Here`s Johnny …… and he`s back on top form in this truly heartfelt contemplative real-life social drama about war photographer William Eugene Smith who travels back to Japan to document the devastating effects of mercury poisoning in a coastal community of Kumamoto Prefecture.
Even though I`ve known about `Minamata` being in the works for a few years I never did any research as to what it meant or what it was about. Subsequently I had absolutely Continue reading
The idea of cycling around all the Inari shrines of Tokyo`s 23 wards came about during the first State of Emergency (a soft lockdown of sorts) in 2020 as a way of getting out on my new bike whilst keeping a safe distance from people as Coronavirus began to take effect on Japan.
Shrines are generally quiet places with very few people in them, and the tiny ones which interest me are barely capable of hosting more than a few people at a time, if that! At this moment in time, 12 out of the 23 wards in Tokyo have been published on Tokyo Fox so it is time for a compilation of the smallest Inari shrines I`ve encountered thus far.
1. Akatsuka Komagata Inari Shrine, Itabashi-ku. More details here
2. Inari Shrine, Continue reading
When it comes to ramen, there are many tastes and regional variations whether it be shio (salt), shoyu (soy sauce), tonkotsu (pork bone broth) in Kyushu or miso ramen which is served up in Hokkaido. On top of that come the crazy novelty ones which include things like cheese, coffee, ice-cream, tequila, kiwi, ham, lemon, pineapple, sake and so on. The kind of things that the true ramen masters would most definitely turn their nose up at!
Pizza and ramen is a pretty heavy lunch combo but this particular fusion cuisine thankfully allows you to enjoy both in one dish. Located on a quiet backstreet, Continue reading
Love or hate them, pet cafes have become popular places over the last decade or so. Much has been written and said about the various dog, cat, rabbit and owl cafes and one really should do their own research before visiting such places as there are plenty of dubious ones operating under poor and squalid conditions.
When I heard about a capybara cafe a couple of years ago my first thought was “What the hell is a capybara?!” as I’d never heard of them. After that I wondered if Continue reading
The likes of Bruges, Copenhagen, Porto, Prague and Athens have all been destinations for Leicester City on their European adventures in recent years and a few more will be added in the 2021-22 season when they compete in the Europa League for the second year running. Sure, it’s not the competition the foxes really wanted to be in but it is a sign of how things have progressed in recent years.
It’s been a successful time with Premier League (2016) and FA Cup (2021) triumphs but it hasn’t always been that way and for fans in the 70s and 80s things were very different. That was a time when, believe it or not, playing Scottish clubs seemed glamorous. As I got into football in the 1983-84 season, the Panini sticker albums and Grandstand always included the Scottish Leagues and so I never even questioned Continue reading
Anyone who has ever seen any Godzilla movie will know that the fire-breathing radioactive lizard is a pretty powerful kaiju (monster) with a wealth of energy and now, thanks to beverage maker Cheerio, you can possess a fraction of that energy (*) thanks to this new drink which went on sale Continue reading
Until our visit to Yumenoshima in late 2019 I wasn’t really aware of there being too many botanical gardens in Tokyo. As it turns out, there’s about a dozen such places and one of them happened to be in the ward that we reside in. Not only that but it was within spitting distance of a place I’ve been to numerous times.
Back one Sunday in early April, my wife and I went on a fairly short cycle ride to check out some sights in our local area of Itabashi-ku beginning with the Akatsuka Botanical Garden (5-17-14 Akatsuka) which is approximately 12,000 m² in size and includes medicinal plants garden and agricultural farm areas.
My photos certainly Continue reading
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: Airplane Climbing Frame
Location: Continue reading
When travelling on the Izukyūkō Line over the last few years there have often been a lot of advertisements in the train featuring a treasure of old Buddha statues. Admittedly I didn’t look too close at first and presumed it was just promoting some kind of buddha temple. When I did eventually investigate the posters further I noticed that it was for a museum.
Having not heard of Uehara Museum of Art I had to check where it was on Google Maps and was quite surprised by it’s location in Continue reading
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. Continue reading
Tokyo Fox (東京狐) 