Tap The Nature! A Hidden Lake, Fine Dining & Unique Buildings In Izu

Posted on December 1, 2023 by tokyofox

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 →

Posted in Family, Japan Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

“Handball! That’s Gotta Be Handball……It Is Handball”

Posted on November 28, 2023 by tokyofox

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 →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TF Top 10……Non-Buddhist & Shinto Religious Buildings In Tokyo

Posted on November 25, 2023 by tokyofox

 

Recent adventures in Chiba Prefecture seeking out the rather isolated Thai temple got me thinking about other such interesting-looking religious buildings in Tokyo. Of course the vast majority of religious places in Japan are Buddhist or Shinto but there are some others catering for those with different beliefs including well-known ones as well as a Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Life, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Manic Street Preachers & Suede Roll Back The Years With Co-Headline Dates In Tokyo

Posted on November 21, 2023 by tokyofox

Just over 24 years ago the V99 music festival in the UK was headlined by Suede and Manic Street Preachers. It is still one of the best line-ups I’ve ever seen and was a very memorable weekend for me in Staffordshire which co-hosted the occasion. Fast forward nearly quarter of a century and both of those bands are still going but the landscape of music has changed a fair bit.

Bands used to only ever go out on the road to help promote their latest album releases but profits from music sales have dramatically dropped in the digital era so touring seems to be where the money is now. That may explain this fairly unique co-headline tour as neither Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Getting Ready For The Paris 2024 Olympic Games At This Qualifying Event In Tokyo (+ Ice Hockey In Yokohama)

Posted on November 19, 2023 by tokyofox

It doesn’t seem so long ago that the Olympics were in Tokyo and now the Paris games are on the horizon. That was made very apparent at this qualifying event in Tokyo at the end of last month. October was something of a water sport special for me with three events in eight days. First up was swimming on Sunday, that was followed by water polo on Friday and then there was this Continue reading →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Alphabet Dating In Japan With My Wife Who Really Was Still Completely Unaware Of The Task At Hand! (S03E03: K-O)

Posted on November 16, 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 third set of letters…

K is for Continue reading →

Posted in Films, Food & Drink, Japan Filming Locations, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tokyo Daytripper: A Short Trip To The Charming & Chilled Chichibu Region

Posted on November 13, 2023 by tokyofox

This rural part of Saitama is one of my favourite places in the prefecture (one of the top 10  Saitama sights in this post from a decade ago!) but one that I have only visited a few times, and not for over ten years! It was time to change all that and on this occasion it was actually my wife who pushed for us to go there.

The main reason for this trip was to ride on Japan’s most futuristic luxury liner and to take Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

TF Flashback: My One & Only Visit To Tokyo’s Iconic Live Music Venue

Posted on November 10, 2023 by tokyofox

Nippon Budokan in 2023

The likes of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and Queen have all played at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo but for me it was Blur’s Japan-only release ‘Live at the Budokan‘ (1996) which brought the place to my attention back when such foreign import CDs were a big deal for music fans. It was one of the first CDs I bought not long after landing down in Japan years later as an ignorant foreigner with very little Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

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 →

Posted in Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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 →

Posted in Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments