas before spreading it to the rest of Japan.

Western vegetables that are now taken for granted, such as cabbages, tomatoes, celery, cauliflower, radish and asparagus were introduced to Japan around this time. Some foreign residents began farming in the Yamate area of Yokohama and this trend eventually spread to neighbouring villages including Continue reading →

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