917 Oct 21~Nov 3, 2011

Transcription

TO DIE FOR!
Come as you aren’t to the best Halloween bashes in Tokyo
PLUS The Metropolis Halloween Glitterball
Japan’s Nº1 English Magazine
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#917 Oct 21~Nov 3, 2011
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HSC treatment is a
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In addition to the number of new hairs, a
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Metropolis Members Club
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Courtesy of The Westin Tokyo
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#917
The Tokyo Metpod: If it's going on in Tokyo, it's going on The MetPod.
New interviews, new information, updated daily. metpod.com
Send us your snaps. Check metropolis.co.jp/photo for submission guidelines.
Benjamin Parks
Photo of the week
Oct 21-NOV 3, 2011
08 FEATURE
In the Pink
Softcore films look for new
directions—and new audiences
By Jerry Turner
04 THE SMALL PRINT
05 Upfront
06 Body & soul
07 Village voices
11 HALLOWEEN
14 Arts & Entertainment
Japan Beat, Film
16 AGENDA
26 MOVIES
33 Dining out
Restaurant Review
34 ClassifiedS & JOBS
41 horoscope & mailbox
42 the last word
cover design: kohji shiiki, photo: Benjamin Parks
Youngsters learn about fire safety at the Minato Matsuri in Shibakoen, by Andrew Hartsell
METROPOLIS is Japan's No.1 English magazine, founded
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for Japan’s international community by Metropolis KK, a
subsidiary of Japan Inc Holdings.
METROPOLIS is the only English-language magazine
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CEO/PUBLISHER Terrie Lloyd CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER Neil Butler EDITORIAL Jeff W. Richards (managing Editor)
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The Small Print This week’s required reading, by Reg Dunlap
The government
doesn’t have a sense
“
of crisis about the yen,
and emerging economies
are luring Japanese
companies away.”
—Hiroshi Miyazaki, chief economist at Shinkin Asset
Management, Tokyo
THE BIG FREEZE
ćć The first snowfall of the season was recorded
on October 3 in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. It had
been 113 years since snow fell so early in the
year in Japan.
ćć The Chinese government denied a request by
Fuji Heavy Industries to enter into a joint venture
with a midsize domestic automaker in Dalian.
ćć Owners of Korean restaurants are up in arms
over new safety guidelines that require them
to cook meat “at more than 60 degrees Celsius
for at least two minutes.” The regulations are in
response to an E. Coli outbreak from a raw-beef
dish that killed four people and sickened dozens
this spring.
ćć Headline of the Week: “Problematic Wild Goats
on Kyushu Islands Put to Good Use Through Ecoweeding Project” (via The Mainichi Daily News)
stolen from the men’s room of the 21st Century
Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa,
Ishikawa Prefecture, museum officials said Saturday.” (via Kyodo)
YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP
ćć The co-pilot of an ANA jet flying from Okinawa to
Tokyo caused the plane to roll 131 degrees—in
other words, nearly upside down—after he “mistook the rudder trim knob for the cockpit door
lock switch.” Two flight attendants were injured.
ćć Someone left a bag containing ¥10 million in
a bathroom in the city hall of Sakado, Saitama
Prefecture, along with a note saying that the
money was for “the people of Tohoku.” That’s
$130,000, folks.
stats
Kohji Shiiki
FOREIGN INTRIGUE
ćć Police in Myanmar suspect a motorcycle-taxi
driver attacked and killed a 32-year-old Japanese tourist who had hired him for a ride in the
ancient city of Bagan.
ćć Japan’s Self-Defense Forces and the US military
have agreed to allow “SDF tanker aircraft to
refuel US military airplanes midair” during
joint exercises.
ćć Meanwhile, the SDF is said to be considering an
extension of its peacekeeping mission in Haiti
by another year, to January 2013.
ćć Sentence of the Week: “Part of a media installation created by a Swiss visual artist has been
ćć Tokyo police busted a Turkish man for smuggling
about 2kg of speed into the country “by hiding
[the drugs] in a wooden box sent from Turkey to
his motorcycle shop” in Itabashi-ku.
ćć Meanwhile, officials at Narita Airport say they
confiscated 119kg of methamphetamines in
the first half of 2011. That’s almost double the
amount nabbed in the first six months of 2010.
ćć Authorities are concerned about dozens of Japanese-language websites from China that sell
unlicensed medicines, including “pills to treat
erectile dysfunction that contain doses exceeding the legal amount approved by the Japanese
government.”
ćć Meanwhile, cops around the country busted 14
people for operating websites that offer illicit or
unapproved drugs.
ELECTRIC AVENUE
FAMOUS FIRSTS
ćć A research team led by a professor at Utsunomiya
University has found that crows can “recognize
symbols representing different quantities.”
ćć Scientists from the National Institute for Materials Science and Tohoku Universit y have
discovered how strings of amino acid are formed.
The finding could prompt “a revised look at the
view that life on earth began in the sea.”
ćć Researchers at The Nat iona l Inst it ute of
Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
in Ibaraki have developed a material that can
be printed like ink and that “uses temperature
differences to generate power.”
ćć The Japanese Coast Guard has appointed two
women to serve as investigators of accidents
and crimes occurring at sea. It’s the first time
that women have held such a post.
POLICE BLOTTER
ćć The Metropolitan Police Department says that
the number of citations it has issued to people
riding “fixies”—fixed-wheel racing bicycles
with no brakes—has increased from 2 in 2009
to 661 in 2010.
ćć It was reported that former PM Naoto Kan has
visited 55 of the 88 temples that make up the
traditional Shikoku Pilgrimage route.
GULP!
ćć TEPCO says that if its water-injection efforts
at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were
to be halted for some reason—say, something
crazy like an earthquake and tsunami—it
would take only 38 hours for the fuel rods to
start melting down.
ćć The Meteorological Agency revealed that, out of
the 170-plus tsunami observatories around the
country, it has no earthquake resistance data
for 102 of them.
ćć A Board of Audit survey revealed that Tokyo
University owns some ¥15 billion worth of
“unutilized and unnecessary facilities,”
including a 60km 2 plot in Chiba that’s been
vacant for several years.
ćć Investigators believe a visually impaired
woman accidentally fell onto the tracks at
Hajima station in Akashima, west Tokyo, before
being hit by a train and killed.
ćć A taxi stand for electric and hybrid vehicles
made its debut in front of the Shin-Marunouchi
Building near Tokyo station.
ćć The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ is getting
together with a group of overseas banks to
finance a “mega solar power plant construction
project” in Canada, to the tune of ¥8.5 billion.
ćć Former Japanese ambassador to the US Shunji
Yanai was elected to a three-year term as president of the International Tribunal for the Law
of the Sea. The job involves “dispute resolution
over maritime borders” and, less dramatically,
“resource development.”
ćć The health ministry says that average annual
medical expenses for Japanese people aged 65
or older are ¥687,700, but for those aged 64 or
younger they are just ¥163,000.
HERE AND THERE
ćć A Tokyo-based “marital information provider”
says that business has been booming since
the March 11 earthquake because unmarried
people are fearing an “uncertain future following the life-altering disaster.”
ćć On the other hand, it was reported that the
number of divorce applications in Sendai has
increased 40 percent in the six months since
the quake, compared to a year earlier.
ćć Officials in Taito-ku have begun a telephonebased interpreting service to help staff at souvenir
shops communicate with foreign tourists.
ćć Among the cultural assets for which Japan is
seeking UNESCO World Heritage status are
Mt Fuji, the city of Kamakura and “the country’s
oldest government-run silk mill.”
ćć UNESCO is also being asked to designate a
14,580-hectare evergreen broadleaf forest in
Miyazaki as an eco park.
Compiled from reports by AP, Japan
Today, Bloomberg, The Japan Times, The
International Herald Tribune, The Asahi
Shimbun, The Mainichi Daily News, Daily
Yomiuri, AFP, Reuters and Kyodo
� 400,000 Number of new bricks laid on the Marunouchi side of the refurbished Tokyo station
� 591.4 Weight in kg of the winning entry at the annual giant pumpkin contest in Takikawa,
Hokkaido � ¥18.9 million Price of an 18-karat gold osechi riyori box offered by Takashimaya
to mark the department store’s 180th anniversary
04 • download our podcast at • podcast.metropolis.co.jp
q&a
people, trends & miscellany
Upfront
A Gh stly Top 10
Lilly Field, Haunted
Tokyo Tours
4
Suzugamori Execution Ground:
Located along the old Tokaido
Road, this principal Edo-period
execution ground saw some 150,000
people killed here between 1651
and 1871. A burning pyre and stone
platform to erect crucifixions attest to
a range of cruel capital punishments.
The “bridge of tears” is located nearby,
where relatives of the doomed are said
to have lingered.
L
illy Field is a certified
paranormal investigator,
and founder of Haunted
Tokyo Tours, the city’s only
ghost tour operator. All of her tours are
original and based on historical record
and traditional legend. Since she was a
child, Field has been interested in the
macabre. A Japanese psychic once
swore that she is the reincarnation of
an ancient miko (shamaness). She was
kind enough to pick her top ten Tokyo
haunted spots for Metropolis.
1
Masakado’s grave: Located in
Tokyo’s financial district, this
is the final resting ground for an
angry samurai rebel of the Heian
period named Taira no Masakado.
His decapitated head mysteriously
resisted decay for three months, eyes
continuing to roll, and eventually
propelled itself from Kyoto to Edo.
Construction workers who disturb
the grave risk accident or death, and
nearby office workers avoid sitting with
their back to it. Lately the grave has
become a “power spot” for those who
want to harness some of the samurai’s
fighting spirit.
2
5
Aoyama Reien: Taxi drivers speak
in hushed tones of the whitefrocked girl who hails them only to
disappear in a wet puddle in their back
seat. Interred here are famous murders,
suicides and tragic endings from the
19th century onwards. Hitotama “orbs”
are also frequently spotted late at night.
back as a ghost to haunt him. With her
disheveled hair and one drooping eye,
Oiwa became the prototype for other
fearsome female phantoms. Yotsuya
Kaidan, Japan’s most famous ghost
story, was made into a Kabuki play
in 1825 and then dozens of cinema
versions. The tradition continues for the
staff and cast of such productions to pay
their respects at the shrine first, or risk
suffering the wrath of Oiwa.
6
Sendagaya Tunnel: Hastily built
in 1964 to meet urbanization
improvements for the Tokyo Olympics,
the tunnel runs directly beneath
a cemetery. Reports often involve
a female ghost with long hair who
hangs upside down from the ceiling
and sometimes falls on cars with a
thud. The nearby Victor Studio is
also considered to be haunted, with
unexplained voices and wails often
showing up in recordings.
3
Tokyo Tower: With one foot
planted squarely in a graveyard,
and painted the same vermillion color
as a Shinto torii gate, this landmark
1958 steel structure is home to a
frequently-sighted little girl ghost, and
also houses a creepy wax museum
with a likeness of Hisakichi Maeda, the
tower’s deceased founder.
7
Ireido: Located in Yokoami-cho
Park, where throngs of people
took refuge during the Great Kanto
Earthquake and perished during the
conflagration that followed. The park
also served as a makeshift crematory
8
Old Hag’s Pond: Ancient site of an
inn run by an evil old woman who
murdered countless guests by dropping
a stone boulder on them as they slept.
The Legend of Adachigahara was made
into a kabuki play, and became one of
Japan’s first horror films. Cries are heard
over the stagnant pond at night.
9
Hakone Yama: Located in Toyama
Park, the former site of the Army
Medical College and Hospital, and flanked
by several medical research facilities,
one of which was rumored to train the
notorious Unit 731. Cadavers from
medical experiments were said to be
secretly buried there, and human bones
continue to be unearthed in the park.
Especially fearsome at night, sounds of
crying and voices are often reported.
10
Sengakuji: Burial ground of the
loyal 47 Ronin who committed
hara kiri in 1703 after completing a
violent vendetta. A blood-stained stone
and plum tree and a head-washing well
can all be visited within the temple
grounds. Ghosts of individual Ronin
are sometimes photographed in the
incense smoke that burns continuously
over their graves.
cinematic underground
movie news
Shin-Bungeiza in Ikebukuro
(3F, 1-43-5 Higashi-Ikebukuro
Toshima-ku; www.shinbungeiza.com) is paying tribute
to acting brothers Tomisaburo
Wakayama and Shintaro Katsu
with a series of jidaigeki films,
October 26-November 8. The
late actors came from a kabuki
family and tried their hands at
stage acting and martial arts
before Shintaro went on to lead the Zatoichi series and his older brother starred in the
Lone Wolf and Cub films (1972-1973; pictured)… Shin-Bungeiza will also pay tribute
to iconic actress Meiko Kaji with an all-night screening from 10:45pm on October
22. Kaji was the quintessential bad girl of ’70s Japanese cinema, in films such as Stray
Cat Rock: Delinquent Girl Boss (1970), Female Convict 701: Scorpion (1972) and Lady
Snowblood (1973), which inspired the Lucy Liu character in Kill Bill… Famed American
documentarian Frederick Wiseman will receive a complete retrospective at
Shibuya’s Eurospace (1-5 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku; www.eurospace.co.jp), October
29-November 25. Wiseman, who studied to be a lawyer, gained recognition with his
early fly-on-the-wall docos such as High School (1968) and went on to create studies of
topics as diverse as domestic violence and ballet. http://jc3.jp/wiseman2011
Unless otherwise noted, Japanese films are shown without English subtitles and
non-English language films are shown with only Japanese subtitles. Kevin Mcgue
Mirroring changes in the
television and pop music
industries, ties between Japan
and South Korea in the film world
are becoming stronger every day,
thanks in part to the efforts of
globe-trotting producers such as
Naoshi Yoda. The CEO of Tokyobased T-Joy pictures attended
the recent Busan International
Film Festival to unveil his JapanKorean coproduction The Way: Man of White Porcelain (Michi: Hakuji-no-Hito). The
film, which stars Hisashi Yoshizawa and Korean actor Bae Soo-bin, tells the true
story of Takumi Asakawa, a Japanese forestry engineer who was dispatched to
Korea in 1914 for a reforestation project but became fascinated with the country’s
porcelain folk art and spent the rest of his life in the country. The film’s budget was
partly paid for by Korean Film Council, despite it being set during the contentious
period of Japan’s colonization of Korea. “Colonization was a sad time for Korea,” the
producer said during the film festival. “But I hope the film can be a bridge between
our two cultures. Cultural products have always had the ability to cross borders.”
Posters and ads for the upcoming film are in both Korean and Japanese and the
biopic will have a simultaneous release in both countries next summer.
www.facebook.com/hakujinohito KM
IMAGE.NET
© Toho Company
Oiwa Shrine: Properly known as
Oiwa Tamiya Jinja, this shrine
was the former home of a woman
poisoned by her husband who came
Courtesy of Haunted Tokyo Tours
By Gianni Simone
for 38,000 bodies. The Ireido (“Hall
of Repose”), a cavernous Buddhist
style memorial hall built in 1931, was
eventually also used to placate the souls
of WWII firebombing victims. Graphic
photos on display and an exhibition
area filled with melted objects are
moving reminders.
#917 • wWW.METROPOLIS.CO.JP • 05
Body & Soul
Fighting the
no. 1 killer cancer
in Japan
By Ulrica Marshall
Y
Quality.
Service.
Trust.
The original luxury residential
brokerage for Tokyo’s
international clientele
www.kencorp.com
ou might have
n o t i c e d To k y o
turning pink t his
October with pink
ribbons, troupes in
pink t-shirts parading the streets—even Tokyo tower
has been blushing. All this is for
Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
representing the fight against a
disease that claims a life about
every 15 minutes in Japan alone.
Then, come November, promotional pink cosmetics will be sold
at a discount and magazine covers will abandon pink tones for the
more festive, red Christmas overtures. Breast cancer will seemingly
fade away: out of sight, out of mind.
Of course, for those who live
with cancer—as patients, survivors,
family or friends— such convenient
compartmentalization is not an
option: “Sadly, it is not written or
talked about much during any other
month of the year,” says Vickie Paradise-Green, founder of the charity
Run for the Cure Foundation—and
a cancer survivor.
In Japa n, one in 20 women
between the ages of 25 and 55 are
diag nosed w it h breast cancer.
Although lower than in the US or
Europe, the country has one of the
highest growth rates of incidences
in the world, affecting a younger
age bracket.
Scientists have linked breast
cancer to a diet rich in animal fats
and dairy, and in the last decade or
so this Western diet has for many—
particularly those of a younger
generation—replaced the traditional Japanese mainstay of rice and
vegetables. Where once Japan could
lay claim to one of the lowest incidence rates in the world, the sharp
rise in recent years has caught the
country woefully short of a medical infrastructure and the expertise
“
In Japan,
one in 20
women
between the ages
of 25 and 55 are
diagnosed with
breast cancer”
Photos Courtesy of Run for the Cure
Foreve
to support it. Meanwhile, little effort
has been made by the government to
address the issue.
“Fewer than 12% of Japanese
women have an annual mammogram,” comments Paradise-Green,
whose organization raises funding to
help more women gain free or affordable access to this crucial screening.
“Breast reconstruction is not an
option because it—along with mammography screening—is not covered
by national health insurance, and it is
too expensive for the average family.”
The tragic outcome is that many
women here are diagnosed—and
treated—too late, making breast
cancer the number-one killer cancer in Japan. This is something the
Foundation strives to change, with
the invaluable support of the foreign
business community.
er Pink
Courtesy Soleil Provence
Village Voices
Partygoers sport last year’s “C’est la
fest!” shirts
Boozy Books
R
eaders and wine lovers—there’s
most likely a large overlap in
those two groups—should celebrate the beginning of the Beaujolais
Nouveau season with a charity event in
beautiful Shonan. French language and
culture school Soleil Provence is holding their second annual Beaujolais for
Books event. Entry gets you not only
access to the wine and a gourmet French
buffet, but also the sponsorship of three
books for NPO Room to Read, which provides quality educational opportunities
to children in developing countries. The
goal is to empower kids through literacy
and gender equality in education. This
year they will also be donating some of
the books to children in Tohoku. It’s not
often that you can do so much good just
by making merry, so drink up.
Nov 19, 6:30-9:30pm. ¥4,800. Soleil
Provence, 4-16-31 Kugenuma Matsugaoka, Fujisawa-shi. Nearest stn:
K u g e n u m a - k a i g a n . w w w. s o l e i l provence.com
Throughout the year, the Foundation holds events to fund its tireless
work, including the annual 5km (or
10km) run or walk around the Imperial Palace on November 26, and the
legendary Pink Ball on February 26,
which will once again feature topclass entertainment in the hope of
exceeding 2010’s tally of ¥15.3 million raised.
This figure is a great achievement but clearly does not cover the
vast cost of bringing the medical
system here up to the standards so
desperately needed. In the meantime, the message is clear: early
diagnosis saves lives. Even men
are not immune. Do not wait for
physical symptoms; get checked
out regularly and if you are not
convinced—get a second opinion. Doctors are not infallible and
little can be told without a mammogram or an MRI.
So once October has drawn to
a close, don’t box it up and store
the pink month for another year.
Remember that for millions, life
is, and remains, pink.
• To take part in the Nov 26
run, the Feb 26 Pink Ball, or to
contribute to the Foundation,
see www.runforthecure.org.
• English-speaking patients
and survivors can contact
support group Tokyo Bosom
Buddies, tbb@runforthecure.
org.
• The writer has donated her
fee for this article to Run for the
Cure Foundation.
• See other events listings for
info on a free mammogram.
Down the Line
N
ow that the weather isn’t so
sticky, we’ll all be spending a lot
more time outdoors. If you’re
looking for ideas on how to spend it,
how about making a trek around the
Yamanote Line? Oxfam Japan International Volunteers Group is holding its
regular fundraising event centered on
this iconic Tokyo train line, known as
the Yamathon. Teams of three or four
will try to make it to all 29 stations in less
than 12 hours, with an after-party waiting for those man (or woman) enough to
complete the loop. Funds raised will go
towards Oxfam’s efforts to fight poverty
and injustice.
Nov 19, 6:15am. Yoyogi Park entrance.
Nearest stn: Harajuku. www.tokyoyamathon.com
Advertorial
Strictly
Legal
Metropolis chats to
Attorney at Law
Hangnyeon Chang,
AITS LPC
What should I do if my Japanese husband or wife asks for a divorce or to
live apart here in Japan? You might
be shocked and worried about what
is bothering your partner, but the first
thing you need to do is to know your
legal rights. You have to know, for
example, if you can get the same living
expenses as always or not, which side
will take custody of your children, if
you can keep living in the same house
or not, how much you can get from
him/her in the distribution of property or compensation, what your legal
status in Japan will be, and other challenging questions.
How can I make sure I know my rights?
You must speak to a lawyer who knows
Japanese law—one who can properly
represent you in Japan. Lawyers who
speak English are very scarce here—
and lawyers experienced in handling
international marriage cases are much
scarcer. In a domestic violence case, a
“strong” lawyer might be required.
How can I consult with lawyers?
The most common way is to go to the
bar association. You can consult a lawyer with an interpreter and use legal aid
if you can’t afford to use a lawyer.
What should I bring when I see a lawyer? Bring all relevant materials about
income or assets. Normally, you can go
to the family court and talk with your
partner through the coordination of
a mediator. And if you don’t agree on
any conditions, you have to file the suit
to the same court. You might have to
investigate your partner’s assets, or
extra-marital relations. Lawyers can
help with that, so it’s advisable to get in
touch with one as soon as possible.
Free legal consultations in English,
Chinese, and Korean. AITS Shinjuku
Law Office. 3F Believe Shinjuku-Bldg.
1-26-9 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku. Tel:
03-5362-0907. Email iyota@aits-lpc.
com. Nearest stn: Shinjuku.
www.aits-lpc.com
Feature
Can Japan’s
erotic film biz
rise again?
Text by Jerry Turner
Photos by Benjamin Parks
Director Shinji Imaoka and
friend at Okura Theater
T
he noise of the city fades as the stream
of pedestrian traffic eases. Nestled
between a convenience store and a
shoe shop is a small movie theater
easily missed if not for the provocative
p o s t e r s o f s e x- s t a r v e d f e m a l e
characters finding it difficult to keep
on their clothes. Inside, the theater’s
patrons, all men well over middle age, watch as
the triple film bill begins. Some are here to escape
the rain. Some are here to escape the wife. Some
are asleep before the lights go down. Whatever the
reason, over the next three hours, everybody will
experience some pink.
The pink film is difficult to shoehorn into other
genres. To many Japanese, the genre might appear
interchangeable with porn or AV (adult video),
yet there are substantial differences. Pink movies
are shot on film, usually contain a narrative, and
tend to shy away from explicit depictions of sex as
seen in Japanese adult video. The result is a movie
designed to be shown in a classic theater. With an
average budget of $30,000 and a three-to-five day
shooting schedule, it’s easier to think of pink film
as super-independent filmmaking. What’s more,
it has significance within the history of Japanese
cinema that reveals its status as more than just
jerk-off material.
B
y the late 1950s, the appearance of cheap
sets—combined with the Crown Prince
of Japan’s wedding—made the television
an ubiquitous commodity. Naturally, this
impacted on the sales of cinema tickets.
Over the next ten years, according to the Kinema
Junpo Film Institute, the number of movie theaters
in Japan plunged from 7,000 to a little over 3,000.
Filmmaker Satoru Kobayashi experienced
this decline first hand, when he was relieved
from directing duties at Shintoho studios after
its bankruptcy in 1961. During the following
year, he shot and released a sex film called Flesh
Market for ¥6 million (the average production
easily classified as mindless titillation, some
did receive critical praise in Japan and abroad,
including the works of Nikkatsu’s ace director
Tatsumi Kumashiro and independent pink
filmmaker Koji Wakamatsu. Their films,
different stylistically, mixed sexual themes
with societal concerns of the day including
politics, gender, and poverty.
Successful through the 1970s, the genre
was to face near extinction in the decades
that followed. A lethal combination of adult
video and increasing theatrical censorship
chopped the legs off the pink film industry.
Nikkatsu made its last Roman Porno in 1988.
Related production companies and the small
network of theaters split up or left the pink
completely. The resulting companies merged,
split, died, or changed names quicker than
the snap of a bra.
T
oday, the state of the pink film industry
has calmed a bit, even if the future
seems uncertain. Five small companies
make pink films for theatrical release. Of
the five, Kokuei has cleverly positioned
itself, producing artistically engaging sex
films written and directed by an exciting crop
of talent. The company started out way back in
1955, producing educational films for schools.
Seven years later the company did a 180, and
the only educational material they produced
was soon of the sexual kind.
Though Kokuei has been around since
the genre’s beginning,
company president
Keiko Sato—known by
her ma le pseudony m
Da i s u k e A s a k u r a—i s
full of fresh ideas and
optimism. Asakura has
made a concerted effort
to demonst rate t he
artistic merit of pink film
beyond Japan’s borders,
frequently having films
subtitled and presented
at overseas festivals.
The company’s latest
effort is a cross-cultural
experiment never
before attempted: a pink
musical co-produced by
a German product ion
The Okura Theater, Shinjuku
company and featuring
revered cinematographer
Nikkatsu and other small pink production Christopher Doyle (Hero; Rabbit-Proof Fence).
companies proved a breeding ground for “I had heard about pink film... the collaborative
talent. Hasegawa would later play a pivotal energy of people,” explains Doyle. “I think there
role in Japanese independent filmmaking are better actors in this film than in other films
as producer, writer and director. Along with I’ve worked on.”
many filmmakers, many of today’s famous
Titled Underwater Love in English, the
Japanese actors started in the world of pink film represents a new approach to the genre.
film, such as Naoto Takenaka, Ren Osugi and Director Shinji Imaoka observes that the
Kaori Momoi.
film’s trajector y is different owing to the
Ten years after Kobayashi’s Flesh Market, international talent involved. “We may have
pink film accounted for almost 70 percent of created something altogether new,” he says.
Japan’s filmmaking output, according to the Clearly, with the traditional pink theatergoer
Japan Society of Image Arts and Sciences. getting older, there is a need for change to keep
While the majority of these pink films are the genre alive.
Courtesy Spotted Productions
budget in Japan at the time was around ¥40
million). The movie told of a 17-year-old girl’s
encounter w ith a Roppongi cartel as she
investigates her sister’s suicide.
Authorities deemed the f ilm obscene
and confiscated it, something that had not
occurred since the days of World War II. The
incident was hot news throughout Japan.
Noticing the controversy, Kobayashi’s quickthinking assistant director constructed a
second edit of the film from dailies, trimming
the more outrageous parts. This new cut made
over ¥100 million, turning the heads of all film
companies—both major and minor.
In 1971, Japan’s oldest film production
company, Nik katsu, barely had its head
above water when t he boss decided to
divert all resources into making what they
termed “Roman Porno”—from roman, as
in “romant ic.” They began a brea k neck
production pace, churning out three to five
films per month.
While most pink films up to this point had
been low budget, amateur affairs, Nikkatsu’s
Roman Porno featured moderate budgets,
professionally trained crews, film sets, and
real actors. “Ninety percent of script writers
left at that time because of the Roman Porno
situation,” says maverick filmmaker Kazuhiko
Hasegawa, who started his film career there as
assistant director and scriptwriter. “A producer
asked me if I could write scripts. They wanted
six per month.”
The rules were simple: four sex scenes in
a one-hour movie. The freedom allowed at
Still from Underwater Love, 2011
Shinji Imaoka, Director
Can erotic musical Underwater Love mark out
a new pink perspective?
You write most of your films. Underwater Love was a
collaborative effort. Tell me about the process for writing the film. The first idea was a high-school teacher and
student—a very normal love story. Moriya [pink film writer/
director Fumio Moriya] and I started writing the script at
that time and Moriya wanted to use the kappa [Japanese
water-sprite]. Actually, Moriya wrote most of the first draft.
Tom Mes and Stephan Holl, the producers, worked together
looking over that draft. This correspondence took about two
years. The screenplay changed six or seven times. The film
is a musical. How did you approach the music of the film?
I tried to suggest the feel through the writing in the script. In
the script, the lyrics were already written, so I could imagine the music. Moriya wrote the lyrics. Stereo Total created
the music without understanding the lyrics at all. Was the
initial plan to first show the film first at festivals? It wasn’t
the initial plan, but now it appears to be happening that
way. Most pink movies are 60 minutes long—if we did that
it would be considered a short film I guess. It’s difficult to
release a short film. I was told to make it longer just before
shooting—about 80 minutes. That was the hardest part for
me. If we had kept the original length we could have only
shown it in pink theaters. So, the plan changed. It would
be shown domestically in regular theaters and we would
worry about the pink theaters later. The shooting time for
Underwater Love was the same as any other pink movie,
even though the budget was higher. So, what was different this time? The budget wasn’t so big. Only double the
usual for a pink film. The cooperation between Germany
and Japan for this film is what’s different this time. The
international correspondence took a long time—especially
for post-production. We would edit the film and send it to
Germany. Then, they would edit it and send it back to us
again. This took a while—about half a year. What is your
average shooting schedule like for a pink film? Generally,
I write a screenplay and show it to the producer at Kokuei
and, if it’s accepted, they will decide casting and location within a month. Shooting generally takes one week.
Post production—including editing and dubbing—takes a
month. There is an editor I work with. I watch and tell him
what works or what to cut. We edit for about two days. It’s
all done with scissors and hands. From start to finish one
film takes two to three months. But my pace is only one film
per year. In the case of Underwater Love, the rewrites kept
going for two years. This is a rare case. The fastest scenario
is when the script is done, the shooting is over after the next
month. It depends on the situation. How do you approach
sex in your movies? In my experience, watching many
pink movies, some films have sex scenes that kind of tell
the viewer,“Okay, this is the erotic part.” I lose interest in that
kind of stuff. I approach sex scenes the same as an eating or
dialog scene—every action is just a tool for expressing the
character’s feelings.
PROPAGANDA
Shot Bar
HALLOWEEN WEEKEND!
10/28 (Fri)
HALLOWEEN PRE-PARTY
6pm - 5am - No Cover Charge!
Costume contest on the 29th. Win a pair of helicopter cruise tickets!
10/29(Sat)
HALLOWEEN PARTY
7pm - 5am - No Cover Charge!
Customers w/costumes get a free shot! Customers in costume get a free shot!
Plus: free drink ticket to the
Special offer: Glass of wine ¥500
Propoganda Halloween party all night for ladies
Costume contest from 12am
Prize: all you can drink all night
Happy Hour & original T-shirts
before 9pm
Drinks ¥500~
Champagne night every Sun!
(Bubbly only ¥300 for the ladies!)
www.propaganda-tokyo.com
2F Yua Roppongi Bldg., 3-14-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku Tokyo
03-3423-0988
Halloween
All Hallows Eve
It’s Thriller night—time to come alive
Ageha
Fri, Oct 28, 11pm
¥3,500; ¥2,000 (w/costume). In tune to
lasers and phat beats, pop your togs in a
costume contest with famous judges and
prizes up to ¥300,000. Step into a photobooth to have your costume voted on in
an internet contest via Ageha, Facebook
and Cyber Japan sites. Winners claim
free entry for next year's bash. 2-2-10
Shin-Kiba, Koto-ku. Tel: 03-5534-1515.
Nearest stn: Shin-Kiba. www.ageha.
com
Air
Le Baron de Paris
Fri Oct 28-Sat 29 ¥3,000 (w/1drink).
Hit up the classiest Halloween party on
Friday, then get back there on Saturday
for big-screen-related horror, courtesy
of the Tokyo International Film Festival
official party “Believe! The power of
films” and Halloween Party combo. B1F
Aoyama Center Bldg, 3-8-40 MinamiAoyama, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-34083665. Nearest stn: Omotesando. http://
lebaron.jp/en
Bar Quest
Fri, Oct 28, 7pm-late & Sat, Oct 29,
10pm-late Free entry. Let DJs Tai
Castillo
Bar Quest
Propaganda
Tucano’s
Vanity
Whistlebump Halloween 2010
and good ol' whiskey. Shinjuku: 2F
Shinjuku Lion Hall, 3-28-9 Shinjuku.
Tel: 03-3352-6606. Nearest stn:
Shinjuku. Other branch info at www.
dubliners.jp
Azabu, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-57756206. Nearest stn: Roppongi or
Hiroo. www.realgrooves.com
EL CAFÉ LATINO
Fri, Oct 28 & Sat, Oct 29, 8pm-5am
¥1,500 (w/1drink). Get ready for
some cachengue to shake your hips
to. Expect lots of salsa, merengue,
bachata and reggaeton at this Latinthemed Halloween party. Bacardi
drinks ¥500 all night, and costumed
punters get a free shot. 3-15-24
Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-34028989. Nearest stn: Roppongi. www.
elcafelatino.com
Castillo
Sat, Oct 29, 9pm-5am Free entry.
Kick it old-school at Castillo’s ’70s- and
’80s-themed party with DJ Aki and
Staff Jiro. Fifty guests in costume get a
free shot. Surely that's excuse enough
to dust off the mongoose costume?
Monkey’s, 2F Shimojo Bldg, 3-14-8
Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-54104988 (venue) or 090-3502-8209
(Jiro, party organizer). Nearest stn:
Roppongi. www.castillo-tokyo.com
Dubliners
Fri, Oct 28 Free entry. Have a
Halloween hoedown Gaelic-style at any
of the merry Dubliners branches. Come
in costume and quaff ¥500 bevvies
including pints of beer, cocktails,
Eleven
Sat, Oct 29, 10pm ¥3,500; ¥2,500 (w/
costume); ¥2,000 (w/full costume).
This storied back-street Nishi-Azabu
club is putting on Real Grooves house
and techno for your Hallowing needs.
Check out Mambotur, Pier Bucci,
Takuya, and more. 1-10-1 Nishi-
f.Bar
Fri, Oct 28-Sat 29, 11pm Women: free;
men: ¥3,500 (w/1drink). Fashion
Phobia Episode 3 with DJ Atomic Mike
(Fri) and Halloween Pervert (Sat). The
generally funksome Azabu-Juban
haunt will be providing two pumpkininfused nights for your delectation. 1F,
1-4-5 Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku. Tel:
03-3586-6383. www.fbar.jp
Metropolis Glitterball
The
Monster
Glitterball photos byRyan Bruss
Bash
Thu, Oct 27, 7pm-midnight ¥2,000
( a d v ; w/1 d r i n k ) ; ¥ 2 , 5 0 0 ( d o o r ;
w/1drink) Join thousands of preternatural partygoers, both of the gory gaijin and
nasty nihonjin varieties, and sample a
bloodcurdling array of tricks and treats,
drinks and dancing, and fabulous giveaways at this bone-chilling bonanza.
¥2,000 gets you five hours of groovetime
with Tokyo's top DJs, plus a one-coin
food and drink menu. Don't skimp on
the costume and stand a chance to win
two round-trip flights to New York, plus
a gaggle of other ghoulish prizes. Go to
www.metropolis.co.jp/glitterball to snap
up your tickets.
When Glitterball finishes at midnight,
don't turn into a pumpkin. Stay at Vanity all night for their Halloween Candy
party—with go-go dancers to boot.
Vanity Lounge: 13F Roi Bldg, 5-5-1
Roppongi Minato-ku. Tel: 03-54740091. Nearest stn: Roppongi. www.
vanitylounge.jp
Courtesy of Mark Oxley
Sat, Oct 29, 10pm ¥3,500; ¥3,000 (w/
flyer); ¥2,000 (w/costume). Horrifying
house from Quentin Harris, KMBA
from NYC, Yoshihiro et al at Shibuya's
powerhouse all-nighter. B1, B2 Hikawa
Bldg, 2-11 Sarugaku, Shibuya-Ku.
Tel: 03-5784-3386. Nearest stn:
Daikanyama or Shibuya. www.airtokyo.com
Ikezawa and Show spin your rotor
blades, then win a pair of helicopter
tour tickets with your costume. Chow
down on free candy and Halloween
cocktails. 3F, 5-3-1 Roppongi, Minatoku. Tel: 03-5414-2225. Nearest stn:
Roppongi. www.barquestroppongi.
com
Halloween
Gallery
THE NEW MATRIX BAR
Seamus O’hara
Sat, Oct 29, 11pm Women: ¥2,000;
men: ¥4,000; entry includes all-youcan-drink and dessert buffet. Parade
yourself in costume at Gallery and nab
a ¥1,000 discount. Or just tell them you
read Metropolis for the same result.
B1F, 1-1-1, Nishiazabu, Minato-ku. Tel:
03-5771-4447. Nearest stn: Roppongi.
www.gallery-roppongi.com
Sat, Oct 29, 7pm-8am ¥1,000 (w/1 drink).
DJ Atsushi gets the party started with
hip-hop, R&B and reggae, and all guests
wearing a costume receive a free shot.
That should help steel your nerves for the
costume contest. B1, 3-13-6 Roppongi,
Minato-ku. Tel: 03-3405-1066. Nearest
stn: Roppongi. www.matrixbar.jp
Sun, Oct 30, 5pm-midnight Free entry.
For a friendly, Celtic Halloween vibe,
head down to Seamus in costume and
garner yourself a free pint or cocktail,
plus a boogie to the in-house DJ. B1
Matsuda Bldg, 3-12-3 Meguro, Meguroku. Tel: 03-3760-6179. Nearest stn:
Meguro. www.seamus-ohara.com
Opera Lounge
Tucano’s
Fri Oct 28-Sat 29, 6pm-midnight
Women: ¥2,500 (w/2drinks); men:
¥3,500 (w/2drinks). Catch Friday's
Halloween dessert buffet with DJ
Massattack, and more, plus hot
Halloween dancers. Saturday hosts
Secret Monsters with DJ Hico and
Mixture.
Mon, Oct 31, 6pm-midnight Women
¥2,000 (w/2drinks); men: ¥2,500
(w/2drinks). Arrive before 8pm for a
¥1,000 discount at this ’70s and ’90s
disco bashment with free buffet and a
Halloween dessert (before 8pm). 6-1,
Roppongi 1-chome, Minato-ku. Tel:
http://operatokyo.jp
Sun, Oct 23-Mon, Oct 31 50% off
churrasco & Brazilian buffet dinner.
Feast on this delicious spread, including
the special Halloween pumpkin menu,
for just ¥2,000 during this time (regular
price ¥4,000), plus a ¥500 service charge.
Check out their sensual samba show on
Wed, Oct 26 and Thu, Oct 27. B1 Shibuya
Fhontis, 2-23-12 Dogenzaka, Shibuyaku. Tel: 03-5784-2661. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. www.pjgroup.jp/tucanos
Heimat Cafe
Sat, Oct 29, 8-11pm (LO) ¥3,500; ¥3,000
(adv); ¥2,500 (w/costume). For an
earlier bash or a warm-up to your later
extravagance, head down to Heimat for
a three-hour all-you-can-drink menu
with snacks. 1F Hills Tomioka, 3-5-6
Meguro Hon-cho, Meguro-ku. Tel:
03-6452-3770. Email: heimatcafe@
gmail.com. Nearest stn: MusashiKoyama. www.heimat-cafe.com
Legato
Sat, Oct 29, 11pm ¥4,000 (door); ¥3,000
(w/costume). Ooooze, Tribute, Scream,
Matsunami (Tribute), JayBee (Kinfolk)
and others feature at this legendary
night-of-the-living-dead super party.
15F E Space Tower, 3-6 Maruyamacho, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-5784-2121.
Nearest stn: Shibuya. www.legatotokyo.jp/en/shibuya
New Lex
Oct 28-31, 11pm-5am Price TBA. Open
for 34 years, this Roppongi love pad
hosts a host of celebs and models,
including Katy Perry, Marilyn Manson,
and other such creatures. What could
make a better place to party? B1F, 3-13-1
Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-34797477. Nearest stn: Roppongi. www.
newlex-edo.com
PROPAGANDA
Fri, Oct 28, 6pm-5am Free entry.
Halloween pre-party. Give your
costume an advance airing and win a
free shot, plus a ticket to tomorrow's
party. ¥500 drinks until 9pm.
Sat, Oct 29, 7pm-5am Free entry.
Costumed customers swig a free shot.
The post-midnight costume contest
could get you all-you-can-drink all night,
plus original shirts, too. ¥500 drinks
until 9pm, ladies ¥500 wine all night.
2F, 3-14-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel:
www.propaganda-tokyo.com
Unit / Saloon / Unice
Sat, Oct 29, 11pm ¥3,500 (door); ¥3,000
(adv or w/flyer); ¥2,000 (w/costume);
free + ¥1,000 drink charge (w/full
costume). Electro/techno/house.
Hexstatic AV set, plus 80kidz, De De
Mouse and more. Prepare to have your
costume judged by a drag queen at the
entrance. Za House Bldg, 1-34-17 EbisuNishi, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-3464-1012.
Nearest stn: Daikanyama or Ebisu
Vanity
Thu, Oct 27, midnight. Women: free;
men: ¥3,500 (w/2drinks). Candy
Halloween. After the unparalleled
joyousness of the Metropolis Glitterball
bash, go-go dancers and more will keep
up the good vibes until dawn.
Fri Oct 28-Sat 29, 11pm. Women: free;
men: ¥3,500 (w/2drinks). Jail House.
Bash it up with Yaksa DJ and the go-go
dancers to keep the thrills and chills
going on over the weekend. 13F Roi
Bldg, 5-5-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel:
www.vanitylounge.jp
Velours
Sat, 29 Oct, 10pm ¥3,000 (w/1drink).
The glitziest bash in town will feature
celebrated DJs (Makai, Vivid, etc.),
photographers, models, a costume
contest and general Halloween
madness. Come in a nurse suit and win
a free drink plus free admission! B1F
Almost Blue, 6-4-6 Minami-Aoyama,
Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5778-4777. Nearest
stn: Omotesando. www.velours.jp
Womb
Oct 29, 11pm ¥3,500 (door); ¥3,000 (w/
flyer). Guests at this Tokyo titan of tunes
include Layo & Bushwacka (Shake it!),
Techriders with lighting by Aiba, and
Sayuka and Masahiro Sato in the Red
Trash Lounge. 1F Studio Arias, 2-16
Maruyama-chou, Shibuya-ku. Tel:
03-5459-1383. Nearest stn: Shibuya.
www.womb.co.jp
whistlebump
halloween
29 Oct, 10pm ¥4,500; ¥3,500 (Facebook/
iflyer RSVP). Hip-hop, house, techno.
DJs Groove Patrol, Tsutsui, etc If you
don't fancy waiting in line, grab a ¥3,000
fastpass from XEX and Curtain Call
Roppongi Hills, or events@eggworm.
jp. XEX Nihonbashi. 4F YUITO/
Nihonbashi-Muromachi-Nomura Bldg,
2-4-3 Nihonbashi-Muromachi, Chuo-ku
Tokyo. Tel: 03-3548-0065. Nearest stn:
Mitsukoshi-mae. www.ystable.co.jp/
restaurant/xexnihonbashi
Little Terrors
Have a chiller with the
kids at these familyfriendly festivals
Hello Halloween
Pumpkin Parade
Roppongi Hills
Happy Halloween
Yokohama
Halloween Bus
Raffles, performance, samba, music.
Parade that it’s too late to participate in
but you can watch all the same (from
1-2:15pm). Canceled in case of rain.
S u n , O c t 30, 10 a m -5p m . A rou n d
Omotesando and Harjuku. www.harajuku-halloween.com
This is a parade you can participate in,
billed as the parade of “the cutest witches
and ghosts you’ve ever seen.”
Sat, Oct 29, 11am-1:30pm, free. Roppongi Hills Arena. Tel: 03-6406-6000.
www.roppongihills.com
For the fifth year Yokohama is decking
out its number 7 and 29 buses in lurid
Halloween decorations, so if you are
traveling from Kawasaki to Tsurumi or
Yokohama, think about bussing it, for an
amusing experience.
Oct 3-31. Yokohama bus lines 7 & 29,
usual fare. www.city.yokohama.lg.jp
Kawasaki
Halloween
An estimated 3,500 attendees pumpkin up for a parade. Too late to be a
participant, so you’ll have to settle
for punter status. Canceled in case of
heavy rain.
Sun, Oct 30, 2:30-4pm, east side of
Kawasaki station. www.lacittadella.
co.jp/halloween
Tamagawa
Halloween Festival
The first 300 kids who arrive at 10am
every day will receive a free Elmo balloon, which ties in with the general
Sesame Street hilarity of this festival.
Costume parade on Oct 30, 1pm, canceled in case of rain.
Oct 29-31. Takashimaya S.C. Neare st stn: Futako -Tamagawa . www.
tamagawa-sc.com
Motomachi
Halloween
All Hallows Eve-themed goods and
general merriment on the shopping
street. Free candies and stickers for
costumed kiddies.
Su n , O ct 30, 2- 6:30pm , f re e . Tel :
04-5641-1557. Nearest stn: MotomachiChukagai. www.motomachi.or.jp
Arts & Entertainment All the best in arts & culture across the metropolis
japan beat
Shitamachi
Shitamachi R
Young Japanese
find their muse
in Tokyo’s old
downtown
By Simon Bartz
Asakusa Jinta
A
sakusa Jinta call themselves a
“hard marching band,” perhaps
referring to how fast they have
to march with the police on their tail.
“We made a sound system using one
of those old Showa-period bicycles with
a sidecar,” guitarist Shinya tells Metropolis, “so when we play in the streets we
can make a quick getaway.” He smiles.
“There aren’t really any live venues in
Asakusa and it’s prohibited to play music
on the streets.”
Stand-up bassist, singer and
bandleader Oshow adds: “The police
might give us a caution if they catch
us playing so we’ve got to keep moving. Before, we built small stages on
either side of the Sumida River to make
open-air festivals. The audiences threw
so much money at us we could earn
more than playing at a live house, but
the police would always come rushing
over. Asakusa Jinta’s activity is always
watched by the cops.”
Oshow tells me of when he saw an
old guy with the sidecar-fitted bike one
day. You often see such characters in the
shitamachi areas of downtown northeast
Tokyo: Ueno, Asakusa and Yoshiwara.
They are workers carrying lumber,
masses of tin cans, tatami mats—or tofu,
which they hawk from an icebox on the
sidecar. In an inspired moment Oshow
made an offer for the vendor's bike.
But while Asakusa Jinta are all about
Tokyo Taishu Kayou
Gakuden
“
We long for ‘the good old
days’ of Japanese culture
and try to connect the young
generation to older people through our
music,” says Kotaro Takashima, singer
of Tokyo Taishu Kayou Gakuden. It is a
sunny September afternoon next to the
Sumida River in Asakusa, and we are
chatting during a break in one of their
street shows. “The young and old are isolated from each other,” he adds, puffing on
downtown, the band seems to be moving in a different direction… upward.
They have played all across Europe—
Britain, Holland, Finland, Sweden—and
made an impressive appearance at the
South by Southwest Festival. “We also
played the French Embassy in Tokyo,
so you could say we've played in France
too,” says Oshow.
T hey s ay “ h a rd m a rch i n g ” but
basically Asakusa Jinta are an insane
jamboree of styles on stage—like a military brass band tossing in elements of
Coltrane, rockabilly, ska and punk. But
it all melds together beautifully, like
they aren’t trying, like they are being
themselves—like they are enjoying
themselves. And if you see a band having such fun, it infects you too.
If you like the anything-goes music of
ba nds such as T he Pog ue s , G ogol
Bordello or Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, then Asakusa Jinta are right up your
street—especially if you live in Asakusa,
as do most of the band members.
They are a bunch of young guys—and
one girl—yet they are proud of the oldtown community spirit of Asakusa. Why?
“We embrace the ancient music of
Japan but are trying to develop it using
new instruments,” Oshow says. “In a
sense, time has stopped in Asakusa and
it is our role to move it forward. Past
musicians used shamisen and a drum—
we use saxophone, trumpet and guitar.
After the Pacific War, Japanese culture
was drained and we now have to rebuild
our culture and move in a positive
a long, thin, vintage silver pipe. “Music is a
tool to solve that problem.”
Kayou Gakudan have the same
basic principles as Asakusa Jinta:
taking pride in Japanese history and
musical heritage. But unlike the upbeat,
modern style of Jinta, these guys go
right back to the source, breathing
fresh life into long-forgotten classics
from the Taisho and Showa Periods.
Kotaro’s intensely respectful vocal
delivery bursts not only from his lungs,
but from his heart and soul. There’s also
his brother Yujiro, two years
younger at 26, masterfully
manipulating his accordion,
and. in the background, Rei
Taskatori, the eldest of the trio
at 32, on stand-up bass.
They interpret kayo
music—basically slow-burning
Japanese pop from the ’20s to
the ’50s. It’s best described as
jazzed-up folk music, a bit like
Frank Sinatra doing slightly
sped-up enka.
direction while retaining elements of
our traditional spirit.”
As well as Shinya on guitar, Oshow
standing at the front tearing away at his
stand-up bass, and MieKachint blowing furiously into her horns, the other
members are B-Ken, who provides a
matsuri vibe on his euphonium and
tuba, Seasir on trumpet, and Kaname,
low-key at the back, maintaining a
steady beat on drums.
I tell them during our interview at
Oshow's small Asakusa bar, Ginmaku
Rock (see opposite), that their furious
energy makes it sound like there are 20
members, especially on their new album
Yamiyo De Dance (Dance In The Dark).
“We did have 13 members in the original
Asakusa Jinta,” says Shinya. “Back then
we were called Hyakke no Gyoretsu,
which kind of means a bunch of Japanese monsters making a line.”
Oshow talks of chindon, disbanded
World War II military bands that had to
play in the streets to earn their bread,
as the band’s prime influence. “‘Jinta’
means a small brass band,” he explains.
I ask Oshow how the music has
developed si nce 2005 when t hey
released their first, underground—and
now unavailable—record, Asakusa Rock.
“Before, we had a conceptual angle, but
now we are getting down to the basics
and concentrating on the music,” says
Oshow. “We make music with the word
‘nostalgic’ in our heads and are moving in
that direction.”
If The Pogues represent Ireland’s folk
music, and Gogol Bordello that of the
Gypsies, then Asakusa Jinta might be
what you’d call the folk music of Japan—
but if you’re expecting weepy enka, forget
it. You're more likely to get sweaty in a
moshpit.
Info: www.asakusajinta.com
Writer and musician Simon Bartz resides in a small castle in Asakusa. Contact him at www.myspace.com/yojimbotokyo or www.facebook.com/simon.bartz1
Tokyo
Intertational
Film Festival
Photos by Yumiko Toda
Rocks
Rocks
film
©Rodeo Drive Srl 2011
Ginmaku Rock
I
am sitting on a red velvet sofa
and Safi is shaking her ample
breasts in my face. But she is
half-decent... That's to say, her nipples
are covered by glittery tassels. I am at
Asakusa Jinta leader Oshow’s Showastyle bar cum live house Ginmaku
Rock in the heart of Asakusa, and it
is a riot of a night. Packed with people
lounging on sofas or propping up the
bar, which is manned—so to speak—by
a guy dressed as an oiran (Edo-Period
high-class female prostitute). Safi
is the main draw among a series of
impressive burlesque dancers this
evening, but bands also play. Oshow
even invited my band to perform
having never heard us—so you can
guess this is a place where anything
goes. It is hard to find, tucked away
in a side street near Asakusa Keiba
Wins, and mostly only locals go
there. But if you do find it, you won’t
regret it—the bartender makes some
mean White Russians. 2 F, 1- 41- 5 A s a k u s a . T e l :
03-5828- 6969. Op e n daily
The first songs they played were
popular numbers like “Ginza Kan Kan
Musume.” But they weren’t happy with
their initial selection, “We researched
the really old traditional folk songs that
old people like,” Takashima says. “Our
repertoire is now at a better level.”
Kayou Gakudan invite old folks to
join their street sessions. Two guys and
a woman, each probably approaching
80 years old, often join in on percussion, whether it's beating a small drum
with a brush or tapping empty beer
Tokyo’s biggest
film festival
pushes forward
By Rob Schwartz
S
9pm-late. No seating or cover
charge unless there is a special
live show.
cans on an upturned plastic bucket. If
you have seen the Kurosawa-inspired
movie Ame Agaru and the scene at the
inn where people join in singing, you
might find it familiar.
Kayou Gakudan usually play in
the streets of Ueno and Asakusa. “Live
houses are more business-oriented,”
says Kotaro. “We make our living by
laying one of our hats out and playing
in the parks and on the streets.”
http://chesterfield-records.
com/ttkg.html
tarted in 1985, The Tokyo
International Film Festival
(TIFF) will put on its 24th edition (the fest was held every
other year until 1989) from
Oct 22-30. TIFF has always been a great
opportunity to see non-English language
films with English subtitles, but the quality of the work has been variable over the
years. This year however, things seem to
be trending toward a stronger overall
line-up, buoyed by enhanced relationships with filmmakers across Asia—and
the world. Sadly, the event still has issues
with securing English-subtitled prints,
so check the flicks you want to see carefully, as some (a minority) may not have
English captions.
Any prize-giving film fest starts with
a competition section and TIFF’s has
made some serious strides since Yoshi
Yatabe took over as programmer. The
only requirements for this division are
that entries be 2011 productions and
Asian premieres. This year’s competition has, perhaps, more prestigious
names than any time in the past. Says
Yatabe, “I’ve been in this position five
years so my relationships around the
world have become more solid.” He also
aims for a good mix of movies:
“I try to get both films by famous
directors and debut films by new artists.
This way the competition can be as varied as possible.”
Among the high-profile filmmakers,
Rodrigo Garcia (Things You Can Tell Just
by Looking at Her) offers Albert Nobbs;
director Michael Winterbottom (24 Hour
Party People) submits Trishna; Tony
Kaye (American History X ) unspools
Detachment; and Oxide Pang (Bangkok
Dangerous) rolls out Sleepwalker. Also
worth making an effort to see is Francesco Patierno’s biting Italian satire
Things from Another World (pictured). All
non-English language entries in this section will have English subtitles.
The Winds of Asia section usually
presents an interesting selection of work
from this side of the globe. Check out
famed Cambodian director Rithy Panh’s
re-imaging of Nagisa Oshima’s classic The
Catch. Oshima’s influential original (1961)
will also play in this section. Tatsumi by
Singaporean auteur Eric Khoo is an animated feature that depicts the life and
work of manga artist Yoshihiro Tatsumi.
Generally reserved for big budget
pics that will screen in Tokyo anyway,
ten of the 24 flicks in the Special Screenings section this year are Japanese, so
if you want to check out—with English
subtitles—what the studios here think
are their strongest efforts, look for these.
Unfortunately, German auteur Wim
Wenders’ hidden gem—a 3D homage to
legendary contemporary dancer Pina
Bausch, filmed in nine languages and
titled simply Pina— will be shown sans
English titles. Even worse, Werner Herzog’s documentary Cave of Forgotten
Dreams is dubbed into Japanese.
Lastly, the Japan Eyes section purports to offer the best of Japanese indie
cinema. While the claim may be questionable, it is still a great chance to see
some smaller J-films, with those helpful
English captions.
AGENDA
Metpod
By Dan Grunebaum
Courtesy of Jaspex
Courtesy of Torifune Butoh Sha
opening
Sound Museum Vision
retail
Speak East!
dance
Gangio Gangioma
� Recession and disaster be damned, the folks
who run tried-and-tested Daikanyama club Air
are opening a massive new discotheque and performance space smack in the middle of Shibuya.
Boasting a 1,500 capacity, Sound Museum Vision
swings open its doors this Friday with a party
featuring a slew of Japan’s best-recognized DJs.
The high-profile launch continues the following
weekend with an appearance by the Fac51 Hacienda crew, whose part y to feature Basement
Jaxx (pictured) was canceled in March following the quake.
Sound Museum Vision, Oct 28 & Nov 5. See
club listings for details.
� Much has been made of the revival of East
Tokyo, the old downtown roughly bounded by Akihabara to the west and Asakusa to the east. Find out
if there’s anything to the hype this weekend, when
the area’s boutiques and cafes open their doors
with special exhibitions and artist meet-and-greets
in the three-day event Speak East! The old shitamachi downtown is known for its monozukuri craft
traditions, and Speak East! is an attempt to look at
a rebirth in the area’s design workshops. To maximize your day, Velo Taxi (www.velotaxi.jp) offers
guided tours of participating shops and venues.
Various venues, Oct 21-23. Info: www.speakeast.jp
� Shonan-based Tor if une butoh company
celebrates two decades of its own, uniquely inclusive take on the unusual Japanese dance form.
Founded in 1991 by dancer Kayo Mikami and
director Yukio Mikami, Torifune includes amateurs—even delinquents—in its performances.
Gangio Gangioma –Showa Enka Shu– is the first
major butoh work to debut after 3/11, and includes
a number of high-profile guest dancers such as
Yoshito Ohno, one of butoh’s first stars. Music
is provided by longtime Torifune collaborator,
renowned avant-garde composer J. A. Caesar.
Space Zero, Nov 2-3. See dance listings for
details.
Sat,
Dec 3,
2011
Start a
Company
in Japan
Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar
If you have been considering setting
up your own company, find out what
it takes to make it successful.
Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 17
start-up companies in Japan, will be
giving an English-language seminar
and Q & A on starting up a company
in Japan.
This is an ideal opportunity to find out
what is involved, and to ask specific
questions that are not normally
answered in business books.
All materials are in English and are
Japan-focused.
Terrie Lloyd
President and CEO
LINC Media Inc. and
Japan Inc Holdings Group
›››
www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar
© Estate of Stuart Davis/ VAGA, New York & SPDA, Tokyo, 2011
Photo by 坂内太
Courtesy of HIP
Davis 1928
exhibition
stage
the Phillips Collection Celtic Woman
gig
Jamaica Jazz
� One of the United States’ most extensive collections of modern art is in Japan for the first
time. The Phillips Collection in Washington DC
was the nation’s first modern art museum when
it opened its doors in 1921. Among the nearly
100 works by 68 artists now on display in “To See
as Artists See” at the lofty National Art Center
are outstanding paintings by Winslow Homer,
Georgia O’Keeffe, Milton Avery, Richard Diebenkorn, Robert Motherwell and many other
important artists.
The National Art Center, Tokyo, through Dec
12. See exhibition listings (Akasaka/Roppongi) for details.
� Jamaicans did not only “lively up” American
R&B and turn it into reggae, they also took modern
jazz and transformed it into something entirely
more danceable. Jamaica Jazz is a combo that features two of the most prominent musicians of the
island’s jazz scene, guitarist Ernest Ranglin and
pianist Monty Alexander, backed by its most enduring rhythm section, “Sly & Robbie.” Collectively
they will demonstrate how Jamaican musicians
bent jazz to their own rhythmic ends, setting it to
the irresistible rhythms of ska and reggae.
Cotton Club, Nov 3-4 and Blue Note Tokyo,
Nov 5-7. See concert listings (jazz/world) for
details.
� The latest spinoff from the Irish stage spectacular Riverdance arrives in the form of Celtic
Woman. The tour comes on the back of the success
in Japan of their new album Believe! featuring the
song “Princess Toyotomi” from the film of same
title. Conceived by David Downes, a former musical director of Riverdance, Celtic Woman is an
all-female musical ensemble that performs traditional Irish material adapted into a sizzling pop
format a la Pussycat Dolls. First intended to tap
into the huge Irish-American market, the group
has recently struck a chord in Japan.
Tokyo Dome City, Oct 24-26. See stage listings
for details.
Licence No. 724
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Agenda Listings
hot list
19 Concerts
21 Stage
21 Dance
21 Clubbing
22 Exhibitions
24 Sports
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24 Forums & Expos
24 Bazaars & Markets
25 Community
25 Learning
25 Other Events
25 TV Picks
Email your event information to listings@metropolis.co.jp
See www.metropolis.co.jp for more listings
BBQ Chickens
Crossover and Over tour.
Oct 27, 7pm, ¥2,800 (adv).
Liquidroom. Nearest stn:
Ebisu. Tel: Smash: 03-34446751.
Yumi Matsutoya
Legendary J-pop singersongwriter. Oct 27-28, 7pm,
¥8,400. Tokyo International
Forum. Nearest stn:
Yurakucho.
Anata Bolivia
Bolivian folklore band’s first
visit to Japan. Oct 27, 6:30pm,
¥4,300-4,800. Katsushika
Symphony Hills. Nearest stn:
Aoto. Nov 30, 6:30pm, ¥4,800.
U-Port Hall. Nearest stn:
Osaki-Hirokoji. Tel: Min-On:
03-3226-9999.
Who the Fuck v.11
J-rock bands. Oct 27, 7:30pm,
¥2,800. Shelter. Nearest stn:
Shimokitazawa. Tel: 03-34667430.
Loud Lesson
Popular
C.B.S. and other hardcore
rock bands. Oct 27, 6:30pm,
¥1,600 (adv)/¥2,100 (door).
F.A.D. Yokohama. Nearest stn:
Ishikawa. Tel: 045-663-3842.
Frontier Backyard
Brainfeeder 2
Concerts
J-rock. Oct 21, 7:30pm, ¥3,300.
Club Quattro. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3477-8750.
Luna Sea
'90s-era Japanese rock
superstars. Oct 22, 5pm,
¥9,000. Saitama Super
Arena. Nearest stn: SaitamaShintoshin. Tel: 04-8601-1122.
Owl City
American electronica project
by Adam Young. Oct 22, 7pm,
¥6,000. Stellar Ball. Nearest
stn: Shinagawa. Tel: Smash:
03-3444-6751.
Oliver Mann
Melbourne-based singersongwriter. Oct 22, 8pm,
¥2,500 (door). Club251.
Nearest stn: Shimokitazawa.
Tel: 03-5481-4141.
Miki Imai w/ Nobuo Kurata
J-pop singer and actress. Oct
22-23 & 27, 6 & 9pm; Oct 26, 7 &
9pm, ¥8,000-10,000. Billboard
Live. Nearest stn: Roppongi.
Tel: 03-3405-1133.
V-Rock Festival
Daizy Stripper, Eins:Vier,
Sophia and others. Oct 23,
11am, ¥12,000/16,000 (VIP).
Saitama Super Arena. Nearest
stn: Saitama-Shintoshin. Tel:
04-8601-1122.
Hiromi Go
Veteran J-pop singer. Oct 23,
4:30 & 9pm, ¥13,650-21,000.
Blue Note. Nearest stn:
Omotesando. Tel: 03-54850088. www.bluenote.co.jp
Hobbledees
Melodic acoustic indie
band. Oct 24, 7:30pm,
Jang Keun-Suk
South Korean model, actor
and singer. Oct 25-26, 6:30pm,
¥9,800. Saitama Super
Arena. Nearest stn: SaitamaShintoshin. Tel: 0180-996-301.
Russian Red
Indie and folk singersongwriter from Madrid.
Oct 25, 7:30pm, ¥3,500. Unit.
Nearest stn: Daikanyama. Tel:
Creativeman: 03-3462-6969.
Kromos/Isterismo
Visual-kei noise band. Oct
25, 6:30pm, ¥2,200. Shelter.
Tel: 03-3466-7430.
Picidae
Norwegian acoustic and
electro duo featuring trumpet
and lyre. Oct 26, 7:30pm,
¥2,800 (adv)/¥3,300 (door).
Haretara Sorani Mamemaite.
03-5456-8880.
Electronica and instrumental
hip-hop bands. Oct 28, 11pm,
¥4,000 (adv). Eleven. Nearest
stn: Roppongi. Tel: Beatink:
03-5768-1277. www.beatink.
com/Events/Brainfeeder2/
Longbeach Rehab
