Tokyo Daytripper: Japan Snake Center – A Place To Avoid But Not For The Reason You May Think!

Posted on October 3, 2020 by tokyofox

Whilst I may not be keen on coming across a snake in the wild I don’t really have a problem with just looking at such limbless creatures …… or even touching and holding them! As I was already in the Ota area of Gunma Prefecture I thought I might as well visit this snake institute that’s been around since 1968 as it seemed like a quite unique attraction with 200 species from around the world.

Once I was done at the Ota Yabuzuka stone quarry I walked south for 13 minutes to Japan Snake Center (3118 Yabuzukacho, Ota, Gunma). My research beforehand did tell me that it would cost ¥1000 for entry which is a little Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Quirky Japan, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Binge Watching The 1985 Star Wars Cartoon Series ‘Droids’!

Posted on September 30, 2020 by tokyofox

Whilst Star Wars content is fairly common in this day and age, there were some very lean years between ‘Return Of The Jedi‘ in 1983 and the special editions in 1997. However, there were actually some cartoons in the mid-eighties which were only seen by a limited number of people at the time. Thanks to the internet and YouTube, that has changed and now pretty much everyone can access the animated shows. Many people have no interest in watching them though as the reviews were not so kind!

In 1985 two cartoons were part of ‘The Ewoks and Droids Adventure Hour‘ on morning TV at weekends in America. The former lasted two years and the latter ran for just one season of 13 episodes (broken down into three story arcs) as well as ‘The Great Heep‘ hour long special in 1986 which was set before the final cycle of episodes.

I never saw these shows at the time (they were later shown on Children’s BBC in the UK) so have no Continue reading →

Posted in Star Wars, TV Shows | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Review: Films Set In Japan – Lost Girls & Love Hotels (2020)

Posted on September 27, 2020 by tokyofox

The main protagonist here is a girl who is lost but she is quite far removed from the Charlotte character in ‘Lost In Translation‘ (2003) as this 97 minute tale shows a far darker and grittier side of life in this country which is very different to the more clichéd aspects of society that have been shown in many other films set in Japan.

 

A young, blue-eyed American female called Margaret (Alexandra Daddario) lives on her own in Japan whilst teaching Continue reading →

Posted in Review: Films Set In Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #29 – Robot Park

Posted on September 24, 2020 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: Robot Park 

Location: 6-2-60 Continue reading →

Posted in Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

TF Top 10……Songs About Japan From The 1960s and 1970s

Posted on September 21, 2020 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 1960s and 1970s…

10. Tonight In Tokyo – Sandie Shaw (1967) – The English singer’s follow up to the Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Tokyo Daytripper: The Twin (Water) Towers Of Sakura City

Posted on September 18, 2020 by tokyofox

If it hadn’t been for my trip to Yūkarigaoka I would never have bothered with these twin towers but as I was in the area, and had the time, I thought I should take advantage of being in such a location. Some people will no doubt think it wasn’t worth the effort but up for a bit of adventure I decided to go the extra mile…or in this case, the extra five miles!

First up though was the aforementioned Yūkarigaoka Station where I spent a few hours walking and then riding on the whole Yamaman Yūkarigaoka Line.

 

As a fan of Katakana-named stations (only in Tokyo usually though to keep it simple!) I was intrigued by Yūkarigaoka Station (ユーカリが丘). At first glance, it’d be easy to just think that Yūkarigaoka is a Japanese word but it actually derives from the Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Quirky Japan, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Japanese Town Which Has It’s Own Local Rail Line

Posted on September 15, 2020 by tokyofox

For a lot of people the Keisei Main Line is only ever used for going to and from Narita Airport. However, about two-thirds of the way down the line from Keisei Ueno Station is a planned town that was built on farmland. This bedroom community, about an hour from Ueno, has it’s own racquet-shaped train line which I was completely unaware of until I saw the following tweet from @thetokyofiles.

As someone who has a lot of affection for Chiba Prefecture I was pretty excited by this very local monorail-style line and last month I took a trip to Sakura City to experience it. After being in denial for a few years I think I have to finally admit that I am a Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Foxed In The Head: Cycling To All Inari Shrines In Tokyo’s 23 Wards – #4 Katsushika

Posted on September 12, 2020 by tokyofox

#4. Katsushika

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 →

Posted in Cycling | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

London Filming Locations: Spectre (2015)

Posted on September 9, 2020 by tokyofox

Whilst it’s not a masterpiece, ‘Spectre‘ (2015) still does a good job of entertaining. The pre-title scenes in Mexico City are spectacular but it fails to stay as tense and exciting after that and I really wasn’t so keen on the whole storyline about Blofeld being the king of all previous villains in ‘Skyfall‘ (2012), ‘Quantum Of Solace‘ (2008) and ‘Casino Royale‘ (2006).

 

As is so often the case Bond is summoned to London for a word with M (Ralph Fiennes) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) chases after him on 18 minutes in the Continue reading →

Posted in James Bond, London Film Locations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Tokyo Daytripper: The Lost World Ruins Of A Stone Quarry In Gunma

Posted on September 6, 2020 by tokyofox

There’s something special and mystical about walking through a wood or forest and discovering a lost world of sorts but that is exactly what happened at this place just a couple of hours north of Tokyo.

Wearing masks is something that has just been an everyday thing for a while now in Japan but typically the elastic on mine snapped not so long after I had left the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre just before 7am on the day of this trip. I didn’t have any spare ones either and there wasn’t time to turn back due to the need to make one particular train further north. Subsequently, I had to Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Quirky Japan, Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments