A Spook-tacular Halloween (2017)

Posted on October 31, 2017 by tokyofox

 

It’s probably fair to say that costumes and candy are the two main priorities for the kids that come to our annual Halloween party in Hibarigaoka. The latter comes at the end of the party and my job is basically to just Continue reading →

Posted in English Teaching | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

On The Fox Trail……At The TFGOC!

Posted on October 28, 2017 by tokyofox

There’s no such thing as a traditional Halloween costume in Japan as witches, vampires and ghosts make way for the likes of Super Mario, Pokemon and so on. Sure, some cosplayers add a bit of scary fake blood to their costumes but there’s no real pressure to conform to what are considered the more common Halloween outfits. With that in mind,  here are some pictures of me and my costume for this year!!

   Continue reading →

Posted in Leicester City, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Contributing To Leicester City Fanzine “The Fox”

Posted on October 25, 2017 by tokyofox

Back in the late 1980’s I only had my weekly ‘Match‘ and/or ‘Shoot‘ football magazines for company until I spotted something called ‘When Saturday Comes‘ which I think I initially laughed at as it was only in black and white! What was going on? It seemed it was something called a fanzine offering an unofficial and independent view of football but I was actually laughing for the right reasons when I flicked through it in WHSmith’s.

 

Not so long after that, I remember seeing one of my mates copies of a Leicester City fanzine called ‘The Fox‘ which he kindly photocopied for me as these were different times and it was really quite difficult for Continue reading →

Posted in Asia Travel, Leicester City, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interesting Japanese Playground Structures #7 – Snake Park

Posted on October 22, 2017 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: Snake Park

Location:  Continue reading →

Posted in Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 42 Comments

Review: Films Inspired By Japan – Rising Sun (1993)

Posted on October 19, 2017 by tokyofox

Sean Connery is of course no stranger to Japanese culture having appeared as James Bond in ‘You Only Live Twice‘ (1967) and here, in this crime film, he portrays a  Japanese specialist working alongside Wesley Snipes to find out who murdered a professional escort after what appeared to be a violent sexual encounter.

This early 90’s film is the one which gave me the idea to expand the ‘set in Japan’ series to ‘inspired by Japan’ so that this kind of movie could be included. It is littered with random Japanese words in the middle of sentences and other such Japanese proverbs and business customs. There’s even a kind of sex scene where a Japanese guy eats sushi  off a naked woman’s body and drinks sake from another girls nipples after she dipped them into the glass!

 

What is more laughable than that is the name of Connery’s character. John Continue reading →

Posted in Review: Films Inspired By Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This Shrine Is A Big Hit With Baseball Fans!

Posted on October 16, 2017 by tokyofox

 

There are thousands of shrines and temples in Japan and the vast majority of them don’t really register with me but I’m always eager to visit those which have featured on screen in some way (movies, music videos, animation etc) or are unique or quirky. This particular shrine has become something of a mecca for baseball fans not that I can really be considered a baseball fan as much as I like to tell anyone that I’m a Hiroshima Carp fan having seen them live a grand total of once!

Ever keen to see such an unconventional place, I recently took the Tobu Tojo line about Continue reading →

Posted in Quirky Japan, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Dining Out: Halloween Treats At A Conveyor Belt Sushi Chain

Posted on October 13, 2017 by tokyofox

Friday the 13th is here and I’m sure you all know what happens on this particular date don’t you?! Yep, absolutely f*** all!! Well, that wasn’t quite the case actually as conveyor-belt sushi chain Kurazushi introduced a few Halloween-themed treats to its menu for a limited time and Tokyo Fox was there to sample them.

 

It may be a sushi restaurant but these days such places sell just about everything whether it be ramen, tempura, udon, fried chicken, fries, coffee or cheesecake. Of course you can get all the usual sushi items but they also offer many b*stardised sushi items which I have long been a fan of. The special Halloween menu consists of Continue reading →

Posted in Food & Drink, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Star Wars The Last Jedi Art Show Tokyo

Posted on October 10, 2017 by tokyofox

The journey towards ‘Star Wars Episode VIII‘ officially began at the start of September with Force Friday II and things are starting to ramp up as we get ever closer to the release of ‘The Last Jedi‘ mid-December.

 

Last month it was announced that there would be a free Star Wars art exhibition running for about ten days in October in Tokyo. It can be found above the Vacant clothing store in Harajuku and is not too far away from the bottom end of the crazily-busy Takeshita Dori shopping street. A quick walk cutting through the fashionable street from JR Harajuku Station really is not possible!

Admittedly my expectations were pretty low for this exhibition as I ascended the steps. I just thought it would be a small room featuring some framed art pieces on the walls. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see there were Continue reading →

Posted in Star Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tokyo Daytripper: WWII Damaged Building In A Tokyo Park

Posted on October 6, 2017 by tokyofox

Haikyo (abandoned ruins) has long been something that has fascinated me. Such classic examples of haikyo can include derelict hotels, abandoned theme parks, deserted ghost towns and relics of WWII. Often they are very difficult to get to and are well sealed off from the public but this one is easy to track down as it’s located in a park in the western part of Tokyo Metropolis.

 

From afar it looks just like a very normal building but when you get up close you certainly notice the Continue reading →

Posted in Tokyo Daytripper: | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Three Of A Kind: Dragon Torii Gates In Tokyo

Posted on October 2, 2017 by tokyofox

For foreigners in this country there is something very alluring about the torii gates at shrines which are seen to be very symbolic of Japan. Some of the most famous ones for tourists probably include the floating torii of Miyajima in Hiroshima, the hundreds of them at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto and the one on the banks of Lake Ashi in Hakone.

Regular Tokyo Fox readers may remember that I have scribbled some posts before about three being the magic number in Japan when it comes to the likes of Inari Shrines and gardens, and dragon-decorated torii gates in Tokyo fall into that category too. It’s the red ones which are most famous but they actually come in all manner of sizes. Traditionally they are made from wood or stone but there are also some made of different materials. Just three of them feature dragons on them and by chance I recently visited them all in the space of a few days.

 

It’s believed that these three torii gates are power spots and you can gain power and have your wishes granted by Continue reading →

Posted in Japan Travel, Quirky Japan | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments