SUBCULTURE CENTRAL - Metropolis Magazine

Transcription

Oct 31-Nov 13, 2014
Japan’s Nº1 English Magazine
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BEAUTIFUL
NIGHTMARES
TIM BURTON’S DARK ART
LOUD AND PROUD
COMING OUT OF THE
PAPER CLOSET
SUBCULTURE
CENTRAL
SEE OUR
NAKANO
SPECIAL
Queen
of
Hearts
CHE’NELLE
CHANNELS
THE LOVE
無料 PRICELESS
FINDING
FALL
TOKYO’S TOP
KOYO SPOTS
TITANS’
ATTACK ON
UENO
CHECK THE
WATCH LIST
GET INTO
IKEBANA
IN TOKYO
CLASSIFIEDS
DO YOU HAVE
WHAT IT TAKES
FOR TV?
Looking for English
& Chinese speakers
Also Japanese, Spanish
& French speakers
日本初上陸！
NOW IN JAPAN!
TOKYO
CORRESPONDENT
Fashion One broadcasts original programming
to over 300 million people in 44 countries.
We’re now looking for a Tokyo correspondent
to join our worldwide operations.
No fashion experience needed—just the right
personality! Send your CV, cover letter, photo
and/or video application, plus a link to any
on-camera work to:
http://www.fashionone.jp/casting
日本人テレビリポーター
を募集しています！
日本初上陆！
我们正在面向全球招募中
文流利的电视台记者！
ファッションワンは世界44ヶ国、3億人以
上に発信している番組です。
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metropolis.co.jp/fashionone
inside
OCT 31-NOV 13, 2014 • #1075
EDITOR’S
LETTER
This issue of Metropolis is about finding yourself. As we take
off our futuristic and frightening Halloween masks, it’s time to
rediscover the people underneath. On our way out for some private time in colorful fall kōyō, we sat with songstress Che’nelle to
learn how her music has been influenced by her multicultural life.
06
Photo by Ryan Bruss
Pop Princess: Che’nelle expounds on the love of love.
16
Of course, there are those who prefer expression through style,
and the underground side of Fashion Week may be just for you.
Or perhaps you’d prefer Tim Burton’s world of the weird? And
then there’s our detailed exploration of Nakano ward, where you
can be proud to be yourself no matter who that happens to be.
Photo by Martin Leroux
Nakano Nuance: A city official shows his pride.
27
© 2014 Tim Burton
Glue and Scissorhands: Tim Burton’s eerie art.
Cover design: Kohji Shiiki. Photography: Ryan Bruss. Wardrobe: Samuel Thomas. Photographed at Oakwood Premier Tokyo Midtown.
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CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Neil Butler EDITORIAL Mike Kanert (Managing Editor) Martin Leroux (Editor) Wendy Nguyen (Editorial
Assistant & Social Media Manager) Anna Cock Gibson (Proofreader) Momoko Mochizuki, Nina Janezic (Interns) CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Dan Grunebaum (Entertainment) Don Morton (Movies) C.B. Liddell (Arts) Samuel Thomas (Fashion) DESIGN Kohji Shiiki (Art Director) Davi
Azevedo (Graphic Designer) WEB Minh Douangprachanh (Digital Manager) James McGuire (Web Developer) PRODUCTION Helen Langford
(Production Assistant) ADVERTISING Akane Ochi, Karl Nakashima, Niki Kaihara (Sales Managers) Yo Takahashi (Sales Executive) Ai
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03
upfront
SCENE AROUND TOWN
Photo by Randy Steinlauf
Photo by Akiko Nakagawa
LINGOIST
IT’S ALL IN THE TIMING
Oct 18: The 59th CWAJ Print Show at the Tokyo American Club, Azabu Juban
Photo by Samuel Thomas
Fall is the season for kōyō (changing leaves) and indulging in good food—
but fall one step behind, and you’ll miss it all. Timing is everything, and by
using the suffix “-goro,” you’ll know exactly when to enjoy the beautiful
sights and delicious bites!
JP
EN
Kōyō no migoro wa itsu desu ka?
When will the fall leaves be at
their best?
Ringo no tabegoro wa itsu desu
ka?
EN When will the apple be at its
best to eat?
JP
Migoro wa jūichi gatsu no chūjun
kara jūichi gatsu no gejun desu.
EN They’ll be at their best from mid
to late November.
JP
Oct 19: Critic Don Konishi at Shibuya Fashion Week, Shibuya
K
Photo by Davi Azevedo
1
A
け
N
A
JP
EN
Ringo no soko ga ki-iro ni nattara tabegoro desu.
It’ll be at its best when the bottom of the apple turns yellow.
C
2
3
C
B
R
5
8
9
A
Photo by Nina Janezic
ANSWERS AT
meturl.com/
kanacross
Solution:
A
B
Metropolis Members Club
THIS WEEK’S WINNER!
Khirmer Dia
won a set of 7 nail enamels courtesy of Revlon
UPCOMING PRIZE
One lucky MMC member will win a ¥10,000 gift
voucher courtesy of adidas
Oct 24: Tim Burton-themed display at Roppongi Hills West Walk, Roppongi
04
S
Across
2. Japanese chess, 4. Inheritance, 5. Third story
7. Diversity, 9. To ride or
mount
6
Oct 19: Illuminated mikoshi at Kawagoe Matsuri, Kawagoe
S
Down
1. Horse races, 2. Examination, 3. Councillor,
6. Firefly, 8. Ocean
4
7
O
Register for prizes & discounts
www.metropolis.co.jp/club
C
TO-DO LIST
3
TOP
fall fruit picking
UNTIL EARLY DEC
UNTIL MID NOV
UNTIL EARLY NOV
Shibaguchi Orchard
Narita Yume Bokujo
Small Fruits Land Berry Cottage
Pick persimmons (until early Nov) and
tangerines (until early Dec). Open 10am-4pm
daily, ¥600-800/kg (persimmons), ¥700-800
(tangerines all-you-can-eat w/1kg to take home,
from ¥350/kg to buy). Totsuka-ku, Yokohama.
Totsuka. 20 min from station by bus. Tel:
045-852-1445. www.s-kajuen.com
Pick sweet potatoes (until mid Nov) and peanuts
(until early Nov). Open 9am-5pm daily, ¥7001,400. Narita-shi, Chiba. Namegawa. 10 min
from station by car. Free bus service available.
Tel: 047-696-1001. www.yumebokujo.com
Pick kiwi fruit until early Nov. Open 10am-5pm
daily, closed Mon, from ¥600/kg. Ome-shi, Tokyo.
Ozaku. Tel: 042-831-3810. http://homepage1.
nifty.com/cottage/
Courtesy of Festival/Tokyo
Courtesy of Beatink
NOV 3-6
THE VALLEY OF
ASTONISHMENT
Peter Brook’s kaleidoscopic journey
into the mysteries of the brain is
staged as part of Festival/Tokyo.
Nov 3-6, various times, ¥5,500
(adv)/ ¥6,000 (door). Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre Playhouse.
Ikebukuro. Tel: 03-5391-2111.
www.festival-tokyo.jp/14
Courtesy of Cuneiform
EDITOR’S PICK DEC 5
FLYING LOTUS
West Coast beatmaker Flying Lotus (Steven Ellison) flies into Tokyo
for a one-nighter to celebrate his latest album, You’re Dead. The
outing marks a departure from FlyLo’s earth-shaking rhythms for a
headier sound. The impression left is that Ellison dug deeply into
jazz’s ’70s fusion period for his samples. But this should not surprise:
Ellison is, after all, the nephew of modern jazz great John Coltrane.
The album also boasts contributions from Snoop Dogg and Kendrick
Lamar, and is packaged in artwork created by Japanese manga artist
Shintaro Kago at the request of FlyLo himself. Dan Grunebaum
Dec 5, 7:30pm, ¥5,940 (adv). Shinagawa Stellar Ball. Shinagawa.
www.beatink.com
NOV 15-16
ROCK IN
OPPOSITION
The first-ever festival in Japan
devoted to Europe’s Rock in
Opposition progressive rock
movement. Nov 15-16, 3pm,
¥14,000. Tsutaya O-East.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5458-4681.
http://meturl.com/rio2014
UNTIL NOV 30
NIGHT AQUARIUM
Explore the fantastical world of the ocean with 3-D projection mapping. Observe the fishes’s
night lives and enjoy a cocktail at the Ocean Café. Until Nov 30, 5-8pm, ¥600-2,100.
Enoshima Aquarium. Katase-Enoshima. Tel: 0466-29-9960. www.enosui.com
NOV 9
THE 4TH INTERNATIONAL
FRIENDLY RUN
UNTIL JAN 5
TANADA NO AKARI
10,000 LED lights illuminate the Kamogawa tanada (rice terraces), one of
Japan’s top 100 terraces chosen by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries. Until Jan 5, from sunset, free. Oyama Senmaida. AwaKamogawa. Tel: 04-7092-0086. www.tanadanoyomatsuri.com
A running event to promote international
goodwill, bringing together Japanese citizens
and foreign nationals living in Japan.
Nov 9, 8am-1pm. Odaiba Seaside Park.
Odaiba Kaihin Koen. http://amia.jp/
friendlyrun4
CHECK FOR MORE EVENTS ON P.28!
05
cover
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Thends on identit
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inte BY MAR
mid the bitter breakup anthems and
indulgent odes to partying that seem
to saturate the modern airwaves, the
radio still has some heart—and international songstress Che’nelle is doing her
part to keep romance alive in the mainstream.
The subject has always been prominent
in the Australian chanteuse’s repertoire: Her
2007 debut single described her falling in love
with a DJ, while her latest, “Happiness,” is a
bilingual promise of friendship for the subject
of her affection.
“A lot of these love songs are very fairy talelike,” Che’nelle tells Metropolis. “They focus on
falling in love, missing each other—thus influencing people to think and believe that this is
what love is always like.”
You might say Che’nelle has made it a
mission to spread love globally. The singersongwriter’s work has explored various genres
outside her typical pop and R&B turf, including
06
dancehall and reggae, and she takes advantage of her Japanese-English bilingualism to
spread her message ever more broadly. She’s
also lent her talent to other artists, co-penning
heartfelt tunes for the likes of Leona Lewis and
fellow Aussie Ricki-Lee.
It’s quite fitting, then, that Japanese fans
have crowned her “the princess of love.”
“I think honesty is probably difficult to communicate in Japanese culture, because everyone cares so much about how the other person feels,” Che’nelle says to explain Japan’s
predilection for tunes on the sweet side. “So
these love songs can either give them hope
in the world of love, or give them courage to
be honest.”
B
orn in Malaysia, Che’nelle got her musical
start singing in her father’s karaoke bar.
She then moved to Perth, Australia at the
age of ten, and she attributes part of her
Photo by Ryan Bruss
S
E
D
A
SHOF E
L
L
E
N
’
E
H
C
success to her international upbringing.
“The ideas that I have would be more limited
if I wasn’t exposed to all these different cultures
and ways of the world,” she says. “I believe that
I adapt so easily into different cultures because
I respect and love so much.”
Che’nelle performed with a pop cover band
for five years before seriously pursuing music
upon graduating high school, when she started
writing and producing songs that she uploaded
to MySpace. It was there she was discovered
and immediately signed to Virgin Records.
“Social media is, to me, a blessing and a
curse,” she laughs. “The advantage is that people get to put music up and show it to the world
without having to be signed to a label … It’s a
do-it-yourself world these days, and people are
blessed to be able to do that.”
Seven albums and a slew of singles later, it
seems Che’nelle is well on her way to global
domination: she’s just finished a video for “Do
You Wanna,” a collaboration with Miami reggae artist Shifta; “Happiness” was selected
as the theme song to the new Fuji TV drama
Dear Sister; she’s working on a music video
for her single, “Fierce,” which she describes
as an “electro-pop, high-energy dancefloor
monster;” and she’s releasing a new J-pop album in 2015.
2014 has also been full of firsts for Che’nelle,
who’s now working on a fashion project—
though she’s keeping things under wraps for
the moment, describing it only as “a really cool
apparel project I’ve been developing slowly
for some time now.” Dropping a hint, she adds,
“This item normally comes in pairs, but with
mine, one of them will be all you need to shine
bright like a star.”
This year also sees Che’nelle stepping
into entrepreneurship with the opening of
The Crabby Shack, a restaurant in Brooklyn in
which she’s invested. “It’s all about crabs: crab
rolls, crab mac and cheese, crab this and crab
that—and it’s all bomb!” she raves. “Anyone
traveling to NYC, please go check it out. Tell
‘em Che’nelle and Metropolis sent you—you’ll
get a special deal!”
Now that she’s got the world in her hands,
what’s next for Che’nelle?
“I have no idea,” she laughs. “Maybe I’ll write
a book.”
“Whatever I do,” she adds, “I hope it inspires
someone to reach for their dreams.”
Check out Che’nelle’s new single,
“Happiness,” available Nov 19.
Keep up with Che’nelle at www.facebook.
com/chenelleworld, www.twitter.com/
chenelleworld, and www.instagram.com/
chenelleworld.
Check out The Crabby Shack in New York at
www.facebook.com/crabbyshackbk.
fashion fix
ALTERNATIVE TOKYO
FASHION WEEK
BY SAMUEL THOMAS, FASHION EDITOR
Photos by Samuel Thomas
f the mention of Tokyo Fashion Week only conjures up images of po-faced models walking polished catwalks over in
Shibuya Hikarie, where the “official” Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Week Tokyo events are held, then you’re missing out on much
of what the week has to offer.
Some of the week’s biggest talking points were actually
off-schedule, thrown open to the general public ordinarily
excluded from the official festivities. Taking the lead
on populist fashion was the Tokyo New Age runway
show presented as part of Shibuya Fashion Week,
in which Shibuya’s iconic Bunkamura Street was
pedestrianized and transformed into a red carpet
runway for four of the city’s most avant-garde designers. The location not only made it possible for
everyone who wanted to attend to see the show, but
also opened the progressive fashion to shoppers,
tourists and plenty of bemused passers-by who happened to be in the area.
This democratic approach to fashion
was echoed by The Happening, organized
by Xanadu Tokyo owner Tatsuro Motohashi, who staged a runway throughout the
LaForet Harajuku department store that spilled out onto
the street. The fashion show—from underground Tokyo
brands Garter, Roggykei, Obsess, Araki
Shiro and Nyte—was entirely crowd-funded, beautifully subverting in the process
the corporate sponsorship system required
to get a show on the official schedule.
Elsewhere, Tokyo-based Taiwanese
brand Jenny Fax from designer Shueh
Jen-Fang invited her fans to a concrete
bunker in the ruins of the old Tokyo Denki
University’s Chiyoda campus. Jenny Fax
presented a gaggle of corpses bound for
the afterlife, either at rest in dresses that
resembled beds or embellished with gifts
required for entry into heaven. “My theme
was negativity,” the designer mused, adding, “I am just a very negative person.” Still, it
certainly seemed as if the collection struck a very
positive nerve with her fanatical following keen
to wear her sardonic wit on the streets of Tokyo.
However, perhaps the most subversive show
of all was from contemporary kimono designer
Jotaro Saito, who presented his show in tandem
with his father Sansai Saito. Ever the rebellious
son, Jotaro bounced increasingly modernist ideas
off his father’s more conservative designs before
their ideas eventually blurred into an accord of
kimono artistry fit for modern Tokyo—respectful to
tradition, yet still a relevant, living fashion garment.
07
food&drink
Photo by Davi Azevedo
Ranging from ¥1,400-1,730 for pork or pasta,
Flags Cafe & Dining doesn’t offer the cheapest
lunch sets around. But when the price includes
a salad bar with unlimited wine, who can complain? The atmosphere is unexpectedly bright
and airy for an underground affair, with light
wood-grain tables and Roman Holiday permanently paying on the kudzu-crept walls. The
main clientele are young women and dating couples; evenings offer more typical à la carte fare.
B1F Nakashima Bldg, 3-28-13 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku. Shinjuku. http://meturl.com/flagscafe
¥¥¥
With branches from Hokkaido to Okinawa, ChaoChao Gyoza offers Chinese dumplings that are
more than a cut above the rest. The chain’s remarkably fresh namesake gyoza (¥297) arrive
not in individual lumps, but strung together like a
rack of ribs. The “luxurious crab and shrimp longbar gyoza” (kani to ebi zeitaku rongu bo gyoza,
¥399) is just as described, while the thick-cut
bacon (atsugiri bacon, ¥491) is purely addictive.
While there’s no English menu, there are lots of
pictures. Find the nearest branch here:
www.gyozaya.com/chao/shop/
while the Blue Books Hamburger comes on a
rye bun with flame-grilled onion, mustard leaf,
sprouts, eggplant marinade and homemade
ketchup with a cute side of curly fries (¥1,200).
The standout dish is the chou farci (cabbage
roll) stewed in a cocotte, or French oven pot, the
sealed cooking process locking the flavor inside.
Immersed in a white-wine soup seasoned with
onion and chicken bouillon, the tender cabbage
cradles a softball-sized ball of ground beef flavored with port wine, cumin and burdock root
(gobō), with the delightfully tasty tomato hidden
in the center. The most expensive thing on the
menu at ¥2,000, it’s worth the price just to savor
the rarity of a cabbage roll with character.
The drinks menu offers whisky, cider, wines
and cocktails, with a few deadly options involving tequila thrown in (cocktails ¥800-1,000). Of
particular note is the house specialty Blue Note
Tokyo Beer, a light, fruity and airy IPA available
at ¥700 for 330ml or ¥900 for 450ml. If alcohol
isn’t your thing, there are also coffees, teas and
five flavors of milkshakes, which, at ¥700 each,
go down like sticking a straw into a frothy glass
of milk and half-melted homemade ice cream.
The prime finisher is the walnut tart (¥600), an
imposing wedge of walnuts mortared together
with a thin coating of caramel, mounted on the
tiniest of cake crusts. Forget the fork: It’s easier
to pick up this sticky brick and devour it by hand.
B1F Eureka Bldg, 2-9-15 Jiyugaoka, Meguro-ku.
Jiyugaoka. www.bluebookscafe.jp
Courtesy of Blue Books Cafe
RESTAURANT
Everything about Eggcellent is egg-themed—
from the artistic egg-shaped wooden entranceway to the bookshelves and salt shakers. Organic eggs start at ¥1,300, while eggs
Benedict variants run from ¥1,300-1,900, after
which you can peck at an organic egg crème
brûlée for ¥700. The lunch plate includes the
daily eggs Benedict, pancakes, salad and a
drink for ¥1,500. Portions could be upgraded
a cluck.
1F Roppongi Hills Metro Hat/Hollywood Plaza, 6-4-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Roppongi.
EN/JP
Underground
Blues
BY MIKE KANERT
While Omotesando gets the upscale rep and
Shimokitazawa is all about the hip, Jiyugaoka
has quietly been setting a lockdown on cute
and quaint. With its open streets already lined
with patisseries and adorable cafés, the Blue
Books Cafe now aims to inject a bit of adult
food fare into the area’s pantheon of prim.
Located at the bottom of an inviting flight
of stairs off a brick-inlaid pedestrian street, the
café’s red-brick walls create a classic train-station
jazz-bar ambiance, with an appropriate undercurrent of lively music encouraging animated
conversation. Seating is available at a broad bar
or among chairs and sofa seats surrounded by
bookshelves—though the subterranean lighting
may be too dim for any serious reading.
While billed as a café, this is truly an international restaurant. Appetizers of note include a
salty Spanish omelet (¥700) filled with either sausage or five types of mushrooms (shiitake, shimeji
and girolle among them), as well as a “Bien Duo”
of prosciutto and coppa (¥1,000). A traditional cut
of Italian pork taken from the hindquarters, the
coppa is oily and soft, slipping delectably down
almost without being chewed. Avoid the marinated salmon and fresh cheese tartine (¥600),
however—you could do as well by slapping a
supermarket fish on a slice of baguette.
Mains include cutlet sandwiches (¥1,100), pastas (¥1,100-1,200), grilled pork (¥1,600), a kushiage plate (¥1,800) and a ribeye steak (¥1,800),
08
¥
If you're looking for delicious pancakes in the
big culinary jungle of Roppongi Hills, then
head over to Moroko Bar and enjoy sweet
and savory pancakes, which come in either
fluffy or crispy types (¥1,200-1,700), served in
big portions. Lunch menus for ¥1,000. Fourlegged friends can join in the fun and choose
from a special menu for dogs (¥400-600) and
catch fresh air on the terrace.
Mori Tower Hillside B1, 6-10-2 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Nearest station: Roppongi. http://
cafe.morokobar.com
EN/JP
king of gyoza
BY WENDY NGUYEN
Walking through the maze-like laneways of Nakano Broadway can work
up quite an appetite, and deciding
where to eat can be a bit daunting.
Gyoza No Ohsho serves up Chinese
food that’s delicious and cheap—and
right in the middle of the action.
This low-key restaurant looks
and feels much more like a familyrun business than your average chain. The
eatery offers mostly bar seating, where you
can watch chefs meticulously mold and perfect
the restaurant’s famed gyoza.
The menu has a few standout items, and
if you’re unsure, just take a peek at what the
locals are ordering. The gyoza (¥240 for six
pieces) are a must-have. They’re freshly made
in-house, and upon tasting the delicate parcels, the difference between handmade and
mass-produced becomes apparent. These
gyoza are extremely thin-skinned and deliciously juicy on the inside—and when dunked
in the shop’s delicately balanced mixture of
soy sauce and vinegar, they’re perfection!
Another popular dish is the niraniku itame
(sautéed pork liver and leek, ¥480). Pork liver
is easy to overcook, and often ends up tough
and dry—but Ohsho delivers it soft and tender
every time. The leek and bean sprouts give the
dish a freshness and crunch that eliminate the
oft-overwhelming oiliness of Chinese cuisine.
The mapo-dōfu (bean curd with minced
RECIPE
NO-BAKE TOFU CHEESECAKE
RECIPE AND PHOTO BY RIEKO SUZUKI
Love a good cheesecake but have dietary restrictions forcing you to miss out? Rejoice: this is
a no-bake, low-calorie and gluten-free cheesecake that uses tofu, fat-free yogurt and kanten
(agar) instead of gelatin, which gives the cheesecake a slightly firmer texture. With this recipe,
you can have your cake and eat it too!
Photos by Tommy Pham
RESTAURANT
Photo by Nina Janezic
Courtesy of ジェイアール東日本フードビジネス(株)
Upscale supermarket chain Kinokuniya extends its reign on Japan’s food empire with
the opening of Kinokuniya Vino Kitchen. Located at Atre Vie Mitaka, this cafe and wine
bar features a wide selection of imported and
local wines. The menu consists of original
recipes from Hitoshi Iwasaki, chef at the Hotel Metropolitan Marunouchi’s Tenqoo restaurant, utilizing ingredients available at the
supermarket.
3-46-4 Shimorenjaku, Mitaka City. Mitaka.
http://meturl.com/atrevie
Start to finish: 3.5h (active time 40 min)
Servings: 8
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
150g fat-free yogurt (drained overnight using a
paper towel or a coffee filter over a strainer)
150g kinu (silken) tofu
100g cream cheese
80g sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice (1 tbsp = 15ml)
100ml water
4g kanten powder (2 tsp)
Optional: Fresh fruit or jam for serving
Optional: 1 tbsp white wine (1 tbsp = 15ml)
DIRECTIONS:
1.
meat and chili sauce, ¥500) is deliciously balanced between the delicately soft, slightly
sweet tofu and the faintly sour mapo sauce.
The chili sauce could be stronger, but as the
dish is adapted to local tastes, the heat downgrade is forgivable.
No visit to this Chinese restaurant would be
complete without its signature fried rice: the
tenshindon (fried egg and crab-topped fried
rice in a soy-based sauce, ¥480) is packed
with flavor. The rice is seasoned perfectly and
less oily than traditional varieties; instead, it’s
moist and well-complemented by the sauce.
The fried egg on top is a delicious addition
that transforms the conventional side dish into
a meal that can stand on its own.
It’s easy to mistake the humble-looking
Nakano restaurant for a traditional, family-run
business that’s been in the area for generations—but this is just one of 600 Gyoza No
Ohsho restaurants nationwide.
5-56-12 Nakano, Nakano-ku. Nakano. www.
ohsho.co.jp
2.
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4.
5.
6.
In a deep mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, tofu, cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice
and white wine (optional). Hand-blend until
smooth.
In a small bowl, mix the water and kanten
powder. Microwave the mixture on high
heat until it boils. Stir until the powder is
completely dissolved.
Add 100ml of the mixture from step 1 into
the kanten mixture from step 2 and microwave to a boil again on high heat.
Add the rest of the mixture from step 1 into
the katen mixture and stir briskly to avoid
lumps. Note: It’s important to keep the
mixture from step 1 at room temperature or
warmer to prevent the kanten from setting
before it’s blended evenly.
Pour the final mixture into an 18cm cake
mold. Refrigerate for 2.5-3 hours until firm.
Serve with jam or fresh fruit if desired.
Rieko Suzuki
Rieko blogs bilingual recipes at
http://meturl.com/ruby
09
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Grand Prince
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Exit 4,
Nagatacho stn
Supreme
Court
Aoyama Ave
Akasaka
Mitsuke
stn
Akasaka
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Hotel
Tokyu
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Library
608 Kitano Arms 16-15, Hirakawa-cho, 2-Chome, Chiyoda-ku ,Tokyo, 102-0093
Tel: 03-5216-6890 Fax: 03-5216-6891
Email: hiroshioogai@j-star.jp
10
Imperial
Palace
escapes
FINDING
FALL
COLORS
BEYOND TOKYO
If you’re up for more fresh air and
exertion than Tokyo’s parks can
offer, head out to one (or more) of
the many hiking trails in the hills
on the city’s western edge. Great
hiking options with beautiful fall
foliage include Takao-san and
various parts of Chichibu-TamaKai National Park—or you could hit
Kamakura further south.
Experience the kōyō
in Tokyo
BY HELEN LANGFORD
Each of Japan’s four seasons has its own distinct “must-see” natural wonder. Fall’s principal
natural delight—changing leaves, or kōyō—is
on display from October to December, and
lasts long enough for even the busiest foliage
fans to get in some leaf time. Location plays
a part in how early or late the leaves change,
but Tokyo is looking at mid-November to midDecember for the most part, with mountain
areas starting earlier. So throw on a cozy coat,
pack yourself a bento and head out for some
brilliant fall hues.
Want to know more? Check out
http://metropolisjapan.com/
finding-fall-colors/
Kōyō at Rikugien Gardens
Photo by Mike Kanert
Koganei area. Both have barbecue areas, and
Nogawa offers a small playground on its far
side. The parks are best known for maples,
though the cherry trees in Musashino Park
also put on quite a show—as do cosmos flowers earlier in the fall. Shin-Koganei. http://
meturl.com/nogawa
Photo by Helen Langford
RIKUGIEN GARDENS
Declared “a special beauty spot of Japan” in
1953, Rikugien Gardens features maple, zelkova and ginko trees among others. Expect
mind-blowing brilliance to span the last third
of November to mid-December, including evening illumination. Komagome. http://meturl.
com/rikugarden
INOKASHIRA PARK
Straddling Kichijoji and Mitaka, Inokashira
Park is known for its maples, though its cherry
trees also turn a lovely shade of red. Rent a
paddle or swan boat and enjoy the view from
the water. Those with young children should
check out Inokashira Park Zoo, where the
small entrance fee tends to keep the area
less crowded than the rest of the park. JR
Kichijoji or Inokashira Koen. http://meturl.
com/inopark
MUSASHINO PARK AND
NOGAWA PARK
Musashino Park and Nogawa Park sit on opposite sides of a small road in the Mitaka-Chofu-
SHOWA KINEN PARK
Showa Kinen Park sprawls sumptuously over
Tokyo’s Tachikawa-Akishima area. Its most
famous fall feature is an avenue of ginko trees
accessible from the Tachikawa entrance,
though there’s also a Japanese garden with
beautiful Japanese maples closer to the Sunagawa gate. Check the map on the park’s
website to find the best station for your desired destination, or you could find yourself in
for a long haul. The park also boasts several
brilliant play areas, one of which is barrierfree, so if you’ve got wee ones who care less
about brilliantly colored foliage, Showa Park
has something to keep them busy. Aim for
FOR MORE GREAT ESCAPES IN JAPAN VISIT JAPANTRAVEL.COM
JapanTravel
.com
mid-November to see leaves at their vibrant
peak. http://meturl.com/showakinen
KOGANEI PARK
Located on the Koganei-Kodaira border, Koganei Park is accessible from JR Higashi-Koganei or Musashi-Koganei stations, as well as
the Seibu Shinjuku line’s Hana-Koganei station
(roughly a 20-25-minute walk from each station; buses also available). Though it has lovely maples, it’s best known for its ginko trees.
