TF Flashback: Euro Trip Vol. 3 – The Fairytale Island, One of My Longest Ever Journeys, A Star Wars Locale & Explosive War Remnants In Former Yugoslavia!(2010)

Posted on August 19, 2025 by tokyofox

For a Brit living in Japan, it’s a bit strange to go 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 third and final part looking back on the time I spent in Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovena…

A fairytale-like tiny island on a lake with only a church on it in the north-west region meant that the town of Continue reading →

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Golden Statue Hunting In A Low Mountain Valley Not So Far From Tokyo!

Posted on August 15, 2025 by tokyofox

“I love gooooooold” said one of Mike Myers’ many characters in ‘Austin Powers In Goldmember‘ (2002), and when it comes to statues I can only agree with the gold-obsessed Dutch super-villain. In search of seeing some fine examples of this strongly desired chemical element, I set off on an adventure deep in to Saitama to see a temple featuring a range of statues.

On the back of the festive season, and in need of some exercise (and adventure!) I decided to cycle from the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre in Itabashi-ku to Continue reading →

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How Much Has The Red Bull Takeover Energised Omiya Ardija?

Posted on August 11, 2025 by tokyofox

In recent years there has been a rise in conglomerate football clubs with the City Football Group (CFG) owning the likes of Manchester City, New York City FC, Melbourne City, Yokohama F. Marinos and about 10 other teams. Elsewhere, Red Bull possess FC Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and New York Red Bulls among others. Last year it was announced that the Austrian energy drinks giant had aquired Omiya Ardija thereby making their first Continue reading →

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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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