Hardcore reggae band from
LA. Oct 28, 6:30pm, ¥2,500
(door). FNV. Nearest stn:
Shinjuku-sanchome. Tel:
03-5879-8145. Nov 2, 6:30pm,
¥2,500 (door). Earthdom.
Nearest stn: Shin-Okubo. Tel:
03-3205-4469.
Megaryu
Japanese reggae unit. Oct 29,
5pm, ¥4,200. Unit. Nearest stn:
Daikanyama. Tel: 03-54598630.
Mo’Some Tonebender
Japanese alternative noise
rock. Oct 29, 6pm, ¥3,500.
Liquidroom. Nearest stn: Ebisu.
Tel: 03-5464-0800.
Nikoten & the Nampa Boys
presents Kingdom Nagisa
Japanese indie bands. Oct 29,
7pm, ¥2,800. Shelter. Nearest
stn: Shimokitazawa. Tel:
03-3466-7430.
Halloween Party
Dark wave and gothic rock
bands. Aural Vampire,
Takarano Arika, etc. Oct
29, 5:30pm, ¥5,000. O-East.
Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel:
03-5458-4681.
Shelter 20th Countdown
Japanese rock bands inc. Nil,
Oh Sunshine, Full Scratch
and more. Oct 30, 7:30am,
Brutal Truth
Grindcore band from NY. Oct
31, 7pm, ¥5,500 (adv). Loft.
Nearest stn: Shinjuku. Tel:
Smash: 03-3444-6751.
The Muffs
Southern Californian
rock band. Nov 2, 9pm,
¥4,500 (adv)/¥5,000 (door)
w/1d. Shelter. Nearest stn:
Shimokitazawa. Tel: 03-34667430. Nov 6, 7pm, ¥4,500
(adv)/¥5,000 (door) w/1d. Loft.
Nearest stn: Shinjuku. Tel:
03-5272-0382.
Adriana Calcanhotto
Brazilian post-bossa nova
singer. Nov 2, 6:30pm, ¥6,000
(adv)/¥7,000 (door). Yomiuri
Hall. Nearest stn: Yurakucho.
Tel: 03-3231-0551.
Hiromitsu Agatsuma
Tsugaru-shamisen artist with a
modern take on the traditional
instrument. Nov 3, 5:30pm,
¥6,300. Ebisu Garden Place.
Nearest stn: Ebisu.
Struck by Lightning (USA)
Ohio metal/hardcore
four-piece with Japanese
bands Coffins, Terror Squad,
etc. Nov 3, 6pm, ¥2,500
(adv)/¥3000 (door). Earthdom.
Nearest stn: Shin-Okubo. Tel:
03-3205-4469. With Abigail,
Fastkill and more. Nov 6,
5:30pm, ¥2,500 (adv)/¥3,000
(door). Wall. Nearest stn:
Hatsudai. Tel: 03-5351-6241.
G.Love & Special Sauce
Alternative hip-hop band from
Philadelphia. Nov 4, 7pm,
¥6,000 (adv). Liquidroom.
Nearest stn: Ebisu. Tel: Smash:
03-3444-6751.
Double Titans
Grindcore bands Brutal Truth
and Lock Up. Nov 4, 7pm,
¥6,800 (adv). O-East. Nearest
stn: Shibuya. Tel: Smash:
03-3444-6751.
Saycet
Double Titans Tour Vol.4
Metal bands The Haunted &
Ihsahn. Dec 5, 7pm, ¥6,800
(adv). O-East. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: Smash: 03-34446751.
Tamas Walles
Australian acoustic guitarist
and pianist. Dec 8, 7:30pm,
¥4,000 (adv)/¥4,500 (door).
Vacant. Nearest stn: Harajuku.
Tel: 03-6459-2962.
Dream Power John Lennon
Super Live
Headlined by Yoko Ono
herself. Dec 8, 7pm, ¥8,500.
Nippon Budokan. Nearest stn:
Kudanshita. Tel: 03-3216-5100.
Tomoyasu Hotei
Veteran rock guitar soloist.
Dec 9, 7pm, ¥7,350. Tokyo
International Forum Hall
A. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel:
03-5221-9038.
Instrumental electronica
from France. Nov 5, 7pm,
¥3,000 (adv)/¥3,500 (door).
SuperDeluxe. Nearest stn:
Roppongi. Tel: 03-5412-0515.
Envy
Not Squares & Miaou
Liam Ó Maonlaí
Electro dance and post-Jrock. Nov 6, 6:30pm, ¥2,800
(adv)/¥3,300 (door). Era.
Tel: 03-5465-6568.
Japanese screamo punk. Dec 9,
7:30pm, ¥2,500 (adv). O-West.
Smash: 03-3444-6751.
Former member of Hothouse
Flowers. Dec 12, 7pm, ¥5,000
(adv). Cay. Nearest stn:
Omotesando. Tel: 03-34985790.
This Is Brass & New Sounds
in Brass
Boom Boom Satellites
Japanese electronic music
duo. Dec 28, 7:30pm, ¥3,800
(adv). Liquidroom. Nearest stn:
Ebisu. Tel: Smash: 03-34446751.
Jazz/World
Matt Bianco
Mid-’80s Latin-inspired pop
band from UK. Oct 20-21,
7 & 9:30pm, ¥6,500-8,500.
Billboard Live. Nearest stn:
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Johnny A.
American instrumental rock
guitarist and songwriter. Oct
20-21, 7 & 9:30pm; Oct 22, 6
& 8:45pm, ¥6,300. Blue Note.
Nearest stn: Omotesando. Tel:
03-5485-0088.
Christian McBride & Inside
Straight
Acoustic jazz session. Oct 22
& 24-25, 7 & 9:30pm; Oct 23, 5
& 8pm, ¥7,500/¥9,500. Cotton
Club. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel:
03-3215-1555.
Miki Imai with Nobuo
Kurata
Japanese pop vocalist and
pianist. Oct 22-23, 6 & 9pm,
¥8,000/¥10,000. Billboard Live.
Nearest stn: Roppongi. Tel:
03-3405-1133.
Yosuke Yamashita New
York Trio
Michael Jackson covered
in brass band style. Nov 6,
2pm, ¥5,000/¥4,000/¥3,000
(student). Fumon Hall. Nearest
stn: Hounancho.
Classic pianist and jazz piano
trio from NY. Oct 22, 5:30 &
8:30pm, ¥6,000. Motion Blue.
Nearest stn: Nihon Odori or
Bashamichi. Tel: 045-2661919.
Battles
Blubell
Experimental rock group
from NY. Nov 11, 7pm, ¥5,800
(adv). Shibuya-AX. Nearest
stn: Harajuku. Tel: Beatink:
03-5768-1277. www.beatink.
com/Events/BATTLES2011/
Hibari Misora Memorial
Concert
Headlined by Ai, Hiroshi Itsuki,
AKB48, Exile, etc. Nov 11, 6pm,
¥6,000-10,000. Tokyo Dome.
Nearest stn: Suidobashi or
Korakuen. Tel: 03-5800-9999.
The Album Leaf
American solo musical project
by Jimmy LaValle. Nov 17, 7pm,
¥5,500. O-East. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5458-4681.
Atari Teenage Riot
Digital hardcore group from
Berlin. Nov 17, 8pm, ¥5,500
(adv). Liquidroom. Nearest stn:
Ebisu. Tel: Beatink: 03-57681277. www.beatink.com/
Events/ATR2011
Sun Dec 4, 5pm
Metropolis presents
Saiko vol.9 “Psychotic”
The Girl, Uhnellys,
Merpeoples, Callum's
Whiskey Tales, Pop Chocolat,
Hajime Kinoko (rope artist),
Jack McLean (performance
artist), DJs Muthafunka &
Duck Rock. ¥2,000 (adv),
¥2,500 (door) + drink charge.
Milkyway. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-4550-2929.
www.metropolis.co.jp/saiko
Active Child / How to Dress
Well
Pioneer indie rock. Dec 12,
7pm, ¥4,500 (adv). Unit.
Smash: 03-3444-6751.
Anthrax
NYC heavy-metal band. Dec
13-14, 7pm, ¥7,350. O-East.
Creativeman: 03-3462-6969.
Ken Yokoyama The Rags to
Riches Tour IV
Ringo Deathstarr
Boyz II Men
Michael Jackson Tribute
Live
Punk guitarist of Hi-Standard.
Nov 21, 7pm, ¥3,000. Studio
Coast. Nearest stn: Shin-Kiba.
Tel: 03-5534-2525.
R & B trio in their 20th year.
Nov 24, 7pm, ¥8,500. Tokyo
International Forum Hall A.
Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel: Kyodo:
0570-064-903.
Mogwai
Scottish post-rock. Nov 25,
7pm, ¥6,500 (adv). Zepp Tokyo.
Nearest stn: Tokyo Teleport.
Tel: Smash: 03-3444-6751.
Far East Movement
Electro-hop quartet based
in LA. Nov 28, 7pm, ¥7,300
(standing)/¥8,300 (reserved
seat). Zepp Tokyo. Nearest stn:
Tokyo Teleport. Tel: 03-35990710.
Deerhoof
Texan noisepop trio. Dec
13, 7pm, ¥4,800 (adv). Club
Quattro. Nearest stn: Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3477-8750.
Ai, Kento Mori, Travis Payne.
Dec 13-14, 7pm, ¥9,000-11,000.
Yoyogi National Gymnasium.
Nearest stn: Meiji-Jingumae.
Tel: 03-3468-1171.
Kodo
Japanese drum group puts on
a kids' show. Dec 14, 11am &
5pm, ¥2,500 (parent)/¥1,000
(child). Aoyama Round
Theatre Children's Castle.
Tel: Sony Music Foundation:
03-3261-9933.
Eastern Youth
Indie emocore power trio. Dec
16, 7pm, ¥3,500. Club Quattro.
03-3477-8750.
Experimental rock, art rock,
and noise rock. Dec 1, 7pm,
¥4,800 (adv). Liquidroom.
Nearest stn: Ebisu. Tel: Smash:
03-3444-6751.
Kousetsu Minami
Razors Edge
Sakerock
Japanese melodic hardcore
rock band. Dec 4, 7pm, ¥2,300
(adv). Shelter. Nearest stn:
Shimokitazawa. Tel: Smash:
03-3444-6751.
Japanese folk singer. Dec
17, 5:30pm, ¥6,500. Shibuya
Koukaido. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3463-3022.
Japanese instrumental band.
Dec 26, 7pm, ¥4,000 (adv).
Shibuya-AX. Nearest stn:
Harajuku. Tel: Smash: 03-34446751.
Jazzy bossa nova singer from
Sao Paulo. Oct 23, 2pm, free.
Spiral Records. Tel: 03-57753251.
Jamaica Jazz
Ernest Ranglin, Monty
Alexander and Sly & Robbie
featured. Nov 3, 5 & 8pm; Nov
4, 7 & 9:30pm, ¥8,400-10,500.
Cotton Club. Nearest stn: Tokyo.
Tel: 03-3215-1555. Nov 5-6, 6
& 8:45pm; Nov 7, 7 & 9:30pm,
¥8,400. Blue Note. Nearest stn:
Keiko Lee
Japanese jazz pianist and
singer. Nov 7- 8, 7 & 9:30pm,
03-3405-1133.
Michael Camilo &
Tomatito
Jazz, Latin and classical
pianist and Spanish flamenco
guitarist. Nov 8-11, 7 &
9:30pm; Nov 12, 6pm, ¥9,450.
Joe
R&B singer from the US. Nov
9-11, 7 & 9:30pm; Nov 12, 6 &
9pm, ¥11,500-13,500. Billboard
Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Dianne Reeves
Legendary jazz singer. Nov
13, 6 & 8:45pm; Nov 14-15, 7
& 9:30pm, ¥8,400. Blue Note.
Nearest stn: Omotesando.
Tel: 03-5485-0088. Nov 17,
7 & 9:30pm, ¥8,400. Cotton
03-3215-1555.
Wouter Hamel
Dutch pop singer. Nov 14, 7
& 9:30pm, ¥5,000/¥7,000.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Phat Phunktion
Folky Brazilian soul and jazz.
Oct 25, 7 & 9pm, ¥5,000. Motion
Blue. Nearest stn: Nihon Odori
or Bashamichi. Tel: 045-2661919.
Jazz funk band. Nov 15-16, 7 &
9:30pm, ¥6,500-8,500. Cotton
03-3215-1555. Nov 19, 5:30 &
8:30pm, ¥6,000. Motion Blue.
Nearest stn: Nihon Odori or
Bashamichi. Tel: 045-2661919.
Natalia Yurkanova
Mayer Hawthorne
Kaki King
Jaco Pastorius Big Band
Akiko
Ben E. King
Moreno Veloso & Saigenji
Piano recital charity concert.
Oct 27, 7:30pm, ¥4,000. Tiara
Koto. Nearest stn: Sumiyoshi.
Tel: Yuna Japan: 03-66610344.
Guitar goddess with
percussive, jazz-tinged sounds.
Oct 27-28, 7pm; Oct 29-30,
6:30pm, ¥6,500-8,500. Cotton
03-3215-1555.
Smooth jazz vocalist. Oct 28,
7 & 9:30pm, ¥4,800/¥6,800.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Ohta-san
Japanese-Hawaiian ukulele
player. Oct 29, 4pm, ¥6,500.
Yakult Hall. Nearest stn:
Shinbashi. Tel: Tomorrow
house: 03-5456-9155.
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Mardi Gras sounds out of
Louisiana. Oct 30, 4:30 &
7:30pm, ¥5,500/¥7,500.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Marc Almond
English pop, rock and cabaret
singer-songwriter. Nov 1, 7
& 9:30pm, ¥6,500/¥8,500.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
The Brand New Heavies
UK dancy jazz-funk group.
Nov 2, 7 & 9:30pm; Nov 3, 4
& 7:30pm, ¥7,500/¥9,500.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Laforet Sound Museum
Jazz and flower arrangement
by Naruyoshi Kikuchi,
Hiroshi Minami and Makoto
Azuma. Nov 3, 4 & 7pm,
¥5,500 (adv)/¥6,000 (door).
Laforet Museum. Nearest stn:
Meiji-Jingumae. Tel: 03-34750411.
American soul singersongwriter. Nov 16, 7 & 9:30pm,
03-3405-1133.
Richard Bona and Peter
Erskine. Nov 17-18, 7 & 9:30pm;
Nov 19, 6 & 8:45pm; Nov 20,
4 & 7pm, ¥8,400. Blue Note.
03-5485-0088.
Legendary soul and R&B
singer. Nov 19, 6 & 9pm,
03-3405-1133.
Shibusashirazu Orchestra
Japanese free jazz-rock big
band. Nov 19, 5pm, ¥4,000
(general)/¥3,000 (HS &
MS)/¥2,000 (elem). Mitaka City
Public Hall. Nearest stn: Mitaka.
Tel: 0422-47-1151.
Chihiro Yamanaka
Japan Gold Disk-nominated
jazz pianist. Nov 20, 4:30
& 7:30pm, ¥4,800/¥6,800.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Tortoise
Post-rock band formed in
Chicago. Nov 21-22, 7 &
9:30pm, ¥6,000/¥8,000.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Elzhi
Hip-hop artist from Detroit.
Nov 23, 4:30 & 7:30pm,
03-3405-1133.
Quincy Jones Presents
Alfredo Rodriguez Trio
Cuban jazz trio. Nov 24-25, 7 &
9:30pm; Nov 26, 6 & 8:45pm,
¥8,400. Blue Note. Nearest stn:
Agenda Listings
Go to www.meturl.com/listings for complete listings
Junk Fujiyama
J-pop singer-songwriter and
guitarist. Nov 26, 6 & 9pm,
03-3405-1133.
Chitose Hajime
Singer from Amami island.
Nov 27, 4:30 & 7:30pm,
03-3405-1133.
Toy Haynes & Savion
Glover
Jazz and hard bop drummer
with tap dancer. Nov 28-30, 7
& 9:30pm, ¥8,400. Blue Note.
03-5485-0088.
Irma Thomas
Grammy award-winning
soul and R&B singer. Dec 1-2,
7 & 9:30pm, ¥7,500-9,500.
Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Schellenberger & Yu
Kosuge
Charity concert. Oct 25, 7pm,
¥6,000-10,000. Yamaha Ginza
Studio. Nearest stn: Ginza. Tel:
SMF: 03-3261-9933.
64th Tokyo Opera City
Series
With Naoto Otomo
conducting & Harvard Gimse
on piano, performances of
Holst, Greig & Sibelius. Nov
3, 2pm, ¥3,000-6,000. Tokyo
Opera City Concert Hall.
Nearest stn: Hatsudai. Tel:
03-5353-0788.
Calefax Reed Quintet
Pop-influenced classical
ensemble. Nov 5, 4pm,
¥3,500/¥1,500 (student).
Saitama Arts Theater. Nearest
stn: Yonohonmachi. Tel:
0570-064-939.
Three Choirs—One Cause
Hawaiian Christmas in Tokyo.
Hula, concert, Hawaiian
market, and workshops. Dec
2-4, 10am-7pm, free. Harumi
Triton Square. Tel: 0463-722125. www.livealoa808.com
The British Embassy Choir
Tokyo joins Rikkyo University
Choir and Ferris Women's
University choir in a charity
concert featuring works from
Schutz to Ritter. Nov 5, 6pm,
¥2,000. Yokohama Minato
Mirai Hall. Nearest stn: MinatoMirai. Tel: 090-6182-0347.
www.bec.ac/concert.html
The Jaywalk
British Embassy Choir
Live Aloha Mele
Kalikimaka
J-rock band's Christmas
Special Live. Dec 5-6, 7 &
9:30pm, ¥6,500/¥8,500.
Nikki Jean
R&B/soul singer-songwriter.
Dec 7, 7 & 9:30pm,
03-3405-1133.
Johnny Gill & Keith Sweat
R&B and new jack swing
singers. Dec 8-9, 7 &
9:30pm; Dec 10, 6 & 9pm,
¥11,800/¥13,800. Billboard
Tel: 03-3405-1133.
Junko Ohashi
Veteran J-pop singer. Dec 13, 7
& 9:30pm, ¥6,500/¥8,500. Blue
Note. Nearest stn: Omotesando.
Tel: 03-5485-0088.
The Swingle Singers
A cappella Christmas concert.
Dec 13, 7pm, ¥5,000/¥6,000.
Sumida Triphony Hall.
Nearest stn: Kinshicho. Tel:
03-5608-5404. Dec 17, 5pm,
¥4,000/¥5,000. Tokyo Opera
City. Nearest stn: Hatsudai. Tel:
03-5353-0788.
The Vanguard Jazz
Orchestra
Big-band jazz. Dec 14 &16, 7
& 9:30pm; Dec 17, 6 & 9pm,
03-3405-1133.
Lisa Ono
Japanese bossa nova singer.
Dec 15, 7pm, ¥7,350. Tokyo
Opera City Concert Hall.
03-5353-0788.
Tokyo Crossover/Jazz
Festival
The British Embassy Chior
Tokyo under the direction
of Steven Morgan performs
works by Schutz, Haydn,
Reinberger and Bach. Nov 19,
2:30pm, ¥1,000. Suginami
Koukaido. Nearest stn:
Ogikubo. Tel: 03-5347-0244.
www.bec.ac/concert.html
David Fray
Young French pianist. Nov 26,
3pm, ¥3,500/¥1,000 (student).
Saitama Arts Theater. Nearest
stn: Yonohonmachi. Tel:
0570-064-939.
Blue Sky of Edo 2
Japanese storytelling.
Nov 12-20, various times,
¥5,000/¥6,500. Setagaya
Public Theater. Nearest stn:
Sangenjaya. Tel: G2 produce:
03-5738-0637.
The Show Must Go On
F/T. French director/
choreographer Jerome Bel
obliterates expectations.
Nov 12-13, 4pm, ¥3,500.
Saitama Arts Theater.
Nearest stn: Yonohonmachi.
Tel: 04-8858-5500. www.
festival-tokyo.jp/en/program/
TheShowMustGoOn
Don Giovanni
Mozart’s opera starring Hiroshi
Kuroda and Masumitsu
Miyamoto. Nov 23, 5pm; Nov
24, 6:30pm; Nov 26-27, 2pm,
¥2,000-16,000. Nissay Theatre.
Nearest stn: Hibiya. Tel:
03-5685-0650.
Rusalka
Antonín Dvořák opera with
Czech and Japanese subtitles.
Nov 23 & 26 & Dec 3 & 6, 2pm;
Nov 29, 6pm; ¥4,200-23,100.
New National Theatre. Nearest
stn: Hatsudai. Tel: 03-53529999.
The Bat
90 Minutes
F/T. A man emerges from
prison to be confronted with
Fukushima. Directed by Naoto
Takenaka. Until Oct 24, various
times, ¥5,000. Nishi-Sugamo
Arts Factory. Nearest stn:
Nishi-Sugamo station or ShinKoshinzuka. Tel: 03-59615200.
Tao
Japanese drum performance
group. Oct 21, 7pm; Oct 22, 2 &
5:30pm; Oct 23, 2pm, ¥6,0007,000. Akasaka ACT Theatre.
Nearest stn: Akasaka. Tel:
03-3589-2277.
Chaos*Exile
F/T. Young internet-based art
unit Chaos*Lounge portrays
the reaction of Akihabara to
3/11. Oct 22-Nov 6, Akihabara.
www.festival-tokyo.jp/en/
program/ChaosExile/
Irish female vocal group. Oct
24-26. 7pm, ¥9,500-10,500.
Tokyo Dome City Hall. Nearest
stn: Korakuen. Tel: H.I.P.:
03-3475-9999.
Hope Japan Tour. Oct 22-23,
3pm; Oct 25-26, 6:30pm,
¥6,000-18,000. Tokyo Bunka
Kaikan. Nearest stn: Ueno. Tel:
NBS: 03-3791-8888.
Traditional Japanese
storytelling in English by
Katsura Kaishi. Nov 9, 7pm,
¥2,500 (adv)/¥3,000 (door).
Fukagawa Edo Museum. Tel:
03-3630-8625. www.rakugo-inenglish.com/kaishishow.htm
Stage
Total Living 1986-2011
Anarchy
Classical
English Rakugo
A celebration of Henry
Purcell & his age. Nov 26, 7pm,
¥3,000/¥2,000 (student).
Ishibashi Memorial Hall.
Nearest stn: Ueno. Tel:
03-5685-0650.
Early Music Festival 2011
The Hunting Gun
Sylvie Guillem on stage
Japanese and S. Korean actors.
Oct 29-Dec 4, various times,
¥4,000/¥3,000 (student).
Kichijoji Theatre. Nearest stn:
Kichijoji. Tel: 0422-22-0911.
Operetta composed by Johann
Strauss II to a German libretto
by Karl Haffner and Richard
Genée. German and Japanese
subtitles. Dec 1 & 7, 6:30pm;
Dec 4 & 9 & 11, 2pm, ¥4,20023,100. New National Theatre.
03-5352-9999.
Jazzy house and crossover
music festival. Starring Shuya
Okino. Dec 16, 6pm, ¥4,500
(adv)/¥5,000 (door). The
Garden Hall. Nearest stn: Ebisu.
Tel: 03-5481-6092. www.
tokyocrossoverjazzfestival.jp
J-hip-hop party featuring
Rudebwoy Face, Ryuzo,
Chozen Lee with reggae band
Home Grown. Dec 18, 6 & 9pm,
03-3405-1133.
Citizen of Seoul 1939: The
Contrapuntal Music of Love
Japanese-language play
starring film actress Miki
Nakatani. Oct 23, 1pm, ¥7,350.
Parco Theatre. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3477-5858.
Celtic Woman
Hemispherical Red and
Black
F/T. Peru-born Yudai
Kamisato's 3/11-inspired
work. Oct 28-31, various
times, ¥4,000/¥3,000 (univ).
Nishi-Sugamo Arts Factory.
Nearest stn: Nishi-Sugamo
or Shin- Koshinzuka. Tel:
03-5961-5200. www.festivaltokyo.jp/en/program/
HemisphericalRedandBlac
Comedy play by veteran
director Koki Mitani. Dec 3-30,
various times, ¥8,000. Parco
Theatre. Nearest stn: Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3477-5858.
La Bohème
Giacomo Puccini’s 4th opera
based on Murger's Scenes de
la Vie de Boheme. Jan 19 & 27,
6:30pm; Jan 22 & 24 & 29, 3pm,
¥3,150-21,000. New National
Theatre. Nearest stn: Hatsudai.
Tel: 03-5352-9999.
The Bee
Play inspired by 9/11. Starring
Kathryn Hunter. Feb 24-Mar 11,
various times, ¥5,000/¥2,500
(limited). Suitengu Pit. Nearest
stn: Suitengu-mae. Tel:
03-6661-6901.
A Magic Flute
Mozart’s opera directed
by Peter Brook. Mar 22-23,
7:30pm; Mar 24-25, 3pm,
¥5,000/¥8,000/¥3,000
(student). Saitama Arts
Theater. Nearest stn:
Yonohonmachi. Tel: 04-88585500.
Zed
Dazzling production by Cirque
du Soleil in a dedicated theater.
Ongoing, various times,
¥7,800-18,000. Cirque du Soleil
Theater. Nearest stn: Maihama.
Tel: 05-7002-8777. www.zed.
co.jp
Cats
Japanese version of the hit
Broadway musical, produced
by Gekidan Shiki. Ongoing,
various times, ¥8,000-9,800,
Canon Cats Theatre. Nearest
stn: Shintakashima. Tel:
03-5776-6730.
Blue Man Group in Tokyo
A unique theatrical
performance of music,
comedy and multimedia.
Ongoing, various times, ¥7,500
(S)/¥8,500 (poncho seats),
Roppongi Blue Man Theatre.
Nearest stn: Roppongi. http://
blueman.jp
Dance
Classique Nu
Nude, Indian-influenced
dance. Oct 21, 7pm; Oct 22-23,
3pm, ¥4,000. Shakti Studio.
Nearest stn: Horikiri Shobuen.
Tel: 03-6822-3269.
Swan Lake
Performed by K-Ballet
company. Oct 22-23, 2pm,
¥8,000-18,000. Fuchu-noMori Art Theatre. Nearest
stn: Fuchu. Tel: Ticket Space:
03-3234-9999. Jan 7, 3pm; Jan
8, noon & 5pm, ¥5,000-13,000.
Tokyo International Forum.
Nearest stn: Yurakucho. Tel:
Koransha: 050-3776-6184.
Medea
By Carlotta Ikeda; reading
by Pascal Quignard. Oct
21-22, 7:30pm, ¥4,500 w/1d
(general). SuperDeluxe.
French Institute: 03-52062500.
Hope Japan: Program A
Featuring dances
choreographed by Frederick
Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan
& Serge Lifar. Oct 22-23, 3pm;
Oct 25-26, 6:30pm, ¥6,00018,000/¥2,500 (student).
Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. Nearest
stn: Ueno. Tel: 03-3828-2111.
Boyz Ballet Fantasy
Alternative boys’ ballet group.
Oct 26-28, 7pm; Oct 29, 2 &
6pm; Oct 30, 1 & 5pm, ¥6,5008,000. The Galaxy Theatre.
Nearest stn: Kita-Shinagawa.
Tel: 03-5769-0011. http://
gingeki.jp/special/bbf
Hope Japan: Program B
Featuring dances
choreographed by Mats
Ek, William Forsyth, Morris
Béjart & Jiří Kylián. Oct 29-30,
3pm, ¥6,000-18,000/¥2,500
(student). Tokyo Bunka
03-3828-2111.
Bintley’s The Prince of the
Pagodas
Conductor: Paul Murphy. Oct
30 & Nov 2-3 & 5-6, 2pm; Nov
1, 7pm, ¥3,150-12,600. New
National Theatre. Nearest stn:
Hatsudai. Tel: 03-5352-9999.
Gangio Gangioma
Clubbing
Shin-Kiba. Tel: 03-5534-2525.
www.ageha.com
Friday 21
Air
Ageha
Daishi Dance Long Set. House
DJ Daishi Dance: Live: Shinji
Takeda and more. From 11pm,
¥3,500. Nearest stn: Shin-Kiba.
Tel: 03-5534-2525. www.
ageha.com
Air
Rec. House, techno: DJs Ko
Kimura, Nishioka, etc. From
10pm, ¥3,500 w/1d. Nearest
stn: Daikanyama or Shibuya.
Tel: 03-5784-3384.
Atom
Tokyo Shake. All mix, hip-hop:
DJs Various DJs. From 7pm,
price TBA. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5428-5195.
www.clubatom.com
Club Asia
Yeah!! Electro: DJs Usus, Ilmari,
etc. From 11pm, ¥3,500. Nearest
stn: Shibuya. Tel: 03-5458-2551.
http://asia.iflyer.jp
Eleven
Music Man Special. House DJs
Maurice Fulton, Nori, etc. From
10pm, ¥3,500. Nearest stn:
Roppongi. Tel: 03-5775-6206.
www.go-to-eleven.com
Liquidroom
Thanks Loud Forever. Dance
music: DJs Yoji, Yo-C, etc. From
midnight, ¥2,000. Nearest stn:
Ebisu. Tel: 03-5464-0800.
Micro Cosmos
Home Disco Light. Hip-hop: DJs
Hasebe, Yanatake, etc. From
midnight, ¥2,000 w/1d. Nearest
stn: Shibuya. Tel: 03-57845496. www.microcosmostokyo.com
Module
Roda. Techno, tech house: DJs
Mayuri, Wada, etc. From 10pm,
¥2,500 w/1d. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3464-8432.
www.module-tokyo.com
The New Matrix Bar
Matrix Friday. Old school
hip-hop, west side, south side,
all mix DJ Ykk and more. From
6pm, ¥1,000 (after 11:30pm).
Nearest stn: Roppongi.
Tel: 03-3405-1066. www.
matrixbar.jp
The Room
Wah Wah. Rare groove: DJs
Kuroda, Ishii, etc. From 10pm,
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3461-7167.
www.theroom.jp
Eden. Tech house, deep house:
DJs Maeda, Tsuitsui, etc. From
Daikanyama or Shibuya. Tel:
03-5784-3384.
Atom
Tokyo Rave. All mix, hip-hop:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5428-5195.
www.clubatom.com
Club Asia
Flash!!! Electro: DJs Nakata,