The park has several playgrounds, including
a large, newly renovated one, and a barbecue
area, making it a good location for a fall family outing. The on-site Open Air Architectural
Museum (Edo-Tokyo Tatemono-en) has gorgeous Japanese maples that are highlighted
by a special weekend of evening illumination
scheduled for November 22-24 from 4:30-8pm
daily. Musashi-Koganei. http://meturl.com/
koganeipark
With Ueno, Shinjuku Gyoen, Yoyogi, Yasukuni
Shrine and dozens more still on the list, Tokyo
has far too many parks, gardens, shrines and
temples to mention them all. Many are listed
on the Tokyo Metropolitan Parks Association
website and its Let’s Go To The Gardens page.
Let’s Go To The Gardens:
http://meturl.com/gogardens
Tokyo Metropolitan Parks Association:
http://meturl.com/tokyoparks
11
movies
BY DON MORTON
featured movie
THE
HUNDRED-FOOT
JOURNEY
An Indian restaurateur (Om Puri) and his family open
Maison Mumbai in a quaint town in southern France—
as it happens, directly across the picturesque lane from
the Michelin-starred, classical French eatery Le Saule
Pleureur, overseen by the haughty Madame Mallory
(Helen Mirren). Culinary culture clashes ensue. Fine so
far. But about halfway through the film’s two-hour running time, they all realize that, well golly, they’re not so
different after all, and after that it’s all postcard-pretty
sweetness and light, and it veers off into irrelevant tangents. Don’t get me wrong; at a time when too many
movies are geared toward the questionable tastes of
preteen boys, there’s certainly room for sweetness and
light and movies made for grownups. And no movie
featuring Helen Mirren and Om Puri can ever be bad.
It’s just that for a movie about food, especially spicy
Indian fare, this innocuous crowd-pleaser is pretty
bland. Directed by Lasse Hallström, who hasn’t made
a really good movie since 1999’s The Cider House
Rules, and has even sunk so low as to direct a couple
of films adapted from Nicholas Sparks drivel. Not great,
but diverting. Call it the cinematic equivalent of comfort food. Japanese title: Madame Mallory to Mahō no
Spice. (122 min)
NEW
SON OF A GUN
A young man (an unbelievably bland Brenton
Thwaites) is provided
protec tion during his
brief stint in prison by
a notorious criminal (a just plain unbelievable Ewan
McGregor) in return for helping the older man escape
when he gets out, after which they steal some gold or
something. I’m not sure what the makers of this little
Aussie flick were trying to do. If it was to stuff every
possible prison-life/break, heist, car-chase and gangster cliché into one overlong movie, it works fine. It’s
relatively coherent for all that. It’s just that it’s all been
done before, often and better. Facile ending. Japanese
title: Guns & Gold. (108 min)
NEW
NYMPHOMANIAC
VOL. II
A l a s , L a r s v o n Tr i e r
seems to have run out
of narrative in this second half of Joe the selfdescribed nymphomaniac’s autobiography, and falls
back on graphic S&M and a kind of homage to himself,
goofing on his own oeuvre. Hardcore unpleasantness
and heavier provocations replace (mostly) the uncharacteristic humor of the first film, and while Vol. I could
stand alone, this unfocused, over-plotted and more sinister second half could not. Hated the ending. Still, while
von Trier goes to great lengths to provoke, he is never
less than compulsively watchable. See Nymphomaniac:
Vol. I review in issue 1073. (122 min)
THE EXPENDABLES 3
Let me see if I’ve got
this straight, Sylvester.
Joining your own Rambo
you’ve got Indiana Jones,
the Terminator, Blade,
Hercules, the Transporter, Zorro and Mad Max. And
this cartoonish piece of brainless crap is the best you
can come up with? News flash, Sly: self-parody is only
funny if it’s not the only thing you have left. Please.
Retire. You’re not getting any prettier. At least stop trying to write screenplays. Bright points: A show-stealing
Antonio Banderas as a motormouthed mercenary and
Mel Gibson who, despite his despicable off-screen
issues, makes for an enormously entertaining evildoer.
Japanese title: Expendables 3 World Mission. (126 min)
THE EQUALIZER
D e nze l Wa s h i n g to n’s
a retired CIA wet ops
guy who just can’t help
but rescue a teenage
hooker from her cartoonishly evil Russian pimps. This pulpy vigilante fantasy is
directed by Anton Fuqua, who has, since 2001, been
dining out on Training Day (which earned Denzel an
Oscar) but has produced mostly dreck since then.
It would have helped if anything in it were remotely
believable. It works well as a kick-ass, sadistic righteous-revenge flick if that’s what you’re looking for, but
I found the protagonist to be so superhero invincible
that any hope of suspense is sabotaged. Should have
been more fun. (133 min)
CUBAN FURY
Prompted by the arrival
at his company of a pretty
new boss (Rashida Jones)
who’s into salsa dancing, Bruce (Nick Frost),
a now-overweight child salsa prodigy who 25 years
ago was bullied into quitting, seeks out his childhood
dance teacher (Ian McShane) to get his groove back.
A training montage occurs. A big dance contest looms.
Chris O’Dowd’s a smarmy ladies-man coworker. Yes, this
Brit-com date movie is pretty formulaic, but hard to dislike. And while there’s not a lot of fury or other strong
emotion in evidence, it remains an amiable if somewhat
flat-footed, forgettable entertainment. Japanese title:
Comeback! (98 min)
HERCULES
In last month’s review of
The Legend of Hercules,
I said wait for this one.
But while this my thic
mu d d l e i s marg inall y
better, it’s a major misfire. First, all those cool stunts in
the trailer are cheats and happen during the opening
credits. Second, its intriguing revisionist premise—
that Hercules is not a demigod at all but a common
mercenary who trades on and feeds the mythology
as a way to get work for his gang of head-busters—is
totally squandered in favor of repeated, unremarkable
CG battle sequences and jarring pop culture jokes
aimed at 12-year-old boys. Well, it’s Brett Ratner, isn’t
it? (98 min)
NEW
NEW
NEW
NEW
Hercules: © 2014 Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. All Rights Reserved.; Son of a Gun: © 2013 S O A G H oldings P ty Ltd, S creen A ustralia, S creenW est Inc. and S creen N S W; Nymphomaniac Vol. II: © 2013 ZENTROPA
ENTERTAINMENTS31 APS, ZENTROPA INTERNATIONAL KÖLN, SLOT MACHINE, ZENTROPA INTERNATIONAL FRANCE, CAVIAR, ZENBELGIE, ARTE FRANCE CINÉMA; The Expendables 3: © EX3 Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.; Cuban
Fury: © STUDIOCANAL LIMITED / THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE / CHANNEL FOUR TELEVISION CORPORATION 2013. All Rights Reserved.; The Hundred-Foot Journey: © 2014 DreamWorks ll. Distribution Co. All Rights Reserved.; A Most Wanted
Man: © A Most Wanted Man Limited / Amusement Park Film GmbH; Epic: © 2013 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All Rights Reserved.; Grace of Monaco: ©2014 STONE ANGELS SAS; Scum: © Kendon Films Ltd. MCMLXXIX All Rights
Reserved.; A Million Ways to Die in the West: © Universal Pictures; If I Stay: © 2014 Warner Bros. Ent. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures Inc. All rights Reserved.
12
More reviews: metropolisjapan.com/movies
A MOST WANTED MAN
When a severely abused
Russian-Chechen immigrant (Grigoriy Dobrygin)
sur faces in H amburg
seeking asylum, competing intelligence agencies begin to circle, suspecting
he’s there to do mischief. Going against this mindset
is a German spymaster who thinks the man is innocent
and can be better used to bag a wealthy Islamic philanthropist he suspects of financing terrorists. Dramatically
understated but visually striking and intellectually suspenseful. This may be minor John le Carré, but it’s major
Philip Seymour Hoffman (his last movie), and well worth
seeing for the actor’s intensity and nuance. Japanese
title: Dare Yori Mo Nerawareta Otoko. (121 min)
EPIC
Boy, talk about a misleading title. How
about “Middling”? I like
“ U n d e r w h e l m i n g .” I t
seems there’s a battle
raging in our forests between two races of tiny people,
one of which causes things to grow and another that
seeks only decay. Stumbling into this world is a disaffected teen embarrassed by her geeky scientist dad’s
obsession with said fairy war. This one looks great, but
the story’s so repetitive and filled with over-familiar
tropes that it probably plays better with the sound off.
Lots of celebrity voice talent; little momentum or imagination. From the people who did Ice Age and Rio. ‘Nuff
said. Japanese title: Mary to Himitsu no Okoku. (102 min)
GRACE OF MONACO
Here we have a “fictionalized story, based on true
events.” (Don’t you just
love all the ways the makers of bad movies have of
rewording this caveat?) In 1962, Alfred Hitchcock offered
Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco (Nicole Kidman) the lead
in Marnie. Cornball story tells of how she is tempted but
bravely refuses and pluckily buckles down to become a
true royal, and in the process, through pure charm, saves
the royal family from a palace coup and Monaco from
a French invasion (over taxes), and delivers a rousing
speech at—wait for it—a lavish charity ball. Jeez. Who
cares? Dramatically inert middlebrow mush. Japanese
title: Grace of Monaco: Kohi no Kirifuda. (102 min)
SCUM
Ever wonder where
tough-guy British actor
Ray Winstone star ted
out? With tough-kid Britgrit roles, of course. This
1977 docudrama, shot when Ray was 20, exposed the
brutality of the country’s “borstal” system of juvenile
detention centers (since improved). It’s hard to watch
in some places, with violent and graphic scenes of
bullying and rape, but never less than compelling. It
was originally commissioned for the BBC as a critique
of this kind of institutional dehumanization. When the
Beeb deemed it too violent for broadcast, director Alan
Clarke reshot it as a feature film. Still powerful today.
(98 min)
IF I STAY
A teenage girl’s family is
wiped out in a car crash
and she’s left in a coma,
but through a mystical
narrative device she’s
split between her comatose self and a “spirit” self who
wanders around the hospital wondering if she should
succumb or awake as an orphan (albeit with a hunky
boyfriend). I’m not familiar with the YA novels of Gayle
Forman, but I’m pretty sure she reads Nicholas Sparks.
Manipulative, banal and relentlessly drippy. But the acting’s good, especially Chloë Grace Moretz, who at 17 is
showing signs that she just might survive the transition
from child sensation to grown-up actor. Japanese title:
If I Stay: Ai ga Kaeru Basho. (106 min)
A MILLION WAYS TO
DIE IN THE WEST
At f irst I thought this
charmless oater send-up
might be more watchable
had writer/director/producer Seth MacFarlane cast a real comedic actor in the
lead instead of himself. You know, someone funny. But
almost two padded hours later, I realized that no cast, no
matter how all-star, could make this flaccid collection of
fart, poop, come and piss jokes palatable to anyone but
its target audience of preteen boys. MacFarlane clearly
thinks he’s remaking Mel Brooks’s Blazing Saddles. This
is insulting in itself. I used to think the man was merely annoying. Now I hate him. Japanese title: Koya wa
Tsuraiyo: Arizona yori Ai wo Komete. (116 min)
© 2014『小野寺の弟・小野寺の姉』製作委員会
© IMAGE.NET
© 2014 ESKWAD - PATHE PRODUCTION - TF1 FILMS PRODUCTION ACHTE /
NEUNTE / ZWOLFTE / ACHTZEHNTE BABELSBERG FILM GMBH - 120 FILMS
eiga
Masafumi Nishida is well known
as a scriptwriter and novelist.
He’s penned successful TV
series like Jikken Keiji Totori and
Afuro Tanaka, and in 2012 he
published the eponymous novel
on which this flick is based. He
By Rob Schwartz
also converted it into a stage
play starring the same two leads last year. Nishida now
makes his directorial debut with a story about an awkward and endearing pair of siblings who’ve lived together
and relied on each other since their parents passed away
when they were young. Reminiscent both in theme and
atmosphere to the wonderful Yoshimitsu Morita film
The Mamiya Brothers (2006), Susumu Onodera (Osamu
Mukai) is now 33, and his older sister Yoriko (Hairi
Katagiri) has hit 40. They’re totally comfortable around
each other—perhaps too much so—and show little sign
of any desire to have romantic relationships in their lives.
When a letter is misdelivered, it sets off a chain of events
that changes their lives and opens them up. Sweet, funny
and charming, this yarn unspools in a delightful way.
English title: Oh Brother, Oh Sister. (114 min)
ONODERA
NO OTŌTO
ONODERA
NO ANE
movie news
Tim Burton’s Batman opened 25 summers ago and, for
better or worse, launched a new wave of superhero movies that’s still going strong today. “It was groundbreaking, frankly,” Michael Keaton said at the recent Venice
Film Festival. “Tim changed a lot, and I was part of that—
proudly so.” Keaton, now 63, was recently in Italy to promote Birdman, in which he plays a fading actor who once
enjoyed the fame of an iconic superhero role but is struggling to make a comeback on Broadway. The film has
already won a great deal of acclaim for director Alejandro
González Iñárritu, who choreographed the camera
and actors (including fellow superhero alums Edward
Norton and Emma Stone) to make the drama unfold in
an apparent single take. Keaton’s performance has also
given rise to speculation that he may win his first Oscar
more than 30 years into his career. Keaton admitted that
playing Batman had a huge effect on his career by making him internationally famous, but that the role has not
“followed him around” throughout his career. Not so for
his own screen character, though: “Birdman is not going
anywhere,” Keaton said. “And you all got a Birdman. He
is your negative ego who wants control. And you either
have to make peace with him or kick his ass.” Kevin Mcgue
cinematic underground
The 18th-century French novel Beauty and the Beast
has been adapted for f ilm several times, with the
Disneyfied version being the most widely seen. Now
the French have reclaimed the tale with a live action
take starring Léa Seydoux and Vincent Cassel that
sticks closely to the 1756 source material by JeanneMarie Leprince de Beaumont. Playing from November
1 at Shinjuku Piccadilly (3-15-15 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku;
www.shinjukupiccadilly.com) ... Of Horses and Men,
the Icelandic film that won the Tokyo International
Film Festival in 2012, returns for a run from November
1 at Image Forum in Shibuya (2-10-2 Shibuya, Shibuyaku; www.imageforum.co.jp). Shot in a scenic, rural part
of the country with sparse dialogue, it portrays the
close relationship the people have with their horses
...The French-Canadian film Tom at the Farm starts
as a drama with a gay man traveling to a small town
to attend his lover’s funeral, but soon turns into a psychological thriller when the family forces him into a
game of survival. Shortlisted for Best Picture at the
2nd Canadian Screen Awards in March, it’s playing now at Human Trust Cinema Yurakucho (2-7-1
Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku; www.ht-cinema.com). KM
13
city life
ASK METROPOLIS ANYTHING
I’m finally admitting to myself that I am gay, but
too afraid to come out to my family and friends.
My parents are religious and would freak if
they knew. But I need to talk to someone or
else I will go crazy. Is there a gay community
in Tokyo that you could recommend? I feel so
alone and need to know that there are other
gay people like me out there. Please help
me.—Confused
Dear Confused,
We passed your question on to the
good people at TELL. Here’s what they
had to say:
It is great to hear you are feeling comfortable enough with yourself to accept your sexual orientation; this is an
important first step. Please know that
being gay is no different from someone
having blue eyes or curly hair—it’s not
a choice or a lifestyle but a fact of life.
We are all the same, whether you are
attracted to someone of the same sex,
PUPPY EYES
YEAR-ROUND
The dog days are here all year with Animal
Refuge Kansai’s (ARK) new calendar: twelve
pages of adorable shelter animals who’ve
been given a second chance at life. Proceeds
from sales go toward supporting ARK’s International Animal Welfare Facility in Sasayama,
Hyogo prefecture, as well as feeding and caring for the furry ones. ¥1,000 plus postage.
calendar@arkbark.net
14
opposite sex, tall, short…
Speaking to families and friends is something many people from the LGBTQ community have concerns about, and a topic all our
Lifeline counselors can support you with. At
some point it will be important to speak with
your parents and friends; hopefully they will
give you the unconditional support and love
you deserve. Please know that if they do not,
this is their problem and not a failing on your
behalf.
Sadly, bigotry and discrimination are still
major factors that create barriers, risks and
stressors for many LGBTQ people around the
world. While Japan does
not penalize same -sex
relationships, homophobia, marginalization and
stigmatization still create
many obstacles for gay
men and women in this
country. Sexual orientation and gender identity
are integral aspects of our
selves, and should never
lead to discrimination or
abuse. I can hear you feel
DOG-WALK
THIS
WAY
Take eager animals on a
hike through Niigata
BY SANDRA YÉPEZ RÍOS
As autumn arrives, it’s a perfect time to venture
into the great outdoors—such as the beautiful forests of Fusube, Niigata, where furry four-legged
friends await with tails a-wagging to join you on
your trek.
very alone. As you begin to speak publicly
about your sexual orientation, developing a
support network will be important. You may
have good friends back home you feel you
can speak to, and if your parents are not supportive, you may have other relatives you could
reach out to.
In Japan, there is a growing range of support for LGBTQ people. Stonewall Japan (see
opposite) is a good starting point, along with
The Tokyo Rainbow English Speaking Society
and the OCCUR helpline. Each year, an increasing number of people join the Tokyo Rainbow
Pride Parade to help raise awareness and support equal rights, an event TELL is proud to be a
part of. Next year, we hope to have a stand, as
well as participate in the march—you are very
welcome to join us. You are not alone.
Answer courtesy of TELL. If you need to talk,
they’re here to listen. Call the TELL Lifeline at
03-5774-0992 from 9am-11pm, 365 days a
year. Or visit their website at www.telljp.com
If you want to “Ask Metropolis Anything” about life
in Tokyo, send your questions to askanything@
metropolisjapan.com and we’ll find the most
appropriate people to answer your queries.
Animal Friends Japan (AFJ) is a Niigatabased shelter that claims the biggest population
of animals rescued from Fukushima in the aftermath of the Tohoku disasters of March 11, 2011.
“We’re located about 200 kilometers from
Fukushima,” says Isabella Gallaon-Aoki, founder
of AFJ, which started as an animal hotel and small
shelter in 2008.
“As we’re the nearest shelter, the evacuated
families called us and asked us to go there and
rescue their pets,” she says. That marked the
beginning of the facility’s population explosion.
“Every day, we transported 20 to 30 animals to
our shelter.”
Before long, the shelter had received 700
new inhabitants—cats, dogs, rabbits and chickens—all from Fukushima. “Since then, our duty
has been to take care of them and try to relocate
or reunite them with their families.”
Three years later, only 20 pets have been
able to return to their previous owners, and a few
hundred have found new families. 450 animals
still call AFJ home.
Overpopulation and limited funds have resulted in too much work for too few hands. “The
ideal would be having the shelter managed by a
group of 20,” says Rumi Fujikawa, who has been
working with AFJ since its early days. The entire
TRY IT OUT
Photo by Mike Kanert
global village
STONEWALL
JAPAN
Japan’s LGBTQ+ connection
BY ADRIAN HAZE, PRESIDENT, STONEWALL JAPAN
camaraderie on topics ranging from whether
or not to come out in the workplace to how to
bring a partner with you to Japan or hyping the
newest dating app.
On the website alone you can find mental
and sexual help resources, options for getting
involved, listings of block events in different
regions of Japan, and a regular series of posts
on day-to-day concerns—even including interviews with major figures like George Takei.
With a large chunk of the membership in the
education field, there are also resources for
introducing queer and trans topics in lessons,
as well as sometimes heartwarming (and sometimes disturbing) tales of student interaction.
http://stonewall.ajet.net
facility is run by eight staff, but there were times
when there were only four.
Daily chores in the shelter include preparing
food for each animal, cleaning the cages of cats
and rabbits and taking dogs out for walks. With
more than 100 canines, two hours of nonstop hiking per person still only allows a 10- to 15-minute
walk per dog. “If there were more people, each
dog could enjoy more time outdoors,” explains
Isabella.
With this in mind, the shelter welcomes volunteers year-round to come help walk the dogs. It
even provides a nearby apartment to host those
coming from other cities free of charge. For animal lovers who can’t make the long-term commitment of fostering, visiting these dogs and
cats is an excellent way to spend quality time and
brighten their day—and yours.
If you can’t make it out to Niigata, AFJ holds
adoption events one Sunday each month at the
Farmers Market in front of the United Nations
University in Aoyama, where visitors can see the
animals up for adoption and learn about other
ways to get involved.
“We’re moving forward, but at the same time
we have huge financial hurdles to overcome,”
Gallaon-Aoki admits, and the shelter is always in
search of donations and fundraising assistance.
AFJ also operates an animal hotel with a pick-up
service for pets outside of Niigata, with 100 percent of the hotel’s income used to fund the shelter.
For more information about upcoming adoption events, or to learn more about volunteering
and donating programs in AFJ, check its websites:
www.facebook.com/afniigata
www.af-niigata.org
ODAKYU ECONOMICAL
EXCURSION TICKETS
WHERE TO GET THEM:
Odakyu Sightseeing Service Center at Odakyu
line Shinjuku station, West Exit 1F. The Hakone
Freepass is also available from ticket vending
machines at all Odakyu line stations. www.odakyu.
jp/english/deels/
TYPES:
Hakone Freepass: You can get on and off freely
throughout a specified area, includes full coverage
of the popular sightseeing destinations in Hakone,
discount admission to various attractions in the
area and return transportation on the Odakyu line.
Valid for 2-3 days, ¥1,750-5,140 (from Shinjuku to
Hakone).
Fuji Hakone Pass: Includes one round-trip from
Tokyo, Shinjuku (Odakyu line/Chuo Highway Bus),
unlimited use of specified transport in the Hakone
and Fuji areas and reduced admission price to
various museums as well as restaurant discounts.
Valid for 3 days, ¥3,700-7,400.
©123RF
Stonewall Japan works to connect queer and
trans people, as well as their allies, all across
Japan. Originally created in the early 1990s as
a support group for LGBTQIA JET Programme
participants, the organization expanded in
2012, opening its gates to all rainbow-inclined
foreign and Japanese individuals.
Stonewall Japan’s Leadership Council is
spread geographically across the country,
working together to uncover queer/transfriendly locales and organize meetup events
through monthly email newsletters. Members
are always on the lookout for resources to compile for public consumption on both the wiki
site and official website. Many have come to
rely on the Facebook group for counseling and
Fall tempts city dwellers to get out and explore. But
if you’re on a budget, the price of transportation
can root your feet in the concrete jungle. Being a
foreigner in Japan has its perks, though: pick up
one of these foreigner-exclusive travel tickets and
stop stressing about your expenses!
TOBU RAILWAY DISCOUNT
PASS
WHERE TO GET IT:
Online and Tobu Sightseeing Service Center in
Tobu Asakusa station. www.tobu.co.jp/foreign/
pass/
TYPES:
All Nikko Pass: Includes round-trip travel from
Asakusa and unlimited travel on buses between
Nikko and Okunikko and on trains between Nikko
and the Kinugawa Onsen area. Valid for 4 days,
¥2,280-4,520.
2-Day Nikko Pass: Includes one round trip between
Asakusa and Shimo-Imaichi, unlimited train rides
between Shimo-Imaichi,Tobu Nikko and ShinFujiwara and unlimited bus rides between JR Nikko,
Tobu Nikko, Nishi-Sando and Rengeishi stations.
15
feature
THE COUNCIL
IS OPEN
Nakano’s Wataru Ishizaka opens
the door for gay officials
BY MARTIN LEROUX
IN NAKANO,
IT DOESN’T
MATTER IF
YOU’RE GAY
OR NOT.”
16
“N
akano is an open city—a
place where people who
come are welcomed,” says
Wataru Ishizaka, city councillor for Nakano ward. “I
thought this would be an easier place to
live in. And once I moved here, it was.”
As one of only two openly gay men
holding elected office in Japan, Ishizaka
has a personal appreciation for Nakano’s historical embrace of diversity. A
traditional resting spot for Ainu people
traveling south from Hokkaido, as well
as a popular location for resettled Okinawans, Nakano today is home to various ethnic and sexual minority groups,
including a large LGBT (lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender) community.
“Nakano has the interesting quality of
being a place that absorbs many different
ideas,” Ishizaka tells Metropolis.
Ishizaka originally hails from Inagi city
in western Tokyo, where he worked as
a volunteer with children with special
needs. “As a sexual minority, I related to
children with disabilities—another minority group—and I thought there was something I could do,” he says. His desire to
help led him to take a non-degree course
in developmental disorders, after which
he obtained his teaching license and
started working at a school for children
with disabilities in Nerima ward.
“At the training school, there were
gender-specific terms used for the children, and the teachers would try to get
the boys to behave more masculine and
the girls to behave more feminine. I didn’t
want to be that kind of teacher. When
teaching animals to children, they would
push lions and dogs to boys, and cats
and rabbits to girls,” he laughs. “I was the
teacher who asked the kids, ‘But aren’t
there female lions and male rabbits?’”
The school’s location prompted
Ishizaka to move to nearby Nakano,
where he took advantage of the opportunity to engage with the area’s wellestablished LGBT community, and became active in volunteer work with local
groups. But he still wanted to do more.
“[My partner and I] worked directly
with community groups, but it wasn’t
enough—we needed to change the system. And for that to happen, we needed
someone on the council.”
A soft-spoken man with an indelible
smile, Ishizaka first ran for office in 2007;
he won in 2011. He now steps into an
age where LGBT issues are slowly gaining acceptance in Japan, with even First
Lady Akie Abe joining the third annual
Tokyo Rainbow Pride event in April this
year—an event in which Ishizaka also
frequently participates.
“There’s an increasing amount of support, but there’s still a lot of negativity,”
Ishizaka says of the national climate toward LGBT concerns. “So it’s unrealistic
to expect immediate change. However,
there’s a sense that Japanese citizens’s
thinking is changing significantly.”
I
shizaka has always been about
reaching out. “When I was a student, I wanted to be a social studies
teacher so I could protect groups
who were vulnerable in terms of human
rights: Those with special needs, LGBT
people, foreigners, and so on,” he says.
“I discovered my sexuality when I was
in elementary school, and I was confused
by it,” he reveals candidly, though the
issue remains a sensitive one for him.
“When I was 17, I became interested in
someone but didn’t want to reveal my
feelings to him in case it would bother him.
“In time, I really wanted to tell him
how I felt before graduation. When I told
him, he said he wasn’t gay and couldn’t
receive my feelings—but he also said it
wasn’t an issue that I was gay. After being
able to come out to the person I liked, I
started telling my close friends.”
