Tokyo Daytripper: The Historical Riverside City With An Egyptian Flavour Nearby!

Posted on July 3, 2023 by tokyofox

Whenever I’ve seen any list of the best places to visit in Chiba prefecture, this historical river city in Katori has almost always been included. However, for someone who prides himself on his love for this often-ignored region of Japan I had never been there. That finally changed at the start of this year though.

On the back of a morning exploring the stations of Chōshi (as well as a few other sights) I arrived at Sawara station with the main mission being to see the platform zero. However, as I had managed to do Chōshi a little quicker than expected I had Continue reading →

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Unstaffed Stations of Japan #14 – Minami-Takada

Posted on June 30, 2023 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: Minami-Takada

Prefecture: Continue reading →

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Modern Architecture Outside of Tokyo #2 – Tōhoku & Tochigi

Posted on June 27, 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 2 which includes some weird and wonderful buildings in the Tōhoku and Tochigi regions.

1. Sagae City Office, 1-9-45 Chuo, Continue reading →

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#WeStopAtNothing! Visiting All The Platform Zero Stations In Chiba

Posted on June 24, 2023 by tokyofox

 

The first ever platform 0 I came across was in Chiba Prefecture when I was on my way back from a semi-naked mens mud festival (hadaka matsuri) in early 2011. The seed was sewn for what eventually became a much bigger passion of mine nearly a decade later but annoyingly for me I only took one fairly poor vertical-style photo of a sign back then.

There are just two stations in Chiba with a platform zero and the other one was rather frustratingly at a station I had changed trains at before. This is actually the case for many of the platform zero stations which I visited long before my interest in such phenomena grew. When I went to Chōshi in January this year I thought I should combine it with a couple of extra stops, and first up was Continue reading →

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Hidden Treasures Along The Keio Line #10 – Kitarō Park

Posted on June 21, 2023 by tokyofox

The Keio Line principally connects Shinjuku to the western side of Tokyo with seven different lines running through to the likes of suburban city Hachiōji and the mountainous area at Takaosanguchi. All of it’s stations actually lie within the boundaries of Tokyo and, thanks to regular free tickets, Tokyo Fox has dug deep to come up with a few places worthy of visit beyond perennial favourites like Mount Takao and Tama Zoo……

#10 – Kitarō Park @ 1-58-5 Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Into The Jungles Of Malaysian Borneo On A Wildlife Adventure That Ended With A Very Costly Error!

Posted on June 18, 2023 by tokyofox

Planning trips is something that I do enjoy, and to be fair I often pack the schedule with way too many things. By contrast, this four day holiday to Malaysian Borneo was quite flexible and open either side of my scheduled 48 hours in the jungle. Typically though this was the one time when it really did not all go to plan!

My previous two trips in 2008 to the Philippines and Thailand had been fairly beach oriented so I was looking for something a bit different which is why I decided to go to the jungles of Borneo. After a long transit flight via Kuala Lumpur I arrived in Kota Kinabalu hoping to check in to a so-called 24 hour hostel but that wasn’t open! The nearby Lucy Backpackers also seemed closed but having Continue reading →

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Alphabet Dating In Japan With My Wife Who Was Still Completely Unaware Of The Task At Hand! (S02E05 U-Z)

Posted on June 15, 2023 by tokyofox

 

Season one (as well as the prequel season zero) of alphabet dating certainly pushed the boundaries of what a “date” is, and that continues in season two with some very 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 continue with the fifth  part of season two…

U is for Continue reading →

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Riding On The World’s Longest Suspended Monorail System

Posted on June 12, 2023 by tokyofox

Upon learning last year that two of only seven suspended railways operating in the world were in Japan was something of a surprise, and I instantly had it in mind to visit both despite having ridden on them in the past. Back then though I just rode on them without any care or interest. I ticked off the Shōnan Monorail in Kanagawa Prefecture in August and then set my sights on a trip to Chiba for the other one.

However, I was then informed that there was a third one in Japan in the form of the Continue reading →

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Review: Films Set In Japan – John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)

Posted on June 9, 2023 by tokyofox

With mindless action and fighting scenes aplenty taking place in simple stories across multiple countries, one would think that the John Wick films would be right up my street. However, for some reason this seemingly appealing franchise just hasn’t imbedded itself in my heart and I do struggle to put a finger on why exactly that may be but try to explain I will.

Keanu Reeves is certainly not an actor I have anything against, and I like him in many roles but not this particular one. It’s no doubt an unpopular opinion given how loved this character is for many people. He was quite an intriguing character in the first one as we got to know him a bit. Actions speak louder than words with him maybe as he doesn’t say much and is too Continue reading →

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Football But Not As I Know It! My 1st Experience Of The American Game!

Posted on June 6, 2023 by tokyofox

It’s fair to say that many British people love to recorrect anyone who ever dares to say the word soccer in front of them. Other codes of football are of course prevalent in countries such as Australia, Canada, Ireland and America. What us Brits call American Football is simply just known as football in the USA.

It’s a sport I’ve never really had too much interest in. I know I had some Miami Dolphins playing cards as a kid, and maybe saw the Continue reading →

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