Getting to Izu in Shizuoka Prefecture is usually a straightforward affair. Board the JR Tokaido Line and ride for a couple of hours from Shinagawa to Atami before changing trains. If my wife is deciding then we usually take the more expensive Shinkansen (bullet train). She got her way the last time we went to her parents house in Ito though that was mainly down to having to take our dog.
This wasn’t his first time to ride on the trains and he is getting Continue reading
Admittedly I only ever found out about this movie thanks to the title being parodied by ‘The Simpsons‘ when the dysfunctional family visited Japan way back in season ten (S10E23) of the long-running American animation comedy. The contrast between the two could not be more different though and funnily enough, the one with more on screen time in Japan is actually the cartoon!
Only about ten minutes of this overly long war drama (138 minutes!) are in Japan but they are the best and most pivotal scenes in the movie which makes sense given its title. Those two facts just about merit an inclusion in this films ‘set’ in Japan series. The bombing Continue reading
Museums don’t often get featured on Tokyo Fox as I generally find it difficult to truly appreciate them. There are always exceptions though and one such example is this art museum up in Saitama which was brought to my attention as it exhibits a prototype of one of the Nakagin capsules from the famed architectural wonder tower block in Ginza. Little did I know but the museum building was also a 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: Hippo Park
Location: 2-22-4 Continue reading
Much has been written about the sight of hundreds of beautiful red torii gates at the likes of Motonosumi Shrine (Yamaguchi), Takayama Inari-Jinja Shrine (Aomori) and of course the hugely popular Fushimi Inari (Kyoto). They are all absolutely awesome places but there’s something equally interesting about seeing just a solitary red torii gate amidst a stunning setting.
One such place is on the east coast of Continue reading
For many decades now, international artists have often felt the need to put pen to paper and write some lyrics about their Japanese experience, particularly visiting Tokyo. Most of the songs are far from being their greatest work but for Japanophiles they can offer an interesting insight into a culture which used to be a mystery to many people in the western world. Without further ado, here is the Tokyo Fox top ten……songs about Japan from the 2000s…
10. Harajuku Girls Continue reading
#11. Sumida
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
Built in 1972 as a monument to a promised ideal that never came to fruition, the Nakagin Capsule Tower (8-10-6 Ginza, Chūō-ku) continues to be popular with photographers wanting to capture it’s unique architecture. The building is basically two towers consisting of elevators and plumbing with 140 capsules attached like jenga blocks. It was claimed to be the tower of the future whereas these days it is a bit of a vacant rust bucket!
There was a time when you could stay in a couple of the capsules via Air bnb (at ludicrously high rates of ¥80,000 – ¥100,000 per night! That’s £530 – £660 or $730 – $910!!), and in the last few years it has become possible to do 45 minute tours of the place for Continue reading
Avid readers of this site would be forgiven for thinking that I only eat weird ramen dishes, but I do have regular ramen from time to time. That’s just not blog-worthy but after finding out about a Michelin star ramen restaurant I decided to sample it. Twice.
Back in the UK last year, ‘Paul Hollywood Eats Japan‘ aired on Channel 4 but I just wasn’t able to get hold of it until this year when it appeared on YouTube. Fearing it would be taken down I thought I should quickly consume all three episodes. The first one featured Tokyo and saw the baker extraordinaire visit a Michelin starred ramen restaurant.
Little did I know that Continue reading
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 rabbit island with a history so contrasting to it’s cuteness appeal. Continue reading
Tokyo Fox (東京狐) 