He eventually told his family, though
it took a while before they came around:
“With my friends, many of them accepted
me as I was. With my parents, we clashed
almost daily for three years after I came
out before they could accept it too.”
However, Ishizaka also acknowledges that there’s much work to be done
before LGBT issues will be openly addressed and embraced by the Japanese
government. “Things can progress if the
LGBT community raises its voice, but
they’re still hesitant. Unless they do this,
the higher-ups may understand that the
community is having problems, but won’t
know what those problems are exactly.”
That said, gay rights aren’t Ishizaka’s
principal platform. “In Nakano, it doesn’t
matter if you’re gay or not,” he says. Rather, he uses his public position to serve
as a voice for all vulnerable and underrepresented communities.
“As someone who lives in Nakano-ku,
I sense this is an environment where it’s
very possible to be accepted,” he beams.
Ishizaka believes the future is bright for
everyone—especially in his city.
LINGO BOX
Tayōsei (多様性)= diversity
Shōsū-ha (少数派）= minority group
Gi-kai gi-in (議会議員)= councillor
Dō-sei ai-sha (同性愛者)=
homosexual person
Kyōiku (教育)= education
UT
L-O
PUL
DE
GUI
PROMOTIONAL SPECIAL
NAKANO
BEAT
SHOP THE
BLOCK AT THE
HEART OF
SUBCULTURE
17
NAKANO SPECIAL
BRIGHT LIGHTS,
BEST BUYS
N
akano is a study in contrasts: here,
octogenarian grannies haul shopping carts toe-to-toe with quirkily
dressed young fashionistas, each
vying for a bargain. Manga megaplexes attract
hordes of otaku, and not far away, worshipers
rock up to a venerable temple to pray. Nakano
ward is heady with youth; its population’s highest age concentration is in young adults in their
NAKANO BROADWAY
JACK ROAD
Rolex, Hermès, Patek Philippe, Chanel; Casio, Seiko, Citizen; Bulgari, Tag Heuer, Omega.
Watch faces gleam from every corner as the
smartly besuited staff tick off the merits of
this piece or that to the well-heeled customers. Jack Road carries new, used and antique
watches for men; its sister store just across the
aisle, Betty Road, does the same for women.
The shop, opened in 1987, started as an antique shop but soon homed in on wristwatches, and now serves an international clientele
searching for that special something. With over
3,000 pieces, you’re sure to find something,
whether you’re searching for a handsome and
functional piece or a rare collector’s item. Tel:
03-3386-9399. www.jackroad.co.jp
18
20s and 30s, situated as it is close to three major
universities—Waseda, Teikyo Heisei and Meiji—
as well as several smaller institutions. But this is
not a place overrun solely with young whippersnappers; coexistence prevails here.
The area running from Nakano station north
to Arai Yakushi Bashoin temple encompasses
Nakano’s main arteries, a network of shopping
streets and arcades buzzing with activity. To
3F
the northwest of the station, Nakano Central
Park is a gathering place and green space,
flanked with restaurants and flecked with picnickers.
Sun Mall, due north of the station, is a long,
glass-covered arcade running for several
blocks and filled with over a hundred shops and
restaurants on either side of the walkway. The
shopping street bustles with busy consumers
and window shoppers, who can flit or meander
from store to store without fear of foul weather.
Reaching the end of Sun Mall, Nakano
Broadway looms: a brightly lit behemoth
pulsing with action. Bargains abound—a new
dress for ¥500, socks and leggings for pocket
change—while the raucous sounds of arcades
and purikura reverberate down the narrow corridors. On the upper floors is a nerd mecca:
comic books, cosplay and toys compete for
space in this noisy, colorful, mishmash of a
shopping center.
Beyond Broadway, a slightly more sedate
but no less interesting center of consumer culture is found in Ai Road, a stretch lined with
tasteful shops and pretty lanterns whose theme
changes according to the season. Here, traditional generations-old shops share perimeters
with new kids on the block. This is the spot to
pick up those daily goods and gifts that are still
sold in specialty shops by people who know
what they’re doing. “Aji ga aru,” you might say:
this place has flavor.
Only minutes away from Shinjuku, but
entirely with its own character, Nakano is a
tasty mix of old and new. Sample the sights
and sounds, see the street life and feel the
heartbeat.
Welcome to Nakano!
NAKANO SPECIAL
NAKANO BROADWAY
4F
PONY
MORE INFO ONLINE →
METURL.COM/NAKANOBW
2F
Pony is the only actual toy shop in Nakano
Broadway. While there are many stores that
sell toys, those toys are mainly second-hand
and collectable items sold to a predominantly
adult customer base. Pony sells a huge variety
of new toys to children and parents, though the
shop does have wares that cater to hobbyists’s
tastes as well. The only shop in the center that
stocks new official Studio Ghibli plush toys and
accessories, Pony is a fun and fascinating place
to visit. Tel: 03-3387-7451
ANIME SHOP COMMIT
3F
Before the animation world moved to digital, creating many of Japan’s most famous titles was a
painstaking process that involved painting thousands of individual cellophane sheets, or cels,
which were then filmed. These cels were often
sold to collectors at the end of an anime’s production run. Anime Shop Commit is the last shop
in Japan dedicated to selling cells directly to customers. It has a massive selection that includes
the most famous anime titles from the 1980s and
1990s. Going through the inventory, however,
takes some time, so be prepared to search long
and hard for your original piece of anime history.
Tel: 03-3389-8809. www.commit.co.jp
1F
Print Mouse is a print shop specializing in
printing onto hard plastic products. Customers can bring in any image they want or use
the shop’s computer to search for something
to be printed onto iPhone and iPad cases,
keyboards, mobile battery chargers or simple
plastic sheets (up to A3 size). Prints are photo
quality and full color. Customers may also
create a custom layout with a number of images and typography. Print Mouse’s in-house
designers can sit with a customer to ensure
the final print is tailored specifically to the
way he or she wants it. Tel: 03-5942-6066
print-mouse.com
TANSU-YA
Kimono are the most famous example of Japanese fashion. While they’re fairly easy to find
in Japan, they are also prohibitively expensive
and often require specific fitting sessions. Tansu-ya sells high-quality used kimono. As with
most second-hand goods in Japan, “used” is
a relative term for kimono, as they are often
well cared-for. Prices, however, are a fraction
of the cost of brand-new kimono, making those
at Tansu-ya excellent value. Tansu-ya also sells
a selection traditional Japanese clothes and
accessories that make perfect souvenirs. Tel:
03-5318-5291. http://tansuya.jp
PLABBIT
Opened in April 2014, Plabbit is one the newest
shops in Nakano Broadway. Plabbit creates,
assembles and customizes plastic Gundam
models. From simply adding panel gap lines
to full-chrome electroplating, complete custom paint-jobs, metal accessories and custom
modifications, there’s no limit to what customers can order to make their model unique. The
turnaround time for custom work is upward of
a month, but for customers who can’t or don’t
want to wait, Plabbit also sells a selection of
pre-built custom models at its showroom. While
the custom models aren’t cheap, each example
is truly a one-of-a-kind master artwork. Tel: 035942-5629. http://plabbit.ocnk.net
PRINT MOUSE
1F
B1F
DAILY CHIKO
Home of the famous
rainbow sof t- ser ve
tower cone, Daily
Chiko has been in Nakano Broadway since
the center opened. The
shop serves eight flavors,
three of which are seasonal. There are three
size options to choose
from. The small and medium allow customers
choose their flavors, but
the large is the rainbow
tower that stacks all
eight. It takes more than
six months to master the
art of building the mighty
tower. But with great ice
cream comes great responsibility: if a customer drops his
or her beast of a cone, there is
no refill! Daily Chiko suggests
using a spoon and taking extra
special care while eating. Tel:
03-3386-4461. http://twitter.com/Dailychiko
19
NAKANO SPECIAL
MANDARAKE
MASTERS
OF TIME
Mandarake (pronounced “man-dah-rah-keh”) is
a chain of stores that specializes in buying and
reselling Japanese pop culture merchandise.
Starting from its humble beginnings as a used
comic store in Nakano Broadway, Mandarake
has grown to 11 branches around the country, an
international online store and a mind-bending
25 individual stores in Nakano Broadway itself.
Each store targets a specific niche and is
staffed by people who are active members of
that niche, sharing their customers’s passions
and providing more personalized service. There
are also international staff who speak English,
Chinese and other languages.
METURL.COM/MANDARAKE
MANIA-KAN
On the fourth floor, Mania-kan has select vintage
comic books and magazines, including original
printed editions of “father of manga” Osamu Tezuka’s work. Mania-kan also stocks limited-print
books and classic bonus material art books. It’s
an astounding glimpse into the history of manga.
COSPLAY
On the second floor,
Cosplay sells a selection of handmade, often
once-off costumes that
were made by actual
cosplayers. Because
the majority of these
costumes are unused,
customers can’t try them on for size until they
commit to the purchase so as to preserve the
costumes’s quality.
PLASTIC
On the fourth floor,
Plastic is dedicated to
dolls and toys for girls.
The shop stocks a selection of poseable,
customizable dolls,
like Dolfie and SD, as
well as original Sailor
Moon and Barbie dolls from every generation.
HEN-YA
On the fourth floor,
Hen-ya transpor t s
customers back in
time through its bright
red torii-inspired port al. H en -ya has a
selection of tin toys
that date back before
World War II, as well as other iconic toys and
nostalgic goods from every decade of modern
Japanese history.
20
A TRULY SPECIAL
COLLECTION
ANIME-KAN
Also on the fourth
floor, Anime-kan has
a small but extremely
rare selection of animation cels, original
artwork and signed
sketches from famous
charac ter design ers and animators. A
number of its rarest items are auctioned off to
Mandarake’s online Everyday Auction, so the
selection is constantly changing.
Mandarake’s most popular stores with both
Japanese and international customers are its
Special stores. Each store caters to specific types
of figurines and models. On the second floor,
Special 4 delivers doe-eyed damsels to collectors
of bishōjo (beautiful girl) figurines. Special 5 stocks
a selection of Japanese and Western superhero
and movie-themed action figures and statues. The
original Special has an assortment of classic toys,
including Transformers and that quintessential
Japanese pop culture icon, Godzilla. On the third
floor, Special 2 serves up Japanese Tokusatsu
series, including Kamen Rider products. Special 3
sells Japanese manga representative of modern
pop culture, such as Dragon Ball and Saint Seiya.
Among Mandarake’s stores dedicated to
manga are some that specialize in gender-specific
publications, while a classic games store boasts a
collection of Japanese titles across every classic
game console system. Other Mandarake shops
include a trading card store, a model car store,
J-Pop and K-Pop stores, and an anime video & CD
store.
While the specialization of Mandarake’s 25
shops in Nakano Broadway means customers can
save time by focusing their efforts on the things that
most appeal to them, the sheer number, diversity,
and representative history of items in each place
makes Mandarake more than just a chain of stores
selling second-hand pop culture: together, they
form a time capsule dedicated to preserving and
sharing that culture with fans around the world of all
generations.
⊲Tel:
⊲
03-3228-0007
⊲nakano@mandarake.co.jp
⊲
⊲www.mandarake.co.jp
⊲
NAKANO SPECIAL
SUNMALL
MARUZEN
FUJIYA CAMERA
Fujiya Camera specializes exclusively in cameras, and stocks a wide selection of new and
used equipment from all major manufacturers.
Staff are friendly and knowledgeable—many are
amateur, if not semi-professional, photographers
themselves. Fujiya Camera actually has three
stores in close proximity on a side street off of
Sun Mall. Across from its main two-story shop
is a smaller “junk” shop with recycled camera
parts and components for sale. The third shop
sells used camera equipment, such as tripods
and storage bags, at substantial discounts along
with new items. Customers can even trade in
their existing camera equipment on the spot to
save money when upgrading. All three shops are
duty free for travelers, and definitely worth a trip!
5-61-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 03-53182241. www.fujiya-camera.co.jp
“Made in Japan” is the key theme of this
shop, which sells tableware and other decorative household items. The shelves are
brimming with domestically produced and
occasionally handmade bowls, cups, small
dishes, and—perhaps more unique in this
modern age—a wide selection of traditional
Japanese teapots and vessels for sake. Maruzen’s products are mostly ceramic, but also
include glass, wood and plastic. Products
that are particularly popular among foreign
visitors are little statues of Japanese raccoons known as tanuki, or the beckoning
maneki-neko cat statues, as well as chopsticks and cartoon-themed tableware.
5-67-12 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 033387-0882.
ROBO
You might be forgiven for thinking you’ve
traveled back in time after walking into Robo:
most of the decor hasn’t changed since this
Japanese pub, or izakaya, opened in 1961.
The cozy establishment of seven seats offers
patrons something very unusual in modern
Japan: the chance to drink sake poured directly from a traditional keg, or taru. Customers can also create their own custom
orders, such as requesting fresh vegetables
to be cooked on Robo’s authentic charcoal
grill. Don’t be perturbed by the lack of prices
on the wall menu—checks average around
¥3,000.
UMEYA
TSUJIYA
Tsujiya is a family-owned business that has
been supplying shoes to Nakano visitors
across many generations, tracing its history back to 1926. The shop is an excellent
place to find a set of traditional footwear to
accompany Japanese garments like kimono
or yukata, even offering large-size geta sandals to accommodate foreigners with larger
feet. There’s also a variety of modern shoes,
including the styles of boots that are quite
popular with the cosplay crowd. Tsujiya also
stocks a wide made-in-Japan selection of
sturdy, storm-resistant umbrellas along with
traditional wood and paper parasols.
5-60-8 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 033388-5123. www.nakano-tujiya.com
Browsing the shops in Nakano’s Sun Mall is
bound to work up your appetite, and Umeya is
a convenient place to enjoy a simple light meal
or sumptuous Japanese sweets. This small restaurant with 20 seats was founded in 1956, and
although the menu has since expanded, thirdgeneration operator Momoko Okamura still follows her grandmother’s recipes for customer
favorites such as the inari-zushi set (vinegared
rice stuffed in fried tofu slices) and the cream
anmitsu (a traditional Japanese dessert with
cold agar jelly cubes, boiled red peas, sweet
bean paste, various fruits and syrup). Okamura
says her menu is very healthy, as it has vegetarian options and limits the use of added sugar.
WASHIYA
Tempting food smells come wafting from this
corner store that prepares bento lunch boxes
and side dishes—most of which use original
recipes from when the shop opened in 1948.
Every day Washiya offers 10-13 different types
of bento boxes featuring either fish, chicken
or pork as the main entrée. The bento boxes
are inexpensive, with a tax-inclusive price of
approximately ¥500 making them popular
for workers in nearby offices as well as locals
who prefer not to cook for themselves. Customers can also self-select from nearly 100
varieties of side dishes, paying by weight for
their desired amount.
5-63-5 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 035345-5061. www.e-washiya.co.jp
21
NAKANO SPECIAL
AI ROAD
METURL.COM/AIROAD
KANEKOEN TEA
ARAI YAKUSHI BAISHOIN TEMPLE
The Arai Yakushi Baishoin temple is an anchor
of the community as a place to pray and a
place to gather (it’s especially busy during
New Year, Setsubun, and hanami season).
There’s a well tap here where neighborhood
denizens come to freely fill up water bottles
with spring water to take home and use for tea
and cooking. Kindergarteners troop through
the courtyard on their daily walk, and older
folks stop to chat near the incense urn after paying their respects at the altar, a small
graveyard holding ancestors nearby.
As the story goes, during the Edo era, one
of the Tokugawa shoguns had a daughter with
failing vision. She came to this temple to pray,
and soon after was miraculously healed. Today,
the temple is known for healing poor eyesight,
and people come from far and wide to pray to
the medicine Buddha, known as Yakushi Nyorai,
who is protected by 12 fierce and colorful guards
hewn from the same tree. Believers also come
to pick up omamori, talismans meant to heal
bad eyes and more. Legend says that one of
the reasons nearby Ai Road was so named was
because of the “eye” homophone.
5-3-5 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 03-33861355. www.araiyakushi.or.jp
Kanekoen knows tea. This family-run tea company now has 58 shops, mostly in the Kanto
area, each run by a member of the Ichikawa
clan. The Nakano shop has been on Ai Road
since 1935, and the current Mr. Ichikawa is a
the second-generation manager. Its tea, which
is entirely domestically grown, comes mostly
from Shizuoka and Kyushu, including its own
nearly 400-year-old tea plantation. The shop’s
own blend, called aracha, is its biggest seller—
a boldly flavored green tea with an underlying
sweetness. The shop also has tea accoutrements such as teapots and canisters, and the
knowledgeable proprietors can elucidate tea
characteristics and brewing tips. 1-32-3 Arai,
Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 03-3386-4426.
SAKAMOTO MISO
KOTOBUKI YU ONSEN
Onsen in the middle of Nakano? Casual visitors may not know it, but Nakano is built atop
a natural spring, and this bathhouse—the only
one in Nakano to tap the spring—draws on
the restorative waters to provide an onsen experience right in the middle of the city! This
Showa-era establishment opened in 1951, and
Mr. Kobayashi is the second-generation owner.
He says his onsen is frequented by students
from the surrounding universities and young
salaried workers, but he welcomes everyone
to come and use the baths; kids are welcome,
as are tattooed people and international folks.
Open from 4pm-1:30am, the bathhouse also
boasts a sauna and comic book reading room.
Relax, refresh, revitalize. 1-14-13 Arai, Nakanoku, Tokyo. Tel: 03-3387-2047
22
At Sakamoto Miso, tubs of the fermented paste
line the walls and march down the middle of
the shop, which has been standing here since
the 1950s. Here you can find over 40 varieties of miso from all over Japan. Whether it’s
soybean-, rice- or wheat-based, red, white or
mixed, smooth or chunky, the shop owners,
who have been certified as “miso sommeliers,” can help you find the perfect miso for
your taste and occasion. Missing a flavor from
another prefecture? Want tips on a lighter, fuller
or differently textured miso? This is the place.
And if you don’t know what to get, try the tasty
awase-miso—the shop’s own miso blend is its
top seller.
1-29-8 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 03-33862862. http://sakamoto-miso.com
WAKA UDON
The newly opened Waka restaurant looks
like a stylish cafe—and it is—but its specialty
is making sanuki udon by day, turning into a
sashimi and grilled-food izakaya by night (the
udon is still available, of course). Mr. Omori,
who grew up eating sanuki udon when he visited his grandmother in Kagawa, is careful to
use ingredients and flavors from the region;
the noodles are made on-site from flour imported from Kagawa prefecture, while Shikoku
ocean products, such as kombu and iriko, are
also used to flavor the dishes. Try the shop’s
best seller: kakiage udon, a piping-hot bowl
of chewy noodles swimming in flavorful dashi,
with a crispy heap of mixed tempura to put on
top. Itadakimasu! 1-8-7 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 03-6312-6232.
NAKANO SPECIAL
NAKANO SUN PLAZA
JAPANESE
RESTAURANT
“NAKANO”
At the top of the triangle,
Sun Plaza’s 20th floor is
home to two restaurants.
Located just to the right
after exiting the elevator
is the elegant Japanese
restaurant Nakano. It s
view overlooks the Nerima
side of Tokyo, and reservations for window-side tables fill
up fast. On a clear day, patrons can
METURL.COM/SUNPLAZA
spot the faraway Mount Asama
and Mount Tsukuba. Or ask for
a counter seat where you
can watch the cooks skillfully prepare your order.
This restaurant serves
all t ypes of Japanese
food, including sushi,
soba noodles, tempura
and grilled fish. The artfully arranged hanakobakozen, which are bowls set
in small boxes, are a popular
favorite for lunch.
RESTAURANT “121
DINING”
121 Dining is also located on
the 20th floor of the Sun
Plaza building, occupying
the side that overlooks the
Shinjuku skyscraper district. Just as with restaurant
Nakano, this is the highest
vantage point from which to
enjoy fine dining in the Nakano
area, and offers excellent food and an
equally appealing view—particularly at night
when Tokyo’s concrete jungle turns into a shim-
mering wonderland.
121 Dining is officially a French
restaurant, but the menu
offers a range of Westernstyle dishes that include its
specialty roast beef, as well
as salads and spaghetti. Ordering à la carte is also possible, with three to four different options each for appetizers
and meat dishes.
121 Dining and Nakano restaurants are
open daily 11:30am-2:30pm (lunch), 5-10pm
(dinner). Tel: 03-3388-1150.
SUN PLAZA HOTEL
Few people may realize that
an 83-room hotel occupies
floors 16-19 atop the distinctive, triangular Sun Plaza
building, a stone’s throw from
Nakano station’s north exit.
Nakano lacks the high skyscrapers common in other
populated parts of Tok yo,
leaving the view of Hotel Sun
Plaza’s surrounding environs
largely unobstructed.
Even though Sun Plaza itself is over 40 years old, the
hotel’s rooms have been remodeled to be clean and modern. The hotel
mostly offers Western rooms in various layouts
of standard single rooms, double rooms and
twin rooms. Many guest rooms on the side facing Shinjuku have small sofas upon which to
sit and enjoy the expansive view, while single
rooms on the building’s other side are complemented with electronic massage chairs.
Japanese-style rooms with tatami mats and
futons are also available. These rooms look
out upon the 16th floor’s small Japanese garden, complete with trees and raked gravel.
CONCERT HALL
You would hardly know you’re in a large city
center; the garden obscures the commotion of
the streets below and creates an atmosphere
of serenity akin to a Japanese inn, or ryokan.
All rooms have Wi-Fi, and guests of the
hotel can also use Sun Plaza’s pool and gym
facilities for a nominal fee.
4-1-1 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 03-33881177. www.sunplaza.jp
Sun Plaza has various other features, including banquet rooms and recreational facilities,
but it is best known as a concert venue. Its
spacious performance hall features excellent
acoustics and includes four levels with a total
of 2,222 seats (a purely coincidental number,
we are told). The concert hall helped form the
entertainment connection to nearby Nakano
Broadway by hosting numerous concerts,
including world-famous orchestras and musical performers—Bob Marley even had a gig.
Nowadays the concert hall ties into Nakano’s
otaku culture with regular performances by
J-pop group Morning Musume as well as
anime-related music and events.
Tel: 03-3388-2893
23
MAP
HEIWA
PARK
STREET
AN O
DO R
I
ARAI YAKUSHI
BAISHOIN
NAK
KANNANA
DORI
AI ROAD
MIZUHO
BANK
WAS
EDA
DO
NAKANO
GYMNASIUM
RI
NAKANO BROADWAY
SUNMALL
ARCADE
NAKANO
SUN PLAZA
NAKANO
WARD OFFICE
NAKANO KYORITSU
HOSPITAL
NAKANO NORTH
EXIT ICHIBANGAI
NORTH EXIT
JR CHUO LINE
NAKANO STATION
TOKYO METRO TŌZAI LINE/ JR CHUO LINE
NAVIGATE THE NICHES OF NAKANO
NAKANO BROADWAY OFFICE
YAKUSHI AI ROAD OFFICE
NAKANO SUNMALL OFFICE
NAKANO SUN PLAZA
5-52-15 Nakano, Nakano-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03-3388-7004
www.nbw.jp
Tel:03-3387-3586
1-22-6 Arai, Nakano-ku, Tokyo
Tel: 03-6454-0070
www.ai-road.com
Tel: 03-3388-1151
www.sunplaza.jp
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25
arts&culture
JAPAN BEAT
S ON I C
K A L E I D O
S CO P E
Shuta Hasunuma’s musical polymorphism
BY DAN GRUNEBAUM
A revealing fact about Japan is that its avantgarde arts scene is often more widely acclaimed
abroad than at home. From butoh dance to noise
music to the post-war Gutai art movement, the
biggest recognition often comes overseas.
“It’s frustrating that Japanese culture is often
best presented, or artworks purchased, by Western fans and collectors,” says young musician
Shuta Hasunuma. “The Japanese art scene is
frequently late to recognize the value of movements like Gutai. There was a lot of activity in
Japan in the ’60s but it took American curators
to shine a spotlight on it. Japanese galleries
simply follow in their wake.”
Happily, that’s not the case for Hasunuma,
a self-taught composer of intricate electronic
and chamber music scores whose works are
acclaimed both at home and abroad. Hasunuma
speaks from New York, where he’s on a sixmonth Asian Cultural Council study fellowship.
“NYC has a greater variety and deeper history
of experimental music than Tokyo,” he explains
about his overseas residency. “So I wanted to
experience it for myself.”
Hasunuma had what he calls a typical upbringing in the home of a Saitama salaryman.
There was no inkling of his progressive leanings
26
in his early studies on electone, or later fondness
for J-pop and then American skate punk.
“I never went to music school,” Hasunuma
says about his background. “I thought about
applying to a music college—but there are good
and bad points to being taught. I felt like even if I
went to a music college, I probably wouldn’t be
a very good student, so I decided to do music
myself. I did go to college, but I just had my nose
in art books the whole time.”
Hasunuma’s explorations gradually led him
to electronic music and classical composers.
Early recognition came for his subtle electronic
compositions, which are often constructed
around field recordings. “I listened to a lot of
sampled pop music, but I like the field recording
to remain prominent in the piece,” he says about
his working process. “John Cage is definitely a
big influence, and the ‘happenings’ of the ’60s.
But I’m also influenced by what was happening
in Japan. Cage came to Japan, and there was
a relationship with Japanese composers like
Toru Takemitsu.”
More recently, Hasunuma shifted his focus
away from the laptop to live instruments. His Philharmonic Orchestra strides a fine line between
so-called “new music” and pop. The group has
generated substantial praise, mounting stages
such as Tokyo Opera City and Spiral Hall.
“I was approached with an offer to do a largescale performance,” he recalls. “I rearranged
all my pieces for live instruments. We would
perform once a year, but as our repertoire increased, we ended up releasing an album and
doing a nationwide tour. As a composer, I’m
interested in the pitches and timbres of instruments, and pushing the limits of instruments.
Field recordings are limitless, but with my current
work I’m exploring expression inside limits. Still,
when you have a large ensemble, then you have
a lot of colors to work with.”
Hasunuma says if he has the means, he wants
to investigate as wide a range of expression as
possible. Given that his music strikes home with
fans both of avant-garde composers like Toru
Takemitsu and poppier figures such as Ryuichi
Sakamoto, and that his talent has been recognized with an elite fellowship, those means look
increasingly within reach.
“For me, music teaches us how to live,” he
concludes. “I’m always learning from it, and
it’s a way for me to know the world. It’s also my
livelihood. I feel really lucky.”
www.shutahasunuma.com
ART
THE DARK
ARTS
Enter Tim Burton’s world
of gothic quirk
Blue Girl with Wine c.1997 28 x 22" Oil on canvas
BY C.B. LIDDELL
Devil Dog 2014 15 x 16
x 15" Mixed media
All Images © 2014 Tim Burton
There are verbal people and there are visual
ones. The first come across as slicker and more
persuasive; the latter often think in images and
come across as shy. But when all is “said and
drawn,” the visual person usually turns out to
be significantly more imaginative, creative and
innovative.
OK, that’s enough cod psychology and bad
puns for one art review; the point is, world-famous film director Tim Burton, the subject of the
latest exhibition at the Mori Arts Center
Gallery, is definitely a visual person par
excellence.
The man who gave us such memorable films as Edward Scissorhands,
The Nightmare Before Christmas and
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
clearly sees himself this way.
“For me, drawings have always
been a way of thinking—a form of communicating,” Burton told a press conference earlier this year. “I was never a
very good speaker, talker, so I always
found it was easier for me to communicate through drawing.” He divulged
that he used to hide in the closet for
most of the day when he worked as an
animator at Disney.
An art exhibition based on most
other directors would be boring—but
one based on the works of Burton is
a different matter. The success of his
movies hinges on their unusual look
and innovative, eye-catching artwork
and design. In an age when movies
get too wordy, Burton’s oeuvre is a
The Last of Its Kind 1994 20 x 16" Acrylic on canvas
welcome antidote.
This show is a compact, roadworthy
version of a massively successful exhibit held at the grotesque. There are occasional elements
the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2009, of the banal and mundane—like the simplistic
which drew 800,000 visitors.
corporate feminist narrative of rich Victoriana in
Despite being somewhat scaled down, it still Alice in Wonderland—but only because Burton’s
includes some 500 items, from props and art- success has often almost unwillingly pushed him
work—such as storyboards and designs connect- into the mainstream. However, even in his most
ed to his hit movies—to drawings for unrealized tedious blockbusters like Batman or Planet of
projects, comics he drew before his fame, travel the Apes, there are always touches of his unsketches and his “personal etchings.”
derground aesthetic to “darken things up” a bit.
So, what is the Burton Aesthetic? A mixture of
The essence of Burton is a nerdy, shy quality of
the gothic and the quirky, the carnivalesque and feeling not quite at home in a world that can’t live
Untitled (Edward Scissorhands) 1990 11 x 9"
Pen and ink and colored pencil on paper
FOR ME, DRAWINGS
HAVE ALWAYS
BEEN A WAY OF
THINKING—A FORM OF
COMMUNICATING.”
up to its expansive and over-optimistic slogans,
and of seeing everything in a twisted, ironic and
darkly humorous way.
It’s this sense and aesthetic that resonates
deeply with modern audiences, and plays especially well to Japanese “goth-loli” sensibilities.
Some of the visitors are guaranteed to be just as
interesting an attraction as the artwork.
Nov 1-Jan 4. ¥500-1,800. Mori Arts Center Gallery, 52F Roppongi Hills Mori Bldg, Minato-ku.
Roppongi. www.tim-burton.jp
27
agenda
WATCH LIST
Concerts
POPULAR
Hostess Club Weekender
The latest edition of promoter
Hostess’s thrice-year indie rock
fest is headlined by Kaiser Chiefs
and Team Me. Nov 2-3. ¥13,900.
Studio Coast. Shin-Kiba. Tel:
03-6809-1070. http://ynos.tv/
hostessclub/
CJ Ramone
Former bassist and sometimes
vocalist of the Ramones goes
solo. Nov 4, 7pm, ¥5,800 (adv)
+1d. Club Quattro. Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3477-8750. http://ltike.com
Tom Vek Special Japan
Show
Underground indie rock hero’s
first live show in Japan. Nov
4, 4:30pm, ¥4,500 (adv)/
¥5,000 (door). Tsutaya O-Nest.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3462-4420.
http://alive.mu
The Gazette
Visual-kei rockers. Nov 7,
6:30pm, ¥6,480 (adv) +1d.
Club Citta. Kawasaki. Tel:
044-246-8888. www.clubcitta.
co.jp
Puffy
Energetic and eclectic J-pop
duo. Nov 8, 6pm, ¥5,400 (adv)
+1d. Ex Theater Roppongi.
Roppongi or Nogizaka. www.
ex-theater.com
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu
Pop princess of super kawaii
proportions. Nov 8, 5pm; Nov
9, 3pm, ¥6,500 (adv) +1d.
Yoyogi National Gymnasium.
Meiji-Jingumae. http://l-tike.
com
Back Drop Bomb
20th anniversary performance.
Nov 9, 7pm, ¥3,000 (adv).
Shelter. Shimokitazawa.
Tel: 03-3444-6751. http://
backdropbomb.jp
Mr. Big
‘80s rock group from Los
Angeles. Nov 10, 7pm, ¥8,3009,300. Nippon Budokan.
Kudanshita. http://meturl.
com/big14
Nathan East
Founding member of the
chart-topping contemporary
jazz group Fourplay considered
one of the most recorded bass
players in the history of music.
Nov 10, 11 & 13, 7 & 9:30pm,
¥6,800-8,800. Billboard Live.
Roppongi. http://nathaneast.
com
Jason Mraz
Coffee-house singersongwriter. Nov 11, 7pm,
¥8,000 (adv) +1d. Bunkamura
Orchard Hall. Shibuya.
Tel: 03-5353-9522. www.
smash-jpn.com
Rick Astley
English singer-songwriter
returns to rickroll Japan. Nov
12-Nov 13. 7pm, ¥7,800¥8,800. Bunkamura Orchard
Hall. Shibuya. Tel: 03-53539522. http://meturl.com/
astley2014
28
1EyEDMan
Tokyo-based group with
catchy Brit-pop/rock tunes and
lyrics. Nov 14, 7pm, ¥3,000.
Tsutaya O-Nest. Shibuya. Tel:
03-3462-4420. http://l-tike.
com/
Knot Fest Japan
Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, Korn and
others. Nov 15, noon; Nov 16,
noon, ¥14,000 (1 day, adv)/
¥27,000 (adv, 2days). Makuhari
Messe. Kaihin-Makuhari.
www.knotfestjapan.com
9mm Parabellum Bullet
Post-hardcore band from
Yokohama. Nov 15, 6:30pm,
¥3,800 (adv) +1d. Club Citta.
Kawasaki. Tel: 050-55330888. www.clubcitta.co.jp
Rock in Opposition
Japan 2014
Originally a movement of
progressive bands united
in their opposition to the
music industry that refused
to recognize their music,
featuring artists Picchio
Dal Pozzo and Present. Nov
15-16. 3pm, ¥14,000 (seated)/
¥10,500 (standing). O-East.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3444-6751.
www.rockinopposition-japan.
com
The Ben Folds Orchestra
Experience
Ben Folds plays his pop
hits arranged for orchestral
performance. Nov 17, 7pm;
Nov 18, 7pm, ¥10,000-11,000.
Bunkamura Orchard Hall.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5353-9522.
meturl.com/ben14
The Inspector Cluzo
Gasconha Rock Tour 2014 in
Japan. Nov 20, 7pm, ¥5,600
(adv) +1d. Club Quattro.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-34446751. http://meturl.com/
theinspectorcluzo2014
Zettai Blend No.5
DieByForty, Rock n'Flow,
MissTress and AstroAttack
(Kobe). Nov 22, 7pm, . Akasaka
Crawfish. Akasaka. Tel:
03-3584-2496. http://crawfish.
jp
Yes
English prog rock with
symphonic undertones. Nov
23, 5pm; Nov 24, 5pm; Nov
25, 7pm, ¥8,000-9,000. Tokyo
Dome City Hall. Suidobashi.
Tel: 0570-09-3333. http://
meturl.com/yes14
The Three Degrees
American female vocal group
responsible for the major hit
record “When Will I See You
Again.” Nov 25-29, various
times, ¥8,000-10,500. Cotton
Club. Tokyo. http://meturl.
com/threedegrees2014
Aqua Timez
J-rock group that has penned
several anime and drama
opening tunes. Nov 30,
5pm, ¥5,500 (adv). Tokyo
International Forum Hall A.
Yurakucho. www.aquatimez.
com
Tomoyasu Hotei
Japanese rock icon. Nov 30,
5:30pm, ¥7,800 (adv) +1d. NHK
Hall. Shibuya. Tel: 03-34651751. http://l-tike.com
Loft Music & Culture
Festival
A Flood of Circle, Radio
Caroline, The Birthday and
more. Nov 30, 1:30pm,
¥3,969 (adv) +1d. Club Citta.
Kawasaki. Tel: 044-2468888. www.loft-prj.co.jp/
loftfes
Billboard Live. Roppongi.
Tel: 03-3405-1133. www.
billboard-live.com
Carlos Kanno Tropical
Superjam
Latin jazz. Nov 2, 5:30 &
7:30pm, ¥4,500-24,000.
Motion Blue. Bashamichi.
Tel: 045-226-1919. www.
motionblue.co.jp
Platina Jazz Orchestra
Country Yard
Japanese punk-rock group
who have been supporting
acts for bands No Use For A
Name, The Get Up Kids and
Rufio. Dec 6, 1pm, ¥2,800(adv)
+1d. Yokohama Bay Hall.
Motomachi-Chukagai. Tel:
03-3444-6751. http://meturl.
com/countryyard2014
Art Garfunkel
Folk artist, poet and one
half of legendary duo Simon
& Garfunkel. Dec 10, 7pm;
Dec 12, 7pm, ¥9,00010,000. Shibuya Public Hall.
Shibuya. Tel: 0570-093333. http://meturl.com/
garfunk14
Man with a Mission
Wolves in men's clothing play
rap rock. Dec 20, 5pm, ¥4,700
(adv) +1d. Saitama Super
Arena. Saitama-Shintoshin.
www.creativeman.co.jp
H Zett M
Japanese keyboardist and
producer formerly part of the
jazz instrumental band Pe'z.
Dec 20, 2 & 7pm, ¥4,000.
Mori no Hall. Hashimoto.
Tel: 042-742-9999. www.
worldapart.co.jp/hzettm/
Glory Gospel Singers
New York-based ensemble
who have performed at
Carnegie Hall and have
appeared on stage with Diana
Ross, Whitney Houston and
Aretha Franklin. Dec 21, 2 &
6pm, ¥2,000-7,000. Shibuya
Public Hall. Shibuya. Tel:
03-3402-9911. www.tate.jp
Presented by Rasmus Faber.
Nov 4, 7 & 9:30pm; Nov 5,
7 & 9:30pm, ¥6,500-8,500.
Billboard Live. Roppongi.
Tel: 03-3405-1133. www.
billboard-live.com
Final Japan tour. Nov 6, 7
& 9pm, ¥4,200-22,800.
Tel: 045-226-1919. www.
motionblue.co.jp
Seiji Igusa
Acoustic guitar solo live. Nov
8, 2 & 3pm, ¥2,000. Softwind.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-68087337. www.softwind.jp
Akane Matsumoto Meets
Hideaki Kanazawa
Afternoon jazz live. Nov 9,
2 & 3pm, ¥2,500. Softwind.
Tokyo Crossover/Jazz
Festival
With Kyoto Jazz Massive's
20th Anniversary Special Live
Set featuring Navasha Daya,
Vanessa Freeman and others.
Nov 9, 1-10pm, ¥8,000-9,000
(adv) +1d/ ¥8,500-9,500 (door)
+1d. Ex Theater Roppongi.
Roppongi or Nogizaka.
Tel: 03-5481-6092. www.
tokyocrossoverjazzfestival.
jp/2014/
Jiro Yoshida
Japan tour 2014. Nov 10, 6:30
& 9pm, ¥6,800-9,000. Cotton
Club. Tokyo. Tel: 03-32151555. www.cottonclubjapan.
co.jp
José Feliciano
Japanese sound artist
whose music is concerned
primarily with sound in a
variety of “raw” states, often
using frequencies at the
edges of the range of human
hearing. Dec 21, 5 & 7:30pm,
one performance ¥3,000
(adv)/ ¥3,500 (door), both
performances ¥5,000. Laforet
Museum. Meiji-Jingumae.
Tel: 03-3475-0411. www.
laforet.ne.jp
Puerto Rican virtuoso guitarist,
singer and composer known
for “Feliz Navidad.” Nov 11-13.
7pm & 9:30pm, ¥8,800. Blue
Note. Omotesando. Tel:
03-5485-0088. http://meturl.
com/feliciano2014
Japanese ska band who has
performed with legendary
musicians such as Prince
Buster and The Skatalites.
Dec 23, 5:30pm, ¥3,500
(adv)/ ¥3,800 (door) +1d. Duo
Music Exchange. Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3444-6751. www.
skaflames.jp
JAZZ/WORLD
The Vanguard Jazz
Orchestra
Big band jazz. Oct 30, 7 &
9:30pm; Oct 31, 7 & 9:30pm;
Nov 1, 6 & 9pm, ¥6,800-8,800.
Nelson Rangell
Smooth jazz. Nov 12, 6:30
& 9pm; Nov 13, 6:30 & 9pm;
Nov 14, 6:30 & 9pm, ¥7,0008,000. Cotton Club. Tokyo.
Tel: 03-3215-1555. www.
cottonclubjapan.co.jp
Taeko Moriyama
Japanese jazz drummer. Nov
14, 7 & 9pm, ¥4,200-22,800.
Tel: 045-226-1919. www.
motionblue.co.jp
Toshihiro Nakanishi and
Sumire Kuribayashi
Jazz instruments. Nov 15,
7 & 8pm, ¥3,200. Softwind.
Acoustic Life Op.1
Album release national tour.
Showa University of Music.
Shinyurigaoka. Tel: 044-9531121.
Original Pentabox
Amy Hanaiali’i
Singer-songwriter and Hawaii’s
top-selling female vocalist of
all time. Nov 18, 6:30pm; Nov
19, 9pm, ¥6,500-8,500. Cotton
Club. Tokyo. Tel: 03-32151555. http://meturl.com/
amy2014
Jim Hall Tribute Project
New album and release
concert. Nov 19, 7 & 9pm,
¥4,200-22,800. Motion Blue.
Bashamichi. Tel: 045-2261919. www.motionblue.co.jp
Tommy Campbell
Ryoji Ikeda
The Ska Flames
Nov 16, 6:30 & 7:45pm,
¥2,500. Softwind. Roppongi.
Tel: 03-6808-7337. www.
softwind.jp
Natalie Cole
Montreux Jazz Festival
2014. Nov 22, 2pm, ¥4,00010,000. Muza Kawasaki
Symphony Hall. Kawasaki.
Tel: 044-520-0200. www.
kawasaki-sym-hall.jp
Winger/Slaughter
2014. Nov 22, 5pm; Nov 23,
5pm, ¥9,500. Club Citta.
Kawasaki. Tel: 044-2468888. www.clubcitta.co.jp
Hiromi
Piano solo live. Nov 23, 2
& 3pm, ¥2,000. Softwind.
Hiroko Kokubu with Fried
Pride
Montreux Jazz Festival 2014.
Nov 24, 2pm, ¥3,500. Plazasol
Kawasaki. Kawasaki.
Tel: 044-874-8501. www.
plazasol.jp
Koyama Taro Group
Kawasaki. Kawasaki.
Tel: 044-874-8501. www.
plazasol.jp
Kazumi Watanabe
Kawasaki. Kawasaki.
Tel: 044-874-8501. www.
plazasol.jp
Yukiarimasa and Hara
Tomonao
Kawasaki. Kawasaki.
Tel: 044-874-8501. www.
plazasol.jp
Senzoku Get Jazz
Orchestra
Nov 28, 6:30pm, ¥3,0005,000. Senzoku Gakuen
University. Mizonokuchi. Tel:
044-856-2727. http://meturl.
com/esenzoku
Nov 30, 2pm, ¥3,000-5,000.
Showa University of Music.
Shinyurigaoka. Tel: 044-9531121.
Tokyo-Manila Jazz & Arts
Festival
Thanksgiving Jazz Concert
for the benefit of young
musicians’s education and
scholarship funds, with
Tetsuro Kawashima, Tots
Tolentino and others. Nov 30,
6pm, ¥2,000. Akasaka Civic
Center Civic Hall. AoyamaIchome. Tel: 5413-2711. http://
tmjaf.tokyo/
Blue Mountain Boys
Classic country and western
and bluegrass. Every third
Sat, 6:30 & 7:30pm, free,
Cafe Sepia. Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3406-1300. www.
nagaremono.com/sepia
CLASSICAL
Muza Kawasaki Symphony
Hall & Tokyo Symphony
Orchestra
102nd masterpieces complete
works. Nov 1, 2pm, ¥3,0006,000. Muza Kawasaki
Tel: 044-520-0200. www.
Music Academy Tokyo 77th
Message Concert
Performed by The Pupils and
Lecturers of Music Academy
Tokyo. Nov 2, 1pm, Free
(Advance application). Suntory
Hall. Roppongi-itchome. Tel:
0570-55-0017. http://meturl.
com/suntoryhall
AAR 35th Anniversary
Charity Concert
Mezzo-soprano Mihoko
Fujimura’s special recital. Nov
3, 2pm, ¥5,000. Tokyo Opera
City Concert Hall. Hatsudai
or Shinjuku. Tel: 03-53539999. http://operacity.jp
The Silk Road Ensemble
with Yo-Yo Ma
15th anniversary. Nov 4, 7pm,
¥7,000-22,000. Suntory Hall.
Roppongi-itchome. Tel:
0570-55-0017. http://meturl.
com/suntoryhall
NTT east NHK Symphony
Orchestra Concert
Conducted by Toshiaki Umeda.
Nov 5, 7pm, ¥3,000-5,000.
Tokyo Opera City Concert
Hall. Hatsudai or Shinjuku.
Tel: 03-5353-9999. http://
operacity.jp
Rainer Kühl
Bebel Gilberto
Brazilian popular singer often
associated with bossa nova.
Nov 28, 7 & 9:30pm; Nov
29-30, 5 & 8pm, ¥8,500. Blue
Note. Omotesando. Tel:
03-5485-0088. http://meturl.
com/gilberto2014
Montreux Jazz Solo Piano
Competition Final
2014. Nov 29, 2pm, Free.
Violin recital. Nov 6, 7pm,
¥3,600-4,000. Muza Kawasaki
Tel: 044-520-0200. www.
The 93rd Global Classic
Concert
Opera Arias. Nov 7, 7pm,
¥3,000-5,000. Tokyo Opera
hot tickets
UNTIL
NOV 24
Singin’ in the Rain
Musical adapted from the 1952
movie of the same name. Until Nov
24, various times, ¥6,500-13,000.
Theatre Orb. Shibuya. Tel: 0570-029999. http://singinintherain.jp/en/
Tickets on sale now
Disney on Classic
Enjoy Disney’s animation
and music performed by an
orchestra and Broadway
vocalists, with songs from The
Lion King and Frozen. Nov 7,
7pm; Nov 8, 2 & 7pm; Nov 9,
2pm, ¥5,200-8,300. Tokyo
International Forum Hall A.
Yurakucho. Tel: 03-34093345. http://meturl.com/
disneyonclassic
Ikuyo Nakamichi
Piano recital. Nov 8, 2pm,
¥1,500-4,000. Saitama Arts
Theater. Yonohonmachi. Tel:
0570-064-939. www.saf.or.jp.
Feb 8, 2pm, ¥3,000-4,000.
Suntory Hall. Roppongiitchome. Tel: 0570-55-0017.
http://meturl.com/suntoryhall
NOV
28-JAN 25
Attack on Titan
Featuring the Japanese manga series
by Hajime Isayama, with real-scale
Titans and a 360-degree experience
of Isayama’s world. Nov 28-Jan 25,
¥1,000-2,000. Ueno Royal Museum.
Ueno. www.ueno-mori.org
Tickets on sale now
Tel: 044-520-0200. www.
0570-55-0017. http://meturl.
com/suntoryhall
Kawasaki Shinkin Bank
Presents
Leo Nucci
Lunchtime and night
concert. Nov 14, 12:10 &
7pm, ¥500. Muza Kawasaki
Tel: 044-520-0200. www.
The National Symphony
Orchestra of Ukraine
Conducted by Volodymyr
Sirenko. Nov 15, 2pm, ¥4,0008,000. Tokyo Opera City
Concert Hall. Hatsudai or
Shinjuku. Tel: 03-5353-9999.
http://operacity.jp
Performed by College of
Music. Nov 16, 3pm; Nov 24,
3pm; Dec 6, 3pm; Dec 7, 3pm,
Tel: 044-520-0200. www.
The Ninth Symphony
Conducted by Zubin Mehta,
performed by The Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra, the
Béjart Ballet Company and the
Tokyo Ballet Company. Nov 8,
7pm; Nov 9, 2 & 6pm, ¥4,00039,000. NHK Hall. Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3791-8888. www.
nbs.or.jp
Hisako Kawamura
¥2,000-6,000. Mori no
Hall. Hashimoto. Tel:
042-775-3811. www.hall-net.
or.jp/02hashimoto
Le Velvets
Classic elegance in Opera City.
Nov 9, 3pm, ¥6,000-9,800.
Tel: 03-5353-9999. http://
operacity.jp
Artists Salon Concert
Series Volume 190. Nov
10, 7:30pm, ¥4,000-5,000.
Suntory Hall Blue Rose.
0570-55-0017. http://meturl.
com/suntoryhall
Eri Tsuchiya Piano Recital
Annual recital with Steinway.
Nov 10, 7pm, ¥3,500
(general)/¥6,000 (for two).
Matsuo Hall. Yurakucho
or Ginza. Tel: 03-3539-1845.
http://meturl.com/hmatsuohall
Orchestra dell'Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia,
Roma
Conducted by Antonio
Pappano. Nov 11, 7pm,
¥9,000-33,000. Suntory Hall.
0570-55-0017. http://meturl.
com/suntoryhall
Chie Mori
¥3,500. Tokyo Opera City
Recital Hall. Shinjuku or
Hatsudai. Tel: 03-5353-9999.
http://operacity.jp
The Ben Folds Orchestra
Experience
Japan tour 2014. Nov 17, 7pm;
Nov 18, 7pm, ¥10,000-11,000.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5353-9522.
www.bunkamura.co.jp
Himiko
Memories of the Sun Goddess.
Nov 18, 7pm, ¥5,000-9,000.
Volume 108 performed
by Satoko Kawagoe. Nov
20, 12:15pm, ¥500. Tokyo
Metropolitan Theatre.
Ikebukuro. Tel: 03-53912111. www.geigeki.jp/english
Chisako Takashima
12 Violinist: Colors. Nov 21,
6:30pm, ¥5,500-6,000.
NHK Tokyo Children
Chorus
Subscription concert no.43.
Nov 22, 6pm, ¥3,000-3,500.
Tel: 03-5353-9999. http://
operacity.jp
Yamato String Quartet
20th anniversary concert. Nov
23, 7pm, ¥4,000. Suntory Hall.
0570-55-0017. http://meturl.
com/suntoryhall
The Horn Quartet Concert
2014
Performed by Mayumi
Anzuchi, Tsutomu Isohata, Jo
Kishigami,and Takeshi Hidaka.
Nov 25, 7pm, ¥2,500-3,000.
Tokyo Opera City Recital
Hall. Shinjuku or Hatsudai.
Tel: 03-5353-9999. http://
operacity.jp
Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir
d’amore. Nov 13, 6:30pm,
¥5,000. Suntory Hall.
Subscription concert
No.1795. Nov 26-27, 7pm,
¥3,600-8,800. Conducted by
Charles Dutoit. Dec 17, 7pm,
¥3,600-8,800. Suntory Hall.
DEC
8-10
Freddy Cole
American jazz singer and pianist and
brother of musician Nat King Cole.
Dec 8, midnight; Dec 9, midnight; Dec
10, midnight, ¥7,500-9,500. Cotton
Club. Tokyo. Tel: 03-3215-1555.
http://meturl.com/cole2014
Tickets on sale now
NOV 8 (SAT)-16 (SUN)
Michiyoshi Inoue
With New Japan Philharmonic
and violinist Kyoko Takezawa
performing Brahms. Nov 29,
3pm, ¥2,000-6,000. Saitama
Kaikan. Urawa. www.saf.or.jp
The 20th PROST Symphony
Orchestra
Regular concert. Nov 30, 2pm,
¥800-1,000. Muza Kawasaki
Tel: 044-520-0200. www.
Kanagawa Phil Fresh
Concert
Conducted by Shigeo Genda.
Dec 1, 2pm, ¥1,000-5,000.
Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall.
Minatomirai. Tel: 045-6822020. www.yaf.or.jp
NOV
29-30
Tokyo Vegefood Festa
A food court style annual event
with around 100 food stands and
shops providing various vegefood
related foods and goods, including
environmentally friendly products.
Nov 29-30, 10am-4:30pm, free.
Yoyogi Park. Harajuku. http://
meturl.com/vegefood2014
T2
The New Matrix Bar
BALLET:
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
Tchaikovsky’s grand ballet
performed by the National
Ballet of Japan. Nov 8, 9, 13,
15&16, 2pm; Nov 11, 6:30pm,
¥3,240-16,200. New National
Theatre Tokyo. Hatsudai
(Keio New Line). www.nntt.
jac.go.jp/english/
(door)/¥2,500 (under 25).
Theater X. Ryogoku.
Tel: 03-5624-1181. http://
ensemblesonne.com
L.A. Dance Project
Matrix Friday. Old-school
hip-hop, west side, south side,
all mix: DJ Ykk and more. From
6pm, ¥1,000 (after 11:30pm).
Roppongi. www.matrixbar.jp
Womb
Circo Loco. House: DJ Satoshi
Otsuki and more. From 11pm,
¥3,500. Tresvibes. House,
techno: DJs Djulz, Otuski, etc.
From 11pm, ¥3,500. Shibuya.
Tel: 03-5459-0039. www.
womb.co.jp
SATURDAY 1
Ageha
Dj Mag Party. All mix, EDM: DJs
Dantz, Adam Saville, etc. From
11pm, ¥3,500. Shinkiba.
www.ageha.com
Stage
Modern dance by artistic
collective based in L.A. Nov
8, 3pm; Nov 9, 3pm, ¥2,000¥6,000 (gen) / ¥3,600-¥5,400
(members). Saitama Arts
Theater. Yonohonmachi. Tel:
0570-064-939. www.saf.or.jp
Wonderful State Q
Swan Lake
Daikanyama Unit
Butoh dancer Temmetsu
escapes into his imaginary
kingdom. Nov 1, 7:30pm;
Nov 2, 1:30 & 6:30pm,
¥2,900 (adv)/ ¥3,200 (door).
Theater Samsa. Asagaya.
Tel: 090-8516-6005. www.
temmetsu.com
Performed by the Bolshoi
Ballet and the Bolshoi
Orchestra. Nov 20, 7pm; Nov
24, 5pm; Nov 26, 1 & 7pm,
¥6,300-¥21,000 (members)
¥7,000-¥22,000 (gen).
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5353-9522.
www.bunkamura.co.jp
Stones Throw. Hip-hop DJs
Knxwledge, Mndsgn, etc: Live:
Pyramid Vritra. From 11pm,
¥4,000. Daikanyama. www.
unit-tokyo.com
Bilingual Comedy
Anniversary Show
The Pirates of Tokyo Bay
celebrate four years in Tokyo.
Nov 16, 7:30pm, ¥2,500.
SuperDeluxe. Roppongi. Tel:
03-5412-0515. http://meturl.
com/pirates2014
The Csárdás Princess
An operetta in three acts by
Emmerich Kalman conducted
by Keiko Mitsuhashi. Nov 22,
3pm; Nov 23-24, 2pm; Nov
26, 2pm, ¥2,000-18,000.
Nissay Theatre. Hibiya.
Tel: 03-3234-9999. www.
nissaytheatre.or.jp
Once
Tony Award-winning musical
about true love found on the
streets of Dublin. Until Dec
14, various times, ¥13,000.
Ex Theater Roppongi.
Roppongi or Nogizaka.
www.once-musical.jp
La Bayadère
Performed by the Bolshoi
Ballet and the Bolshoi
Orchestra. Dec 3, 6:30pm; Dec
4, noon & 6:30pm, ¥6,300¥21,000 (members) ¥7,000¥22,000 (gen). Tokyo Bunka
Kaikan. Ueno. Tel: 03-38282111. www.t-bunka.jp
Clubbing
FRIDAY 31
Verdi’s operatic tale about
politics, religion and a father
who steals his son’s girlfriend.
Nov 27, 6:30pm; Nov 30, 2pm;
Dec 3, 6:30pm; Dec 6, 2pm;
Dec 9, 2pm, ¥3,240-21,600.
New National Theatre Tokyo.
Hatsudai. Tel: 03-53529999. www.nntt.jac.go.jp/
english
Dance
Unsettled Mind
Contemporary dance
performance. Nov 2, 8pm; Nov
3, 4pm, ¥3,000 (adv)/¥3,500
Air
Domino. House, techno: DJs
Voigtmann, Den, etc. Live:
Radiq. From 10pm, ¥3,500.
Shibuya. www.air-tokyo.com
Origami
Howl. Electro: DJs Tigerskin,
Break 3000, etc. From 10pm,
¥3,500. Omotesando. Tel:
03-6434-0968. http://meturl.
com/origamiclub
Asobinite. All mix: DJs Nakata,
Verbal, etc. From 8pm, ¥4,500.
Shinkiba. www.ageha.com
Air
Halloween Party. Techno DJs
Ishino, A Mochi, etc. From
10pm, ¥3,000. Shibuya.
www.air-tokyo.com
Halloween. DJs Prefuse
73, Emma, etc. From 11pm,
¥4,000. Daikanyama. www.
unit-tokyo.com
Ginza Roots Tokyo
Tokyo Locos Halloween
Party. From midnight,
(m) ¥3,500 w/2d, (f) free.
Ginza-itchome. Tel: 03-55799330. http://meturl.com/
locoshalloween2014
Origami
Mind Off. Techno: DJs Tobias,
Stefano Lotti, etc. From 10pm,
¥3,500. Omotesando. Tel:
03-6434-0968. http://meturl.
com/origamiclub
SCREAM!! Halloween
Party 2014
Veteran party vampires and
an unearthly flock of DJs spin
cutting-edge Disco, House
and Electro for Tokyo’s most
dangerous crowd. DJs: Force
of Nature (Mule Music), Gonno
(WC, Mekur, International
Feel), MXRLX (Blackmaps/
Mild Bunch), and DSKE’s
Same Fitzgerald (Onigiri
Discotheque) and TROPI
(Sunset Driver). Nov 1, 11pm,
¥2,500/¥3,500 w/o costume.
WWW. B1F Rise Bldg, 13-17
Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-54587685. http://www-shibuya.jp
*Note: Date was listed
erroneously last issue
10pm, (m)¥3,500 w/1d,
(f)¥3,000 w/1d. Shibuya.
www.vision-tokyo.com
The Room
Em. Nu classic: DJs Sazanami,
Cbtek, etc. From 10pm, ¥2,000
w/1d. Shibuya. www.
theroom.jp
Womb
W Big Halloween Party. EDM,
house: DJs Taku, Daishi Dance,
etc. From 11pm, ¥3,500.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5459-0039.
www.womb.co.jp
THURSDAY 6
Air
Ruby Room
Perugia. DJs Asyl Cahier,
Danda, etc. From 11pm,
¥1,500 w/1d. Shibuya. www.
rubyroomtokyo.com
Bootylicious. Hip-hop DJs Iku,
Matsunaga, etc. From 10pm,
air-tokyo.com
T2
Sound Museum Vision
Hyper Society. Electro, house:
DJs Tanaka, Ayanokoji, etc.
From 10pm, (m)¥3,500 w/1d,
(f)¥3,000 w/1d. Shibuya.
www.vision-tokyo.com
Ageha
Daikanyama Unit
Don Carlo
NOV 1 (SAT), 11PM
Shibuya Mixx. EDM: DJs
Shu, Vivid, etc. From 10pm,
(m)¥3,500 w/2d, (f)¥2,500
w/2d. Shibuya. Tel: 03-54288692. www.t2-shibuya.com
Baritone recital. Nov 28, 7pm,
¥8,000-19,000. Tokyo Opera
Lunchtime Organ Concert
NHK Symphony Orchestra
Suntory Hall Opera
Academy Performance
Japan’s largest natural wine festival.
Nov 30, 12-3:30pm & 4:30-8pm,
¥7,000 (adv)/ ¥8,000 (door).
Ebis303. Ebisu. Tel: 03-5771-8374.
http://festivin.com/
Tickets on sale now
0570-55-0017. http://meturl.
com/suntoryhall
Orchestra Festival 2014
Yurian'na-Avudeewa
NOV
30
Festivin 2014
for free
Happiness. World mix: DJs
Various DJs. From 10pm,
(m)¥2,500 w/2d, (f)¥1,500
w/2d. Shibuya. Tel: 03-54288692. www.t2-shibuya.com
The Room
The New Matrix Bar
Saturday Night Fever. Hip-hop,
R&B, reggae: DJ Ykk and more.
From 6pm, ¥1,000 (after 10pm).
Roppongi. www.matrixbar.jp
The Room
Exchange. Jazz, boogie: DJs
Kawasaki, Sato: Live: Jazz
Collective. From 10pm, ¥2,500
w/1d. Shibuya. www.
theroom.jp
El Amor. Disco, boogie: DJ Nao
Endo. From midnight, ¥1,000.
Shibuya. www.theroom.jp
Womb
Pop Girls. EDM, Top 40: DJs
Mamicho, Taiyou, etc. From
10pm, (m)¥1,500, (f)free.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5459-0039.
www.womb.co.jp
FRIDAY 7
Womb
Ageha
06s. Drum‘n’bass: DJs
Futurebound, Aki, etc. From
11pm, ¥3,500. Shibuya. Tel:
03-5459-0039. www.womb.co.jp
Agepa. All mix: DJs U5, Hokuto,
etc. From 11pm, (m)¥3,000,
(f)free. Shinkiba. www.
ageha.com
SUNDAY 2
Air
Air
Danny Krivit. House: DJs Danny
Krivit, Dazzle Drums, etc. From
www.air-tokyo.com
Sound Museum Vision
Classics. Hip-hop: DJ Large
Professor and more. From
Salon. House, EDM: DJs
Rasmus Faber, Ami, etc. From
www.air-tokyo.com
The Room
Breakthrough. Hip-hop: DJs
Jin, Ladi Dadi, etc. From 10pm,
theroom.jp
29
Womb
EDM Music Festival. EDM:
DJs Marc Panther, Kick Off,
etc. From 11pm, ¥3,500.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5459-0039.
www.womb.co.jp
Exhibitions
AKASAKA/ROPPONGI
NOV 8 (SAT)-23 (SUN)
applied fine arts and writing.
Oct 31-Dec 7, 10am-6pm,
closed Tue, ¥700-1,200.
Masterpieces from the
Kunsthaus Zurich. Japanese
exhibition of one of the best
art museums in Switzerland
boasting a world-class
collection of modern art. Until
Dec 15, 10am-6pm, closed Tue,
¥800-1,600. Open Wed-Thu,
Sat-Mon 10am-6pm, Fri
10am-8pm, closed Tue. 7-22-2
Roppongi. Nogizaka. www.
nact.jp
GINZA/KYOBASHI/
TOKYO
Fragment of Butterfly 2014
Kai Goto’s art is born from
the concept of reconstructing
shattered fragments into
new and vital pieces of art.
In her third exhibition, she
expresses the cyclic process
of material by depicting
decay and revival. Nov 8-23,
free. Open daily noon-7pm.
3F Ogura Bldg, 2-12-4
Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku.
Nogizaka. Tel: 03-64197229. www.nanatasu.jp
21_21 Design Sight
The Fab Mind: Hints of the
Future in a Shifting World.
Focuses on the aspirations and
activities of those who seek
to understand and resolve
social issues through design.
Until Feb 1, 11am-8pm, closed
Tue, ¥500-1,000. Open Mon
& Wed-Sun 11am-8pm, closed
Tue. 9-7-6 Akasaka, Minato-ku.
Nogizaka. Tel: 03-3475-2121.
www.2121designsight.jp
Mori Art Museum
Lee Mingwei and His Relations.
Mixed media artist with an
interactive style. The completion
of his works relies on the
participation of his audience.
Until Jan 4, ¥500-1,500. Jacob
Kirkegaard. Sound and video
installation on Fukushima
by Danish sound artist. Until
Jan 4, 10am-10pm, Tuesdays
10am-5pm, ¥1,500 (general) /
¥1,000 (uni/high school) / ¥500
(4 years-junior high). Open Mon
& Wed-Sun 10am-10pm, Tue
10am-5pm. 6-10-1 Roppongi.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-5777-8600.
www.mori.art.museum
Nanatasu Gallery
Hitomi Onuki: Nowhere. Hitomi
Onuki’s work connects pieces
of glass to evoke the beauty of
the maimed. In this exhibition,
she uses the idea of the mirror
as a boundary to create a fragile
and ephemeral world of glass
wolves. Until Nov 1, 12-7pm, free.
Open daily noon-7pm. 2-12-4
Nishi-Azabu. Nogizaka. Tel:
03-6419-7229. www.nanatasu.jp
Sen-Oku Hakuko Kan
The Beauty of Chanoyu
Kettles. Explore 400 years of
Chanoyu Kettle history. Nov
1-Dec 14, 10am-4:30pm,
closed Mon, ¥500-800. 1-5-1
Roppongi-itchome, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 106-0032. Roppongiitchome. Tel: 03-5777-8600.
Suntory Museum of Art
Koyasan 1200th Anniversary:
Treasures of the Sacred
Mountain. Figures carved
by some of Japan’s most
celebrated Buddhist sculptors,
including Unkei and Kaikei.
Until Dec 7, ¥800-1,300. Open
Wed-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun-Mon
& hols 10am-6pm, closed Tue.
9-7-4 Akasaka, Minato-ku.
Roppongi. www.suntory.
jp/sma
The National Art Center,
Tokyo
The Japan Fine Arts Exhibition.
Featuring Japanese and
Western paintings, sculptures,
30
Bridgestone Museum of Art
Willem de Kooning: From
the John and Kimiko Powers
Collection. Dutch-born
American artist and one of
the founders of abstract
expressionism. Until Jan 12,
¥500-800. Open Tue-Sun & hols
10am-8pm, closed Mon. 1-10-1
Kyobashi, Chuo-ku. Tokyo.
Tel: 03-5777-8600. www.
bridgestone-museum.gr.jp
Ginza Graphic Gallery
Persona 1965. A look back
at the 1965 Persona graphic
design exhibition with artists
Kiyoshi Awazu, Shigeo
Fukuda and others. Nov 5-27,
11am-7pm, until 6pm on
Sat, closed Sun & hols, free.
Open Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat
11am-6pm, closed Sun & hols.
1F Ginza Bldg, 7-7-2 Ginza.
Ginza. http://meturl.com/
ginzagraphicgallery
Idemitsu Museum of Arts
Ninsei, Kenzan and Crafts of
Kyoto. Featuring the ceramic
works of artists Nonomura
Ninsei and Ogata Kenzan. Until
Dec 21, Mon-Thu 10am-5pm,
Fri 10am-7pm, closed Mon,
¥700-1,000. Open Tue-Thu
10am-5pm, Fri 10am-7pm,
closed Mon. 9F Teigeki Bldg,
3-1-1 Marunouchi. Tokyo.
www.idemitsu.co.jp/museum
Megumi Ogita Gallery
Showcase
Sadie Rebecca Starnes: Given.
American painter whose
works are influenced by family
histories of American natives
and Native Americans, diasporic
literature and alizarin crimson.
Nov 14-29, 12pm-7pm, closed
Mon, Sun and hols, free.
Witnesses of Beauty. Paola
Masi’s collection of ceramic
works. Until Nov 1, 12-7pm,
closed Sun, Mon & hols, free.
Tue-Sat 11am-7pm, closed
Mon & Sun. 4F, 5-4-14 Ginza.
Ginza. Tel: Tue-Sat 11am-7pm.
www.megumiogita.com
Nagoya Commerce and
Industry Center
The Mirror Ginza. The true
nature of the coming era
reflected in artwork. Until
Nov 9, 1-9pm, ¥1,000 (lecture
is extra) / reservation only.
1-9pm. 4-3-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku.
Ginza-itchome.
National Film Center
Le Monde Enchanté de Jacques
Demy. Behind-the-scenes
photographs from works by
French New Wave director
known for The Umbrellas of
Cherbourg and other films. Until
Dec 14, ¥70-210. Open Tue-Sun
11am-6:30pm, closed Mon.
3-7-6 Kyobashi. Kyobashi. Tel:
03-5777-8600. www.momat.
go.jp
The National Museum of
Modern Art, Tokyo
Hishida Shunso: A
Retrospective. Works by a Meiji
period painter and innovator
of nihonga. (Note: In the Sep
5-18 edition of Metropolis, this
exhibition was erroneously
listed as ¥300-1,400. It
should have read ¥400-1,400
as below.) Until Nov 3,
¥400-1,400. Celadon Now:
Techniques and Beauty
Handed Down from Southern
Sung to Today. Modern ceramic
art. Until Nov 24, ¥300-900.
Narahara Ikko: Domains. One
of the leading photographers
of post-war Japan. Domains
focuses on human beings in a
monastery in Hokkaido and a
female prison in Wakayama,
both isolated from the
external world. Nov 18-Mar
1, 10am-5pm, closed Mon,
¥130-430. Open Tue-Thu
& Sat-Sun 10am-5pm, Fri
10am-8pm. 3-1 Kitanomarukoen. Takebashi. Tel:
03-5777-8600. www.momat.
go.jp
HARAJUKU/AOYAMA
Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial
Museum of Art
Utagawa Kunisada: 150th
Anniversary of His Death.
Collection of prints by one of the
great ukiyo-e masters. Until Nov
24, ¥700-1,000. Open Tue-Sun
10:30am-5:30pm, closed Mon.
1-10-10 Jingumae. Harajuku.
www.ukiyoe-ota-muse.jp
SHIBUYA/EBISU
Bunkamura: The Museum
The Dream of French Paintings:
From Impressionism to Ecole
de Paris. Select works by
Monet, Chagall, Cézanne,
Foujita and more. Until Dec 14,
¥500-1,400. Open Mon-Thu
& Sun 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat
10am-9pm. 2-24-1 Dogenzaka.
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5777-8600.
www.bunkamura.co.jp
SHINJUKU/IKEBUKURO
Hiromart Gallery
Natural Base. Oil and
watercolor exhibition by Claudia
Ahlering. Until Nov 30, 1-7pm.
Open Wed-Sun 1-7pm, closed
Mon-Tue. 1-30-7 Sekiguchi,
Bunkyo-ku. Edogawabashi.
www.hiromartgallery.com
Kenji Taki Gallery
Nobuyuki Tanaka. Recipient
of the 18th MOA Mokichi
Okada Prize Craft Arts Section
Award. Until Nov 8, 12-7pm,
Free. Open Tue-Sat noon-7pm,
closed Sun-Mon & hols. 3-18-2
Nishi-Shinjuku. Hatsudai.
www.kenjitaki.com
Nakamuraya Salon
Museum of Art
Born Here, Yet to Be Born
Here. Showcasing the various
artists who have gathered at
the Nakamuraya Salon over the
years. Until Feb 15, 10:30am7pm, closed Tue, ¥300.
10:30am-7pm, closed Tue.
3-26-13 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku,
Tokyo. Shinjuku. www.
nakamuraya.co.jp/museum
Sompo Japan
Museum of Art
Normandie: L'Estuaire de
la Seine—L'Invention d'un
Paysage. Paintings by Eugène
Boudin, Raoul Dufy and others.
Until Nov 9, ¥700-1,100.
Tue-Sun, 10am-6pm, closed
Mon. 42F Sompo Japan
Bldg. 1-26-1 Nishi-Shinjuku.
Shinjuku. Tel: 03-54058686. www.sjnk-museum.
org/en
Tokyo Opera City
Art Gallery
Zaha Hadid. Iraqi-British
architect, and first female
recipient of the Pritzker
Architecture Prize in 2004.
Until Dec 23, 11am-7pm,
closed Mon, ¥1,000-1,200.
Open Tue-Thu 11am-7pm,
Fri-Sat 11am-8pm. 3-20-2
Nishi-Shinjuku. Hatsudai.
http://operacity.jp
UENO
Edo-Tokyo Museum
Tokyo Olympics and the Bullet
Train. In commemoration of the
50th anniversary of the Tokyo
Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Until Nov 16, ¥670-1340. Open
Tue-Fri & Sun 9:30am-5:30pm,
Sat 9:30am-7:30pm, closed
Mon & hols. 1-4-1 Yokoami.
Ryogoku. Tel: 03-3626-9974.
www.edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp
Ryoko Kumakura, and Kinoko
portraying how the world
each artist inhabits meet,
intersect and merge, creating
an interesting environment
for expression. Until Nov 8,
Tue-Sat 11am-7pm, closed Sun
& Mon, free. Sansho Bldg. 3-2-9
Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
103-0027. Nihonbashi. Tel:
03-3275-1019. www.masatakacontemporary.com/en
Miraikan
National Museum of Nature
and Science
Hikari Exhibition. Featuring the
relationship between light and
space, the earth and humans,
showcasing the beautiful world
of light. Until Feb 22, 9am-5pm,
until 8pm on Fri, closed Mon,
¥600-1,600. Open Tue-Thu &
Sat-Sun 9am-5pm, Fri 9am-8pm,
closed Mon. 7-20 Ueno Park.
Ueno. Tel: 03-3822-0111.
www.kahaku.go.jp
The National Museum of
Western Art
Ferdinand Hodler: Towards
Rhythmic Images. Paintings by
one of the best-known Swiss
artists of the 19th century. Until
Jan 12, ¥800-1,600. Open daily
9:30am-5:30pm. 7-7 Ueno Park.
Ueno. www.nmwa.go.jp
Tokyo Metropolitan Art
Museum
The Renaissance Golden Age:
From Botticelli to Bronzino.
About 70 works by the great
Renaissance masters, courtesy
of the famed Uffizi Gallery
in Florence. Until Dec 14,
¥1,000-1,600. Uffizi Gallery.
An exhibition tracing the
development of Florentine
art from the 15th to the 16th
century through works from the
collection of the world-famed
Uffizi Gallery. Until Dec 14,
9:30am-5:30pm, closed Mon,
¥800-1,600. 8-36 Ueno Park.
Ueno. www.tobikan.jp
Tokyo National Museum
National Treasures of Japan.
Artifacts gathered across
various genres and periods.
Until Dec 7, ¥900-1,600.Open
Tue-Sun 9:30am-5pm. 13-9
Ueno Park. Ueno. www.
tnm.jp
Ueno Royal Museum
Hokusai: From the Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston. One of
Japan’s most famous ukiyo-e
artists of the Edo period.
Until Nov 9, ¥400-1,500.
Open Sat-Thu 10am-6pm, Fri
10am-8pm. 1-2 Ueno Park.
Ueno. www.ueno-mori.org
Shake! Art Exhibition. Digital art
produced by TeamLab, an “Ultra
Technologist” organization that
merges science, technology,
art and design with an
interactive Future Park. Nov
29-Mar 1, 10am-5pm, closed
Tue, ¥900-1,800. 2-3-6, Aomi,
Koto-ku. Telecom Center. Tel:
03-3570-9151. www.miraikan.
jst.go.jp/en
The Container
Change Room. Canadian
artist Robert Waters’
exhibition. Until Nov 16,
Open Mon-Fri 11am-9pm,
Sat-Sun 10am-8pm, closed
Tue, free. Mon-Fri 11am-9pm,
Sat-Sun & hols 10am-8pm,
closed Tue. Hills Daikanyama,
1-8-30 Kami-Meguro.
Naka-Meguro. www.
the-container.com
Tokyo Fuji Art Museum
Genius and Ambition: The
Royal Academy of Arts, London
1768-1918. Oil paintings by
Turner, Constable and others.
Until Nov 24, ¥400-1,300.
Open Tue-Sun 10am-5pm,
closed Mon. Yano-machi
492-1 Hachioji. Hachioji. Tel:
042-691-4511. www.fujibi.
or.jp/en
Tokyo Gallery + BTAP
Jin Sha Solo: Salute to Masters.
Featuring 15 works of Chinese
paintings, prints and sculptures
by Chinese artist Jin Sha. Until
Nov 22, Tue-Fri 11am-7pm,
Sat 11am-5pm, closed Mon &
Sun, free. Tue–Fri 11am–7pm
& Sat 11am–5pm, closed Sun,
Mon & Hols. 7F, 8-10-5 Ginza.
Shinbashi. Tel: 03-35711808. www.tokyo-gallery.com
Sports
BASEBALL
Japan All-Star Series
Samurai Japan vs. MLB All
Star Team. Nov 14-16, 6pm,
¥1,000-20,000. Tokyo Dome.
Suidobashi. Tel: 03-58009999.
OTHER AREAS
GOLF
Hakone Museum of
Photography
JLPGA
Mt. Fuji. Katsura Endo’s
portrayal of the ever-changing
symbol of Japan. Permanent
exhibition. Until Nov 4,
¥300-500. 10am-5pm, closed
Tue (9am-9pm Sat from
May to August). 1300-432
Goura Hakonemachi,
Ashigarashimogun, Kanagawa.
Gora. Tel: 046-02-2717. www.
hmop.com
Morinaga Ladies. Oct 31-2,
8pm, ¥5,400. Morinaga
Takataki Country Club.
Goi. http://meturl.com/
morinagaladies2014
PRO WRESTLING
Noah
Nov 4, 6:30pm, ¥4,000-7,000
(adv)/ ¥5,000-7,000. Korakuen
Hall. Suidobashi. Tel:
03-3527-5311.
Hoki Museum
Hito Omoi, Hito Omou.
Paintings. Lifelike portraits
by contemporary artists. Until
Nov 16, ¥900-1,800. Hiroshi
Noda: Living to Paint—Realism
from the Entire Psyche. Nov
21-May 17, 10am-5:30pm,
closed Tue, ¥900-1,800. Open
Mon & Wed-Thu 10am-6pm,
Fri-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun
10am-5pm, closed Tue. 3-15
Asumigaokahigashi, Midori-ku.
Toke. www.hoki-museum.jp
Big Japan
Nov 22, 7pm, ¥3,150-6,300.
Korakuen Hall. Suidobashi.
Tel: 03-5800-9999.
RUGBY
Festivals
Kuroshio Yosakoi Matsuri
Participate in mochi making,
a cabbage eating contest and
more. Nov 30, 10am-6:30pm,
free. Choshi City Hall. Choshi.
Tel: 047-925-5889. www.
kuroyosa.com
Forums &
Expos
Design Festa Vol. 40
The single largest art
festival in Asia combining
performances, international
cuisine, artistic expression,
enrichment, diversity and
passion. Nov 8-9, 11am-7pm,
¥800 (adv 1 day ticket)/
¥1,500 (adv 2 day ticket);
¥1,000 (door 1 day ticket)/
¥1,800 (door two day ticket).
Tokyo Big Sight. Kokusai
Tenjijo. Tel: 03-3479-1433.
http://designfesta.com/en/
Winter Sports Festa
A chance to buy ski
and snowboard wear
and accessories. Nov
8, 11am-8pm; Nov 9,
10am-6pm, free. Tokyo Big
Sight. Kokusai Tenjijo.
Tel: 0120-64-1166. www.
fuyusupo.jp
Game Market
Interact with other analog
gamers and visit booths
dedicated to board games,
card games, simulation
games and more. Nov 16,
10am-5pm, ¥500-1,000.
Tokyo Big Site. Kokusai
Tenjijo. Tel: 03-5283-9955.
http://gamemarket.jp
Organic Expo 2014
Discover new and innovative
products in the area of food,
natural cosmetics, natural
textiles and natural products
at the only organic trade
show in Japan. Nov 20-22,
10am-5:30pm (until 5pm on
Nov 21), ¥1,000 (free with
online registration). Tokyo
Big Site. Kokusai Tenjijo.
Tel: 03-3512-5675. http://
organic-expo.jp/en
Bazaars &
Markets
Asakusa Tori-no-Ichi Fair
Open air market selling okame
masks, bamboo rakes of good
luck, etc. Nov 10 & 22, all day,
free. Chokokuji Temple and
Ootori Shrine. Asakusa.
http://meturl.com/asatori1
Swedish Christmas Bazaar
Swedish food, drinks,
handicrafts and folk
music. Nov 30, 12-4pm,
¥500. Swedish Embassy.
Roppongi-Itchome. Tel:
03-5562-5050. http://meturl.
com/swedishchristmas
Shinagawa Intercity Flea
Market
More than 120 vendors. Sun
& hols. Until Jan 1, 9am-3pm,
free. Shinagawa Intercity.
Shinagawa. http://meturl.
com/shinflea
Iidabashi Ramla Market
Japan vs. New Zealand
Nov 8, 2pm, ¥500-10,000.
Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium.
Gaienmae. Tel: 03-34013881.
SOCCER
Masataka Contemporary
Planet Jam. A group show
with artists Saki Fujikawa,
Osaka. Nov 8, kickoff at 1:05pm,
¥1,000-7,000. Saitama Stadium
2002. Urawamisono. Tel:
0570-084-003.
Yamazaki Nabisco Cup
Sanfrecce Hiroshima vs. Gamba
Every first and third Sun,
10am-4pm, Iidabashi Ramla.
Iidabashi.
Umi no Koen Flea Market
Every third Sun, 10am-4pm,
Umi no Koen. UminokoenShibaguchi. rinpodan@
umino-kouen.net. Tel:
03-3226-6800.
Best Flea Market
Every second Sun, 10am-4pm,
Tokyo International Forum
Hall C. Yurakucho. Tel:
03-3226-6800.
for slide shows, lectures,
ride-planning, etc. Every
second Wed, 7pm, free, The
Pink Cow. Roppongi. Tel:
03-6434-5773. cowmail@
thepinkcow.com
Hanazono Shrine Market
Every Sun, 8am-4pm,
Hanazono Shrine. Shinjukusanchome. Tel: 03-32003093.
Ibaraki-ichi
Farm-fresh veg from the north.
Every Sat, 7-9am, Roppongi
Hills East Court. Roppongi.
Tel: 03-6406-5285.
Nogi Shrine Market
Every second Sun,
5:30am-3pm, Nogi Shrine.
Nogizaka. Tel: 03-34783001.
Oedo Antique Fair
Japan’s largest outdoor
antique market. Every first
and third Sun, 8am-4:30pm,
Tokyo International Forum
Hall C. Yurakucho. Tel:
03-5805-1093.
Aoyama Marché
Organic farmers market. Every
weekend, United Nations
University. Omotesando.
Tel: 03-3456-0960.
Yasukuni Shrine
Antique Market
Every Sun, sunrisesunset, Yasukuni Shrine.
Kudanshita. Tel: 03-32618326.
Fudaten Jinja Market
Every second Sun, 10am-4pm,
Fudaten Jinja. Chofu. Tel:
04-2489-0022.
Shinjuku Central Park
Market
Local produce stalls,
workshops and live
performances. Every Sat,
10am-4pm, Shinjuku Central
Park. Tochomae. Tel:
03-2504-2128. http://meturl.
com/shinjukuparkmarket
Yebisu Marché
Organic fruits and vegetables.
Every first and third Sun,
11am-5pm, Ebisu Garden
Place. Ebisu. www.
facebook.com/YEBISUMarche
Community
Grief Support Group
Hosted by TELL every
Wednesday. For more
information, contact training@
telljp.com. Oct 8-Dec 10,
7-8:30pm, free. Wesley Center.
Omotesando. http://meturl.
com/griefsupport2014
Pause Talk
Open forum where creatives
can get together and discuss
projects, ideas and cultural
currents. Every first Mon,
Cafe Pause. Ikebukuro.
Tel: 03-6912-7711. www.
pausetalk.org
Party and Purpose
A casual get-together over
dinner with people interested
in personal development,
organized by Tokyo Positive
Thinkers. Every third Wed,
8pm, about ¥2,000, Ikebukuro
TGI Friday's. Ikebukuro. Tel:
090-4440-6391. http://meturl.
com/positivethinkerstokyo
Stitch-n-Bitch
Meet fellow knitters,
crocheters and sewers to talk,
share ideas, eat, drink and
create. Every first and third
Tue, 7pm, free, Cafe Respekt.
