A Football Stadium Amidst Stunning Surroundings? I Give You FC Gifu!

Posted on May 16, 2019 by tokyofox

Since 2015 I have always attended at least one football match in the Golden Week holiday in Japan. Previous grounds have included Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Vi$$el Kobe,Shimizu S-Pulse, Fujieda MYFC and Gamba Osaka. Just because of my occasional Twitter interaction with a couple of FC Gifu fans, their stadium has long been on my list of places to go so whilst in Nagoya I saw it as a good opportunity to add another Japanese stadium to my list. Fact is that it’s probably easier to get to the Gifu Nagaragawa Stadium from Nagoya than it is to get to the home of Nagoya Grampus itself!

Twitter often gets a bad rap for its more sinister side but for a nobody like me it’s been a very useful tool for making contacts, especially within the fairly niche community of native English-speakers passionate about Japanese football. One such person is Continue reading →

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Tokyo Daytripper: A Uniquely Designed Observation Platform & WWII Ruins

Posted on May 13, 2019 by tokyofox

When going in search of any sight (including world famous ones) one has to be aware that it may not quite be the picture postcard perfect moment you envisaged due to the weather, people or vehicles obstructing it, construction work and so on. The latter was sadly the case here for this strange-looking observation deck in a remote part of Chiba prefecture.

Whilst perusing a Japanese website Chiba a few years ago I came across this 21.8 metre observation tower which was originally constructed in 1971 and consists of a set of interlinked platforms. Known as the Meiji 100 Years Memorial Observation Tower, it juts out into Tokyo Bay and is 100 minutes walk away on foot. I have walked such distances before but thankfully it could be reached by bus so once I was done at the temple in the cliff in Tateyama, I went about 50 kilometres back up the coast to Aohori Station on the Uchibō Line. From there it was a 12 minute journey on the Nitto bus to my drop-off point at Futtsu Park.

There was a map there but I didn’t need it as I knew it was an undeviating 2.1 kilometre walk that would take about 25 minutes. Little did I know that I would be Continue reading →

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Tokyo Daytripper: A Temple Built On The Side Of A Mountain

Posted on May 10, 2019 by tokyofox

Back on New Years Day I happened to catch the news on Japanese TV which was showing the different ways people mark the occasion. One of the places that featured was a temple in a cliff where some people had congregated to watch the first sunrise of the year. I was impressed by it’s beauty and immediately asked my wife where it was as I couldn’t read all of the kanji on screen.

Expecting the answer to be some far flung place, I was quite surprised to discover that it was in one of Tokyo’s bordering prefectures. Last Summer I went to a similar-looking place in Iwate prefecture called Hiraizumi which is 450 kilometres north of Japan’s capital. Little did I know that there was such a place Continue reading →

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Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #18 – Big Dog Playground

Posted on May 7, 2019 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: Big Dog Building

Location: Continue reading →

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Sunwolves Take Wind Out Of The Hurricanes (In The First Half!)

Posted on May 4, 2019 by tokyofox

With the ninth Rugby World Cup on the horizon, it’s a big year for the sport in Japan this year as the country plays host. It’s the first time it’s been held outside of the traditional rugby hotbeds and so will be the inaugural Asian-based tournament. The final will take place at International Stadium Yokohama on November 2nd but the original idea was that the new Olympic Stadium would host it. Sadly, those plans were shelved when it became evident that it wouldn’t be ready in time. The development seems to be progressing nicely though when I took a look before the game of rugger I’d come to see.

    Continue reading →

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Australia 2019 Pt XII: Dining Out Down Under!

Posted on April 30, 2019 by tokyofox

A diet of very basic noodles, pasta and sandwiches got me through the majority of my year travelling around Australia in 2001. Fast forward eighteen years and it’s fair to say that my eating habits have changed. That’s not just due to having lived in Japan for so long but also because of the inspirational Anthony Bourdain TV shows and subsequent rise in prominence of food-based travel thanks to the likes of social media and YouTube.

