Treehouse of Horror: Is This One of the World’s Most Dangerous Buildings?

Posted on August 7, 2025 by tokyofox

When it comes to tiny houses, Japan is surely the master of somehow making the smallest of spaces work in becoming a habitat for humans. Whether it be the former Nakagin Capsule Tower, business hotels, the rising popularity of tiny houses, rental work stations or just capsule hotels themself there are many examples of slightly claustrophobic spaces out there but none of them are as dangerous as this otherworldly pair.

This duo of mysterious homes are like something out of a fairytale, and were once featured in a top 10 list of the Continue reading →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #47 – Calligraphy & Large Disk Park

Posted on August 3, 2025 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: Calligraphy & Large Disk Park

Location: Shotodaienban Park, 4-38-10 Matsugaoka, Funabashi, Chiba-ken

Nearest Station(s):

Funabashi-Nichidai-Mae (16 minutes on foot) on the Toyo Rapid Line

         

Disclaimer: Playgrounds are of course intended as fun and safe places for children to enjoy themselves so Tokyo Fox can not stress enough the importance of being considerate and cautious in such places.

Click on the links below to see other ‘Interesting Japanese Playground Structures’

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The Reality of Being a Blogger! (Part 2): 18 B-Grade Sights In 3 Prefectures In 60 Hours!

Posted on July 30, 2025 by tokyofox

Just 36 hours after returning from my travels around Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga and Aichi, and I was off again on another short trip further afield. After an absence of ten years, it was time to return to Japan’s most southerly main island for three days and two nights. The time-codes included are just to give an idea of how busy the trip was. As ever a  lot of time was spent on trains and buses between those times!

11:55 – My arrival at Oita Airport was 20 minutes later than scheduled and consequently I Continue reading →

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Is The Avatar Robot Cafe Just A Gimmick or Actually Worth A Visit?

Posted on July 26, 2025 by tokyofox

The theme of robots often comes up in conversation when I’m talking about modern-day Japan to visitors who come to Tokyo. Anyone from abroad living in Japan will know that the country is far fron modern in many aspects but the image for most visitors is of a futuristic place full of the latest tecnological advances. That may be true for toilets and robots but definitely not for the likes of Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Euro Trip Vol. 2 – Big Movie Locations, Beautiful Buildings Aplenty, Wonderful Lakes & Canals, A Bucketlist Football Stadium & A Hint of Shakepeare (2010)

Posted on July 22, 2025 by tokyofox

For a Brit living in Japan it’s a bit strange tgo to Europe for a holiday without visiting the UK to see family and friends but that is exactly what happened 15 years ago. The plan was to fly from Tokyo to Zurich in Switzerland with my return flight to Japan’s capital being from Croatia. I then had to decide how best to fill the fortnight in between. This is the second part looking back on the time I spent in northern Italy…

The train from Lucerne in Switzerland to Como station was immediately followed by a 45 bus ride to Tremezzo which is home to two of the most luxurious villas in all of Como. I was staying next to one of them in a two-star hotel! To be fair, the view from my window was great….if I Continue reading →

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The Quickest Way To Ride Through All 106 Stations On The 4 Toei Lines In Tokyo

Posted on July 18, 2025 by tokyofox

Have you ever wondered what the quickest way to ride through all 106 stations on Tokyo’s four Toei Lines is? If you’re answer to that rather ironic question is yes then you have come to the right place but you really ought to see a doctor once you’ve read all about this most essential of challenges!

This map makes it look simpler than it really is! There are more stations than are marked on here!

Ever since I found out about the London Tube challenge nearly two decades ago I have thought about doing something similar for the Tokyo Metro. I even planned the route I’d undertake about eight years ago but have just never had quite enough desire to waste spend a whole day doing that. A good warm-up for that though was the Continue reading →

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Cold Showers, Dodgy Electricity & An Overgrown Garden: The Ups & Downs of Having A Holiday Home

Posted on July 15, 2025 by tokyofox

A recent short break for all the teachers in my workplace allowed some time to relax and enjoy the time off but that wasn’t quite the case for me. On the face of it a trip to the east coast of the Izu Peninsula in Shizuoka Prefecture sounds pretty good but as ever it wasn’t really a holiday.

A nice image of a beach in Izu but we could only dream of such a place on this trip!

About eight years ago my parents-in-law bought a second house in Izu so that they had a home closer (than their Hiroshima apartment) to their children (my wife and her brother) in Tokyo without having to live in the big city itself. Their visits to the house have become fewer and fewer in recent years due to Continue reading →

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Is Attending 2 Live Sports Events In One Day Really Worth The Effort?

Posted on July 12, 2025 by tokyofox

 

Two sports matches in one day is something I’ve done a few times in Japan over the years but it has always involved football. There was one time when I did a combo of rugby and football but all other occasions were a double header of the latter. This time though was a mix of two sports that I don’t see too often.

First up on a boiling hot afternoon last Continue reading →

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TF Top 10……Football Match Day Experiences In 2025 So Far (Part 1)

Posted on July 8, 2025 by tokyofox

  

In 2024 I went to 32 football matches in Japan which was the most I’ve ever done including my years as a season ticket holder at Leicester City back in the 1990s. Things have been scaled back a bit this year but (all being well!) I should still manage to see 20-something matches in 2025. These are the first 10 of the year featuring 9 different stadiums/grounds (including four I’d never been to before) in six different prefectures.

A few of these have had their own blog posts but the majority of them weren’t really considered to be worthy of a solitary post so I have collated them into this rankings list. It’s rather Reysol away-day heavy but as ever, it’s certainly not one to be taken too seriously as it’s based on a mixture of occasion, weather, people I met, the stadium and maybe even the football itself! For the record, I have enjoyed all of them in different ways.

10. Aries Continue reading →

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Unstaffed Stations Of Japan #21 – Yotsutsuji

Posted on July 4, 2025 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.

Station: Yotsutsuji

Prefecture: Continue reading →

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