Shibuya. www.meetup.com/
TokyoStitchandBitch
Half-Fast Cyclists
Bicyclists of all treads meet
Tokyo Street Hockey
Association
Casual street hockey group
with regular meet-ups. Every
first, second and third Fri, 8pm,
¥2,000-3,000 (per player)/
¥500 (goalies, girls, first
timers). Various venues. Check
website calendar for details.
www.tokyohockey.com
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art
School
Burlesque models pose for art
stars and sketching newbies
alike with arty socializing.
Every third Wed, 7pm, ¥2,000
w/1d. Studio and Space IVVA.
Meiji-Jingumae or Harajuku.
www.drsketchytokyo.
wordpress.com
Motomachi-Chukagai.
Tel: 045-624-3900. www.
sbejapan.com
Tokyo Metropolitan Tourism
Chrysanthemum Exhibition
100th anniversary of one of
Tokyo’s most well-known flower
forums. Decoration flowers,
bonsai and more. Until Nov
23, all day, free. Hibiya Park.
Hibiya. Tel: 03-3501-6428.
http://meturl.com/tokchrys1
Festival Fukushima!
Ikebukuro comes to life with
a giant furoshiki cloth on the
ground, big band music and
original bon dancing. The
festival also serves as the launch
party for the 2014 edition of
Festival/Tokyo, Japan’s largest
performing arts event. Nov 1,
3-8pm; Nov 2, 11am-5pm, free.
Ikebukuro West Gate Park.
Ikebukuro. www.festivaltokyo.jp
The R2 Masquerade Ball
Sunday Spin
Hula-hoop it up in Yoyogi, no
need to bring your own. Drop
in/out at any time. Every fourth
Sun, Yoyogi Park. Harajuku.
Tel: 03-3469-6081. http://
meturl.com/hoopinginjapan
Learning
Natural Wine Seminar
Tasting of four wines with
full-course French dinner. Oct
31, 7-9pm, ¥5,500 (general),
¥4,500 (member). Cafe de la
Presse. Nihon-Odori. Tel:
045-222-3348. http://meturl.
com/wineseminar
Chocolate and Wine
Pairing Party
Nov 15, 6-8:30pm, ¥3,980 +
tax (adv). Sakura Hall. http://
meturl.com/otherwine
French Cheese Seminar
French lecture on four cheeses
to pair with French cider.
Nov 15, 10:30am, ¥3,500
(general)/¥3,000 (member).
The French Institute of
Yokohama. Kannai. http://
meturl.com/cheesecider
Illustration Workshop with
Romain Hugault
Drawing or illustration
experience required.
Nov 27, 10:45am, ¥2,500
(general)/¥2,000 (member).
The French Institute of
Yokohama. Kannai.
http://meturl.com/
locoshalloween2014
A legendary night out feat.
Tokyo’s finest female DJs,
sensual dance performances
and more. Nov 1, 10pm-4am,
¥4,000 (adv). R2 Supper Club.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-64470002. www.r2sc.jp/en
Yokohama Triennale 2014
Art event with the theme
“voyage into the sea of
oblivion.” Until Nov 3, various
times, ¥500-2,400. Various
venues. Minatomirai or
Basamichi. Tel: 03-5405-8686.
www.yokohamatriennale.co.jp
Beaujolais Nouveau Party
Be among the first to sip this
year’s Beaujolais nouveau. Nov
20, 2:30pm & 12:30-2pm, Free
entry, but charge for drinks. The
French Institute of Yokohama.
Kannai. http://meturl.com/
beaujolais2014
19th Annual Connoisseurs’s
Auction
Highlights of the evening
include an exclusive French
wine tasting, live and silent
auctions of connoisseur items,
an autumn feast, entertainment
and raffles for fabulous prizes.
Registration required. Nov 21,
5:30pm, ¥20,000. Embassy
of France in Tokyo. Hiroo.
Tel: 03-4550-1191. http://
tellauction.com
Japan Idol Festival
With Links, Chu-Z, Ultra Girl and
more. Jan 25, 3pm, ¥4,500.
Shinjuku Blaze. Shinjuku.
Tel: 0570-550-799. www.
kyodotokyo.com/JIF
TCS Improv Workshop
The weekly Tokyo Comedy
Store In the Moment improv
workshop, all levels welcome.
Beginner intensives on
weekends throughout the year.
See website for more details.
Every Wednesday, 7-9pm, Our
Space Studio. Hatagaya.
Tel: 03-5770-7401. www.
tokyocomedy.com
Underground party hosted
by drag queens. Every first
Saturday night of every month.
BYOB. Until Dec 5, 12am,
¥3,000(dress code)/¥4,500
(w/flyer)/ ¥5,000 (door). Tokyo
Kinema Club. Uguisudani.
Tel: 03-3874-7988. http://
department-h.com
Nihonga Class
Shibuhouse Party
Regular classes and one-day
workshops on basic Japanesestyle painting techniques. All
classes in English and Japanese.
Weekdays 6pm, Sat 11am &
3pm, ¥5,000-15,000. Email
for details on flexible class
times. 4B Maruoka Bldg, 5-49-7
Jingumae. Meiji-Jingumae.
www.mariatanikawa.com
All-night house party with the
Shibuhouse residents on the
22nd of every month, 7pm-7am.
¥1,000 w/ food & drink. Contact
shibuhouseinfo@gmail.com for
address/directions. Shibuya.
www.shibuhouse.com.
Department-H
Build a
Smarter Body
Build a flexible and healthy physique
and enjoy eating, work, hobbies
and sports more than ever before.
Other Events
PERSONAL TRAINING STUDIO
Yokohama Halloween
Festival
4F Laguetto Aoyama, 3-14-2
Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
The biggest international
Halloween party in Japan, with
live music, a free Halloween
make-up booth and more.
Oct 31, 9pm-5am, ¥1,5002,500. Yokohama Bay Hall.
MORE LISTINGS
ONLINE → METURL.
COM/LISTINGS
03-6440-0505
bodydirector.com
31
Metropolis and its subsequent
Classifieds section are
printed every other week. The
upcoming publication dates
and corresponding deadlines
for print are as follows. This
does not affect the online
Classifieds, where ads are
visible immediately after they
are approved.
w/d i g i t a l l o c k s , a i r co n ,
fridge, 1min walk from
Kanamachi stn, Chiyoda
line ¥40,000/m. room@
airay-apartment.net
03-5876-4575 www.airayapartment.net/
2.2 RENT UNDER ¥200,000
FRI, NOV 14 ISSUE
Deadline: Nov 6, 3pm
1.6 HOME & GARDEN
1.1 HEALTH
I N N E R
BALANCE.
Tr a d i t i o n a l
oriental
treatment of
acupuncture
a
n
d
moxibustion.
Also body
massage
a n d r e f l e xo l o g y. M o b i l e
ser v ice to your home or
of f ice. Email Takahito at
innerbalance123@gmail.com
or see http://tmasuda.wix.
com/inner-balance.
CLEAN AND SMILE COMPANY.
We'll make your kitchen,
bathroom, toilet, carpet and
everything else sparkle! Mon-Fri,
10am-5pm. We charge ¥4000/h
for house cleaning. Just call
03 -5 413 -7410. britonmmm@
yahoo.co.jp
weeks online. For details,
v i s i t t h e To k y o C l a s s i f i e d s
blog—http://metropolis.co.jp/
classifiedblog—or email us at
commercial@metropolisjapan.
com.
CREATIVE SOLUTIONS. Specialists
in branding, web design, photo/
video production. Drawing A Crowd:
a new approach in design. Get in
touch. info@drawingacrowd.co
COMPREHENSIVE HEALTH
COVE R AG E FOR E XPATS,
D I PLO M AT S , TE AC H E R S .
Inpatient and outpatient
care, emergencies, surgery,
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tests, MRI and more. Thirtyday money-back guarantee.
Quick, easy application;
convenient payment
options. Enroll today!
info@e ar thhe althcare.jp
w w w.ear thhealthcare.jp
078-351-7300
SPORTS PHYSIOTHERAPY
(physical therapy)
care
in
Hiroo.
Native English -speaking
therapists specializing
in sports injuries,
p o s t - o p e r a t i v e
rehabilitation, back/neck
pain, running related,
headaches, orthotics,
ergonomic consultations
and women’s health.
w w w.tokyophysio.com
03-3443-6769
LAW OFFICE IN KAWASAKI
(nex t to Tokyo), member
o f t h e Yo k o h a m a B a r
Association. Legal
service in English for
traffic accidents, divorce,
inheritance, bankruptcy,
business cases (contracts,
establishing a company,
trademarks, etc.) and other
legal problems.Email:
web@smk w.biz w w w.
sumikawa.net/
VISA COUNSELING:
female immigration lawyer
handles your visa case.
Permanent residency,
naturalization, eligibility
(inviting your spouse/
children/workers from
your country), extension/
change of visa status.
Consultation ¥5000. OFFICE
LIFE (Miho Fujibayashi).
Te l : 0 9 0 - 8 3 3 0 - 0 6 70
Email: mailto@officelife.jp
Website: http://officelife.
jp/en/
SMILE STAND: Japan’s first
and only stylish rental photo
booth. An exciting addition
to any party, event, etc., and
the best way to get crazy,
fabulous, professional photos.
With this ad ¥55,000~. info@
highland-tokyo.com https://
vimeo.com/44976943 www.
smile-stand.com
TO ADVERTISE IN METROPOLIS,
Japan’s No.1 English magazine,
l o g o n a t w w w. m e t r o p o l i s .
co.jp/classifieds or email your
commercial ads to commercial@
metropolisjapan.com.
32
S E RV I C E D A PA R TM E NT S
in a quiet residential area
of Hiroo. Studios and
suites. 4 min from Hiroo
stn. Rates: Daily ¥ 7800.
Weekly ¥6850 -/day.
Monthly ¥5700-/day. Over
three months ¥5130-/day.
Ta x , u t i l i t i e s i n c l u d e d .
frontdesk@azabucourt.
com w w w.azabucour t .
com/ 03-3446 -8610
2.3 RENT OVER ¥200,000
FURNITURE RENTAL. Create
customized furnished
apartments with our
furniture rental ser vice.
Furniture packages
arranged by our qualified
interior designers to
accommodate various
sizes and styles. We also
of fer ap ar tment leasing
consultation. Please call
0120-957-520. www.smartrental-tokyo.com
2 FIND A PLACE
2.1 GUESTHOUSE
1.2 HAIR & BEAUTY
MEN’S BARBERSHOP IN
ROPPONGI WELCOMES
FOREIGNERS. Englishspeaking assistant will get
your haircu t right . H aircu t s
¥ 4 8 0 0. W i t h s h a v e ¥ 5 8 0 0.
Kids’ haircuts ¥4000¥ 4 4 0 0. F i r s t- t i m e d i s co u n t
¥ 1 0 0 0 . h t t p : //o a z o . b i z / t o p
0 3 - 5 5 4 5 - 7 7 9 7 o a z o7 7 9 7 @
yahoo.co.jp
PRIVATE FURNISHED
A P A R T M E N T S .
Odakyu line: MukogaokaYu e n / Yo m i u r i - L a n d - M a e ,
20/30min from Shinjuku.
Keikyu line: Hatcho-Nawate,
15min from Shinagawa.
1K~2LDK ¥58,000/
m~¥120,000/m. Tel: 044-9337000 Email:mh@minowagroup.
jp w w w.minowagroup.jp/
minowahomes
1.8 GENERAL SERVICES
1.7 BUSINESS SERVICES
THINKING ABOUT ADVERTISING
WITH METROPOLIS? Platinum
¥32,400. Gold ¥27,000. Silver
¥21,600. Prices include one
photo. Bronze ¥2000 (photo
+ ¥ 20 0 0). P r i ce s a r e f o r 4 0
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CREA-UN UENO. Furnished
private rooms, w/digital locks,
near Asakusa, Ueno, Skytree.
S a f e a r e a , f e m a l e - o n l y,
rooftop garden w/nice view,
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¥56,000/m. Utilities included.
No key money/guarantor.
crea-un.sakura@ko-bo.com
http://www.sakura-ko-bo.com
03-6912-0692
KANAMACHI GUEST HOUSE.
Brand-new furnished share
rooms, separate male and
female floors, all rooms
English and Japanese. JF, 40s,
seriously seeks language exchange
partner or English conversation partner
to brush up her E. Can anyone help me?
Of course, I would be happy to help
your Japanese if you like. Serious only,
please. daphneodora@hotmail.co.jp
English and Japanese. I’m a Japanese
guy, 40, E/J language exchange expert
with eight years’ experience. I live in
central Tokyo. I need a native English
speaker’s help to make my English more
natural. hiki4se7ga0@yahoo.co.jp
English and Japanese. Group language
exchange every Wed, 7:30-9:30pm,
at coffee shops around Ginza. Most
members are 20s and 30s. We switch
languages every 30min. Fun events on
weekends. Free to join. ando.andy@
gmail.com
French and Japanese. Fr and J daily
exchange in Otemachi. winds_fr@
hotmail.com
French, English, Japanese. Hello! I'm
a native Russian speaker, 23, working
as an E/Fr teacher, seeking a Japanese
speaker to help me improve my Japanese.
I'm a beginner. Not far from Ichikawa-shi,
Chiba. julia_kuzhnetsova@mail.ru
German and Japanese. JF seeks Ger/J
language exchange partner. Seit Sechs
Monaten lerne ich Deutsch aber ich
spreche Englisch. F/M ok. If interested,
drop me a line. gardenstate2005@
hotmail.com
Italian and Japanese. Would like to
learn basic It from a native speaker
who wants to practice J. Possibly near
Shibuya on weekday evenings after 7pm.
unicornio@nifty.com
Italian and Japanese. JM, 40s,
interested in Italian cars, art, culture and
food, is seeking a language exchange
mate in Tokyo. I work on weekdays, so
weekends/holidays are convenient for
me. youdidntsaythat@yahoo.co.jp
0
TOKYO APARTMENTS. Your
one-stop housing solution
throughout Tokyo. Providing
s e r v ice d , fu rni s h e d a n d
unfurnished apartments,
for both long- and shortterm stays. Also providing
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m anagement and sales.
Please call 0120-957-920.
www.tokyoapartments.jp
2.5 PLACE WANTED
I M M I G R AT I O N L A W Y E R AT
N I P PA S H I O F F I C E s u p p o r t s
visa and naturalization
applications, company
establishment and branch
off ice installation, including
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well as inheritance procedures
in Jap an. Fre e co n sul t at io n
available in English, Español
and Japanese. Tel: 03-6264 8446 np@nippashi.com http://
nippashi.com
English and Japanese. Japanese
female, early 20s, seeking a language
exchange. Nihonbashi area after work
preferred, but open to weekends, too.
lovin2012_life@yahoo.co.jp
English and Japanese. Native English
speaker is sought by Japanse male in
Kokubunji. Weekday evenings or anytime
on weekends. I would like to talk with you
at a cafe or via Skype. Serious but fun.
seigow@hotmail.com
FRI, NOV 28 ISSUE
Deadline: Nov 19, 3pm
1 AT YOUR SERVICE
English and Japanese. I love joking in E
and playing with words. I want to be able
to do the same in J. So far, my Japanese
is as funny as day-old ramen. You must be
open-minded! uk84@outlook.com
Apartment required in Chiba. Hello, I
am starting a new job in the Kobukecho
area of Chiba on Jan 1, and I am
seeking an apartment. Thanks. japan@
roughsmoke.com
Korean and Japanese. Japanese male,
41, seeks a native Korean speaker for
Kor/J exchange. I like music, reading,
cooking. I hope we can learn from each
other and have some fun. astralsky@
excite.co.jp
Russian, English, Japanese. Hello,
I'm a native Russian speaker. I arrived
in Tokyo to study Japanese at a
language school, but I want to improve
my Japanese more. If you're learning
Russian, I can help you, too. segasf@
rambler.ru
Spanish and Japanese. Native Spanish
speaker (Latin American preferred)
sought for language exchange. Meet in
Tokyo area once/week. Serious learners
only, please. tempstadesjp@gmail.com
3.6 LEARNING: GENERAL
3 EDUCATION
English and Japanese. Hi there, I'm
seeking language exchange partners
around central Tokyo on weekends. I can
speak reasonable English, but recently,
I have little opportunity to speak it. I'm
a Japanese female, 40s. Serious only—
but should be fun! hydrangea2008@
gmail.com
Help me, please. British man, my
Japanese is awful. I can’t speak and
it’s making me unhappy. I want a strict
Japanese teacher. I don’t want a language
exchange. Two hours/week. Can pay
about ¥1000/h. helpmyjapanese@
outlook.com
Hjaelpe mig med dansk! Leder efter
dansker i Tokyo eller Kanagawa. Jeg
taler lidt dansk og vil gerne laere mere!
Jeg kan hjaelpe dig med japansk. JF, 30s,
ikke-ryger. b2jw13@hotmail.co.jp
Ikebana lesson (sogatsu). Would
like private ikebana instruction at my
hotel Dec 4-9 in Ebisu. Must be qualified
instructor with knowledge of sogetsu
( 草月). Broken English ability is ok.
likeme4u@hotmail.com
PhD student in engineering? Tokyo only.
Majoring in wireless/communication or
related area? Help me with simulation.
Must be able to use Matlab/Simulink and
know how to validate hypothesis with
simulation like Monte Carlo, etc. Will pay
¥2000/h. yatri_in_town@yahoo.co.jp
Reasonable English lessons. Japanese
male, 30, seeks native English teacher
who could teach me on weekends along
the Odakyu line. Please introduce
yourself. umek2002jp@yahoo.co.jp
Teach me martial arts or yoga. I’m a
Japanese man in Tokyo. Please teach
me for free. Hope to hear from you soon.
kamikaze_vibe@hotmail.com
Wine teacher in Tokyo. Teach me about
French wine in Tokyo on weekends. Prefer
a native teacher with teaching experience
and a wine qualification. Will pay for your
time. frenchwinetasting@hotmail.com
4 HOUSEHOLD GOODS
4.2 APPLIANCES
Air purifier, Venta LW, size 24, Germanmade ¥12,000. Pick up Shinjuku.
Fridge, National nr-b17 1j-r
(480x584x1293mm) ¥7000. Pick up near
Nezu stn, Chiyoda line. msa.japan@
hotmail.com
Fridge, Mitsubishi MR-E45P, 445L, warm
stainless, clean, five y/o, ice maker,
eco, French doors, fits narrow, from Bic
Camera. New ¥156,800. Sell ¥65,000.
martin@klnow.com
Fridge, Mit subishi, large, five
compartments; top loading National
washer; in good condition ¥10,000.
Negotiable. Chuo-ku. Details, photos
available. vijya.agrawal@gmail.com
Fridge/freezer, Sanyo SR-B18J, 175L
(fridge 123L, on top; freezer 52L, in three
drawers), silver, '05, good for one-two
people, in excellent condition ¥10,000.
View Shinjuku. Can arrange delivery
for extra cost. metropolisclassified@
jungletelegraph.net
Futon dryer (布団乾燥機), Sanyo,
still in box ¥3000. Pick up Shinjuku.
Humidifier, Fujitsu AH-56D ¥3000. Pick
up Shinjuku-ku. likeme4u@hotmail.com
Trouser press, Toshiba, stand-up, as
new ¥3000. Pick up Shinjuku. likeme4u@
hotmail.com
4.3 SAYONARA SALE
3.5 LANGUAGE EXCHANGE
Danish, German, Japanese. Hej and 'N
Tag! JF, 30s, seeks Danes and Germans
to help her with languages in Tokyo/
Kanagawa through fun conversations
over cups of coffee or just hanging out.
Please be nonsmokers, late 20s-30s.
codename107113@live.com
3.9 TEACH ME!
Expert Python/C++ programmer (local).
Can pay ¥1000/h, plus coffee. Must be
fluent in English or Japanese. Master’s or
PhD student (engineering) is ideal. Must
be able to meet in Tokyo. yatri_in_town@
yahoo.co.jp
IKEBANA (JAPANESE
TRADITIONAL FLORAL
ARRANGEMENT) is a powerful
means of self-expression. Trial
lesson, including all materials
¥4000. No Japanese necessary.
Certification, diploma can
be earned. Three classroom
locations in Tok yo. Website:
www.atelier-soka.com/english/
index.html Email: smile@mikaotani.com
Sayonara sale! Hitachi washer, almost
new, made in Japan ¥11,000. Sony
Viera, 37”, almost new, w/Skype camera
¥38,000. DVD/VHF ¥10,000. Zojirushi
dishwasher, new ¥26,000. Vaio, Win 8,
almost new ¥72,000. selfeducation@
hotmail.com
S a y o n a r a s a le! D e s k , c h a i r,
microwave, various other kitchen items.
beatricemalburg@web.de
Sayonara sale! Onkyo surround system
PR-155SPX, control unit, new remote,
sub in good condition, speakers have
some dents ¥15,000/obo. Pick up near
Shinagawa stn. fairmerit@gmail.com
The majority of classified ads have moved online! classifieds.metropolis.co.jp
Sayonara sale! Bed, shelves, etc.
Shimokitazawa. Detail s, photos
a v a i l a b l e. b o b a k .r o s t a m p o u r @
hays.co.jp https://www.flickr.com/
photos/128031859@N08/
4.6 FOR KIDS
Crib ¥5000. Can deliver to central/
western Tokyo and assemble for extra
charge. colinrundle@yahoo.com
Windbreaker, Puma, black, size 130cm,
in good condition ¥1000. Photo available.
Pick up or chakubarai. housetsu@gmail.
com
4.7 FOR FREE
Cabinet, antique (W87xH166cm). Pick
up only Suginami. star@moon8sun.com
Perfume and lotion. Rose water
(Palestine), rose oil perfume (India),
and peony lotion from L’Occitane. Pick
up Koto-ku or meet central Tokyo.
larajuku1997@gmail.com
Table, coffee (120x60xH35cm), w/
drawers on both sides, never used. Pick
up only Mizonokuchi area. ml@cole.jp
5 HOBBIES&INTERESTS
5.1 CAMERAS
Photographer set, D90 ¥130,000.
maryryu2002@i.softbank.jp
5.2 SPORTS EQUIPMENT
Golf bag, tote, Le Coq Sportif Golf, w/
shoe pocket, as new ¥2000. Pick up
Shinjuku-ku. likeme4u@hotmail.com
5.5 GAMING
PlayStation 3, Japanese version,
60GB, games use Blu-ray discs as media
format, powerful cell processor, dynamic
RSX graphics chip, backward compatible
to original Sony PlayStation ¥25,000.
Photo available. tokyogriff@gmail.com
090-6013-1396
5.6 COLLECTORS
Ichiro Suzuki stamps. Commemorative
stamps of the Seattle Mariners
celebrating nine consecutive seasons of
200 hits, exclusively released in Japan,
cannot be bought anywhere ¥10,000.
Photos available. likeme4u@hotmail.
com
6 VEHICLES
6.3 BICYCLES, PARTS, & ACCESSORIES
Bike, Riteway, men’s, sport, 9.8kg, two
y/o, in great condition, Shimano gears/
brakes, new tires, inner tubes, small
scratches, for rider under 180cm. New
+ parts ¥70,000. Sell ¥30,000. rod_
jaytee@yahoo.co.uk
Mamachari, three-speed, no rust, in
excellent condition, two y/o, w/two seats
¥25,000. W/front seat only ¥22,000. Can
deliver up to three stations from Ueno.
msa.japan@hotmail.com
Road bike, Ridley Helium, '14, 56cm,
Ultegra groupset, Campagnolo Shamal
wheels, Fizik saddle, Deda seat post
and handle bars, 7.2kg, 1500km ridden
¥320,000/complete bike. Less for just
frame. robert@ap-advisers.com
7 GENERAL
7.2 FASHION
Dress, Heaven and Earth (Shibuya
109), gray, w/chain detail and matching
gray tank top, Japanese free size, in
great condition ¥500. Pick up Koto-ku
or meet central Tokyo. larajuku1997@
gmail.com
Dress, Jenevi (Shibuya 109), mini,
black, w/blue detail, Japanese free
size, in great condition ¥500. Pick
up Koto-ku or meet central Tokyo.
larajuku1997@gmail.com
Flip-flops, Olukai brand, XL, made in
Hawaii, never worn. New ¥6000+. Sell
¥3000. Pick up Shinjuku. likeme4u@
hotmail.com
Hair dye, red, from the UK, expires
May '15 ¥500/bottle. Pick up Nakano.
madamixx@yahoo.co.jp
Raincoat, Cecilene, size M, ivory ¥600.
Pick up or chakubarai. Photo available.
housetsu@gmail.com
Ties, Versace, two, in original gift
box ¥3000/each. ¥5000/both. Pick up
Shinjuku. likeme4u@hotmail.com
Wedding dress, white, size US 4-6/Japan
9-11 (adjustable lace corset) ¥30,000.
Ikebukuro area. chemists_at_large@
yahoo.com
7.3 MISCELLANEOUS
File folders, B1 size, three available,
w/cute designs ¥750/all. Pick up or
chakubarai. Photo available. housetsu@
gmail.com
Portable navigation, CiVi, as new, w/
box, manual, all accessories ¥8000.
mizi2005@hotmail.com
8 COMPUTERS
8.2 HARDWARE
HD, two available, Fujitsu SCSI, Ultra 320
SCSI, 68-pin, 10,000rpm, 36GB ¥1000/
each. deshayes.g@gmail.com
Laptop, Latitude i5, 6GB RAM, 250
SSD, Win 7 Pro, w/Japanese keyboard
¥34,000. Tokyo. nrad_bob@hotmail.com
Established in 1990, the Cru plays
in the Shuto League 1st Division.
http://www.facebook.com/tokyo.
crusaders www.tokyocrusaders.
com
WEST PAPUA: ONE SOUL, ONE
PEOPLE . Fif t y- one years ago,
West Papua should have been an
independent country. Since 1969,
West Papua has been invaded
and the people robbed of their
rights, culture and country. Help
support West Papuans’ desire to
be free. http://tapol.gn.apc.org/
markhelp2@gmail.com
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS TOKYO.
If you have a problem with drinking, we
can help. English-speaking meetings
daily. 03-3971-1471 inquiries@aatokyo.
org http://aatokyo.org
HIV Peer Support group and workshops.
Get together with people in the same
boat as you, who understand. Held in
a safe, considerate, 100% confidential
setting to discuss what’s on your mind,
ask questions and make new friends.
info@peersupporttokyo.com www.
peersupporttokyo.com
Laptop, Panasonic, Intel Core 2 Duo,
80GB, Wi-Fi, DVD multi-drive, 12”
display, Microsoft Office Suite, E/Win 7,
good battery life ¥11,000. tokyonice@
ymail.com
Infertility support group. TTC Tokyo
is an infertility support group that
provides informal opportunities for
women and men experiencing infertility
to connect with one another. Please visit
website for more info. admin@ttctokyo.
org www.ttctokyo.org
Laptops: Sony Vaio VGN-C71B/ W,
1.66GHz, 2GB RAM, 120GB HD, Win 7, loose
graphics card; Lesance, 1.50GHz CPU, 2GB
RAM, 20GB HD, Win 8, power cord (jiggle
to recharge). andyfuga@gmail.com
To advertise in Metropolis, Japan’s
No.1 English magazine, log on at www.
metropolis.co.jp/classifieds or email
your commercial ads to commercial@
metropolisjapan.com.
10 HELP!
10.3 LOST FRIENDS
10.1 HELP ME
Atheist show needs hosts. We promote
positive atheism, knowledge, common
sense, skepticism and so forth. Similar to
Atheist Experience on YouTube. assassin.
wolves.films@gmail.com
Climate expert needed to talk about
the human impact on the environment.
assassin.wolves.films@gmail.com
Need to locate vendor/business.
I need to source a business that can
supply custom graphics/vinyls, and the
same/another one that can supply custom
T-shirts. East Tokyo or Chiba. Any ideas?
japan@roughsmoke.com
Sponsorship. Ten years' experience
in cafe/bar work, including working at
international hotels. I'd like to open
a cafe/bar, but need sponsorship.
Individuals and companies are welcome.
Please, if interested, let us come to an
agreement. samueladonkor@gmail.
com 090-6152-6274
THE JAPAN HELPLINE, 24 hours
a d ay, f ro m a ny w h e re, a b o u t
anything. From emergency
assistance to simple questions.
Visit www.jhelp.com/ and press
“help,” or call 0570 - 0 0 0 -9 11 .
To volunteer or support, please
contact team@jhelp.com. www.
jhelp.com/
SUBSCRIBE TO METROPOLIS
AND NEVER MISS AN ISSUE.
One year (24 issues) ¥3600
(corporate subscribers, 7-100
copies ok ¥22,560). Half year
(12 issues) ¥1800 (corporate
subscribers, 7-100 copies ok
¥12,000). Bank transfer or
credit card (Visa, Mastercard,
D in e r s Club). D e t ail s at
http://metropolisjapan.com/
subscription.
I N T E R N AT I O N A L PA R T Y AT
LEAFCUP. Come join us and have
fun. Men: ¥3000. Foreigners/
women: ¥2000. All-you-candrink-and-eat. Iidabashi
and Yokohama: Nov 1 and 15.
Shibuya: Nov 8 and 22. www.
leafparty.com
13.1 SPORTS
Seeking Mindy. Is Mindy Mack,
a petite blonde teaching
assistant from L.A., still in
Tokyo? Any info appreciated.
m106819151-tsky@yahoo.
com
11 MESSAGES
11.1 PERSONAL MESSAGES
WRITE A MESSAGE FOR
YOU R S PEC I A L SO M EO N E !
Write any thing, from bir thday
messages to proposals. http://
classifieds.metropolis.co.jp.
12 SOCIAL SCENE
12.1 LET’S PARTY
J A PA N I N T E R N AT I O N A L
PART Y— Autumn Festival.
Sat, Nov 22, 6:30-9pm, Bar
Quest (Roppongi). Japan’s
biggest international party.
250 people expected. All-youcan-drink and free snacks.
Japanese men: ¥ 4000.
Others: ¥3000. Mobile: http://
getyourfriend.com/mobile/
jiparty@hotmail.com http://
w w w.get your frien d.com /
090-1735-5405
TA M B O U R E L L I . U n i q u e n e w
sp or t from S cot land . Using a
tambourine-like instrument as a
racquet, players hit a shuttlecock.
We play two or three times/month
on weekends in Meguro with many
socials. Join us! More details: www.
tamjapan.org/en/ info@tamjapan.
org
All-level tennis group in Tokyo.
Serious and motivated tennis players
sought by active tennis group to join
their weekly sessions in central Tokyo.
We have advanced and intermediate
groups on weekday evenings. Beginner
and low-intermediate also welcome.
No entrance or membership fees.
Reasonable participation fees. tokyo.
tennis@yahoo.fr
Don's Half-Fast Flash-Mob Weekend
Urban Bicycle Rides. halffastcycling@
hotmail.com
Futsal players wanted by a very friendly
international team. Practice is in Tokyo
and Kanagawa on Sat. Details available.
fkkyn468@ybb.ne.jp
Interested in tai chi? Then why not start
now? Take a step to counter the stresses
of daily living. Practice is in Toyama Park
on Sun mornings, near Takadanobaba stn.
chifact@gmail.com
13 CLUBS & INTERESTS
10.2 SUPPORT
N E E D T O TA L K ? W e ’ r e h e r e
to listen. TELL LIFELINE: free,
anonymous English counseling
daily from 9am-11pm by trained
vo l u n te e r s: 03 - 57 74 - 0 9 92 .
TELL COUNSELING:
affordable multilingual
p s yc h o t h e r a py by a cc re d i te d
Western-trained professionals,
a CIGNA International Provider:
03 - 4 5 5 0 -1 1 4 6 . T E L L w e b s i te:
w w w.telljp.com. Follow us
o n F a c e b o o k a n d Tw i t t e r @
TokyoLifeLine.
J O I N TH E B I G G E S T,
B E S T, M O S T P O P U L A R
I N T E R N AT I O N A L PA R T Y !
Great people, drinks and
food! Meet new friends
and party with nice people
in a friendly atmosphere.
E ve n t s i n To k yo (G i nz a ,
Azabu, Roppongi) and
Osaka. ¥1500- ¥2000.
http://english.gaitomo.com/
info@gaitomo.com
AMERICAN FOOTBALL.
N ihon Unis ys Bulls , X league
Central Division, seeks fit players w/
US college football experience for
all positions. Practice every Sat/Sun
from 10am-3pm (including meeting)
in Tokyo/Saitama (time & venue
subject to change). Attendance
at practice must be over 60%.
Please contact for tryout info and
send your profile to team admin.
bullsxleague@gmail.com http://
www.unisys.co.jp/football/
A L L - N AT I O N A L I T Y TO U C H
FOOTBALL. Non-contact tag rugby
(OZ tag) and Rugby League players.
We play every Sat from 10am in
Tatsumi. M/F and beginners welcome!
Good exercise and fun! Many
other activities, such as BBQs and
drinking parties! Email for details.
tokyorugbyleague@hotmail.com
http://ameblo.jp/tokyo13warriors
A M AT E U R R U G B Y L E A G U E
PLAYERS. Japan ANZACS Rugby
League team is seeking Rugby
League p layer s for Japanese
Rugby League of f icial games
from Apr to Sep. Everyone
welcome. Contact for more details.
japananzacs@gmail.com
FUN WITH TOUCH RUGBY! Join
us for social or competitive touch
rugby every Sat at 2:30pm by Ariake
stn, Yurikamome line. Any age, sex,
level ok. Please email for details.
funwithtouch@gmail.com http://www.
funwithtouch.com/where-we-play/
P L AY R U G B Y. T h e To k y o
Crusaders are a friendly but
keen international rugby club.
D evo te d to t h e g am e an d i t s
social side, the “Cru” welcomes
all players and supporters.
New players sought, especially goal
keeper and strikers, for regular futsal,
11-a-side, socials. Any nationality
ok. kantocelts@gmail.com www.
kantoceltsfc.com
Quality football. Interested in playing
football at the weekend and training
midweek? Want to enjoy a few beers
after a good run out? If you consider
yourself a quality player, please drop
us a note. bfcvagabonds@gmail.com
Samurai and ninjutsu martial arts.
Seeking people interested in training
in old-style Japanese fighting arts.
Effective and intelligent, but safe
training approach. rootarty@gmail.
com
Table tennis in Minato-ku. Hi,
our international team is seeking
experienced players. You need to
be living or working in Minato-ku
and commit to play ten times/year
on Sundays (all day). No beginners,
please. fgrideau@gmail.com
Women’s football club. Five-aside, 11-a-side, on grass fields. Two
or three practices/matches on Sun.
All nationalities, experience levels,
beginner s welcome. Happy and
friendly club! We have many socials.
djnorio@hotmail.co.jp
13.2 LEISURE
MACARTHUR HEIGHTS.
Ta ke a b r e a k w h e r e G e n e r a l
Douglas MacArthur did! One
hour from Tokyo by car or direct
train. Beautiful cabins on the
ocean, w/onsen, beach, shopping.
housinginjapan@yahoo.com
Free Japanese home cooking. Japanese
housewife offers free washoku home
cooking class in English at her house near
Kawasaki stn on weekday days. You pay
the cost of ingredients. tome.harukasoushi@ezweb.ne.jp
Let’s cook together. Why don’t you come
over to my kitchen (Japanese woman in
Shinagawa) to learn how to make yummy
home-style Japanese dishes? Washoku,
Western food, Chinese, etc. Only pay for
ingredients. Women only. cookjapon@
gmail.com
Tokyo ET contact group. Join us beneath
the stars as we endeavor to make contact
with ET visitors and their craft. nakanosky@
gmail.com http://www.meetup.com/
Tokyo-ET-Contact-Group/events/193113322/
Tokyo Snow Club. A ski/snowboard club
for anyone living in, or visiting Tokyo. We
go on big group trips every weekend in
the winter. Powder, live music events,
and parties in snow. Membership is free!
info@tokyosnowclub.com http://www.
tokyosnowclub.com 050-5806-5616
13.4 MUSIC
A cappella group. Miss singing? Join
our singing group! We sing orchestral
classical music only in human voice,
conducted by a professional a cappella
singer. ryusei@acappella-cantabile.
jp ht tp://acappella- cantabile.
jp/?page_id=202
Female backing/joint main singer. Hi,
seeking female singer for a Tokyo band
—two Japanese, two British members.
We play UK-style indie rock, have
many songs, play live sometimes but
need to improve vocals. 日本語もok.
stevendparker@hotmail.com
JM support guitarist seeks singer.
I’m a Japanese guitarist in Tokyo. I’d
like to help with your singing. Please
let me play your songs. Let’s street gig
together in Tokyo. I like pop, rock, punk.
riku_hiroxx@hotmail.com
Keyboardist sought by funk/fusion
band. Any nationality is welcome.
Come for a tryout. christianpelissero@
yahoo.fr
Musicians wanted. Seeking
keyboards, drums, guitars and Vox to
take my music live and into the studio
to record. You must be able to rehearse
weekends in central Tokyo. Listen to
my SoundCloud playlist. xp_sucks@
hotmail.com https://soundcloud.com/
shinopshino_being/sets
Musicians wanted to play northern
European/Scandinavian music together,
especially accordionist. Rehearse a
couple of times/month in Nakano. We are
two violinists, flutist, bassist, guitarist
and pianist. unicornio@nifty.com
Seeking jazz members. Japanese male
seeking jazz players for fun in the Tokyo
area. I’ve been playing the alto sax for a
couple of years. Still amateur, but want
to play with others. Please feel free to
contact me. yossynet@ra2.so-net.ne.jp
13.5 MIND, BODY, SPIRIT
Diamond Way Buddhism Tokyo. Do
you want to explore your own mind?
Guided Buddhist meditation every Sun,
6pm, near Azabu-Juban. International
practitioners, beginners welcome,
Japanese spoken. Please call 0903598-3072 for more information.
daginia@gmail.com ht tp:// w w w.
diamondway.jp/
Iro-Do Cafe meeting. Volunteer
healing meeting in Tokyo. Don’t hesitate
to contact me if you need help. winds_
fr@hotmail.com
Tibetan Buddhist meditation in
Tokyo. Part of the Karma Kagyu school
of Tibetan Buddhism. This school
puts special focus on meditation
practice. Regular guided meditations
Sun from 7pm. findlay65@gmail.com
http://w w w.meetup.com/ TibetanBuddhist-Meditation-In-Tokyo-Japan/
080-4389-8818
Tokyo Dialogue. We have been
meeting in the heart of the concrete
jungle called Tokyo for 10 years to
create an oasis of calm reflection and
listening. findlay65@gmail.com http://
tokyodialogue.wordpress.com/
Zen meditation (Zazen). You’ve always
thought it would be interesting to try
it—why not now? Join us Fri evenings at
Tokuun-in in Ueno. Make arrangements
in advance by email, and check our
home page. tokyozazen@jcom.home.
ne.jp www.wgthorpe.com
13.6 RELIGIOUS
Seeking a Baptist church without
judgmental people, many English
speakers, and where everyone is in
normal clothes? Contact me and let’s
meet at Higashi-Shinjuku stn, exit A2, Sun
at 10:30am. paytyt@gmail.com
13.8 PROFESSIONAL
Tokyo Traders Club. International
club for traders and investors. Discuss
opportunities in stocks, commodities and
forex. Many regular events, including FX
trading workshop. New to trading? No
problem; beginners also welcome.
You can also learn to trade. Join free!
info@tokyotraders.com http://www.
tokyotraders.com/ 080-5681-1321
33
13.9 INTERNATIONAL
Intercultural activities. JII (Japan
Intercultural Institute) is a non-profit,
member-run organization that sponsors
activities (seminars, cultural events,
conferences) for those wanting to further
develop intercultural competencies
and meet other interculturalists. yuko.
bolick@japanintercultural.org www.
japanintercultural.org
Nihongo 倶楽部いんたぁなしょなる.
Nihongo Club International is a volunteer
group to help foreign people learn
Japanese at the Tokyo Volunteer Action
Center in Iidabashi. Every Thu, 7-9pm.
nci_tokyo@yahoo.co.jp
14 PERSONALS
14.1 FRIENDS
Aerial partner. Anyone want to study
aerial silks or ring together as training
partners? We can exchange conditioning
techniques, work out together. Dance,
yoga, gymnastics, or ballet background
would be great to help me increase my
flexibility. kokoryta@hotmail.com
14.2 MEN LOOKING FOR WOMEN
SUBMISSIVE SJM, 36, cute, is
seriously seeking a woman who is
into, or interested in, dominating
men. I am so submissive, with seven
years’ experience, that I am happy to
take whatever and serve you in any
way. slaveintokyo@gmail.com
Confident, tall, thrill-giving man
seeks Japanese woman who wants her
body to explode with feelings she never
knew existed. This is a journey which you
will treasure forever. Nonsmokers only,
23-26. I’m white, international British.
Japanese ok. erolp.x.ei@gmail.com
Attractive Irish guy seeking company.
Irish male, fun, 30s, attractive, 6’1,
visiting Japan for two weeks in midNov, seeking attractive local ladies for
a drink or to show me around. timlinch@
yahoo.com
Decent JM available. Seeking a cheerful
and mature lady. I’m 30s, financially
secure, clean, living in Tokyo, enjoying
life. Let’s have dinner or drinks to get
to know each other first. Prefer nonJapanese. Casual date? gb_0606@
yahoo.co.jp
American guy. Mature man, late 40s,
living in Yokohama, needs Japanese
woman for dining out, movies, beaches,
games, reading, parties, fitness
and much more. Free on weekends.
gonzo33@outlook.com
Are you the one? Seeking a daytime
friend to play and to practice speaking
English and Japanese. You should be a
JF, 21-45. Any size ok. Me: WM, 35, slim,
fit, interesting, easy to smile/laugh with.
martin30181@gmail.com
Canadian dude seeks friendship.
I'm in Kinshicho seeking friends to help
with visa/living issues, friendship. M/F
ok. I will be going back to Canada in Dec
unless I can apply for a work visa. I'm
interested in world travel. nekobot14@
gmail.com
Artistic American guy, 38, my father
spoke German, born in America, lived
near Santa Monica. Now near Tokyo
Tower. Athletic, love artistic expression,
restaurants, fashion, R&B. Please live
or work in central Tokyo and be openminded. tokyotwr10@yahoo.com
Coffee in Machida. Would anyone
from Western countries (especially
northern Europe) like to have a cup or
two of coffee together with an Englishspeaking JF, 30s, in/around the Machida
area? Please be nonsmokers, late 20s30s. b2jw13@hotmail.co.jp
Attractive black girl? Handsome,
young, very athletic, blond American
guy seeking beautiful black girl, any
nationality, under 40. I speak a little of
many languages, so mail and give it a
shot! Shallumain@yahoo.co.jp
Danes wanted. JF, 30s, into Denmark
like crazy! Nogen dansker i Tokyo eller
Kanagawa at moedes til kaffe og hjaelpe
mig at laere dansk lidt? Please vaere
ikke-ryger, late 20-30s. Glaeder mig
til at hoere fra jer! codename107113@
live.com
Expand my horizons. JF hopes to
meet English speakers (including nonnative) who can share nice friendships.
I'd like to expand my horizons through
new points of view from foreign people.
Shall we have some tea? Nonsmokers,
under 35 preferred. polkadots.1466@
gmail.com
Fellow Japanese learners. English
guy in Tokyo learning Japanese. I'm
seeking other people who are also
learning Japanese to hang out with,
share language tips and resources,
and share occasional frustrations. My
Japanese isn't great (yet!). vint.snap@
gmail.com
Feminine white crossdresser living in
Tokyo seeking friends. k.sweetdream@
yahoo.com
Food-business people. Seeking
people working in the restaurant/food
industry to get together occasionally
and exchange ideas and experiences—
and have fun in general. vmnn1234@
yahoo.com
Hello, I'm originally from New York.
I love Tokyo, going out, meeting new
people. Let's get dinner or drinks. I'm
a bit quiet but not shy; adventurous,
laid-back and friendly. I'm into art,
music, movies, literature. mikenyus@
hotmail.com
Lunch/afterwork friends in the Ginza/
Tokyo stn/Yurakucho area. Professional
male seeking lunch or afterwork drinks
friends. Friendly, open, world-minded,
speaks multiple languages, enjoys life.
You? advenchures+1224@gmail.com
N ot J a p a n e s e? E n g l i s h c h a p,
internationally traveled, working
near the Imperial Palace, seeking
international people for drinks and
chats after work. Any non-Japanese
nationality ok. Tell me your story
in a few lines when you contact me.
greenteais.yummy@gmail.com
Attractive black male seeking attractive
and sexy girlfriend, single/married, fun
to be around, seeking intimacy. I'm 36,
intelligent, 183cm, athletic, from NY,
working in IT, living in Ota-ku. I enjoy
movies, running, relaxing. Please send
your photo. goldfinger726@gmail.com
Attractive JM for SWF. Seeking
attractive Western female with a nice
smile. If you are interested in chatting
over coffee or nice food, please contact
me and let me know. I am looking
forward to your contact. Just try once.
juniperten2013@gmail.com
Attractive SJM seeks a nice Western
or Japanese female for friendship and
possibly more. Nonsmokers preferred. I
am confident that I can create happy and
fun times for you. If you are ready, email
me. cioinjapan@gmail.com
British male, 31, friendly, tall, slim,
seeking a nice girl to hang out with.
Nationality/race unimportant, but should
be 20-35 and have a nice personality.
Interested in music and film: you should
be, too. shiodomebye@gmail.com
British-Australian gentleman.
Hello, I am an Oxbridge-educated
British-Australian gentleman seeking
a single Japanese lady for friendship
and marriage. I will be in Tokyo and
Kyoto in Nov and would like to have an
email exchange beforehand. stjdavid@
googlemail.com
Can we be friends? Married man for
housewife. Can we exchange emails and
meet sometimes for a coffee together?
Serious but slightly lonely married
gentleman here. vbcfgt@hotmail.com
Can you be my sweet girlfriend? SWM,
good-looking, working in finance, seeking
a sweet girlfriend. I like reading, keeping
fit, movies. Let’s go out for a drink or
coffee. atatakaijohn@yahoo.co.jp
Caring and cute JM seeks attractive,
hearty, nonsmoking Western female for
friendship. I simply would like to share
fun, interesting and great experiences
with you. If you feel the same way, just
drop me a line. jinzaixyz@yahoo.co.jp
Seeking friends in central Tokyo. JF,
early 30s, seeks friends to hang out with
in central Tokyo. atkm92@yahoo.co.jp
Carpe diem. Genuine, attractive,
down-to-earth SJM, 40s, is seeking
a serious relationship. Would love to
meet a lady who is sincere, active and
sophisticated. Let’s have coffee to see
if there’s good chemistry between us.
toshinoris1012@yahoo.co.jp
Seeking Thai friends. I am a JM, 40s,
interested in the culture of Thailand,
seeking Thai friends for fun times and
hanging out together. friendlyjapon@
yahoo.co.jp
Chinese, Singaporean, Indian...?
British guy, 30s, seeking non-Japanese
women to hang out with, maybe more.
It may seem obvious, but please only
contact me if you have time to meet. No
34
Japanese seeking marriage with a gaijin,
please! greenteais.yummy@gmail.com
Female friend, please. UK male,
36, seeks female friends for drinking,
chatting, maybe more. I want a friend
with benefits, but just a normal friend
would be nice, too. In a relationship,
but not happy. Let's meet for a chat.
zzztopsandfingers@hotmail.co.uk
Food, wine and romance. Attractive,
physically fit, romantic, passionate
SWM, 40s, seeking romantic, elegant,
attractive Japanese woman for a serious
relationship. Cooler weather is here—
let's explore restaurants, weekend
getaways and great times together.
herbsandspices1712@gmail.com
JOBS
CHAT HOSTS AND TEACHERS WANTED BY
LEAFCUP in Tokyo, Iidabashi, Shibuya,
Yokohama. Seeking enthusiastic,
proficient English, French,
Spanish and/or German speakers
who can teach and lead li vel y
conversations. ¥1,000 - ¥1,500/h.
A p p l y o n l i n e : h r @ l e a f c u p .co m
www.leafcup.com/job.php
Handsome, sweet, smart Japanese
man seeks SWF who seeks secret happy
events in her spare time in Tokyo. Single/
married ok. Shall we begin to talk? I
think this opportunity will be a great one
for us. followupforme14@gmail.com
Hang out. Here from London. Will be
staying in Japan for a while. Want to
meet new people to hang out with,
enjoy drinks, do new things. I'm not
the Roppongi type, so no Roppongi
lovers, please. Nonsmokers only.
englishmobile@outlook.com
I'm not an SNS guy. Seeking a new
relationship with a nice female—no lies
and stress-free. I'm a single Japanese
male, cool and sweet, not the party-guy
type. I'm truly honest. getloud999hello@yahoo.co.jp
I’m not like most foreigners in Tokyo.
I don’t dream of cute girls. I’ve lived in
several countries, enough to understand
Japanese and other cultures. My humor
is playful, silly. Can you handle a nontypical gaikokujin? Seeking 20s only.
m3_3m@outlook.com
Italian or Spanish? British guy seeking
Italian or Spanish woman living in
Tokyo. Have drinks, some fun. Send me
a message and tell me about yourself.
summerfunk@googlemail.com
S E E K I N G FE M A LE TH E R A PI ST f o r
Ayurvedic massage, oil and other
massages. Mixture of commission and
hourly pay (approximately ¥200,000
~¥300,000/m). Previous experience
as massage therapist not necessary,
but Japanese conversational skills
may be required. Shift-work between
11am and 5am the next morning.
Lo c at io n s: S hib u y a , Ro p p o n g i ,
Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Ueno, etc.
Visa required. 03-5842-5393 http://
mominokihouse.jp
プロジェクトマネージャー・コーディネーター募
集。六本木にあるMetropolis
Magazine
は、バイリンガルスタッフを募集しています。経
Life is short. Recently single British
man, 36, seeks Japanese woman for
a drink, chat and hopefully more if we
like each other. Life is short and I want to
meet someone new. Life is for living, so
let's drink. happylamp@hotmail.co.uk
験：デザイン・広告業界の経験、進行管理の経験
Marriage. White Canadian male,
44, seeking a woman for a serious
relationship leading to marriage. I
am too old to play any games. If you
are really serious, please contact me.
martin_coman@hotmail.com
文／英文）をご送付下さい。書類選考の上、ご連絡
Married gentleman seeks love with
married gentlewoman. Is it possible?
Maybe not. vbcfgt@hotmail.com
Massage for JF in Yokohama, Tokyo.
Hello, tall Spanish man can give you
private オイルマッサージ。いかがで
があれば尚可。能力：コミュニケーション能力、協
調性、日本語に堪能、ビジネスレベルの英語力。
条件：平日9:30-18:30 待遇：面接にて。jobs@
metropolis.co.jpまで、履歴書・職務経歴書（和
させて頂きます。
METROPOLIS is seeking motivated
bilingual (E/J) sales executives,
support staff and interns to join its
advertising and marketing team.
Send E/J resume to jobs@metropolis.
co.jp.
To advertise:
commercial@metropolisjapan.com
03-4588-2277
WAITER/ WAITRESS WANTED BY
CLUB APOLLO TOKYO IN ROPPONGI.
Requirements: work at least three
days/week for five hours or more
between 10pm and 6am, resident
card, E/J conversation ability. From
¥1000 -/h. Employees who work
more than four days/week receive
t ran sp o r t at io n reimb ur se me nt .
C a l l 0 8 0 -1 2 1 5 - 6 4 8 8 o r e m a i l
apolloroppongi@gmail.com.
KINCARN INTERNATIONAL
K I N D E RGA RTE N i n K a w a s a k i i s
seeking an English speaker, any
nationality ok, to f ill a position:
teaching or childcare, 2-6 year olds.
School hours: 8am-6pm. Full-time:
Mon- Fri (40h/week) ¥215,500~.
Part-time: four days/week (32h/week)
¥170,500~. Please email resume to
info@kincarn.com. 044-233-3970 www.
kincarn.com
ORG OG LIO DE L CA SA LTA ITA LIAN
RESTAURANT seeks kitchen support
staff, dishwasher and service staff.
E/J conversation skills necessary,
Italian cooking experience a plus,
proper visa required, 3 - 4 days/
week ¥1000- ¥1200/h. キッチンスタッ
フ募集。1F Hiroo Bldg, 3-12-40 Hiroo,
S h i b u y a - k u . 03 - 6 41 8 - 5 8 9 6/0 9 0 2776-3182 donorgoglio@gmail.com
www.orgogliodelcasalta.com
M ETROPOLIS I S S E E K I N G A N E /J
BILINGUAL INTERN to join the most
successful English-language
advertising team (Restaurants &
Bars) in Japan. Great opportunity
to learn about advertising in an
exciting environment. No pay, but
transportation provided. Please fax
your E/J resume to 03-4588-2278 or
email knakashima@metropolisjapan.
com
すか？興味があれば連絡下さい。
maldonado_4649@yahoo.co.jp
Mature and sophisticated Japanese,
some have said charming, seeking an
elegant, passionate, kind SWF. I dream
about wild nights as well as sharing the
simple pleasures of love. Is that you?
imak1_2_3@yahoo.co.jp
Mature man for mature woman.
Attractive, mature European man,
50, seeks a Japanese lover. I prefer
somebody around my age (40s-60s). I
am highly cultured and like Japanese
ladies very much. vbcfgt@hotmail.com
Need love. H an ds ome En gl ish
gentleman, moderate build, mid30s, needs beautiful, passionate JF. I
am handsome, fun, intelligent, wellmannered and empathic. Let's have
romance together. Please send photo
w/email. I'm looking forward to hearing
from you. edanoki@gmail.com
New in Tokyo. O temachi-based
English male. Loves life here. Loves
his job. Has great friends. Enjoys
photography, walking around with a
clear mind, fresh pasta, wine. Would
like to meet nonsmoker, mid-20searly 30s. summerfunk@googlemail.
com
Professional, educated, outgoing,
handsome, looking to date. White
American guy currently staying in
Tokyo. Would like to grab some coffee
or lunch together to start off with and
then take it from there. I am really
mature and open-minded. brdt7465@
hotmail.com
No English? 銀行で働いてるイギリ
Romance and dating. Very nice and
sexy gentleman seeks an older— or much
older—woman to have nice dates and a
romance. feeltokyo@yahoo.co.uk
ス人が日本の女の子探してる。英
語分からない女の子欲しい。 vint.
snap@gmail.com
Pe o p le fro m S o u t h e a s t A s i a,
etc. I long for a warm climate and
beautiful nature. Women who live in
such places are my type. Divorced
Japanese, gentle, kind, mid-40s, no
kids, seeking someone who will swear
eternal love. patri9@excite.co.jp
chubby, open-minded Japanese woman
for a loving relationship. enjoylife_321@
yahoo.com
Seeking a serious relationship. I'm a
SWM neuroscientist, 31, from Manchester,
UK, seeking a well-educated, cute
Japanese partner, preferably under 28,
for a long-term serious relationship.
pulerd@hotmail.com
Roppongi lover? White guy seeks funloving girl, 20-25 only, to chill with.
titanislander+r@gmail.com
Seeking female swimming mate. I
seek a female swim mate for periodical
practice after work and weekends. I
am a JM, 40, working in central Tokyo.