Nakamura, etc. From 11pm,
¥3,500. Nearest stn: Shibuya.
Tel: 03-5458-2551. http://asia.
iflyer.jp
Eleven
Chaos. House, techno: DJ
Fumiya Tanaka and more.
From 10pm, ¥3,000. Nearest
stn: Roppongi. Tel: 03-57756206. www.go-to-eleven.com
Micro Cosmos
The Drunk Brothers. House: DJs
Takizawa, Yasuda, etc. From
midnight, ¥2,000 w/1d. Nearest
www.microcosmos-tokyo.com
Module
R20. House: DJs Jonny Rock,
Remi, etc. From 10pm, ¥3,000
w/1d. Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel:
03-3464-8432. www.moduletokyo.com
The New Matrix Bar
Saturday Night Fever. Hip-hop,
R&B, reggae: DJ Ykk and more.
From 6pm, ¥1,000 (after
10pm). Nearest stn: Roppongi.
Tel: 03-3405-1066. www.
matrixbar.jp
The Ruby Room
Hype. Hip-hop DJs Meth,
Hayato, etc. From 11pm,
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3780-3022.
www.rubyroomtokyo.com
Unit
Halfby 10th Anniversary.
House: DJs Halfby, Fpm, etc.
From 11:30pm, ¥3,000. Nearest
stn: Daikanyama. Tel: 03-54598630. www.unit-tokyo.com
Velours
Black Candy. Hip-hop: DJs
Masterkey, Yukijirushi, etc.
From 10pm, ¥3,000 w/1d.
03-5778-4777. www.velours.jp
Warehouse702
69. House: DJs Oguni, Jeniko,
etc. From midnight, ¥1,500
w/1d. Nearest stn: Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3780-3022. www.
rubyroomtokyo.com
Ken Ishii x Hifana. House,
techno DJs Ken Ishii, Kyoko,
etc: Live: Hifana. From 10pm,
men ¥3,500 w/1d, women
Azabu Juban. Tel: 03-62300343. www.warehouse702.
com
By Sylvie Guillem, Robert
Lepage, Russell Maliphant. Nov
17-18, 7pm; Nov 19-20, 3pm,
¥5,000-15,000. U-Port Hall.
Nearest stn: Osakihirokoji. Tel:
NBS: 03-3791-8888.
Unit
Womb
Chikamatsu Dance
Velours
Shonan-based Torifune
butoh company’s major work
featuring Yoshito Ohno. Nov
2, 7:30pm; Nov 3, 3pm, ¥3,500
(adv)/¥4,000 (door). Space Zero.
Tel: 0463-60-1008.
Eonnagata
A program: Onna Goroshi
Abura no Jigoku. Nov 17-18,
7pm; Nov 19-21, 3pm,
¥3,150/¥5,250. B program:
Egoism. Nov 25, 7pm; Nov
26-27, 3pm, ¥3,150-5,250. New
National Theatre. Nearest stn:
Hatsudai. Tel: 03-5352-9999.
Ragus
Irish music, song and dance.
Dec 3, 3pm, ¥4,500-7,500.
Kanagawa Kenmin Hall.
Nearest stn: Nihonodori. Tel:
Koransha: 050-3776-6184.
Dec 16, 7pm; Dec 17, 12:30 &
4pm, ¥4,500-7,500. Shinjuku
Cultural Center. Nearest
stn: Shinjuku-sanchome
or Higashi-Shinjuku. Tel:
Koransha: 050-3776-6184.
The Kabuki
Chushingura arranged by
Maurice Bejart. Dec 17-18, 3pm,
¥3,000-10,000. Tokyo Bunka
NBS: 03-3791-8888.
The Ruby Room
Beatitude. Electro: DJs Off
the Rocker, Shuhei, etc. From
Daikanyama. Tel: 03-54598630. www.unit-tokyo.com
Music Source. All mix: DJs
Paipai, Cge, etc. From 10pm,
Omotesando. Tel: 03-57784777. www.velours.jp
Warehouse702
Butterfly Effect. House: DJs
Kaoru Inoue, Silva, etc. From
10pm, men ¥3,500 w/1d,
women ¥2,500 w/1d. Nearest
stn: Azabu Juban. Tel: 03-62300343. www.warehouse702.
com
Session. House: DJs Carlos
Manaca, Frank Maurel, etc.
stn: Shibuya. Tel: 03-54591383. www.womb.co.jp
Sunday 23
Atom
Carnival. All mix, hip-hop:
DJs Various DJs. From 7pm.
03-5428-5195. www.clubatom.
com
Club Asia
Nexjam. House, techno: DJs
Inagee, Alph Zen, etc. 3-11pm,
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5458-2551.
Womb
Module
Saturday 22
Womb
Trouble House. House: DJ
Emma. From 11pm, ¥3,500.
03-5459-1383. www.womb.
co.jp
Ageha
Magnificent. Trance: DJs Above
& Beyond, Yoda, etc. From
Destination. Broken beats, deep
house: DJs Various DJs. From
5pm, ¥2,000 w/1d. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3464-8432.
Wave. House, techno: DJs
Qhey, Saimura, etc. From 4pm,
Tel: 03-5459-1383. www.
womb.co.jp
Agenda Listings
Monday 24
Air
Effort. House, techno: DJs
Seiji, Switchon, etc. From
Tel: 03-5784-3384.
Atom
Salon de Disco. All mix, j-pop:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5428-5195.
www.clubatom.com
Club Asia
Magik. Electro: DJs Bombyx,
Nabe, etc. From 11pm,
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5458-2551.
Eleven
Manplan. House, techno:
DJs Goro, Kato, etc. From
stn: Roppongi. Tel: 03-57756206. www.go-to-eleven.
com
Module
Divang Tune. Dub step: DJs
Fys, The Groove Shadows,
etc. From 10pm, ¥2,000
Tel: 03-3464-8432. www.
module-tokyo.com
The Ruby Room
Tokyo Freestyle Monday.
All mix: DJs Various DJs.
From 7pm, Free. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3780-3022.
www.rubyroomtokyo.com
Warehouse702
Us. House, techno: DJs
Mayuri, Kawanabe, etc.
From 10pm, ¥2,500 w/1d.
Nearest stn: Azabu Juban.
Tel: 03-6230-0343. www.
warehouse702.com
Womb
The Room
The Room Bar. Bar style: DJs
Timor, Ticotea, etc. From
6-11pm, Free. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3461-7167.
www.theroom.jp
Thursday 27
Air
Reactivate. Techno DJs Takami,
Amiga, etc. From 10pm, ¥2,500
w/1d. Nearest stn: Daikanyama
or Shibuya. Tel: 03-5784-3384.
Atom
DNA. All mix, hip-hop: DJs
Various DJs. From 7pm, price
TBA. Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel:
03-5428-5195. www.clubatom.
com
Club Asia
Bomboclat Night. Reggae DJs
Blast Star, Maximum, etc. From
stn: Shibuya. Tel: 03-54582551. http://asia.iflyer.jp
Eleven
Publichouse. House, techno DJs
Kez, Umehara, etc: Live: Dub
Structure. From 10pm, ¥2,000
w/1d. Nearest stn: Roppongi.
Tel: 03-5775-6206. www.
go-to-eleven.com
The Room
Oto no Minamoto. Hip-hop,
soul: DJs Tkym, Bara, etc. From
10:30pm, ¥2,000 w/1d. Nearest
www.theroom.jp
The Ruby Room
Trick or Treat. Pop: DJs Ryo,
Nora, etc. From 6pm, ¥1,500
Tel: 03-3780-3022. www.
rubyroomtokyo.com
Warehouse702
Tuesday 25
Womb
Vivace. House, techno: DJs
Yoshimasa, Nov, etc. From
Tel: 03-5784-3384.
Atom
Style. All mix, hip-hop: DJs
Various DJs. From 7pm,
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5428-5195.
www.clubatom.com
Eleven
Sdm. Bass music: DJs
Mihoko, E-Mura, etc. From
stn: Roppongi. Tel: 03-57756206. www.go-to-eleven.
com
The Room
Flash! Hip-hop: DJs Shark,
Suwa, etc. From 10pm,
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3461-7167.
www.theroom.jp
The Ruby Room
Cabaret. House: DJs
Akiyamania, Ohishi, etc. From
stn: Azabu Juban. Tel: 03-62300343. www.warehouse702.com
And Soundz. Disco, tech house
DJs Jt-Zun, Harry, etc. From
Friday 28
Ageha
Fever. Hip-hop: DJs Kaori,
Souljah, etc. From 11pm,
¥3,500. Nearest stn: Shin-Kiba.
Tel: 03-5534-2525. www.
ageha.com
Module
Easy Skanking. Reggae, soul:
DJs Bana, Ucchie, etc. From
Seasons. House: DJs Morita,
Kobayashi, etc. From 10pm,
men ¥3,500 w/1d, women
Azabu Juban. Tel: 03-62300343. www.warehouse702.
com
Womb
Halloween Night. All mix DJs
Dexpistols, Kimura, etc: Live:
Kishidan and more. From
Shibuya. Tel: 03-5459-1383.
www.womb.co.jp
Upcoming
Hobgoblin Shibuya
Halloweener 2011. Monster
Mash-up, all styles: DJ Elbow,
DJ Mixtures, live: Orangey with
Rhyming Gaijin. Oct 29, from
9pm, free. Tel: 03-6415-4244.
www.hobgoblin.jp
Sat 29 Oct 11pm
Electronic Tribe
Halloween Party 2011
Electro, techno, house, etc.
Unit. Hexstatic —Halloween
audio-visual set, De De
Mouse, 80Kidz
and more. Adv
¥3,000, door
¥3,500, with
flyer ¥3,000,
costume
¥2,000, full
costume
free! From
11pm.
03-54598630. Nearest
Stn: Ebisu or
Daikanyama.
www.
unit-tokyo.com
Sound Museum Vision
FAC51 The Hacienda. All mix:
DJs Basement Jaxx, Justin
Robertson, etc. Nov 5, from
9pm, ¥4,800 (adv)/¥5,800
(door). Nearest stn: Shibuya.
Tel: 03-5728-2824. www.visiontokyo.com
Exhibitions
Akasaka/Roppongi
21_21 Design Sight
Mori Art Museum
Add. Electro: DJs Tanaka, The
Lowbrows, etc. From 11pm,
Tel: 03-5458-2551. http://asia.
iflyer.jp
Eleven
Micro Cosmos
Sml. House, techno: DJs
Bav, Ryota, etc. From 10pm,
Roppongi. Tel: 03-57756206. www.go-to-eleven.
com
Warehouse702
Club Asia
Womb
Wednesday 26
Grand Opening Party. All mix:
DJs Krush, Emma, Ko Kimura,
etc. From 8pm, ¥3,500 (w/
flyer)/¥4,000 (door). Nearest
www.vision-tokyo.com
Love Tribe. House, techno: DJs
Gramophonedzie, Noazaki, etc.
Tel: 03-5784-3384.
Air
Brainfeeder. Beat music, bass
music
DJs Tokimonsta, Martyn, etc.
stn: Roppongi. Tel: 03-57756206. www.go-to-eleven.com
Eleven
Sound Museum Vision
Irving Penn and Issey Miyake.
Visual Dialogue. Sep 16-Apr
8, ¥1,000 (general)/¥800
(univ)/¥500 (HS,MS). Open
Mon & Wed-Sun 11am-8pm,
closed Tue. 9-7-6 Akasaka,
Minato-ku. Nearest stn:
Nogizaka. Tel: 03-3475-2121.
www.2121designsight.jp
Open Mic. Rock, indie. From
stn: Shibuya. Tel: 03-37803022. www.rubyroomtokyo.
com
Blurry. House: DJs
Morohoshi, Kato, etc. From
7pm, ¥1,500 w/1d. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 03-3464-8432.
Garage. Drumnbass, house:
DJs Fumiya, Togoh, etc.
From 10pm, ¥1,500 w/1d.
03-5459-1383. www.womb.
co.jp
Air
Go to www.meturl.com/l
The Sky. Hip-hop: DJs Saat,
Eight, etc. From 12am, ¥2,500
Tel: 03-5784-5496. www.
microcosmos-tokyo.com
Module
Soi. Drumnbass, jungle: DJs Dx,
Inza, etc. From 10pm, ¥2,500
w/1d. Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel:
03-3464-8432. www.moduletokyo.com
The Room
Champ. Funky jazzy music: DJs
Tominaga, Oibon, etc. From
www.theroom.jp
Metabolism, The City of
the Future. Various media.
Sep 17-Jan 15, ¥1,500
(general)/¥1,000 (HS,
univ)/¥500 (MS and under).
Tsang Kinwah. Installations.
Sep 17-Jan 15, ¥1,500
(general)/¥1,000 (HS,
univ)/¥500 (MS and under).
Open Mon & Wed-Sun
10am-10pm, Tue 10am-5pm.
6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku.
03-5777-8600. www.mori.art.
museum
Nichido Contemporary
Art
NCA Collection. Various
media. Until May 5,
Semi-permanent exhibition,
free. 4-3-3 Hachobori,
Chuo-ku. Nearest stn:
Takaracho. Tel: 03-35552140. www.nca-g.com/en
The National Art Center,
Tokyo
American Art from the Phillips
Collection. Painting. Until Dec
12, ¥1,500/¥1,200 (univ)/¥800
(HS). Noda Hiroji. Abstract
Paintings. Until Apr 2, ¥1,000
(general), ¥500 (univ). Open
listings for complete listings
Wed-Mon 10am-6pm, closed
Tue. 7-22-2 Roppongi. Nearest
stn: Roppongi. Tel: 03-68129900. www.nact.jp
Minato-ku. Nearest stn:
Shimbashi. Tel: 03-57778600. www.mew.co.jp/corp/
museum
Tokyo Tower
Span Art Gallery
Queen Forever. Costume
exhibition, video screening
and goods on sale. Until
Dec 11, ¥1,800. Open daily
10am-6pm. 4-2-8 Shibakoen,
Minato-ku, Tokyo. Nearest stn:
Akabanebashi.
Ginza/Kyobashi/
Tokyo
Span Art Gallery
Two plus One/No Limit. Mixed
media. Until 22, free. Yoshiaki
Machino. Painting. Oct 24-Nov
5, free. 2-2-18 Ginza, Chuo-ku.
Nearest stn: Ginza. Tel:
03-5524-3060. www.span-art.
co.jp
Aoki Gallery
Kaoru Koga Exhibition.
Paintings and objects. Oct
22-29, free. 3-5-16-2F, 3F Ginza,
Chuo-ku, Tokyo. Nearest stn:
Ginza. Tel: 03-3535-6858.
www.aokigallery.jp
Idemitsu Museum of Arts
Japanese Beauty: Ike no Taiga,
Buson Yosa, Gyokudo Kawai and
Sengai. Nihonga. Sep 10-Oct
23, ¥1,000 (general)/¥700
(HS, univ) free (MS and under).
Open Tue-Thur 10am-5pm,
Fri 10am-7pm, closed Mon. 9F
Teigeki Bldg, 3-1-1 Marunouchi,
Chiyoda-ku. Nearest stn:
Tokyo. Tel: 03-3213-9402.
www.idemitsu.co.jp/museum
Inax Gallery
Houses for Comfort: The
Architecture of Isaku Nishimura.
Architecture. Sep 1-Nov 19,
free. 3-6-18 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku.
Nearest stn: Takaracho. Tel:
03-5250-6530. www.inax.
co.jp/gallery
Megumi Ogita Gallery
Seinarumono. Decadent
paintings by Kuniyoshi
Kaneko. Until Nov 5, free.
Ken Hamaguchi. Oriental
eros & surreal contemporary
painting. Until Dec 3, free.
11am-7pm. 5-4-14-4F, Ginza
Chuo-ku. Nearest stn: Ginza.
Tel: 03-3571-9700. www.
megumiogita.com
Two plus One/No Limit. Mixed
media. Until Oct 22, free.
Yoshiaki Machino. Painting.
Oct 24-Nov 5, free. Katsuhisa
Toda. Painting. Until Nov 19,
free. Open Mon-Sat 11am-7pm,
closed Sun. 2-2-18 Ginza,
Chuo-ku. Nearest stn: Ginza.
Tel: 03-5524-3060. www.
span-art.co.jp
The National Museum of
Modern Art, Craft & Design
Guerrino Tramonti, the
Magician of Color Raised in
Faenza, Italy. Exhibition.
Sep 10-Nov 13, ¥800/¥500
(univ)/¥300 (HS). Valerio
Olgiati. Swiss architect. Until
Jan 15, ¥420/¥130 (univ).
Open Tue-Thur 10am-5pm,
Fri 10am-8pm, Sat-Sun
10am-5pm. 3-1 Kitanomarukoen Chiyoda-Ku. Nearest stn:
Takebashi. Tel: 03-5777-8600.
www.momat.go.jp/english
Bice
In Between Dreams.
Contemporary painting.
Until Jan 29, free. Open
aily 11:30am-3:30pm &
5:30pm-11:30pm. 47F 1-8-1
Higashi-shinbashi. Nearest stn:
Shiodome. http://bicetokyo.
com/eng
Harajuku/
Aoyama
Lapnet Ship
Sootome Keiko. Painting.
Oct 21-Nov 3, free. 1F, 1-9-11
Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.
Nearest stn: Meiji Jingumae.
Tel: 03-5411-3330.
Nezu Museum
Kasuga Landscapes, Elegant
Images of a Sacred Sanctuary.
Painting. Oct 8-Nov 6,
¥1,200/¥1,000 (student). 6-5-1
Minami-Aoyama Minato-ku.
Tel: 03-3400-2536. www.
nezu-muse.or.jp/en
Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial
Museum of Art
Toulouse-Lautrec:The
Maurice Joyant Collection.
Painting. Until Dec 25,
¥1,500 (general)/¥1,000 (HS,
univ)/¥500 (elem, MS). 2-6-2
Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku.
Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel:
03-5777-8600. www.mimt.jp
Ukiyo-e War Picture
Scroll: Castle and Military
Commanders. Oct 1-Oct 26.
¥1,000 (general), ¥700 (univ
& HS), free (MS & under). Until
Nov 27, ¥1,000 (general),
¥700 (univ & HS), free (MS
& under). Open Tue-Sun
10:30am-5:30pm, closed Mon.
1-10-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku.
Nearest stn: Harajuku. Tel:
03-5777-8600. www.ukiyoeota-muse.jp
Mitsui Memorial Museum
Kayabacho/Kiba
Mitsubishi Ichigokan
Museum, Tokyo
Luxurious Kyoto Maki-e.
Crafts. Sep 17-Nov 13, ¥1,200
(general)/¥700 (HS, univ) free
(MS and under). 7F Mitsui
Main Bldg, 2-1-1 NihombashiMuromachi, Chuo-ku. Nearest
stn: Mitsukoshimae. Tel:
03-5777-8600. www.mitsuimuseum.jp
National Museum of
Modern Art Tokyo
Leiko Ikemura: Transfiguration.
Painting. Until Oct 23, ¥850
(general)/¥450 (univ)/ free
(HS and under). Leo Rubinfien:
Wounded Cities. Photography.
Until Oct 23, ¥420 (general)
/¥130 (univ)/ free (HS and
under). Undressing Paintings:
Japanese Nudes 1880-1945.
Painting. Until Jan 15, ¥420
(general), ¥130 (univ). Valerio
Olgiati. Architecture. Until Jan
15, ¥420/¥130 (student). Open
Tue-Thu & Sat-Sun 10am-5pm,
Fri 10am-8pm. 3-7-6 Kyobashi
Chuo-ku. Nearest stn:
Takebashi. Tel: 03-5777-8600.
www.momat.go.jp
Shiodome Museum
Wiener Werkstatte 1903-1932,
Multiplicative Decoration.
Furniture. Oct 8-Dec 20, ¥
500 (general)/ ¥ 400 (65 and
over)/¥ 300 (HS, univ)/ ¥200
(elem, MS). Open Tue-Sun
10am-6pm, closed Mon. 4F,
1-5-1 Higashi-Shimbashi,
Base Gallery
O Seok-Keun. Photography.
Sep 21-Oct 22, free. Open
Mon-Sat 11am-7pm, closed Sun
and Hols. 1-1-6 NihombashiKayabacho, Chuo-ku. Nearest
stn: Kayabacho. Tel: 03-56236655. www.basegallery.com
Shibuya/Ebisu
Bunkamura Gallery
The Love Letter From Vermeer.
Painting. Until Mar 14, ¥1,500
(general)/¥1,000 (univ,
HS)/¥700 (under HS). Open
daily, 10am-7pm. 2- 24-1
Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku.
Nearest stn: Shibuya.
Tel: 03-3477-9111. www.
bunkamura.co.jp/english/
index.html
Space O
Vivienne Westwood Shoes. until
Jan 9. Exhibition. Dec 1, ¥1,000
(general)/¥800 (univ)/¥600
(HS,MS). B3 Omotesando Hills,
4-12-10 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku.
Nearest stn: Meijijingumae.
Tel: 03-3497-0310. www.
omotesandohills.com/english
Spiral Hall
Ultra004. 62 art collectors
collections. Oct 28-Nov 3, free.
Open daily 10am-8pm. 5-6-23
Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku.
Tokyo Metropolitan
Museum of
Photography
Photographs Of Children:
The Child Within Us.
Photography. Sep 24-Dec
4, ¥500 (general)/ ¥400
(univ)/¥200 (HS, MS, 65
and over). Open Tue-Wed &
Sat-Sun 10am-6pm, Thu-Fri
10am-8pm, closed Mon.
1-13-3 Mita Meguro-ku
Tokyo. Nearest stn: Ebisu.
Tel: 03-3280-0099. syabi.
com/e/contents/index.html
Yamatane Museum of
Art
Masterpieces of Modern
Japan Paintings from
Kabuki-za Theater Collection
Painting. Painting.
Sep 17-Nov 6, ¥1,200
(general)/¥900 (univ, HS)/
free (under MS). The Best of
Yamatane Collection. Edo
to modern painitngs. Until
Dec 25, ¥1,200/¥900 (univ,
HS)/free (under MS). Open
Tue-Fri 11am-5pm, closed
Mon & hols. 3-12-36 Hiroo,
Shibuya-ku. Nearest stn:
Ebisu. Tel: 03-5777-8600.
www.yamatane-museum.
or.jp
Aesthetic
Dentistry
FREE
COUNSELING
FOR
METROPOLIS
READERS
Ceramics
Implants
Orthodontics
Closed Wed. & Hols.
1F Osakabe Bldg, 5-46-12
Jingumae, Shibuya-ku.
Tel: 03-3486-4484.
info@aoyama-omotesando.jp
www.aoyama-omotesando.jp
Zen Foto Gallery
Masayuki Nakaya.
Photograph. Until Oct
26, free. 2-17-3 Shibuya,
Shibuya-ku. Nearest stn:
Shibuya. Tel: 050-5531-9536.
www.zen-foto.jp
Shinjuku/
Ikebukuro
Imura Art Gallery
Fumio Yamazaki. Sculptures
of animals. Oct 29-Nov 19,
free. Open daily 10:30am6pm. Minato-Daisan Bldg.
4F, 3-7 Nishi-gokencho,
Shinjuku-ku. Nearest stn:
Kagurazaka. Tel: 03-64575258. www.imuraart.com/
en.html
Kenji Taki Gallery
Kentaro Yokouchi. Dying,
pottery. Sep 29-Nov 5, free.
Open Tue-Sat noon-7pm,
closed Sun-Mon & hols.
3-18-2 Nishi-Shinjuku,
Shinjuku-ku. Nearest stn:
Shinjuku. Tel: 03-3378-6051.
www.kenjitaki.com
Sompo Japan Museum
of Art
Maurice Denis. Painting.
Sep 1-Nov 13, ¥1,000
(general)/¥600 (univ,
HS)/free (under MS). 42F
Sompo Japan Bldg, 1-26-1
Nishi-Shinjuku. Nearest stn:
Shinjuku. Tel: 03-5405-8686.
www.sompo-japan.co.jp/
museum
Takashimaya Shinjuku
Gallery
David Stanley Hewett.
American artist inspired by
Japanese pottery, paintings
and kimono. Oct 5-Jan 1,
free. 5-24-2 Sendagaya,
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-8580.
Tel: 03-5361-1111.
Change your body and
soul at BASI PILATES!
Offering you “Authentic Pilates”
Metropolis Campaign
Admission Fee: ¥13,650 ¥0
Machine Private Lesson: ¥10,000 ¥8,400
Machine Private Lessons available at our Roppongi studio
BASI PILATES, open in 20 countries. Special Pilates
Reformer/Cadillac machine and English lessons available.
NEW OPEN Shimbashi studio on Oct 20!
Studios in Roppongi, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Yokohama,
Ginza, Nakameguro, Jiyugaoka, Shimokitazawa, Yoga,
Sendagaya, Futakotamagawa & Sangenjaya
Tel: 03-6425-7054 • Email: roppongi@basipilates.jp
Web: www.basipilates.jp/english/
Tokyo Opera City Art
Gallery
Feel and Think: A New
Era of Tokyo Fashion.
Fashion. Until Dec 25,
¥1,000 (general)/¥800
(HS, univ)/¥600 (elem, MS).
Younger Generation. Various
media. Until Dec 25, free.
Open Tue-Thu 11am-7pm,
Fri-Sat 11am-8pm. 3-20-2
Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku.
Nearest stn: Hatsudai.
Tel: 03-5353-0756. www.
operacity.jp/en/ag
Ueno
Edo-Tokyo Museum
World Heritage Venezia.
Various media. Sep 23-Dec
11, ¥1,400 (general)/¥1,120
(univ)/ ¥700 (under univ and
seniors). Open Tue-Fri & Sun
9:30am-5:30pm, Sat 9:30am7:30pm, closed Mon & hols.
1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumida-ku.
Nearest stn: Ryogoku.
Tel: 03-3626-9974. www.
edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp
#917 wWW.METROPOLIS.CO.JP • 23
Agenda Listings
The National Museum
of Western Art
Lights and Shadows, Goya.
Painting. Oct 22-Jan 29,
¥1,500/¥1,200 (univ)/¥800
(HS). Open daily 9:30am5:30pm. 7-7 Ueno-Koen,
Taito-ku. Nearest stn: Ueno.
Tel: 03-3828-5131. www.
nmwa.go.jp
Tokyo Wonder Site,
Hongo
TWS-Emerging. Sept 3-25.
various media. Until Oct
23, free. 2-4-16 Hongo,
Bunkyou-ku. Nearest stn:
Suidobashi. Tel: 03-56895331. www.tokyo-ws.org
Other Areas
Decks
Madame Tussauds.
Londons wax doll museum.
Sep 30-Jan 4, ¥500
(general)/¥300 (under MS).
1-6-1 Daiba, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 135-0091. Nearest
stn: Odaiba Kaihin Koen. Tel:
03-3599-6500. www.odaibadecks.com
Hara Museum of
Contemporary Art
Art Scope 2009-2011:
Invisible Memories. Four
Japanese and a German
Artists featured. Sep
10-Nov 27, ¥1,000/¥700
(univ, HS). Open Tue-Sun
11am-5pm, closed Mon.
4-7-25 Kita-Shinagawa,
Shinagawa-ku. Nearest stn:
Kitashinagawa. Tel: 03-34450651. www.haramuseum.
or.jp
Museum of
Contemporary Art
Tokyo
NEW
Shopping
Wine from one of Japan's most experienced
importers. Order during the week and
receive your wine next day. Huge single
bottle selection available.
24%
OFF
+ Free
Bottle
Berlin 2000-2011: Playing
among the Ruins. Various
media. Sep 23-Jan 9, ¥1,100
(general), ¥850 (univ &
seniors), ¥550 (MS & HS),
free (elem and under). 4-1-1
Miyoshi, Koto-ku. Nearest
stn: Kiyosumi-shirakawa.
Tel: 03-5245-4111. www.
mot-art-museum.jp
Omega Algea
The Wasteland.
Photography of corpse
photographer Kiyotaka
Tsurusaki. Until Nov 11,
free. 5-1-15-B1 Nakano,
Nakano-ku. Nearest stn:
Nakano. Tel: 080-35250873.
Pola Museum of Art
Leonard Foujita: Mon Paris,
Mon Atelier. Painting.
Until Jan 15, ¥1,800
(general)/¥1,600 (over 65)/
¥1,300 (HS, univ)/¥700
(elem, MS). Leonard
Fujita Watashino Paris,
Watashino Atelier. Painting.
1285 Kozukayama,
Sengokuhara, Hakonemachi. Nearest stn: Gora.
Tel: 04-6084-2111. www.
polamuseum.or.jp
The Container
K-I-S-S-I-N-G. Chim Poms art
installation exploring issues
relating to the 3 11 disaster.
Sep 26-Dec 19, price:TBA.
1F Hills Daikanyama, 1-8-30
Kami-Meguro, Meguro-ku.
Nearest stn: Naka-Meguro.
Tel: 03-3770-7750.
the-container.com
The Museum of Modern
Art, Saitama
Last of the Summer Wine
5 bottles PLUS an extra bottle of
Sauvignon Blanc, all for just ¥7,860
*tax and delivery included
100th British Anniversary,
Q Ei. Painting. Sep 10-Nov
6, ¥800 (general)/¥500
(univ, HS). Henri Le Sidaner.
French Painter. Until Feb 5,
¥1,100/¥880 (univ). Open
daily 10:00am-5:30pm.
9-30-1 Tokiwa, Urawa-ku,
Saitama-shi. Tel: 048-8240111. www.momas.
jp/022eng/e_index.htm
Yokohama Museum of
Art
http://shop.metropolis.co.jp
Yokohama Triennale 2011.
Various media. Until Nov 6.
3-4-1 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku,
Yokohama. Nearest stn:
Minato Mirai. Tel: 03-57778600. www.yaf.or.jp/yma
Go to www.meturl.com/l
Sports
American Football
X League
Fujitsu

