The A-Z of Films ‘Set’ In Japan: 70+ Movies From The 1940s To The Present Day!

Posted on June 10, 2025 by tokyofox

Over the last nine decades more than 70 international productions have been “set” in Japan. Looking at those stats now, it seems rather poor but that is more to do with the country’s heavy red-tape in giving permission for movies to be shot in public places. Consequently, many of them have been filmed in the back of taxis (driving through the neon lights), hotels, temples or done guerilla-style! Failing that, they just faked Japanese locations without even entering the country!

All but a few of them have been reviewed on Tokyo Fox over the last two decades (there are still a few that I just cannot get hold of in any way!) so click on the title to see my critique of any that may interest you. Just be aware that some of them are Continue reading →

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6 Days In Hiroshima: A Messy Poop, Live Sport, A Secluded Beach, The Shortest Mountain & The Slowest Bullet Train!

Posted on June 6, 2025 by tokyofox

When people asked me what I was doing in the Japanese Golden Week holidays (end of April to early May) I told them I was going to Hiroshima to see my parents-in-law. In hindsight I should’ve just said the latter part of the sentence because as soon as I say Hiroshima their minds immediately switch to Continue reading →

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#WeStopAtNothing! Visiting (Almost) All (of) The Platform Zero Stations In Yamaguchi

Posted on June 2, 2025 by tokyofox

There’s something slightly mystical and Harry Potter-like about these platforms and one has to wonder why some stations have them whether it be because it’s been added on that particular side of platform 1 or just because they began their numbering from zero! I’m not sure if I’ll ever visit all of them but certainly hope to tick a few more off as the years go by!

Located at the western tip of Honshu with coastlines on the Sea of Japan and Seto Inland Sea, Yamaguchi prefecture was once the king of platform zeros in Japan with five of them but sadly that number has been reduced over the years. Niigata now has the crown but Continue reading →

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12 Hours In Fukuoka: Unique Architecture, Cheap Ramen, A Frog Temple, Platform Zeros & The World’s Largest Bronze Statue!

Posted on May 29, 2025 by tokyofox

The most famous trail for foreign tourists coming to Japan is of course Tokyo followed by a combination of neighbouring cities Kyoto and Osaka. Some extend it to include Hiroshima and for anyone with even more time I’d suggest travelling further south to Fukuoka which is a really great city. I would definitely recommend having more time there than I had on my last visit though!

On the back of single nights in Oita and Saga prefectures my short time in Kyushu (Japan’s most southerly main island) was coming to an end but I still had nearly 12 hours in Fukuoka before my evening flight back to Tokyo. After an early morning train and a couple of buses (I took the wrong one to start with!) I was at Tomita Continue reading →

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Celebrate The Chaos & Clutter At This Outdoor Museum Just Outside of Tokyo

Posted on May 25, 2025 by tokyofox

In my early years in Japan I visited a few homes of Japanese people and was quite astounded by the amount of clutter in their homes. There were boxes and boxes of things, books and magazines piled up high all over the place and very little in the way of open spaces. I don’t know if that’s true for many or just the consequence of living in much smaller places than in the western world. However, there are various museums and places in Japan which almost celebrate the idea of chaotic clutter, and this one a short distance from Tokyo exemplifies that.

Back in October of last year I had booked two days off work to attend Continue reading →

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TF Top 10……Countries I’ve Spent The Least Amount of Time In!

Posted on May 21, 2025 by tokyofox

Without any international travel since the global pandemic, my passport actually expired in August 2023 and I didn’t even realise it till many months later! I finally got round to getting a new one recently but there are no still plans to go overseas. I’d love to do a quick trip to Seoul or Taipei but finding a convenient time to do that (as well as the money!) is not so easy. It did get me thinking about the shortest times I’ve spent in countries though so, of all the countries I have visited, these are the ten which were very much in ‘n out jobs…

10. Myanmar (December 2013) – The original idea was for us to stay for about a week Continue reading →

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TF Flashback: Road Trippin’ In Hokkaido With My #1 American Friend!

Posted on May 17, 2025 by tokyofox

Prior to this trip to Hokkaido I was told time and time again that the end of June was the best time to visit as there was no rainy season there. That may have been true but it certainly didn’t mean there was no rain. Far from it as it rained in part on most days of our five night stay in Japan’s most northern main island. Thankfully it wasn’t heavy enough to ruin the trip in any way and my number one American friend and I enjoyed a busy six days of mountain climbing, local delicacies, sightseeing, and drinking in a number of places dotted around the island. This is the (condensed) diary of our six day road trip to Hokkaido…

Day 1: Less than a month after visiting him in Seoul and I was again with Ethan having met up at New Chitose Airport early afternoon. We were soon Continue reading →

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This Year’s “May The 4th Be With You” Festivities In Tokyo Were The Best Yet!

Posted on May 13, 2025 by tokyofox

As if three days of Star Wars Celebration Japan (SWCJ) 2025 wasn’t enough there’s also been the second seasons of both ‘Andor’ and ‘Light & Magic‘ as well as the ‘Tales of the Underworld‘ animation shorts. On top of that were the Star Wars Day events for May the 4th in Yokohama and Shibuya, and part of that included one cinema in Tokyo showing all nine of the Skywalker saga films on rotation for 12 days. It’s been one hell of a busy month for us Star Wars fans and, as tired as I am, I have absolutely loved it all.

Work, family and travel commitments meant I Continue reading →

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A Great Atmosphere For My 1st Time Inside Japan’s Newest Top Flight Stadium

Posted on May 9, 2025 by tokyofox

In recent years, Kyoto Sanga (2020) and Gamba Osaka (2015) have moved into new and modern football-only stadiums thereby joining the likes of Kashiwa Reysol, Shimizu S-Pulse, Nagoya Grampus, Vissel Kobe, Avispa Fukuoka, Kashima Antlers and Cerzeo Osaka who don’t have pitches with athletics tracks surrounding them. One more top-flight club recently ditched their far-flung ground in favour of a centrally-located stadium and last weekend I watched a match there for the first time.

The latest side to move away from the municipal style all-sports stadia was Continue reading →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #46 – Octopus Slide

Posted on May 6, 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: Tako Park

Location: Continue reading →

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