Western female under 45 preferred.
youdidntsaythat@yahoo.co.jp
Seeking a pocchari, fun-loving
Japanese lady. Passionate, welleducated, successful, nonsmoking,
well-traveled married male is seeking a
Seeking fun. SWM, 28, French, seeking
people who want fun like me. My life is
stable, but boring and stressful. I need
excitement for my mental health balance.
If you feel the same way, contact me,
please. reydajp@yahoo.co.jp
WM in Tokyo seeking a pretty girl, 18-35.
I am tall, white, with blue eyes. I speak
Japanese. chrischrisjapan34@yahoo.com
Seeking Japanese female. Polish guy,
51, cool and romantic, not overweight,
doing sports daily, seeks Japanese
female, 30-50, for a long-term relationship
in Tokyo. qqt883hd@piano.ocn.ne.jp
ドイツ人２８歳(結婚). I am 28, seeking
a nice JF for marriage. Please send me a
mail if you want to know more about me.
kkkkeech@i.softbank.jp
Seeking Japanese Muslim. Foreign
Muslim man living in Japan is seeking a
Japanese Muslim woman for exchanging
various topics and for friendship. If anyone
is available, please send me a message.
serioussa@gmail.com 09018388037
美人? Seeking confident and very
attractive woman, 20-30, who also
has an excellent personality and thinks
there's more to life than LV bags. Must
like Englishmen. Send a long, detailed
introduction and wait for my reply. be-thebest@outlook.com
Seeking large Japanese girlfriend.
Canadian guy, 40s, open-minded, gentle,
romantic, positive, seeks overweight
girlfriend for long-term relationship in
Tokyo. Serious only, please. bbalajan@
yahoo.com
Seeking married JF. Nice guy, 40s,
gentle, romantic, open-minded, seeks
to share great time with a married JF in
Tokyo. First, let's meet up over coffee and
talk. benjaminbenjamin12@yahoo.com
銀座. White guy working near Ginza
seeking a woman, 22-29, to hang out
with, have some drinks after work. Make
sure you give an intro—I won't reply if you
don't. wakaruyo@outlook.com
14.3 WOMEN LOOKING FOR MEN
Seeking mature JF. Cool guy, 40s,
positive, romantic, honest, a gentleman,
seeks JF, 40s-50s, for a long-term
relationship. nnazila73@yahoo.com
Seeking Parisienne. Affluent and
excellent Japanese architectural engineer
is seeking an attractive Parisienne who
can speak English. I visited Paris last Dec
and would like to know more about the
city. Give me the hot info on Paris now.
imak1_2_3@yahoo.co.jp
Seeking serious relationship. European
guy, early 40s, positive, easygoing,
gentle, romantic, lots of hobbies, seeking
female, 35-55, open-minded, easygoing,
enjoys simple things. Speak Nihongo. No
busy people, please. bbamian@yahoo.
com
Seeking serious, chubby JF. European
guy, 40, open-minded, easygoing, honest,
faithful, seeks a JF who can meet up soon
(not too many emails) for a long-term
relationship. Let's meet up over coffee
and talk. niman429@yahoo.com
Seeking the last great love of my life.
Your eye color, height, nationality, waist
size, blood type and marital status are of
no concern. What goes on in your head,
behind your eyelashes, in the more
mysterious parts of your body, at certain
times and in certain moods—that's where
I'd be looking to connect. Try and see.
slowcruiser@fastmail.fm
Serious only. Kind, mature Japanese man
who feels lonely is seeking a woman who
feels the same. Any nationality, any age,
any color. I am open to all your fantasies.
Let's meet for a coffee and see where it
goes. toshinoris1012@yahoo.co.jp
Serious relationship. Sincere, honest
American from Hawaii, blond hair, green
eyes, nice smile, muscular, working in
Tokyo, seeks serious relationship. I have
a fun and kind personality, live and work
in central Tokyo, am nonsmoking, goodlooking, speak Japanese. johnb254611@
outlook.com
Serious, long-term. SWM, 34, welleducated and traveled, with a stable
job, seeks true love. If you are 20-30s,
warm and caring, and seeking a serious
long-term relationship, then please drop
me an email. Serious only, no games. No
Roppongi girls, please. Lasagna5577@
yahoo.com
Single French guy seeking a SJF, 30s,
for a long-term relationship. I'm sweet,
handsome, 177cm, do sports, live in
central Tokyo. I work in advertising and
photography. I like travel, onsen, movies.
Nihongo mo ok. Email, w/photo. cdgnrt@
yahoo.fr
Single, handsome, caring and witty
SJM seeks a nice Western or Japanese
female for friendship or possibly more.
Nonsmokers preferred. If you are
interested in exciting and happy times
with me, email me now. cioinjapan@
gmail.com
SWM for a chat. SWM Brit, 36, seeking a
lady for casual, fun dating. Let's meet for
a chat over coffee or beer and see if we like
each other. No pressure. Life is too short.
zzztopsandfingers@hotmail.co.uk
UK lady. SJM, 30s, tall, slim, lover
of books, films, and music, seeks an
attractive British lady with the same
interests. hurryondownboy@yahoo.co.jp
S I N G L E S - O N LY D AT I N G
EVENTS EVERY FRI NIGHT for
foreign men and Japanese
women. Leave the event with a
new date! Always more women
than men. FREE if signing up in
advance! Otherwise, ¥2,000.
info@exeo-international.com
www.exeo-international.com
LAVISH DATES AND
INDULGENT NIGHTS—WE
CR E ATE O PP O RTU N ITI E S
for elite foreign males to meet
elegant Japanese females. Start
with a luxurious dinner date,take
the night where you want it to go.
Fresh, young women join our club
every day. Try our free one-month
trial offer: first date is on us!
0120-675-858 (E) international@
universe-club.jp http://universeclub.jp/en
Discover fun in Tokyo together?
Travelers welcome—I can show you
around! Let's discover nice things:
dining, spas, music, vacation, etc. JF,
late 30s, friendly, slim, tall, seeking a
classy, intelligent gentleman for dating.
amynakagawa@outlook.jp
Driven to work? Japanese woman, 30s,
attractive, elegant, educated, seeks a
successful businessman in Tokyo. She
feels attracted to a man who is driven
to work. He should be sincere and care
about her. springwinds14@yahoo.co.jp
French gentlem an s o u g h t b y
voluptuous JF. Salut, a Caucasian French
monsieur is sought by a JF, mid-40s, for
a long-term relationship. Répondez, SVP.
tama123_123@yahoo.co.jp
Fresh start. Attractive, cultured JF, 30s,
seeks a good-looking young boyfriend
who can possibly have a long-term
relationship. He should be Caucasian,
nonsmoking, cultured. No one-night
stands. nanaironohana24@yahoo.co.jp
International-minded Japanese,
early 30s, ready to start a relationship.
If you are a laid-back, professional/
independent guy of a similar mind,
let’s see how it goes. Must be single
nonsmoker. Your introduction/photo
appreciated. happi_coco14@excite.co.jp
JF seeking friend. Hi there, I'm
seeking someone who can hang out
on weekends. Anyone interested? I'm
a student, 22. I live in Kanagawa, but
often go to Tokyo. Hope to hear from you!
sakurasaku7321@gmail.com
Laugh and smile a lot. Let’s chat over
a cup of coffee. Warmhearted, polite,
chubby SJF, 41, laughs and smiles
quite a bit, seeking sweet, sane single
Caucasian guy for a serious relationship
in Tokyo. camellia.sunflower@gmail.
com
Love long walks? Autumn leaves? I'm
an athletic, fun SJF, 39, not the Roppongi
type. I'm seeking a guy who can have a
big laugh with me. Serious, single only,
please. enohpi4s@yahoo.ca
Love traveling? Attractive, feminine,
bilingual, professional JF, enjoys
traveling, scuba diving, music, reading,
dining out, finer things in life, seeking
a mature, sophisticated gentleman,
35-45, for a meaningful relationship.
Would love to multiply happiness by
sharing. icedcoconutmilktea@hotmail.
com
Don't waste time and money
on so-so dental care.
Invest in the best.Your teeth deserve it.
Mature JF seeks movie friends.
Interested in film festivals (Tokyo
International, Swedish, Indian), theater
and a fun chat over coffee afterwards?
I am 50-ish. Please be around my age,
intelligent and cultured. No photo
available. altoids301-szka@yahoo.co.jp
3-2-1 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Clinic hours: 11:00 am - 8:00 pm
Closed: Thu, Sun and National Holidays
03-6435-0993
Oriental beauty. Long raven hair, fine
skin, toned yet with a very womanly
frame and curves. SJF, educated, fun,
brainy, mid-40s, maturity with a girly
face, totally bilingual. You: single,
articulate, international, hard-working
professional American, 40s or older.
lemon_somehearts@yahoo.co.jp
www.tsuruki-mita.org/english
Special offer
Professional, cute female seeking
a good par tner. Well-educated,
independent JF, 30s, seeking a
professional, fun, faithful man. Often
travel abroad for work, but would like
to have a good partner at home. Photo,
please. Serious only. mitanon3@gmail.
com
Gel Nail from ¥4,980
ALL SERVICES 20% OFF
(First time visitors only) *except Gel Nail.
Menu
Seeking Frenchman for serious
relationship. I'm a SJF, 30s, interested
in France, seeking a relationship with
a sincere and intelligent Frenchman,
25-50. No language exchange or games,
please. Serious only. framboisier@
inter7.jp
Manicure..........¥5,500
Pedicure...........¥6,500
Shellac Hand....¥5,980
Shellac Foot.....¥6,980
Seeking Mr. Right. JF, 37, with
beautiful kids, seeks loyal, hardworking gentleman to spend the future
with. If you are in the same situation,
please let me know. Serious only.
keiko2011tokyo@yahoo.co.jp
Open hour: weekdays 12:00~21:00
Sat, Sun & hol: 11:00~20:00
No.2 Sanken Bldg. 3F 4-1-19 Roppongi Minato-ku
Seeking nice Japanese or Korean
man. SJF, 40, is seeking an intelligent
man for a serious relationship starting
from friends. I'm intelligent, speak
English and some Korean. I live in Tokyo.
2010mirai@gmail.com
Sexy JF seeks a gentleman from
continental Europe. JF, mid-40s, Tokyo
"habitant" seeks a gentleman, 40-60,
over 175cm, who would enjoy not only
bed activities but conversation. Please
write. tama123_123@yahoo.co.jp
Appointment by:
ﬂorir.nail@gmail.com
http://ﬂorir-nail.com
03-3403-5570
Now You Can Recharge
in Roppongi 24/7/365
Hotel
IBIS
Soba shop
Tel: 03-3796-2411
relaxtokyo.com
Metropolis Promo
60 & 120min courses now ¥1,000 off
30min course ¥500 off
Mos
Burger
Almond
Takoyaki shop
Police box
Roppongi-dori
14.4 GAY & LESBIAN
Seeking Asian shemale. European guy,
40s, good-looking, kind, open-minded,
positive, seeks Asian shemale in Tokyo.
Let's share great times together. solivan.
solivan@yahoo.com
14.5 ESCORTS
ESCORTS have gone online.
To f i n d a l o v e l y l a d y
co m p a n i o n , v i s i t h t t p: //
classifieds.metropolis.co.jp/
category/personals/escorts.
COURSES
Body care
30 min: ¥3,150
60 min: ¥6,300
(Early bird 6am-2pm ¥5,250)
120 min: ¥12,600
Oil massage
(daytime only)
60 min: ¥8,400
120 min: ¥16,800
14.6 AND OTHERS
Bilingual bisexual couple seeking
another bilingual bisexual couple.
Simple. happyballoon2@outlook.com
Seeking Japanese couple. I am a white
European living in central Tokyo. I would
like to meet a nice Japanese couple to
have a good time together. I can speak
Japanese. aloysius171@yahoo.fr
Don’t miss an issue!
15 JOBS
15.1 JOB WANTED
NEED A BABYSITTER?
My name is Merinda
Masuda. I’m 16, great
with children and give
them 100% attention.
Trustworthy,
responsible, loving, can do
housework while children sleep.
Seeking work in central Tokyo.
Availab le mos t evening s , S at
evenings and Sun.
merindababysitter@gmail.com
For the cost of postage get Metropolis on your
doorstep—and have ransom note material for decades.
http://metropolisjapan.com/subscription
35
RELATIONS
YAMATO PRIDE
BY GRACE BUCHELE MINETA
The first openly gay person my husband met was American. In fact,
growing up in rural Japan, before he got to college, he was kind of
under the impression that gay Japanese men were like unicorns and
child geniuses—you saw them on TV from time to time, but they didn’t
actually exist.
He met his first openly gay Japanese person at the 2012 Rainbow
Pride Parade in Yoyogi Park. We were both decked out in rainbows
and flag hats to support one of our closeted friends participating in the
march. Along the way, we met an interracial same-sex couple: A nice
American man married to a Japanese man, with a small baby.
*The Rainbow Pride Parade is held in April each year
大和プライド
私の夫が初めて会ったオープンなゲイの人はアメリカ人でした。
大学に入学するまで
ずっと田舎で育ったため、夫は日本人のゲイはユニコーンみたいにテレビでは見る
けど実在しないものだと思っていました。
初めて夫がオープンな日本人のゲイの人に会ったのは2012年の代々木公園でのゲ
イパレードの際でした。私たちはパレードに参加した仲良しのゲイの友達を応援す
るためにレインボー色の服を着ました。
そこで、
日本人男性と結婚したアメリカ人男
性に出会いました。二人には赤ちゃんがいました。
※ レインボープライドパレードは毎年４月実施
■ Grace Buchele Mineta is an author who blogs and draws comics
about her daily life in Japan at www.HowIBecameTexan.com.
horoscope
BY CATHRYN MOE
♥ Love ¥ Money ♣ Luck
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
May 20-Jun 20 ♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣
Jun 21-Jul 21 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣
Where you would rather be? Or is
there no place other than where
you are right now? Your mind may
flip-flop like a flapjack as you mull over options.
With the North Node in your partnership sector, you can break new ground. At the same
time, there’s quite a busy underground when it
comes to sexy connections and who gets what.
Check on agreements you’ve made in the past
and see if that’s still what is understood—then
just enjoy yourself.
The light of the stars is weighted in
your partnership sector. This applies
to you even if you’re single: Everywhere you look, you may see couples holding
hands or hear songs that proclaim endless
love. If you’re involved, you may not have time
to catch your breath as your partner fills every
nook and cranny of your schedule. With that in
mind, there are tasks you can set yourself to:
You may even be looking at homes or expanding in some way. Break your personal rules.
If only you could fly above the fray
and let the clouds settle where
they will. Of course, you can do
this, but you will have to land sometime. You’re
fine until others start to overbalance what you
had in mind—luckily, you’re the negotiating air
sign, able to say what needs to be done and
encouraging smiles simultaneously. What goes
up must come down, but your juggling skills are
unparalleled. You’ll be feeling more secure to
share secrets soon.
Ever yone has their own special
strengths; astrology accentuates
the need to “live your chart.” This
includes being yourself as opposed to someone
else—which is impossible, anyway. This week,
your partner may seem like a powerhouse, but
the truth is they need your strength and support
to carry on. If you’re single, your ability to enjoy a
night in or out is enviable to others. Gather your
strength as next week is going to be more than
memorable.
LEO
VIRGO
LIBRA
SCORPIO
Sep 22-Oct 22 ♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Oct 23-Nov 21 ♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣
You’re not the type to skim the surface
and never look beneath. This week
you can let yourself float, stay connected and still be a mystery to others. Focus
on the tasks at hand and you’ll find you’ve
surfed through what could have been tumultuous waters. While emotions are what motivate
you, they can also wear you out, so save yours
for your own goals as you discover what really
makes you tick. Stability and financial security
are yours and coming soon! Go for it.
Mar 20-Apr 18 ♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣
Jul 22-Aug 21 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Apr 19-May 19 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣
Aug 22-Sep 21 ♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣
CANCER
There may be someone in your orbit
who is supportive of you just the way
you are—but with Dark Moon Lilith in
Leo, who you are is capable of surprising everyone. Oh sure, it may be a tiny whisper in your ear
at the moment: You may be watching yourself
from the perspective of your previous deeds,
which is highly recommended. Jupiter and Juno
in your sign suggest you’re safe to move ahead
with your latest ideas—and the truth is, they’re
probably right.
When you’re in the flow, you know it,
and when you’re not, you may feel at
loose ends. Isolation isn’t something
Virgos crave—it’s just that your environment
must reflect who you are, not someone else.
Right now, you have Dark Moon Lilith, Jupiter
and Juno in your solar twelfth house: They’re
kicking up a bit of a fuss as they encourage you
to do things your way, and they’re offering you
a different kind of support. Be patient: Your
dreams are about to come through.
What seems important is about to
change. Not because you’ve let go
of your goals or your preferences—
but you may have spent so much time being
there for others that suddenly you have to put
yourself first. Obstacles or blocked paths? It
takes ingenuity to clamber up and over instead
of going straight through. You have something
to offer that no one else does: The balance of
Uranus and sudden shifts—and it just may be
the winning ticket.
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
Jan 20-Feb 17 ♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Feb 18-Mar 19 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣
Usually, you’re busy wandering the
globe or expanding your creative
spirit, but right now Uranus is in a
beautiful trine aspect to Sagittarius—which
means love is a major topic. When it comes to
romance and your creative expression, there
are all kinds of surprises. Develop your selfacceptance: Who you are is a boon to anyone
who comes in contact with you. Know this and
be comfortable when you start receiving recognition, if you haven’t noticed it already.
Halloween has its place: It brings the
grit and truth of reality, and parodies
it—it can shake off fears and ghosts
of the past. The more you let it happen, the easier it gets. So much of what has been important
is starting to dissolve, but what’s underneath is
the real gold. Mars has entered your sign, giving
you the energy and focus to make things happen. Assess yourself at your core: What is worth
your consideration? If all the world’s a stage,
what parts do you want to play?
You’re in the public eye—it’s fun, isn’t
it?—and you’re complete in ever y
moment: You are already enough.
Self-improvement is great, but actually, what
others want is to be cared about. They’ll forgive you if everything isn’t “perfect,” because
what is? Let the shocks and surprises of what
you hear around you be a form of motivation to
enjoy what recent luck has brought you. Mars
is gearing up to create a breakthrough through
the realm of your dreams.
If it seems like you’re doing the same
thing over and over, think again:
There may be repetition, but you’re
also going deeper, and this requires courage. You may feel resistance—right now, you
may be creating ways to sabotage your latest
opportunity. Don’t you deserve to give yourself
a chance? Of course you do! You’re ruled by
Neptune, the master of illusion. But the flip side
is divine love—that’s what you’re here for! Can
you do this? Of course: You were born for it!
Nov 22-Dec 20 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
36
Dec 21-Jan 19 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣
PISCES
LINGO BOX
Shikaru（叱る）= scold
With an eye on the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics, the Cabinet adopted a bill
that would lower the legal age for
shooting an air gun from 14 to 10.
the small print
San-gai(三階）= third story
Chūtai-sha(中退者)= (college) dropout
Kumo-no-ito(クモの糸)= spider silk
BY STEVE TRAUTLEIN
Keiba(競馬)= horse races
stats
I FEEL HAPPY BECAUSE I LOOK MORE
ATTRACTIVE.”—Mieko Ichimaru, 79, after attending a seminar on
94
“cosmetic therapy” at a nursing home in Tokyo
AGE IS JUST A NUMBER
⊲Officials
⊲
at the justice ministry will no longer
require municipal authorities to investigate
birth registrations submitted by new mothers
aged 50 and over.
⊲An
⊲ 81-year-old man and his 78-year-old wife
in Itabashi-ku were hospitalized after the husband drove their car off the third story of a
parking garage.
⊲Members
⊲
of an advisory panel to the education ministry have recommended that fifthgraders take English classes as part of their
regular curriculum.
⊲An
⊲ 18-year-old high school student in Akita
assaulted his teacher after she scolded him
for being “noisy.” The boy was arrested and
the teacher was taken to the hospital in serious condition.
PONY UP
⊲A
⊲ court in Osaka ruled that a man who lost
¥810 million betting on horse races can deduct the money from his taxes.
⊲Officials
⊲
at satellite broadcaster WOWOW say
they signed up a record 153,000 new sub-
scribers last month, thanks largely to Kei Nishikori’s historic run to the finals of the US Open.
⊲A
⊲ contingent of Ainu and Okinawans traveled to the UN to attend the World Conference
on Indigenous Peoples.
⊲Executives
⊲
at DoCoMo say “no financial damage” has been reported in a security breach
that affected more than 6,000 customers.
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
⊲Officials
⊲
at Tokyo Metro say they’ll open a
new station on the Hibiya line (between Kasumigaseki and Kamiyacho) in time for the
2020 Olympic Games.
⊲LDP
⊲
lawmakers have drawn up a bill making
so-called revenge porn a crime punishable by
up to three years in prison.
⊲The
⊲
Tokyo Metropolitan Government bestowed distinguished citizen awards on artist
Kunitami Mitsuhashi, movie director Yoji Yamada and baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima.
TOUGH ALL OVER
⊲Officials
⊲
at the education ministry say the
number of college dropouts is rising, with
at a glance
Number of children under the age of
13 who were victims of kidnapping in
2013, according to the National Police
Agency
1,730,567
Used autos sold in Japan
during the first half of fiscal 2014—a
record low, according to the Japan
Automobile Dealers Association
234
Number of train cars that Hitachi
will provide to a Dutch railway company
in a deal worth some ¥40 billion
“financial difficulties” being the leading cause.
⊲Meanwhile,
⊲
the labor ministry says 22 percent of salaried employees under age 35 work
more than 50 hours a week.
⊲Members
⊲
of the Board of Audit claim that,
between fiscal 2010 and 2012, medical associations in 34 prefectures overcharged the
central government by more than ¥1.3 billion
for reimbursements related to treatments for
the elderly.
⊲And
⊲
the National Federation of Health Insurance Societies reports that a record number
of Japanese people have medical expenses
of at least ¥10 million a month.
HOT UNDER THE COLLAR
BY ADAM GARWOOD
Check out Adam’s other work here: http://meturl.com/adam3
⊲Japanese
⊲
researchers say they’re having difficulty mass producing spider silk strings. The
reason? Arachnids “tend to eat each other if
they are kept together.”
⊲The
⊲
government approved a plan by Hokkaido Electric Power Co. to raise its rates by
15.3 percent early next year.
⊲Authorities
⊲
at the Fire and Disaster Management Agency are crediting “a relatively cool
August” with the nearly 4 percent drop in heatstroke cases this summer compared to last.
⊲Bottom
⊲
Story of the Week: “More Japanese
Turning Nouns Into Verbs in Conversation: Survey” (via Mainichi Japan)
Small Print Updated Weekly
→ METURL.COM/SMALLPRINT
Compiled from reports by AP, Japan Today, The Japan Times, Jiji, The Tokyo
Reporter, The Mainichi, The Japan News, AFP, Reuters and Kyodo
37
the last word
Expanding the
Coming Out
Narrative
FROM CALIFORNIA TO JAPAN
CAMERON KATAMARI
WANT
TO HAVE
THE LAST
WORD?
Send your article to:
editor@
metropolisjapan.com
fore returning to our normal work routines. Although my friends back home
wouldn’t have been satisfied with this
quiet acknowledgement of my identity,
I felt a sense of relief.
I also felt—and still feel—slightly melancholic about the experience. In my
JTE’s silent support for my queerness,
I realized that my queerness was negligible in the workplace. It didn’t seem
to have a place, and I’m not sure it ever
will. And that’s been a huge shift for me.
Being so invested in LGBT organizing
in California meant my queerness had
been the center of my identity. It framed
my friendships and all the projects I was
working on—academic, literary and artistic. But here in the Japanese workplace,
other parts of myself were the center: my
hobbies, my foreignness and my
English ability. Queerness had
become compartmentalized,
moved around and isolated to
particular (and important) spaces in my life outside of work. I
no longer see being “out and
proud” as the primary way to fly
my colors. I’ve found other ways
of building community and sustaining it here in Japan.
I’m still wrestling with this
recent shift in consciousness.
Coming to Japan, many sempai
ex-pats warned me that Japan
was an extremely “closeted” society,
where people were too timid to openly
embrace their identities. But I don’t feel
it’s fair to judge a person (and an entire
group of Japanese LGBT folks) based on
their “out” status—especially in a culture
that’s different from how I was raised.
The judgment of Japan as a “closeted”
society is insensitive to the real, lived experiences of Japanese LGBT-identified
people. And I think it’s time to complicate
the discussions on visibility versus invisibility, the value of coming out as a tool
of liberation, and the ongoing struggle to
define how we—as foreigners—engage
with queerness in Japan.
Illustration by Christi Rochin
DO WE
HAVE TO BE
VISIBLE TO
EVERYONE,
EVEN
IF THAT
MEANS
PUTTING
OURSELVES
IN
DANGER?”
Before coming to Japan to become an
English teacher, I was heavily involved
in the LGBT community in Southern
California. We often discussed
the importance of being “out”
and being proud of our identities, being confident in who we
were, and how our differences
produced unique experiences.
So one night in Japan, when
I found myself slightly tipsy at
an after-school nomikai (drinking party) and realized that I was
going to come out to my coworker—about to assert my individual identity on to a Japanese
person—I was surprised by my
hesitation. After all, I had been
out and proud with my family and friends
in the States for almost eight years. I was
following the Western script of declaring
space for my identity to be discussed
and wrestled with. I was making visible
what was previously invisible. And I was
doing so in a space that was culturally
sanctioned for “taking off the mask,” removing our flawless tatemae and saying
what we meant.
And yet, there was this sinking fear
sitting in my stomach. I remembered the
one time at our bōnenkai (year-end party)
when our school superintendent scoffed
that I was sitting like an okama (a faggot),
my legs crossed and tucked to my side
in a lazy seiza lean. I remembered the
aggressive lecture from my principal to
take a date to Suidobashi, and to “take a
girlfriend, not a boyfriend.”
At the time, I’d brushed the paternalistic lectures aside, but somehow they’d
become lodged in my unconscious. Even
as I led my co-worker to the hallway of the
small izakaya we were at, I paused, trying
to remember why I felt the need to come
out to my JTE. Did I want her verbalized
support? Did I want to change hearts and
minds about queer people? Would she
tell people? Would the board of education find out? How would this change the
working relationships I had built over the
past two years?
Do we have to be visible in all parts
of our lives? Do we have to be visible to
everyone, even if that means putting
ourselves in danger—at risk of losing
jobs, verbal harassment, fractured relationships?
It wasn’t like I wasn’t open in other
parts of my life in Japan. I’d been the
Block 3 coordinator of Stonewall Japan
for the Kanto/Tokyo area for two years,
running events for both the foreign and
Japanese LGBT communities. I had my
LGBT island, and I had my work island—
and I kept them separate. Why did I want
to bridge them now? I had very little to
gain and possibly a lot to lose.
Fumbling for the right words, I took a
deep breath and told my JTE I was queer.
She gave me a hug and thanked me for
letting her know, and she promised to
keep it a secret. I found a strange sense
of comfort in those words, knowing that
I hadn’t caused too many ripples in my
workplace relationships.
When I showed up to work Tuesday
morning, we exchanged quick nods be-
■ Cameron Katamari is founder of bi-annual
magazine Homodachi and Friends. http://
meturl.com/homodachi
The views expressed in “The Last Word” are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the position or opinions of Japan Partnership Co. Ltd. or its partners and sponsors.
NEXT ISSUE
LAUGHTER KNOWS
NO BORDERS
THANKSGIVING
TURKEY TIPS
Photo by Kohji Shiiki
38
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DEVASTATION
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