Frontiers vs. Bullseyes
Tokyo. Oct 22, 4:30pm, ¥1,200.
Kawasaki Stadium. Nearest stn:
Kawasaki. Tel: 044-244-2931.
Kajima

Deers vs. All
Mitsubishi Lions. Oct 22,
10:30am, ¥1,200. Kawasaki
Stadium. Nearest stn:
Kawasaki. Tel: 044-244-2931.
Obic

Seagulls vs. Asahi Beer
Silver Star. Oct 22, 1:30pm,
¥1,200. Kawasaki Stadium.
Nearest stn: Kawasaki. Tel:
044-244-2931.
IBM

Big Blue vs. All Tokyo
Gas Creators. Oct 23, 10:30am,
¥1,200. Kawasaki Stadium.
Nearest stn: Kawasaki. Tel:
044-244-2931.
Meiji

Yasuda Pirates vs. Fuji
Xerox Minerva AFC. Oct 23,
1:30pm, ¥1,200. Kawasaki
Kawasaki. Tel: 044-244-2931.
Nihon

Unisys Bulls vs.
Nojima Sagamihara Rise. Oct
23, 4:30pm, ¥1,200. Kawasaki
Kawasaki. Tel: 044-244-2931.
Baseball
Central League
Yomiuri

Giants vs. Yokohama
BayStars. Oct 22, 6pm, ¥1,0006,500. Tokyo Dome. Nearest
stn: Suidobashi or Korakuen.
Tel: 03-5800-9999.
Tokyo

Yakult Swallows
vs. Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
Oct 25, 6pm, ¥1,500-4,500.
Jingu Stadium. Nearest stn:
Shinanomachi. Tel: 03-34048999.
Pacific League
Chiba Lotte Marines vs.
Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. Oct
22, 1pm, ¥1,800-4,800. Chiba
Marine Stadium. Nearest stn:
Kaihinmakuhari. Tel: 043-2961189.
A. Nov 16-18, ¥2,000-9,800.
Yoyogi Gymnasium. Nearest
stn: Harajuku. Tel: 03-34681171.
Men’s

fourth match: Site A.
Dec 2-4, ¥2,000-9,800. Yoyogi
Gymnasium. Nearest stn:
Harajuku. Tel: 03-3468-1171.
Festivals
PhotoFest Japan 2011
Three-day photography
workshop aimed at all levels.
Oct 21-23, ¥39,000-45,000.
Yokohama Athletic & Country
Club. Nearest stn: Yamate. Tel:
045-623-8121.
German Festival
Glühwein, etc. Oct 23, 10am,
free. Arisugawa Park. Nearest
stn: Hiroo. Tel: 03-3441-9642.
Open Yokohama 2011
Ongoing festival showing the
culture of the bayside city.
Until Nov 6, various locations.
www.invitation-yokohama.jp
Forums & Expos
Comic City Spark
Dojinshi (self-published manga)
convention. Oct 23, 10:30am3pm, ¥1,300. Tokyo Big Sight.
Nearest stn: Kokusai-TenjijoSeimon. Tel: 03-5530-1111.
Aerospace Industry
Exhibition Tokyo
What's big in the air. Reserve
via homepage. Oct 26-28,
10am-5pm, free. Tokyo Big
Sight. Nearest stn: KokusaiTenjijo-Seimon. Tel: 03-55301111. www.tokyoaerospace.
com/en/
Tokyo International
Industry Exhibition
Karate
Trade shows for small and
medium-sized businesses.
Oct 26-28, 10am-5pm, free
(RSVP-basis). Tokyo Big Sight.
www.sangyo-koryuten.jp/en
The 10th World
Championship
Electric Motorcar Industry
Exhibition
Oct 22-Oct 23, 10am, ¥6,00022,000. Tokyo Metropolitan
Gymnasium. Nearest stn:
Sendagaya. Tel: Sunrise
promotion: 0570-00-3337.
www.shinkyokushinkai.co.jp
Pro Wrestling
WWE Presents RAW World
Tour 2011
Nov 30-Dec 1, 7:30pm, ¥3,00020,000. Yokohama Arena.
Nearest stn: Shin-Yokohama.
Tel: Kyodo: 0570-064-708.
http://japantour11.wwe.co.jp/
english
Soccer
J. League, Division 1
Omiya

Ardija vs. Nagoya
Grampus. Oct 22, 2pm,
¥2,500-5,500. NACK5 Stadium.
Nearest stn: Kitaomiya. Tel:
048-644-7950.
Yokohama

F. Marinos vs.
Urawa Reds. Oct 22, 2pm,
¥2,600-5,000. Nissan Stadium.
Nearest stn: Kozuke. Tel:
045-477-5000.
Kawasaki

Frontale vs. Omiya
Ardija. Nov 3, 2pm, ¥2,5005,000. Todoroki Stadium.
Nearest stn: Musashikosugi.
Tel: 044-722-0303.
Urawa

Reds vs. Jubilo Iwata.
Nov 3, 5pm, ¥2,000-4,500.
Saitama Stadium. Nearest stn:
Urawamisono. Tel: 048-8122002.
Urawa

