After their heroics in the semi-final second leg of the League Cup in Japan you’d probably be forgiven for thinking that Kashiwa Reysol’s name might well be on the trophy this year.
After losing the semi-final first leg 3-1 against Kawasaki Frontale, it seemed like it was a tough hurdle to overcome, especially when 4-1 down on aggregate early in the return leg at Hitachi-dai Stadium five days later. With 73 minutes on the clock, it was 4-2 on aggregate but Continue reading
With a line-up featuring so many of my favourite female players, I was admittedly rather excited by this year’s Toray Pan Pacific Open (TPPO) tennis tournament at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. I was always going to attend the second qualifying day and the first two days of the real competition that followed. Impressed by the initial line up I decided to add the fifth day which would be the quarter finals and a chance to see the best eight in action.
With four days of tennis on the horizon I was guaranteed to see the likes of Qinwen Zheng (China), Naomi Osaka (Japan), Emma Raducanu (GB) and Jasmine Paolini (Italy) ….. unless one or two of them got injured! First of all, 2024 champion Continue reading
Ever since Oasis split in 2009 both Gallagher brothers have been pretty much constantly asked in all interviews about a reunion. Many people were pining for it, and you’d probably expect that someone like me who saw them multiple times (and bought every one of their CD singles and albums) would be of the same opinion.
That was never really the case though as I thought it was best to leave things in the past, and I was very happy with the songs of Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds as well as some of Liam’s solo work. However, when Continue reading
In the last couple of years at the Toray Pan Pacific Open (TPPO) tennis tournament in Tokyo I’ve been delighted to meet a British female player each time. Last year I was lucky enough to meet Leicester’s very own Katie Boulter after a late finish in her opening match, and the year before I met Harriet Dart outside the show court after her victory in a qualifying match.
Those occasions were really wonderful, and I would’ve been happy to encounter a solitary player this year but things got a bit out of hand, and I met a lot more than that! Of course, all of them were fairly brief encounters comprising a short conversation and a polite request to take a photo with them which is a lot more than many others did! I was aware of all these players beforehand and actually a fan of a few of them in terms of following them on Instagram.
“Hopefully she can become as successful as them and join the next tier of top players whilst going a bit deeper into one of the Grand Slam tournaments”
The above quote is the final thought in my post after watching then-British number one women’s player Katie Boulter 12 months ago. Sadly, the 2025 season has seen a little regression with the much higher profile Emma Raducanu replacing her at the summit of British women’s tennis. However, none of that really mattered to me when I got to see her play earlier this week in Tokyo.
Around ten years ago I began to Continue reading
Surveys in recent years have often resulted in Ibaraki being named as the least attractive prefecture in Japan which certainly suprised me as I’ve had many lovely day trips over the years to see various sights in the area. On this occasion though my wife and I actually spent the night there a decade ago to allow us to see and do some things at a more leisurely pace.
Though the Japanese have a strong affection for animals the downside of living in such dense areas is that many Continue reading
Running north from Ikebukuro Station way up into the deepest parts of Saitama Prefecture and beyond, the Tobu Tojo line has long played a very important role during my time in Japan. Other than Kawagoe (a.k.a. Little Edo) though it is often overlooked by many domestic and international travellers so to try and rectify that Tokyo Fox has come up with 10 sights (in no particular order) that are worth checking out…
1. Yoshimi Continue reading
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: Endō
Prefecture: Continue reading
The ever changing poses of Tokyo Fox!
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. It was planned to scale things back a bit this year, and indeed I did in the first half of the year, but a busy July and August has meant that I may get close to last year’s tally.
This is the second batch of matches featuring five different stadiums/grounds (only a single new one this time round I’m afraid!) with all of them taking place in Tokyo and Saitama. The vast 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 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. Continue reading
There was a time not that long ago when the only Star Wars products unique to Japan seemed to be the range of various lightsaber chopsticks and tenugui decorative towels but in recent times that has changed a fair amount with the franchise cashing in on the distinctive appeal of Japanese products. They’ve certainly been on the increase these last few years and that all came to a crescendo at the Star Wars Celebration Japan event back in April.
Since then there have been three Star Wars pop-up stores (that I’m aware of!) in Tokyo. The ‘Star Wars Galaxy in Shibuya’ exhibition in May was really good with a nice layout, and the one at Tokyu Plaza Ginza has become something of a regular occurrence in recent years which is always worth visiting. This most recent shop at Continue reading
Tokyo Fox (東京狐) 