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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Tokyo Daytripper: The Modern Art Museum Where The Best Bits Are All External

Posted on April 24, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #33 – Hippo Park

Posted on April 21, 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: Hippo Park 

Location: 2-22-4 Continue reading →

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One Of The Most Mystical And Picturesque Power Spots In Japan

Posted on April 18, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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TF Top 10……Songs About Japan From The 2000s

Posted on April 14, 2021 by tokyofox

 

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 →

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Foxed In The Head: Cycling To All Inari Shrines In Tokyo’s 23 Wards – #11 Sumida

Posted on April 11, 2021 by tokyofox

#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 →

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Get Up Close With A Nakagin Capsule Tower Block Prototype At This Museum Just North Of Tokyo

Posted on April 8, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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Dining Out: Slurping Away At One Of The World’s Cheapest Michelin Starred Restaurants!

Posted on April 5, 2021 by tokyofox

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 →

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Dark Tourist (Japan Special) Vol. 03

Posted on April 2, 2021 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 rabbit island with a history so contrasting to it’s cuteness appeal. Continue reading →

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Tokyo Modern Architecture #8

Posted on March 30, 2021 by tokyofox

For all its good points, Tokyo ain’t half one ugly looking city with buildings pretty much erected (and pulled down) willy nilly without any thought to the environment around it. However, amid all the chaos of such a concrete jungle there are a fair few examples of modern architecture which I am ever keen to photograph. Now, I am certainly no expert on such a topic but have enjoyed going around capturing the interesting and weird designs of some of these buildings. Here, in no particular order, is the next volume of interesting looking Japanese buildings including the addresses:

1. Nicolas G. Hayek Center, 7-9 Ginza, Chūō-ku.

2. Tokyu Continue reading →

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