Hockey! Hockey! Hockey! Oi Oi Oi! Finally Watching Live Hockey In Tokyo After My Tokyo 2020 Setback

Posted on September 8, 2023 by tokyofox

One of the sports I had tickets for in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was field hockey but of course Covid_19 put paid to my plans to watch that. I can’t say that I had a real itch to see a live hockey match in the aftermath of the Olympic games but that changed this year as I became more and more interested in experiencing sports I’d never seen live before.

Whilst googling just about every Olympic sport a few months ago I came across this Somo Japan Cup tournament involving the Japanese men’s and women’s national Continue reading →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #41 – Squid Park

Posted on September 5, 2023 by tokyofox

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: Squid Park

Location: Mizukubo Continue reading →

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The Force Was Strong At This Traditional Japanese Summer Festival In Central Tokyo

Posted on September 2, 2023 by tokyofox

The hot and humid summer months in Tokyo bring about a series of outdoor festivals and events which are very much a part of Japanese culture. It’s kind of sad to say but these festivals are never too appealing for me as it’s just too hot and they are just too crowded for my liking. I occasionally make rare exceptions like I did for the tanabata star festival at Zojoji Temple back in July but such events just aren’t for me. However, as soon as I heard Continue reading →

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Living In A Dreamworld: One of Japan’s Best Football Settings, Crazy Flavoured Fizzy Drinks & A Ship Museum! (I Said Ship!!)

Posted on August 30, 2023 by tokyofox

With views on a clear day of Suruga Bay, the Pacific Ocean and Mount Fuji, Shimizu in Shizuoka Prefecture is always an appealing place to visit. My previous visit two years prior to this one was a bit of a dreary, wet experience but this time the conditions were very sunny with clear blue skies thus making the setting Continue reading →

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Modern Architecture Outside of Tokyo #4 – Kanagawa & Yamanashi

Posted on August 26, 2023 by tokyofox

 

For over a decade Tokyo Fox has focused on the modern architecture of Tokyo with a long-running ten part series featuring over 100 interesting-looking buildings. During that time I have also taken photos of some unique structures outside of the capital city but had no place to showcase them until now. This is Volume 4 which includes some weird and wonderful buildings in Kanagawa and Yamanashi.

5. Kawaramachi Continue reading →

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Nadeshiko Japan At The Women’s World Cup & Watching The Female Game In Japan

Posted on August 23, 2023 by tokyofox

 

Like many people in this country, I have only really followed the fortunes of Nadeshiko Japan (the women’s national football team) team since they triumphed over the USA on penalties in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final. Winning the biggest prize of all came at an important time for a country which had a few months earlier suffered greatly due to the earthquake and tsunami that ripped through parts of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. It gave the country a much needed lift and really helped put women’s football on the radar for much of the nation.

Since then, Nadeshiko Japan have had their ups and downs. They’ve twice won the Asian Cup but they Continue reading →

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This Museum Is Dedicated To All Kinds Of Weird & Whacky Fizzy Drinks

Posted on August 19, 2023 by tokyofox

One of the modern symbols of the hot and humid summer in Japan is a fairly popular  Japanese drink which is consumed by many at various festivals. The beverage in question  is called ramune (ラムネ) and there is a museum-of-sorts dedicated to it and its unique glass bottle which has a great sense of nostalgia for a lot of people.

With the majestic Mount Fuji lingering in the background, the S-Pulse Dream Plaza can make for a beautiful setting on the right day. This shopping mall is located in Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: An Unfinished Kannon, A New Buddha Statue, A Beautiful Bay, Cave Temples, Mini Fuji, Spiderman, Sperm, Capsule Hotels & Local Train Travel In Miyagi & Fukushima (2018)

Posted on August 16, 2023 by tokyofox

As my foreign trips began to slow down (if not stop all together!) about five years ago I started to look closer to home for quenching my wanderlust travel thirst. The Tōhoku  region in the north of Japan was an area I was interested in so I made plans for a short trip to Fukushima and Miyagi Prefectures.

A city located in Fukushima on day one was my first destination, and getting there took a while as I chose to do it by local trains which took just under eight hours! Sōma  Continue reading →

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Little-Known Castles & Beaches, Awful Station Puns, Bad English, A Big Wooden Willy & Japan’s Cheapest Breakfast!

Posted on August 13, 2023 by tokyofox

 

As far as trips away go this one was for the maximum possible time available to me. As soon as I finished work on the last Saturday in June I headed straight down to Izu and then returned the following Saturday going straight to work. As is often the case, much of our time there was fairly standard (housework and lots of gardening) but there were a few notbable things we hadn’t done before.

The most interesting thing we did together was probably Continue reading →

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Review: Films Set In Japan – Bullet Train (2022)

Posted on August 10, 2023 by tokyofox

Get on board a fast-moving bullet train in Japan for this thrilling ride where five assassins find out their missions have something in common.

My eyes may have rolled a bit when I first saw the title of this film which perhaps surprisingly was not changed in Japan to its native word. I guess ‘Bullet Train‘ is still simple and understandable enough for the the Japanese market and it makes it clearer that this is no domestic release.

Far from it in fact as the locals would be foriven for being confused about this movie being set in Japan as very little is recognisable. That’s because Continue reading →

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