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: Ladybird Slide
Location: Continue reading
Ever since my three year old nephew discovered last year that I have a cupboard full of boxes containing Star Wars toys (and a few other things), he has wanted to come round a bit more often to play with them. He has no idea who anyone other than Darth Vader is but that doesn’t stop him emptying out bag after bag of what are mostly 3.75 inch figures!
For better or worse, my collection has barely grown at all in the years since I started living with my wife, and the majority of it is confined to Continue reading
When it comes to taking my wife out somewhere it’s usually a pretty easy choice and generally revolves around animals. I’m beginning to run out of places now having finally ticked hedgehog cafe off the list of places to try. The main reason everyone goes to this place is naturally to see the hedgehogs. Of Course! The title of this post gives away my reason for wanting to go there though!
One of my friends posted some pictures on Facebook from his time at this cafe a few months prior to our visit and I was most surprised to see one featuring a fennec fox. From that moment on I knew I had to go there for an ‘On The Fox Trail’ special! On a busy day back in Continue reading
The Keio Line principally connects Shinjuku to the western side of Tokyo with seven different lines running through to the likes of suburban city Hachiōji and the mountainous area at Takaosanguchi. All of it’s stations actually lie within the boundaries of Tokyo and, thanks to regular free tickets, Tokyo Fox has dug deep to come up with a few places worthy of visit beyond perennial favourites like Mount Takao and Tama Zoo……
#3 – Toko-Ji Temple @ 2896 Continue reading
In these times of computer wizardry the idea of stop-motion animation may seem a strange choice for many but not in the mind of director Wes Anderson whose second attempt (the other was ‘Fantastic Mr. Fox‘ in 2009) pays painstaking visual homage to Japan’s cultural heritage. This Japan-themed treasure has great attention to detail which is particularly interesting for anyone who has some kind of affinity to Japan.
In the making of the film, 130,000 still photographs were used from pretty much the same team who worked with Anderson on his previous stop-motion effort. However, that number is presumably only half of what it could’ve been if he hadn’t decided to do every other frame in order to give a it a more scratchy feeling. Surely, that’s the reason rather than just saving time and effort!
When I first heard about this film earlier this year I was very keen. Not just because it was to be set in Japan or because of my love for dogs but due to Continue reading
This was my ninth World Cup but it was one I went into with the least anticipation and excitement but once it all began in Russia it was business as usual for me. Watching all those films set in Russia beforehand for ‘On Screen #9‘ actually helped me to get in the mood even if the locals were presented in a negative fashion for the majority of them!
After 64 games, the tournament concluded with France beating Croatia in the final which they seemed to reach without really getting into top gear other than for patches against Argentina in the second round (or Round of 16 as people tend to call it these days!) in what was one of the best matches thanks to Kylian Mbappe (one of the players of the tournament) terrorising the defences with his pace. Even in the final they were fortunate to go ahead when Croatia seemed in control. They then got lucky with the VAR penalty decision in their favour before taking control in the second half and romping to a 4-2 win.
Past World Cup’s have usually only had one representative (at best) of Leicester City but this time there were Continue reading
The second part in this series really put Ōta ward on the map and this can only strengthen it as we go deeper into Tokyo’s most southerly ward. I’ve said a few times now that there’s more to this ward than just the airport in Haneda but that is from where the shots of the Tokyo Monorail in the first minute are taken.
N.B. The time codes given are approximate and may be slightly different to the DVD or blu-ray versions.
There are two little bridges to feature in the opening fifteen minutes of the film. The first one to appear on screen is Continue reading
Hakone in Kanagawa is arguably one of the most popular day trip destinations for Tokyoites wanting to get out of the city for a brief fix of nature and/or hot springs. I’ve been to Hakone three times though all of them were well over a decade ago! On those occasions I did the conveyor-belt style tourism loop in the vicinity of Lake Ashi which included a boat, a gondola, a ropeway and so on. This time though I did it all on foot as I wanted to explore the area around Hakone-yumoto Station.
Hakone Daitengusan-jinja Shrine (293-3 Sukumogawa, Hakonemachi) is nearly one hour on foot from Hakone-yumoto Station but that was my priority for this trip which I have included this under the Tokyo Daytripper banner as it’s doable in a day from Tokyo. However, I actually dropped by the area on my Continue reading
The family home in Izu may have been the base for my Golden Week holidays this year (over two months ago now!) but I didn’t actually spend so much time there. After just a night there I went off on my own to spend a few days in Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya whilst my wife was back in Tokyo working for a couple of days.
After such a busy and hectic schedule in the first half of the holidays I was longing for a day or two of doing nothing and I got my wish. However, one day was later spent at Lake Ippeki-ko with my wife, sister-in-law, nephew, mother-in-law and Momiji. I blogged about this place back in January but it really was much Continue reading
Tokyo may be one of the smallest prefectures in Japan yet it does have some far flung places. The Izu and Ogasawara Islands are obviously the most extreme ones as they extend as far as 1,850 kilometres south of central Tokyo. By contrast, Okutama on the Ome Line is a modest 70+ kilometres from downtown Tokyo and can take between 90 and 120 minutes to get there.
I’ve been out to this part of Tokyo a few times but they have always been to Mitake in the name of climbing Mount Mitake. Despite being so close, I’ve still never been to Okutama itself but that will happen one day I’m sure. Shiromaru Dam Fish Ladder was my destination on a busy day which started early as I left the Tokyo Fox Global Operations Centre just after 7am. It’s pretty much equidistant (under 15 minutes on foot) between Continue reading
Tokyo Fox (東京狐) 