Botanical Gardens, A Big Buddha, Castle “Remains” & An Ice Cream Place With A Real Goat Outside It!

Posted on May 25, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #34 – Airplane Climbing Frame

Posted on May 22, 2021 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: Airplane Climbing Frame

Location: Continue reading →

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This Museum of Art Is Not Easy To Get To & You’d Buddha Believe It!

Posted on May 19, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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Unstaffed Stations of Japan #3 – Inazusa (a.k.a Izu’s Least Used Station)

Posted on May 16, 2021 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. Continue reading →

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Tokyo Daytripper: The Relics Of The Japanese Army’s WWII Military Facility

Posted on May 13, 2021 by tokyofox

 

An abandoned building in a field in the middle of nowhere might not interest too many but when I heard about this place I was keen to check it out. The fact that it was a relatively straightforward journey for me increased my desire to see it but of course it wasn’t quite that simple.

Take the Tobu Toju Line all the way north up to Ogawamachi (TJ33) in Saitama, change to the JR Hachiko Line, and Continue reading →

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Foxed In The Head: Cycling To All Inari Shrines In Tokyo’s 23 Wards – #12 Nakano

Posted on May 9, 2021 by tokyofox

#12. Nakano

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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Dining Out: All-You-Can-Eat Fermented Soy Beans Restaurant In Tokyo

Posted on May 6, 2021 by tokyofox

“It’s a bit Marmite” is a metaphor which is often used in the UK for food items, TV shows or people that really polarise opinion. The equivalent in Japan would have to be natto (fermented soy beans) which is very divisive and something of an acquired taste.

It was only when I started living with my wife that I even really began to ate natto. I didn’t have to grow to like it as thankfully I was a fan from the off. Students are often surprised when I say I like it and eat it most days. I teach a Junior High School boy in Shibuya who loves natto as much as I do and our conversations one day got me wondering if Continue reading →

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The Ewoks Cartoon Challenge Part 2 – Binge Watching Season 2 In One Day!

Posted on May 3, 2021 by tokyofox

When Disney+ announced in March that the Ewoks cartoon was being added to their selection of Star Wars programmes from April 2nd (2021) onwards it was quite a surprise as I thought they were kind of embarrassed by such content.

Even before that news emerged I was planning to finish what I started last year, and complete the Ewoks cartoon challenge by watching all of season two in one day. This time I had the comfort of being able to watch all of them Continue reading →

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Somewhere Over The Rainbow Are A Load Of Dinosaurs, A Mystical Shrine & Bullet Train Mount Fuji Viewing Points

Posted on April 30, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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Review: Films Set In Japan – Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

Posted on April 27, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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