Alphabet Dating In Japan With My Wife Who Was Completely Unaware Of The Task At Hand! (S01E04: P-T)

Posted on May 12, 2022 by tokyofox

 

When I heard this idea on the radio a few years ago I thought it might be something that I could try as a way of motivating myself to go to some places with my wife that I’m usually not too interested in. I did think of suggesting it to her and then taking it in turns to come up with things to do for each letter but I thought she would dismiss it as a silly idea straight away so decided to keep it secret.

If you haven’t seen part 3 (K-O) then please click here to read that

It would be quite easy to do an A-Z of dining out experiences so I decided that should be limited to Continue reading →

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Cycling The Shortest Tokyo Subway Journey That Ticks Off The Alphabet

Posted on May 9, 2022 by tokyofox

Have you ever wondered what the shortest route on the Tokyo Metro is that ticks off all the letters of the alphabet? Of course you haven’t but as you can see in the title that was the objective for the latest train challenge on Tokyo Fox! One of my favourite UK-based YouTubers Geoff Marshall did this on the London Underground at the end of 2021 and I will include his video at the foot of this post.

There are 26 letters in the alphabet but in Japanese there is no Continue reading →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #39 – Pigeon Slide

Posted on May 6, 2022 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: Pigeon Slide

Location: Continue reading →

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The Quirky Temple On Miyajima Missed By Many Visitors

Posted on May 3, 2022 by tokyofox

 

The number one reason most people visit Miyajima is of course to see the floating torii gate which is part of Itsukushima Shrine. I have been to Miyajima a fair few times over the years and thought I knew the island quite well but then I saw something on YouTube about this temple and was quite surprised to discover Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Fun & Adventure In The “Last Frontier” Of The Philippines (2007)

Posted on April 30, 2022 by tokyofox

 

Kind, friendly and hospitable people, lovely turquoise-green waters, amazing islands, (mostly) great weather, good snorkelling and lots of adventure were the key ingredients of one of my all-time favourite trips to the Phillippines fifteen years ago.

I was a little wary of what lay ahead as I hit the streets of Manila on my first night. It didn’t take long for Continue reading →

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Dark Tourist (Japan Special) Vol. 06

Posted on April 27, 2022 by tokyofox

The 2018 Netflix series ‘Dark Tourist‘ featured New Zealand journalist David Farrier visiting eight different countries (including Japan) on a mission to visit all manner of places relating to humans suffering in some sort of way whether it be victims of crime, tragic events or natural disasters. Of course, this kind of morbid traversing is nothing new, and people have been visiting these places for many decades but this TV show did help promote the idea of such tourism.

Having visited some famous dark historical sights in the likes of Poland, Germany, Australia, England and Cambodia (to name a few), I have to admit that I am slightly fascinated by such tourism. Japan has a fair number of places historically associated with death and tragedy, and Tokyo Fox has collated them into a series. Each volume will show a mix of relatively unknown places alongside the far more famous (or infamous in some cases!) ones.

1. The grave that just can’t be moved without Continue reading →

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Unstaffed Stations of Japan #8 – Higashi-Abiko

Posted on April 24, 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: Higashi-Abiko

Prefecture: Continue reading →

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Tokyo’s One & Only Windmill (+ Botanical Gardens, Lakes, Towers, A Gas Station, A Zoo & A Big Buddha Statue)

Posted on April 21, 2022 by tokyofox

It’s amazing what you can find by just scrolling through Google Maps in the search of something interesting. It’s a great way of discovering the likes of temples, parks or restaurants in local areas but I really did not expect to find a windmill in the capital city, let alone in Northern Tokyo relatively close to our home.

My wife and I headed about seven kilometres north of the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre in Itabashi-ku back in February. It was a fairly cloudy day then so I thought I’d return at the end of March by myself to try and Continue reading →

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Foxed In The Head: Cycling To All Inari Shrines In Tokyo’s 23 Wards – #22 Adachi

Posted on April 18, 2022 by tokyofox

#22. Adachi 

Cycling may be something that I love to do but I’m not really one who goes for a ride without some kind of aim whether it be to a restaurant, a sight or just my workplace. With that in mind, and desperate to get out on my new bike, I decided to cycle round ALL the Inari Shrines in Tokyo taking each of the 23 wards one at a time.

Inspired by recent interest in tiny shrines, this idea seemed like a good way of Continue reading →

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Tokyo Filming Locations #21 – Around The World In 80 Days (1956)

Posted on April 15, 2022 by tokyofox

It doesn’t take so long to circumnavigate the world these days, and young people seeing the title of this film may not think this is any kind of challenge. Even when the film was made in 1956, one could do it in a little less than two days but when Jules Verne wrote the story in the 19th century it needed a lot more effort. Thanks to new steamships and railways, a Victorian Englishman thought he could do it in 80 days.

There’s been a few incarnations of this classic story but the original one is an epic 167 minute film directed by Michael Anderson. It is set in 1872 where English gentleman Phileas Fogg (David Niven) claims he can travel Continue reading →

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