This trip was the first time that I would make an effort to enjoy a few delicacies that Melbourne (or Sydney) had to offer whilst also enjoying the kind of western food that I rarely, if ever, get to experience in Japan. Whilst food has already featured in previous posts in this Australia 2019 series, it has only appeared as background to the main focus. There are plenty of never-seen-before photos to accompany pictures which have already appeared on Tokyo Fox recently but of course there may be some overlap.

 

Research on YouTube ahead of my trip brought to the first place to my attention. It is Continue reading →

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Australia 2019 Pt XI: You Can Take The Man Out Of Japan But…

Posted on April 27, 2019 by tokyofox

Writing about non Japan-related things on this site usually sees a notable dip in hits but I remain stubborn to my philosophy that posts should mostly be about what I’ve done or where I’ve been rather than what I think will get the most clicks. After ten consecutive Australia posts this one is actually about Japanese things but I warn you now that some of these are fairly suspect!

Precious moments on this trip to Melbourne were spent with my nephews and nieces and I was quite surprised to hear that they are all studying Japanese. That’s got nothing to do with me or my wife but it seems it’s actually quite common to learn it in Australia. As soon as I was able to, I went with the kids to see their school. My sister said she’d see if I could watch one of their Japanese lessons but as a non-Japanese person I didn’t feel too comfortable doing that. Also, I didn’t want to intrude on the teacher’s space as I find it quite annoying when people come to watch my lessons. I was more than happy to see the Japanese classroom though which my youngest niece showed me. The best part of it was the giant red circular rug in the middle of the room which resembles the Japanese flag.

  

What was very noticeable to me this time in the Melbourne CBD was the number of Japanese Continue reading →

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Australia 2019 Pt X: Reunited With Friends & A Trip To One Of Sydney’s More Hidden Parts

Posted on April 24, 2019 by tokyofox

As good as visiting new and interesting sights is, it really doesn’t compare to being in the company of some good friends and thankfully I had a few in Sydney that I had arranged to meet up with on my short two-days-one night trip to the city.

On arrival, I ventured on up to the northern parts of Sydney. After a little detour to see some filming of ‘Home & Away‘ at Palm Beach, I headed back down the coast for about eight kilometres to Newport to meet up with my friend Ruth and her family. I last saw her Sydney in 2012 but my wife and I met up with her husband when he was in Tokyo on business a few years ago. There was no sign of them on my arrival so I had a quick look around and was quite taken back by it’s beautiful, golden sandy beach. Given that North Sydney is famed for it’s glorious beaches I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised!

 

Not being contactable on my mobile was like going back to the old days before phones enabled us to easily be late for appointments! I told Ruth my likely arrival time assuming Continue reading →

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Australia 2019 Pt IX: The “Tokyo” Temple In The Wolverine Movie

Posted on April 21, 2019 by tokyofox

Geography has rarely ever been a strong point in movies and ‘The Wolverine‘ (2013) definitely proves that point as it leaps and jumps between different parts of the capital without too much respect for distance or time. I even cycled this trail five years ago in the order of which it appears on screen.

A funeral takes place at Zojoji Temple (4-7-35 Shibakoen, Minato-ku) but for some local residents it soon becomes apparent that the action scenes that follow were not shot at this Tokyo location as there are no ponds or water features there. That’s where the Chinese Garden of Friendship comes in. Scenes shot there were blended in with the Zojoji ones to make it seem like it was all at the same place. The reality though is that the two locales are about 7,800 kilometres (4850 miles) apart as the gardens are actually located in Sydney, Australia.

 

The Chinese Garden of Friendship ($6 entrance) is in Darling Harbour and I intended to visit them on my last trip in 2012 but sadly Continue reading →

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Australia 2019 Pt VIII: To Sydney & Straight Up To Palm Beach For Some Filming!

Posted on April 18, 2019 by tokyofox

 

Visiting the church where Scott and Charlene got married in ‘Neighbours‘ the day before had really got me in the mood for doing some more iconic Aussie filming locations albeit ones from a rival soap. When I first booked a short trip to Sydney, the idea of returning to Palm Beach never even entered my head as it really is quite far north of Sydney and I was on very limited time.

However, once I discovered my friend Ruth and her family were living up that way I thought I’d Continue reading →

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