Countdown to Christmas 2022 in Tokyo

Posted on December 26, 2022 by tokyofox

 

The build-up to Christmas this year was fairly unique as the FIFA World Cup was right in the midst of it, and so that certainly interfered with festive activities, particularly the new Christmas movies (mostly from Hallmark) which I like to watch each year. Last year I watched a whopping 69 festive films during the countdown to Christmas season but this year was a far more modest number. The full list (*) is at the foot of this post for those who are interested! Why wouldn’t you be?!!

One of the symbols of Christmas is of course the tree and there are many elaborately decorated ones in and around Tokyo. Last year we went to see some Harry Potter-related trees in Marunouchi, and this time we saw a Continue reading →

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TF Top 22……Photos For 2022 (End Of Year Filler Post!)

Posted on December 22, 2022 by tokyofox

This lame and lazy half-assed compilation post idea was ushered in at the end of 2018 with an eye on permanently replacing the ‘TF Top 10……Filming Location Trips For (year)’ series which has been running out of steam over the last few years yet is incredibly back this year after a break 12 months ago.

Just to be clear, some of these pictures were indeed taken in 2021 but did not appear on the Tokyo Fox site until this year. They say a picture paints a thousand words so rather than write a load of words about these photos, I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves.

1. A-Bomb Dome, Hiroshima Prefecture. More details here

2. Devil Head Slide, Continue reading →

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Tokyo Fox’s World Cup 2022 Overview

Posted on December 19, 2022 by tokyofox

 

When the FIFA World Cup comes round every four years it always takes me back to when I was a child experiencing my first two tournaments in Mexico ’86 and Italia ’90 respectively. They were such different times when very few live games were shown on TV and the foreign teams and players were something of an unknown quantity.

Football, and indeed football on TV, has changed a lot over that time. Doing things like filling in a wall chart or collecting stickers cans help relive childhood memories but it’s Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Waterfalls, Churches, Geysers, Geezers, High Costs, Blue Lagoon & A Memorable New Years Eve In Iceland (2007-2008)

Posted on December 16, 2022 by tokyofox

The idea of travelling to Iceland was never really on my radar but when a friend said he was going there with a mate for the New Year holiday and that I could join them, I didn’t hesitate in saying yes as such opportunities don’t present themselves too often.

Heavy rain in Reykjavik meant the plane was Continue reading →

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Cycling To All Inari Shrines In Tokyo’s 23 Wards – The Stats

Posted on December 13, 2022 by tokyofox

23 individual posts for each ward plus seven compilations (including this one) is one of the least interesting statistics for this overly-long series which has been limping on to this conclusion. This will indeed be the final post about this challenge as it is time to move on but lets bow out with some statistics from that time in the saddle… Continue reading →

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Coastal Adventures In Izu: Seaside Parks, Footbaths, Marine Towns, Lakes, Mountains & Big Ramen!

Posted on December 10, 2022 by tokyofox

Given the number of visits we make to to Izu each and every year, there will surely be a time when there is nothing blog-worthy to report. Unbelievably, that time is not now though! As soon as we got the dog’s travel bag out of the cupboard, he was excitedly wagging his tail and couldn’t wait to get inside and get on the road.

We disembarked at Atami station as my father-in-law said he’d pick us up from there but before his arrival we had a quick walk around the area in front of the station which is a Continue reading →

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Retrospective Alphabet Dating In Greater Tokyo S00E05: S-V

Posted on December 7, 2022 by tokyofox

 

Whilst season two of alphabet dating is taking place I thought I could fill that void with a restrospecive series which is certainly an easier operation as they were not done in alphabetical order which can be a little stressful and frustrating at times.

Season 0 will throw back to places and things we’ve done in Greater Tokyo since 2011. I generally hate the term Continue reading →

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Unstaffed Stations of Japan #11 – Kubiki

Posted on December 4, 2022 by tokyofox

Think of train stations in Japan and the mighty Shinjuku station is sure to come to mind for many people. That is the world’s busiest train station, and Japan monopolises the top 50 list with only five of them not in this country. However, at the other end of the scale are some tiny stations which are usually unstaffed and used by very few commuters.

Station: Kubiki

Prefecture: Continue reading →

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Nō Way Did This Happen! A Chance Encounter Amidst Some Station Hopping In A Forgotten Corner Of Niigata

Posted on December 1, 2022 by tokyofox

Once I’d experienced a couple of sights at Echigo-Yuzawa (including the 110 sake vending machines), I travelled north-west for about two and a half hours to my  accomodation in Niigata Prefecture. The tatami room at Yado Bar Cafe Tatsuji was basic but did the job of giving me a place to rest at the end of a long day of travel. The owner seemed like a very nice guy but we didn’t chat too much as I arrived late and checked out early.

 

The unstaffed Minami Takada station was my first stop very early the following morning but I didn’t Continue reading →

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Mount Fuji Views & Quirky West Coast Travels In Izu

Posted on November 28, 2022 by tokyofox

There was a time when one could always rely on the August O-bon holiday season being a hot and sunny time but this year again consisted of lots of rain albeit not as much as last year! The weather at the start of our trip though was actually pretty good and the usual trip to Komuroyama Park on day one even offered a sight of Mount Fuji in the distance which always adds to the appeal of this lovely, vast, spacious place.

  

Away from Tokyo and with barely anyone else around, our Continue reading →

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