Reds vs. Vegalta
Sendai. Nov 19, 2pm, ¥2,0004,500. Saitama Stadium.
Nearest stn: Urawamisono. Tel:
048-812-2002.
Nabisco Cup
Final Match. Oct 29, 1:05pm,
¥2,000-8,000. National
Olympic Stadium. Nearest stn:
Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3403-1151.
Volleyball
FIVB World Cup
Women’s

fourth match: Site
Car lovers unite. Oct 27-29,
10am-5pm, ¥1,000. Tokyo Big
Sight. Nearest stn: KokusaiTenjijo-Seimon. Tel: 03-55301111. www.truck-x.com
Grow Expo
Expert gardeners from
around the world exhibit, sell,
giveaway, and hold lectures.
Oct 29-30, 10am-6pm, Free.
Space Seven. Nearest stn:
Shinjuku. Tel: 03-3342-1830.
BioFach Japan
Organic and natural products.
Nov 1-3, 10am-5:30pm, ¥1,000/
free (RSVP-based). Tokyo Big
Sight. Nearest stn: KokusaiTenjijo-Seimon. Tel: 03-55301111. www.biofach-japan.
com/en
Baby & Silver Show
Vehicles for infants and
seniors. Nov 2-3, 10am-6pm,
free. Tokyo Big Sight. Nearest
stn: Kokusai-Tenjijo-Seimon.
Tel: 03-3843-7894.
Ainu Culture Festival
Ethnic music and dance by
Hokkaido indigenous people.
Nov 3, 1pm, free. Tokyo
International Forum. Nearest
stn: Yurakucho. Tel: 011-2714171.
Design Festa vol.34
Independent artists and
artisans. Nov 12-13, 11am-7pm,
¥1,000. Tokyo Big Sight.
www.designfesta.com/
index_en.htm
Bazaars &
Markets
Best Flea Market
Every second Sun, 10am-4pm,
Tokyo International Forum
Hall C. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel:
03-3226-6800.
listings for complete listings
Hanazono Shrine Market
Every Sun, 8am-4pm,
Hanazono Shrine. Nearest stn:
Toei Shinjuku-Sanchome or
Metro Shinjuku-Sanchome or
Shinjuku. Tel: 03-3200-3093.
AUTUMN SPECIAL
tv Get the full Metro TV guide online!
picks http://metropolis.co.jp/multimedia
Brazilian & Upper lip wax ¥4,000
Mens back & Sholder wax ¥ 3,000
Eyelash & Eyebrow tinting ¥ 2,500
Detox Hot Stone massage 80min ¥ 5,000
Lifting Facial 70min ¥ 4,000
Deep Cleansing 40min ¥ 3,000
Ibaraki-ichi
Fresh vegetables from farms
in Ibaraki. Every Sat, 7-9am,
Roppongi Hills East Court.
03-6406-5285.
Nogi Shrine Market
Affordable international beauty studio—La Plage Tokyo
Every second Sun, 5:30am3pm, Nogi Shrine. Nearest stn:
Nogizaka. Tel: 03-3478-3001.
1 Kamiosaki,
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Parking available
Oedo Antique Fair
Japan’s largest outdoor
antique market. Every first
and third Sun, 8am-4:30pm,
Tokyo International Forum
Hall C. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel:
03-5805-1093.
Tel: 03-5422-6430
Email: webinfo@laplage-beauty.com
www.laplage-beauty.com
Community
Metropolis presents
Halloween Glitterball
Wear crazy costumes and
compete for the grand prize: a
pair of round-trip tickets to NYC!
One coin drinks & food available.
Oct 27, 7pm, ¥2,000 (adv)/¥2,500
(door). Vanity Lounge. Nearest
stn: Roppongi. Tel: 03-5474-0091.
http://metropolis.co.jp/glitterball
New Port Town
Gathering of creators from
various countries and fields.
Until Nov 6, 11:30am-7pm, ¥300
(general)/¥250 (univ). Shin
Minatomura. Tel: 045-663-2812.
Half-Fast Cyclists
Bicyclists of all treads meet
for slide shows, lectures,
ride-planning, etc. Every
second Wed, 7pm, free, The
Pink Cow. Tel: 03-3406-5597.
cowmail@thepinkcow.com
halffastcycling@hotmail.com
Open Mike Night
Try out your new material
with the Tokyo Comedy Store.
Every first Tues, 8pm, free. TBA
Learning
Rebranding Japan Post-3/11
Lecture. Nov 7 & 9 & 11 &
14 & 16, 7pm, ¥2,500 (for 5
lectures). Temple University.
Tel: 03-5441-9800. www.tuj.
ac.jp/kumin.
An Evening with Paul Tange
Designer of Mode Gakuen
Cocoon Tower hosted by
College Women's Association
of Japan. Lecture and Buffet
Dinner. Nov 18, 7pm, ¥4,000
(general)/¥3,000 (student).
Pasona Building. Nearest stn:
Mitsukoshi-mae. Tel: 03-34232067.
Other Events
Gardening Show
Annual urban gardening
exhibition and competition.
Oct 21-30, 9:30am-8pm,
free. Marunouchi Nakadori
Street. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel:
03-3265-8300.
Tokyo Grand Tea Ceremony
Oct 22-23, 9:30am-3:30pm,
¥300. Hamarikyu Gardens. Tel:
03-3541-0200.
Free Mammogram
First come first serve, maximum
50 women over twenty years
old. Oct 26, 11am-6pm, free.
LaQua. Nearest stn: Korakuen.
Tel: 03-5800-9999.
LOHAS Festa in Tokyo
Think globally, act locally.
Oct 29-30, 9am-4:30pm, ¥200
(adult). Hikarigaoka Park.
Nearest stn: Hikarigaoka.
Tel: 06-6338-0640. www.
lohasfesta.jp
Movie ReviewS
& cinemas P. 26
channel guide
1=NHK
2=NHK
Educational
4=NTV
5=TV Asahi
6=TBS
8=Fuji TV
7=TV Tokyo
BS1=BS1
BS3=BS
Premium
BS4=BS NTV
BS5=BS Asahi
BS6=BS TBS
BS7=BS Japan
BS8=BS Fuji
BS9=Wowow
BS11=BS11
BS12=TwellV
FOX=Fox
Japan
M=Movie
R=Rerun
D=Delayed
Programming may change at the discretion of each station
#917 wWW.METROPOLIS.CO.JP • 25
Agenda Movies By Don Morton
No Impact Man
Is your carbon footprint still too
la rge de spite re cycl i n g , etc .?
Meet Colin Beavan, a preachy,
self-congratulatory wonk who
is especially irritating for being
exasperatingly right. In an orgy of
radical nonconsumption, Beavan
and his (comically reluctant) family eschewed, for a year, such
things as toilet paper, electricity, motorized transportation, and
(gasp) coffee. Colin does not expect us to follow suit. We, after all,
lack his motivations of celebrity, a book and a movie. His purpose
was to raise our awareness of overconsumption, and this he does,
compellingly and entertainingly so. Japanese title: Chikyu ni
Yasashii Seikatsu. (90 min)
Cinemas 5 40
The Last Exorcism
In yet another low-budget Blair
Witch “found-film” chiller, a noted
e v a n g e l i s t /e xo r c i s t ( P a t r i c k
Fabian) who no longer believes
i n G o d n ow p e r fo r m s b o g u s
exorcisms for gullible yokels for
money. But he’s getting out of the
demon-banishment business and having his last such rite filmed
in order to expose the inherent fakery. Let’s just say that this final
job, involving a possessed 16-year-old girl (a versatile Ashley
Bell), renews his faith. This is a nicely creepy bit of psycho-horror,
at least until the silly, cop-out payoff, with a believable cast and a
modicum of originality despite the tired subgenre. (85 min)
Cinemas 43 50 53 62 83 84 91 92 94 97
Metpod
Rango
A
sophisticated, wonderfully weird computer
animation for smart people, from ILM. You
could even call it Pixar-level. The storyline is
anything but original, but I think that’s the point.
It lovingly borrows tropes and clichés from
countless classic westerns, from High Noon and
Sergio Leone’s masterpieces to Blazing Saddles,
with nods to Star Wars, Apocalypse Now, Chinatown
and even Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The more
movies you’ve seen, the more you’ll enjoy this
cinema-referential approach, but at the same
time it’s cute and kinetic enough for the kids. It’s
the inspired execution that shines. First, it’s in
Cowboys and
Aliens
NEW
Jon Favreau crossbreeds two
movie varieties and comes up
with a hybrid that may surprise
fans of both sci-fi and westerns.
Or not. An outlaw (Daniel Craig)
wakes up in the desert unable
to remember who he is, with this strange bracelet on his wrist.
In town, he locks horns with the local strongman, played by
Harrison Ford in full crank mode, but then these nasty airborne
thingies attack and they must join forces, along with some
Native Americans, to save the planet, etc. This concept-overcontent is fun for a while, but after the initial wonder wears off,
it settles into some serious ordinariness. (118 min)
Cinemas 2 27 35 45 51 62 79 80 85 88 90 92 93
Captain America: The
First Avenger
In 1941, a 90-pound wimp (a
digitally dis-enhanced Chris
Evans), unable to join the army,
is noticed for his perseverance,
passion and patriotism, and given
the mad scientist treatment (it’s a
comic book) to emerge as the hunky (and now kind of boring)
title super-soldier. Apparently Hitler is now not deemed nasty
enough, so he instead goes after a rather theatrical, dastardly
uber-villain named The Red Skull. The rest is just a checklist
of superhero-film components, but these are solidly crafted if
you’re not yet superheroed out, and the film’s got style and heart.
Also starring Tommy Lee Jones, Stanley Tucci. (125 min)
Cinemas 3 16 48 61 66 78 79 80 81 85 88 92 93 95
Also Showing
Limitless
Blocked writer tries out a brain-boosting drug. If
you ignore the gaping plot holes, this is a briskly
paced, pretty fun head trip. (105 min)
Cinemas 53 86 91
gorgeous 2D. (Only! Yay!) Johnny Depp voices the
title chameleon, a former pet lizard stranded and
thirsty in the Mojave Desert. He happens upon a
town appropriately named Dirt, populated by a
marvelous array of western stereotype creatures,
and lucks into the job of sheriff (he is a chameleon).
His first job is to find out what’s happening to the
town’s dwindling water supply. Excellent voice
talent includes Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred
Molina, Ray Winstone, Bill Nighy and Ned Beatty.
Loved the doom-saying mariachi Greek chorus.
I’d see this again. (107 min)
Cinemas 27 43 51 62 63 81 84 88 91 95 97
Blitz
Tough-as-nails London cop with
a reputation for brutality (Jason
Statham, who likes a challenge)
teams up with his gay superior
(Paddy Considine) to go after a
smarmy serial cop killer who calls
himself Blitz (Aiden Gillean). The
creep is nabbed, but he’s been smart and there’s no real evidence,
so he walks. Yes, it’s largely standard if lower-key J. S. fare, but
the bestubbled action hero gets to do a little more acting than
usual, and the (admittedly violent) action is balanced with good
storytelling and fleshed-out characters. A couple of sub-plots are
skillfully woven into the whole. Rainy day. (97 min)
Cinemas 43 62 81 84 97
Rise of The Planet of
the Apes
This is a truly uplifting and inspiring
film. Unless you’re a human. It’s a
pity that CG tech teams are not eligible for Best Actor Oscars, because
the guys that animated Caesar the
chimpanzee would win hands
down. In Caesar they have created a truly three-dimensional
character that easily out-acts human lead James Franco, which
is admittedly not that hard to do. The story follows Caesar from
infancy, to awareness, to prison activist, to simian Che Guevara.
This smart popcorn flick offers originality and spectacle as well
as food for thought, and will not insult your measly unenhanced
intelligence. Japanese title: Saruno Wakusei. (110 min)
Cinemas 1 45 46 53 61 78 79 62 63 80 84 85 87 88 92 93 95
The Next Three Days
Schoolteacher decides to learn how to break his
unjustly convicted wife out of jail in this effective, felonies-for-dummies thriller. Japanese
title: Three Days. (122 min)
Cinemas 3 16 35 48 60 63 66 80 84 85 88
91 92
The Company Men
The Speak
In still another weak Blair Witch/
Cloverfield/Paranormal Activity
clone, an amateur film crew gains
access to a purportedly haunted
hotel for a bit of ghostbusting,
and lives (or perhaps doesn’t) to
regret it. They bring along a Native
American, who knows a chant (a “speak”) that will bring entities
over from the spirit world. She cautions against this but goes
ahead and performs the ritual anyway. This is a paragon of logic
compared to the rest of this tedious film, which consists mostly
of repetitive POV shots of rushing through the hotel’s darkened
corridors. Unspeakably lame. (83 min)
Cinemas 51 63
Fast Five
Pau l Wa l ke r, Vi n D ie s el , a nd
Jordana Brewster drag a bank vault
through the Rio streets (don’t try at
home), steal cars from a speeding
train (this either), and perform
m a ny ot he r phy s ic s - de f y i n g
stunts, but I’d still call this the most
grounded of the five (or three?) Fast and Furious flicks. Reason
being that the vroom-vroom franchise has done to death the
street-racing thing and moved on to a heist flick, albeit a skillfully
made one with cool fast cars and sexy babes. Dwayne Johnson is
amusing trying to out-macho Diesel, and the Brazilian setting is
gorgeous. Big screen. Japanese title: Wild Speed. (130 min)
Cinemas 1 4 20 35 43 53 61 62 63 76 78 80 81 82 83 84 86 87 88
90 91 92 93 95 97
Final Destination 5
I actually liked the first few Final
Destination flicks. If you don’t
know, the decade-old franchise
has to do with one person having
a precognitive experience that
saves several stereotypical
friends from horrible deaths, only
to have Death (thy name is Rube Goldberg) pick them off later in
elaborate, gleefully gory ways. But recent FD flicks have been
coasting in cheap-thrills land. This time the theme is skewering,
and it is revealed that you can trade fates and life spans with
another person by murdering them. Nice. Nifty snake-biting-itstail ending bit that cleverly relates to the first movie. Japanese
title: Final Dead Bridge. (92 min)
Cinemas 42 80 84 97
Well-made horror film for corporate climbers
details the woes faced by middle-aged corporate execs fired amid a tanking economy. (104
min)
Cinemas 5 27 84
Unthinkable
Raises ethical questions about torture, but its
attempts to appeal to the broadest possible
audience limit its political depth. Japanese title:
4 Days. (97 min)
Cinemas 13 86 91
(inside Mullion)
8
7
10
4
Ginza
Imperial
Hotel
(subway)
Printemps Ginza
Dept Store
Matsuya
Dept Store
11
13
Higashi-Ginza
Tobu Hotel
(subway)
eiga
Friends with Benefits
As the title indicates, this is about
a com m it ment-averse couple
of best friends who agree to a
relationship more com monly
referred to with a term that ends
in “-buddy.” Golly, you think they’ll
fall in love before the end credits?
It’s formulaic romantic comedy to a fault, but likeable leads Justin
Timberlake and Mila Kunis generate enough real chemistry to
make it work. The dialogue is naughty without being lewd, as are
the sex scenes, it makes fun of its own genre, and the filmmakers
had the good sense to include Patricia Clarkson, Richard Jenkins
and Woody Harrelson in the supporting cast. Japanese title: Stay
Friends. (109 min)
Cinemas 21 40 63 80 81 85 91 95 97
5 Days of war
Pulpy war-cliché movie about
the brief 2008 flare-up between
Georgia and Russia that, according to this flick, the world ignored
because it was so engrossed in the
Beijing Olympics. Right. It starts out
promising, with a stirring ambush
scene in Iraq, but this is a Renny Harlin movie, and in the onceeffective action director’s quest for clearly defined villains and
heroes, he abandons objectivity and treats the complex conflict
with insulting simplicity. There’s something deeply repugnant
about turning real-life horrors into blow-stuff-up popcorn entertainment. Unforgivably tasteless coda. (112 min)
Cinema 33
Dear John
More emotional button-pushing from sapmeister novelist Nicholas Sparks, directed by the once-great Lasse
Hallstrom. Japanese title: Shinainaru Kimie. (105 min)
Cinemas 2 7 27 51 61 62 78 80 81 82 86 91 92 97
24
Bunkamura
25
109
Hachiko Shibuya
Tokyu Plaza
ag
aw
aD
Keio Inokashira
line
Yamaha
Meiji
Dori
JR Yamanote line
& subway
15
Shibuya
1. Toho Cinemas Nichigeki (033574-1131) www.tohotheater.jp
2. Marunouchi Piccadilly
(03-3201-2881) www.
shochiku-eigakan.com
3. Marunouchi Louvre (03-32147761) www.tokyucinemas.net
4. Toho Cinemas Yurakuza (033571-1946) www.tohotheater.jp
5. Human Trust Cinema
Yurakucho (03-6259-8608)
www.ht-cinema.com
6. Yurakucho Subaruza
(03-3212-2816) http://subarukougyou.jp/movies
7. Toho Cinemas Chanter (033591-1511) www.tohotheater.jp
8. Toho Cinemas Scala-za/
Miyuki-za (03-3591-5358)
www.tohotheater.jp
10. Marunouchi Toei (03-35354741) http://theaters.toei.co.jp
11. Cine Switch Ginza (03-35610707) www.cineswitch.com
12. Ginza Theatre Cinema (033535-6000) www.ttcg.jp
13. Ginza Cine Pathos
(03-3561-4660)
www.humax-cinema.co.jp
14. Togeki (03-3541-2711) www.
shochiku-eigakan.com
Shibuya
15. Shibuto Cine Tower (03-54894210) www.tohotheater.jp
16. Shibuya Tokyu (03-3407-7219)
www.tokyucinemas.net
17. Shibuya Toei (03-54675773/5774) http://theaters.
toei.co.jp/theaters
19. Shibuya Cine Palace (03-34613534) www.mitsuba-inc.
co.jp/scp/
20.Shibuya Humax Cinema
(03-3462-2539)
www.humax-cinema.co.jp
21. Cine Quinto (03-3477-5905)
www.cinequinto.com/
22.Cinema Rise (03-3464-0051)
www.cinemarise.com
24.Uplink X (03-6825-5503)
www.uplink.co.jp/x/
25. Le Cinema (03-3477-9264)
www.bunkamura.co.jp/
cinema
ori
inj
Ave
Shinjuku
Gyoen
47
Toshima Ward Oﬃce
Ikebukuro
48
(subway)
Marui
Dept Store
Ikebukuro
JR Yamanote line
Tobu
Dept
Store
Tokyo
Met Art Space
52
50 49
46
Seibu
Dept
Store
Ikebukuro
Metropolitan
Hotel
Shinjuku-
uk Gyoenmae
u D (subway)
or
i
Amlux
Tokyu
Hands
Prince
Hotel
Sunshine 60,
Sunshine City
Seibu Ikebukuro line
JR Saikyo line
Cerulean Tower
Higashi-Ikebukuro
33
(subway)
other areas
(no map)
Cinema Key
Ginza/Yurakucho/
Hibiya
(subway)
Sh
43
51
16
17
Shibuya
29, 30
Aoyama Dori
Shibuya Tokyu Inn
19
or
i
22
Ta
m
Shinji Imaoka is a long-time pinku (softcore porn) filmmaker
and clearly one of those that think the B-grade (at best) genre
has real aesthetic value. It makes sense then that he’d decide
to make a musical (or musical parody, take your pick) pink
film based around Japan’s mythical water imp, the kappa.
What is a little bizarre is how many people he could get to take
the concept seriously, like Wong Kar-wai’s legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle, who shot this mess. Admittedly,
it does border on so-bad-it’s-good territory (and that’s surely
the point). The “costumes” are absurd; the kappa is a barely
concealed man with plastic beak, scalp and turtle back. We
could call this Brechtian and point to similarly styled art films
in the ’70s, but I suspect Imaoka wasn’t thinking about it that
deeply. The musical numbers are horrible pop music with
unconvincing lip-synching, again surely intentional. Shot in
just five days (and looking like it) the nominal story involves
Asuka (Sawa Masaki), a 35-year-old fish factory worker who’s
engaged to boss Hajime (Mutsuo Yoshioka). One day she sees
a kappa who claims to be her long-dead high school crush
Aoki (Yoshiro Umezawa) and he pursues her for the love they
never shared. After a few stupid musical numbers and tepid
sex scenes (inter-species and otherwise) it all quickly gets
rather boring and I think this is probably the most damning
thing you could say about this obvious attempt to be off-thewall. (English title: Underwater Love; 87 min)
Cinemas 30 64
Shibuya
by Rob Schwartz
41 Shinjuku
42 Sanchome
Marui
34
ori
iji D
Me
Onna no Kappa
Marui
Parco
Store
20
do
Kai
40Mitsukoshi
East
Exit
South
Exit
Marui
42
Isetan
Takashimaya
27
Parco
Part 3
Tokyu
Hands 21
Shinjuku
West
Exit
hu
Kos
14
Ginza Daiichi Hotel
i Do
ri
45
Chuo Dori
Higashi
Kabukiza
Theater
Shimbashi
44
Studio Yas
uku
Alta
n
(subway)
Matsuzakaya
Dept Store
Nikko Hotel
Koma Theater
Shinjuku
Prince Hotel
(subway)
1, 2, 3, 5
36
Seibu Shinjuku Line 35
Ginza Itchome
JR line
(subway)
Seibu Shinjuku
12
Yurakucho
Meiji
D
Bic Camera
6
M
ei
ji D
or
i
Hibiya
Shinjuku
Hibiya
Park
Ikebukuro
Ginza • Hibiya • Yurakucho
Rango: © 2010 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved; Cowboys and Aliens: © 2011 Universal Studios. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; Captain America: The First Avenger: © 2010 MVLFFLLC. TM & © 2010 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. All
rights reserved; Blitz: © 2010 Blitz Films Limited; Rise of The Planet of the Apes: © 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation; No impact Man: © Oscilloscope; The Last Exorcism: © 2010 STUDIOCANAL & STRIKE ENTERTAINMENT; The Speak: © 2010 THE
SPEAK PRODUCTIONS LLC; Fast Five: © 2011 Universal Pictures. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; Final Destination 5: © 2011 NEW LINE PRODUCTIONS, INC; 5 Days of war: © 2011 IRON LION FILM PRODUCTION INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED; Onna no Kappa: ©2011 国映株式会社/Rapid
Eye Movies/インターフィルム
27. Human Trust Cinema Shibuya
(03-5468-5551)
www.ttcg.jp
29.Cinemavera Shibuya
(03-3461-7703) www.
cinemavera.com
30.Eurospace (03-3461-0211)
www.eurospace.co.jp
33. Theater N Shibuya (03-54892592) www.theater-n.com
34. Theatre Image Forum
(03-5766-0114) www.
imageforum.co.jp/theatre
Shinjuku
35. Shinjuku Tokyu Milano
Building (03-3202-1189)
36. Shinjuku Cinema Square
Tokyu (03-3202-1189)
40.Shinjuku Musashinokan
(03-3354-5670) http://
shinjuku.musashino-k.jp
41. Kadokawa Cinema Shinjuku
(03-5361-7878) www.
kadokawa-cinema.jp
42.Cinemart Shinjuku
(03-5369-2831)
www.cinemart.co.jp
43. Shinjuku Wald 9
(03-5369-4955)
www.wald9.com
44.Theatre Shinjuku
(03-3352-1846)
www.ttcg.jp
45. Shinjuku Piccadilly
(03-5367-1144) www.
shinjukupiccadilly.com
Ikebukuro
46.Ikebukuro Humax Cinemas
(03-5979-1662)
http://e-ticket.hmxede.com
47. Shin Bungeiza (03-3971-9422)
www.shin-bungeiza.com
48.Ikebukuro Tokyu
(03-3971-2727)
49.Ikebukuro Theatre Dia
(03-3983-9793) www.ttcg.jp
50.Cinema Sunshine Ikebukuro
(03-3982-6388)
www.cinemasunshine.co.jp
51. Ikebukuro Cinema Rosa
(03-3986-3713)
www.cinemarosa.net
52. Cine Libre Ikebukuro
(03-3590-2126) www.ttcg.jp
53. Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills
(03-5775-6090)
www.tohotheater.jp
54. Cinemart Roppongi
(03-5413-7711)
www.cinemart.co.jp
57. Iwanami Hall (03-3262-5252)
www.iwanami-hall.com
58.Jimbocho Theater (03-52815132) www.shogakukan.co.jp
60.Ueno Tokyu (03-3831-6620)
61. Shinagawa Prince Cinema
(03-5421-1113)
http://princecinema.
smartreserv.jp
62. United Cinema Toyosu
(03-6219-3000)
www.unitedcinemas.jp
63. Cinema Mediage Odaiba
(03-5531-7878)
www.tohotheater.jp
64.Pole-Pole Higashi-Nakano
(03-3371-0088)
www.mmjp.or.jp
65. Kichijoji Toa Kogyo
(0422-48-6521)
www.toakogyo.com
66.Kichijoji Baus Theater
(0422-22-3555)
www.baustheater.com
67. Kichijoji Plaza
(04-2222-5336) http://movie.
walkerplus.com
68.Kineka Omori
(03-3762-6000) www.ttcg.jp
69.Waseda Shochiku
(03-3200-8968)
www.wasedashochiku.co.jp
70.Ginrei Hall (03-3269-3852)
www.ginreihall.com
71. Shinbashi Bunka
(03-3431-4920) http://movie.
walkerplus.com
77. Toho Cinemas Kinshicho
(03-5637-1040)
www.tohotheater.jp
72. Meguro Cinema (03-34912557) www.okura-movie.co.jp
73. Sangenjaya Cinema
(03-3421-3322) http://movie.
walkerplus.com
74. Sangenjaya Chuo
(03-3421-4610) http://movie.
walkerplus.com
76. Rakutenchi Cinemas
Kinshicho
(03-3631-7020)
www.rakutenchi.co.jp
78.Heiwajima Cinema Sunshine
(03-5764-8801)
www.cinemasunshine.co.jp
79. 109 Cinemas Kiba
(03-5683-0109)
109cinemas.net
80.United Cinema Toshimaen
(03-5912-9800)
81. Warner Mycal Cinemas
Itabashi (03-3937-1551)
www.warnermycal.com
82.Toho Cinemas Minami-Osawa
(042-679-6180)
www.tohotheater.jp
83.Warner Mycal Cinemas ShinYurigaoka (044-965-1122)
www.warnermycal.com
84.Cinecitta Kawasaki
(044-223-3190)
www.cinecitta.co.jp/theater
85.109 Cinemas Kawasaki
(0570-007-109) 109cinemas.
net
86.Toho Cinemas Kawasaki
(044-230-1122)
www.tohotheater.jp
87. Movil (045-311-0330)
109cinemas.net
88.109 MM Yokohama
(045-664-0109)
www.109cinemas.net
89.Yokohama New Theatre
(045-261-2995) http://
yokohamanewtheatre.web.
fc2.com
90.Warner Mycal Cinemas
Minato Mirai (045-222-2525)
www.warnermycal.com
91. Toho Cinemas Lalaport
Yokohama (045-929-1040)
www.tohotheater.jp
92.Movix Saitama
(048-600-6300)
www.movix.co.jp
93. United Cinema Iruma
(04-2965-9999)
94.Toho Cinemas Ichikawa
Colton Plaza (047-314-0055)
www.tohotheater.jp
95.Cinema Ikspiari
(047-305-3855)
www.ikspiari.com
96.Kyosei Roza
(043-225-6355)
www.keiseikog.co.jp
97. YokohamaBurg 13
(045-222-6222)
www.burg13.com
Elegant Dining
special advertising section
29
The Upper Crust
�
�
Tokyo's finest restaurants take elegant dining to new heights
Bice Tokyo
f.Bar
In Tokyo it’s wonderfully
easy to find a dining spot
right in front of a massive
window, high above the
rooftops. Nearly half of
the 37 tables in Bice’s
massive 600m 2 premises
are near the floor-toceiling glass, which
offers an eagle-eye view
over the cityscape from
floor 47 of the Caretta Shiodome building.
Bice welcomes a sophisticated and discerning crowd from around
the world, but dining here is like being entertained in the lounge of your
wealthy Italian relatives: comfortable and welcoming while maintaining a
sensual edge of style. Bice’s story began at a small trattoria in Milan, which
opened as a little local joint in 1926. The ensuing decades have seen the
restaurant expand into several countries, and while it has definitely gone
up in the world, Bice’s concept is still founded on the combination of homey
atmosphere and delicious food. The seasonally changing menu puts a
modern spin on the simple elegance of traditional Northern Italian dishes,
playing with fresh ingredients to create authentic yet original flavors. The
five-course “Bianco” set at lunchtime (¥3,675) features an appetizer, soup,
pasta, main and dessert. Dinner plans start at ¥9,450 for “Donizetti,” a fivecourse feast offering up an appetizer, risotto, pasta, main dish and dessert.
An à la carte menu is also available, as is a list of fine Italian wines suitable
for anything from a casual romantic dinner to an all-out Italian-style
celebration.
• 47F Caretta Shiodome, 1-8-1 Higashi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku. Tel:
03-5537-1926. Open daily 11:30am-3:30pm (LO 2pm), Mon-Fri 5:3011:30pm (LO 10pm), Sat-Sun & hols 5-11:30pm (LO 10pm). Nearest stn:
Shiodome or Shimbashi. www.bicetokyo.com
Lovers and purveyors of
fashion keen to relax amid
a suitably stylish
environment should hang
their leopard-skin pill-box
hats at f.Bar in AzabuJuban. The official
restaurant-lounge for
Fashion TV—the most
watched fashion channel
in the world—f.Bar
provides a space where you watch the latest news from the world of la mode,
while luxuriating in a glamorous interior and smoothing your groove to
some upbeat tunes.
For the VIPs among the VIPs f.Bar offers three special rooms equipped
with karaoke systems, the newest music videos, lighting equipment, 12
monitors, DJ booths and screens, which make the perfect venue for your
closest cohorts to strut their stuff. A buffet is available for up to 150 people,
lovingly prepared by f.Bar’s chef, Kimura, who was once head chef of fabled
Tokyo restaurant Hanezawa Garden.
This year, f.Bar is celebrating its second anniversary. Celebrate by taking
advantage of a variety of offers. For example, those of the female persuasion
can enjoy a three-hour nomihodai from Monday to Thursday. The all-youcan-drink menu, also available along with a special set menu for both men
and women, boasts 50 different drinks to choose from. So it’s none of the
three-drink nomihodai you might find in other places.
The crowd, mostly foreign and Japanese models, cosmetic artists and
stylists, and general fashion industry bods, make up a dazzling international
crowd that will keep your pulse racing and excitement at a premium. Free
entry to lounge from 6-11pm!
• 1F Fukao bldg, 1-4-5 Azabu-Juban, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-3586-6383.
Email: fbartokyo@gmail.com. Open Mon-Sat 6-11pm (restaurant);
6pm-5am (lounge), closed Sun. Nearest stn: Azabu-Juban. www.fbar.jp
#917 ● wWW.METROPOLIS.CO.JP
30
Elegant Dining
Meushi
The passing of the seasons in Japan is one of
the enduring pleasures for people living
here. Now you can experience this glorious
transition represented in the interior
design of Meushi—and load your palate
with highest-quality yakiniku at the same
time.
No one who has been in Japan for
more than a day can have failed to pass by
restaurants selling this traditional Japanese
roasted meat. But most people think it is a
cheap dining option—little better than a
street food.
Meushi’s goal is to change that
perception. Everything about the place
drips luxury. From the four-seasons décor of vermillion, gold, and green to
the waitresses bedecked in kimono, everything at Meushi drips class, just
like a sizzling chunk of meat drips succulent juices into the burning embers.
Concealed lighting gives the place a sensual, relaxed feel, and the senses
are massaged by the tasteful combination of modern Japan with the natural
cycle and tea-ceremony motifs.
Foreigners keen to get to grips with such an experience need not worry
about their linguistic disabilities, as English menus are available. Also, if
you are all thumbs—culinarily speaking—the charming and easy-going
wait staff will happily cook your meat for you on your table’s personal grill.
Both Japanese and western-style tables are available so choose what you like
and settle in for the ride.
If you needed any further incentive, simply tell them you read Metropolis,
and get a ¥7,000 full course set for ¥5,000.
• 3F Hakuba Bldg, 26-11 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-6416-1091.
Email: contact@meushi.jp. Open daily 6pm-midnight (LO 11:30pm).
www.meushi.jp
Roti Roppongi
You know the dilemma.
You are desperate for some
soul-comforting, good old
honest nourishment.
Then, on the other hand,
you would like to be
somewhere tasteful, and
fill your palate with
carefully chosen
sensations. Can the twain
meet? The answer lies in
the Piramide building in Roppongi, just by the Hills. Now in its tenth year,
Roti offers a chic modern dining room along with a rare—in Tokyo,
anyway—al fresco terrace, far from the roar of traffic.
Try pairing a thick and juicy chargrilled ribeye steak with a glass of fine
NZ Pinot Noir, and you’ll see how comfort food and elegant dining can come
together.
Roti serves lunch every day until 5pm, and brunch on weekends and
holidays from 11:30am-5pm. Take advantage of 25% off selected food and
drinks on weekdays from 5-7pm, and 25% off all wine bottles on Tuesdays,
all night. Or just stop by of an afternoon and wet your whistle on one of seven
West Coast craft beers.
Find out more about Roti from their user-friendly, bilingual website,
which contains menus and picks from the wine list. You can also make
reservations online and find out about party booking or catering for your
event.
As the pilgrims muster, don’t think about where you are going to spend
Thanksgiving—just spend it at Roti! But to avoid missing your sensational
turkey meal, be sure to book soon before it fills up.
• 6-6-9 Roppongi, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5785-3671. Open Mon-Thu & Sun
11:30am-5pm & 6-11pm, Fri & Sat 11:30am-5pm & 6pm-4am. Nearest
stn: Roppongi. http://roti.jp
● Special advertising section
special advertising section
31
Que Sera Sera
“What will be, will be,”
goes the old refrain, and
this restaurant will make
you feel a lot better about
facing your destiny. In the
heart of old Ginza, Que
Sera Sera takes the
traditional Japanese
restaurant vibe and turns
it on its head with a
fascinating and innovative
aesthetic. The entrance door is made of convex roof tiles from Kishu. The
kitchen counter is polished wood grain made from the gingko tree—quite
hard to find, jokes the owner. Marble stones give the effect of a black-andwhite ink painting, going sublimely with chairs ordered especially from
Cassina and Gorge Nakajima, which, apart from being stylish, are also
extremely comfortable.
The business was launched five years back, with the aim of providing
delicious Japanese food made from in-season ingredients accompanied by
carefully chosen wines, champagnes and beverages, and an experienced
sommelier on hand to advise your decisions. The chef, Saito, was executive
chef at the Conrad Hotel Shiodome, a five-star hotel—so he really knows his
onions.
This season Que Sera Sera is featuring the matsutake mushroom. Its fine
autumnal flavor partners with such dishes as tempura to a T. Then, bungo
steak from Oita and grilled horohoro chicken are on hand to satisfy the
carnivores. Champagne, flowers and cakes are available for anniversaries
and other parties, and party specials are offered on Saturdays. They are
taking reservations for Thanksgiving now. Also, just for Metropolis readers,
ask for your welcome glass of champagne. You can also order the limited
course set with champagne and wine.
• 3F 2nd Yayoi Bldg, Les Soirées de Ginza, 8-7-11 Ginza, Chuo-ku.
Tel: 03-3573-5188. Open Mon-Fri 6pm-1am (LO 12:30am), Sat
6pm-midnight (LO 11pm), closed Sun. Nearest stn: Shinbashi. www.
kesera.jp
Sasashige
Spacious and stylish,
Nishi-Azabu’s Sasashige
draws a fun crowd into its
modern interior for some
of the best bang-for-yourbuck teppanyaki in town.
The irresistible smell of
juicy, fragrant meat
sizzling on a hot plate
makes Sasashige’s kuroge
beef the hottest thing on
the menu (available in sirloin ¥2,200/50g and Chateaubriand ¥3,000/50g).
For those who prefer to pluck their sustenance out of the oceans, some of our
fresh aquatic friends are up for your enjoyment as well. Our first
recommendation would be the seared live abalone in stewed fresh cream
and gorgonzola sauce, but there’s also a fantastic selection of fresh scallops,
salmon and lobster for any occasions. The course menus can’t be beat,
either, with three omakase courses (¥5,000-8,000)—where you leave your
choices up to the cook—and the special ¥12,000 Sasashige course.
There is a menu of seafood mains, plus a vegetarian menu, too. Requests
are accepted to suit any budget and taste. Talk to the chef or the wait staff
to work out the details. Sasashige’s midday service is one of the best deals
in town—six different menus with chicken, pork, and beef for just ¥1,000,
including rice, pickles, and miso soup.
• 2F, 2-13-15 Nishi-Azabu, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-5774-4439. Open Mon-Fri
11:30am-2pm (LO) and 5pm-4am (LO), Sat-Sun 5-11pm (LO). Nearest
stn: Hiroo or Roppongi. www.sasashige.com
#917 ● wWW.METROPOLIS.CO.JP
www.failte.jp
Spacious 5F
terrace
over looking
central
Shibuya.
Enjoy our great selections
of Irish and European brews.
4 TH ANNIVERSARY
Wed, Oct 19, Performances from
5d
7:30pm and 9:00pm
onlyays
4th Anniversary Event, Oct 19-23
Draft Beer, Bottled Beer discounts!
Very rare, directly imported draft
beer available!
Special Anniversary food also available!
More details http://failte.jp
Tokyu
Plaza
5F, Sede Bldg. 1-5-2 Dogenzaka, Shibuya
OPEN 5:30pm-2am (Mon-Sat)
3-11pm (Sunday & hols)
tel:
03-3476-7776
the latest dish on food & drink in the big city
Dining Out
word of mouth
A new foodie hangout, Gotanda
Sakura Komichi (1 Nishi-Gotanda,
Shinagawa; 03-3477-6086) has
appeared underneath the elevated
Tokyu Ikegami tracks, between
Gotanda and Osaki-Hirokoji
station. This 288m2 parking-lotturned-eatery-alley now harbors
eight restaurants doling out food
from southwestern Japan: Osakan
okonomiyaki and takoyaki, Sanuki
udon, and Kurume ramen. There’s
also a specialized yakitori-ya serving
every chicken giblet from comb to
ovary; an izakaya specializing in
spicy stewed wagyu tendon; and a
standing bar called Asobigokoro
Mansai, roughly translating to “loads
of playful spirit.”
restaurant review
Blindfold Banquet
Kurayami
Shokudo offers
you a pitch-dark
dining experience
by David Labi
Photos: Kohji Shiiki
T
he imagination can be
a good interior decorator. For those particular
about finding luscious
surroundings for their
repast, Kurayami Shokudo could be
a good solution. As we were led into
the “restaurant” with thick, 100%-effective blindfolds on and the soothing
music of a Theremin playing, I felt
I was entering a magical red-stone
grotto, with Persian carpets, candles
in coves, and Arabian temptresses
waving palm fronds to cool the air. A
waitress gently held both my hands
and conducted me to what I imagined
to be a wide, mahogany table, laid out
for a decadent banquet.
The bassy voice of a man welc ome d u s . D e s pit e m y p a lt r y
Japanese, I understood we were
departing on a journey around the
world and through time. And that is
indeed how it seemed. The disorientating sensation of being completely
blind was fascinating, and ever y
sensor y st i mu lus provoked t he
imagination in bold ways.
We were inst r ucted to ma ke
friends w it h t he people around
us. I discovered there were six on
my table. Friends are separated to
enhance the social quirkiness of the
occasion. After a fashion I managed
to communicate in stilted Japanese
to my companions, all but one of
whom were women. In my visionless
state they were goddesses. What the
reality was is another story. A glass
of champagne was placed in front of
us and we muddled through a “kampai,” clinking glasses and trying not
to shower anyone in the process.
Kurayami Shokudo costs just
under ¥10,000, not so much when you
consider the seven courses, a champagne toast, unlimited wine, and a
digestif of liqueur—plus the whole,
unique production. It is organized by
Japanese advertising giant Hakuhodo’s corporate university, named
Kodomogokoro Seisakujo (“Children’s Spirit Factory”). If the idea was
to awaken the child’s spirit within us,
they were not doing badly.
Each course had an introductor y stor y setting the scene, with
music altered to evoke different
surroundings. As t he accordion
played we a r r ived in 22nd century Paris. Another time we were
ascending an elevator to the moon.
The accompany ing dishes—and
the ingredients within them—were
extremely varied, leading to heated
discussions at the table over what
we were actually eating.
“Melon!” said one. (It was seafood salad.)
“That’s def initely liver,” said
another. (That one actually was liver…
frozen in a wrapper as a “gift from the
aliens.”)
The philosophy is to experience
food in a totally different way. Blindfolded, you recognize tastes, but they
remain on the tip of your tongue.
Some maddeningly familiar flavors
blur and confuse.
Another point to the sightlessness is that Kurayami Shokudo can
immaculately craft your adventure.
Waitstaff were silent as ninjas—you
could rarely hear when plates were
placed or cleared away. Wine glasses
were imperceptibly filled. One waiter
whispered a short translation of any
instructions given into my ear.
Two hours flew by in a bewildering whirr. Finally, each table came
up with a keyword to recognize each
other afterwards, and we were led
out. When we returned to the world
of vision, the light hurt my eyes and
the “real world” seemed much less
colorful than that which we had all
tasted together.
Kurayami Shokudo takes place four
times per year. Various locations,
¥9,830. www. kodomogokoro.jp/
kurayami (Japanese)
No need to hide your BBW fetish at
Pomeranian, a peripatetic maid café
irregularly-run by pioneer pocchari
maids—a.k.a. “po-maids”—who are
all over BMI 25. Pig out on pork
kimchi and hamburger steak (both
¥800), and dig into dairy-based
desserts like chichi-shibori (“breast
squeezings;” ¥1,000) and chichigelato (“breastmilk ice cream;”
¥300)—wittily named after the girls’
trademark bustiness. Be careful,
however, when eating their tower
cake (¥800), pocchari parfait (¥900),
and pocchari smoothie (¥700),
unless you’re keen on joining their
circle. Drink a toast to their 51st
event on Halloween from 1pm to
5:30pm at rental Cafe & Bar Dice
(3-3-5 Soto-Kanda, Chiyoda-ku;
http://dice-akiba.jp).
A “Whole Day’s Worth of
Vegetables” (¥990)—a dozen-plus
sautéed seasonal legumes heaped
on an iron pan of sizzling curry—is
the signature dish of Yasai wo
Taberu Curry Camp (B1F-4-19-11
Sendagaya, Shibuya-ku; http://
meturl.com/camp). Homemade
lassi, 100% mango juice, and herbal
tea are only ¥100 extra until 5pm
but real carnivores are better going
for the BBQ curry dinner (limited
to 20 orders per night; ¥1,390)—a
spicy hunk of beef shaped like
Uluru. The playful cutlery of
mini spades and fork shovels and
the outdoorsy décor create an
atmosphere sure to make everyone
a happy camper. Margarita
Sponsored by
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will appear in Metropolis; Japan’s No. 1 English magazine,
which hits the streets every other Friday at over 800
locations throughout Tokyo, Yokohama and Chiba.
owne r ha s expe rie nce in
NY. H i g h q u a l i t y s e r vi c e
and natural products.
Cut: ¥5000. Color:
¥5000 ~. All menu 20%
off on first visit. 1min from
A z a b u -J u b a n s t n . w w w.
bondzsalon.jp/index_.html
Reservation: 03-6426-5562
All classifieds submitted for business purposes are
considered commercial. Commercial and upgraded free
ads can appear in any section.
Canada? Interested in going to
American or Canadian colleges
or universities after high school?
I have many years of experience
advising Japanese students on
US/Canadian college research
practices, admissions policies,
and application s proce dure s .
cpcollegeadvisingservices@
gmail.com
1.8 General Services
To place Job ads please visit http://classifieds.metropolis.
co.jp or email commercial@metropolis.co.jp
classifieds.metropolis.co.jp
1 AT YOUR SERVICE
1.1 Health
G E N ERAL D E N TI S TR Y .
US dental school graduate.
20 years ’ experience in
hospital dentistry, over
2000 dental implants.
N ative Engli s h s p eake r.
Parking available . 3 min
from JR Harajuku stn. Will
fill out insurance forms.
www. adve nti stde ntal . jp
03-3402-1501
Acupuncture in Tokyo/
Aoyama/Shibuya area .
Non-invasive, gentle
treatment. Soothing &
relaxing. Only disposable
needles used. Fluent/
native-level English.
Individual assessment,
personalized therapy
p ro g ra m . N u r tu ri n g a n d
s up p o r tive atm o s p h e re .
Fully integrated w/
conventional practices
and medication. Covered
by most foreign insurance.
Te l : 03 - 5 4 69 - 0 810
www.acuraclinic.com
MORE IN S UR A NCE F OR
LESS! Medical insurance to
fit your needs, with 3-, 6- and
12-month plans available.
Low-cost, quality coverage
wit h few exc l u s i o n s a n d
no deductibles for fast,
dependable claim payments
in Yen. Japan-licensed, with
over 60 years of experience.
Easy premium payment
by credit card or at any
convenience store. Get more
for less - with MedOne! info@
medone.jp www.medone.jp
06-6263-8688
SPORTS PHYSIOTHERAPY
( p h y s i c a l t h e r a p y) c a r e
in Hiroo. Native Engli sh speaking therapists,
specializing in sports
i n j u r i e s , p o s t- o p e ra t ive
rehabilitation, back/neck
pain, running-related,
headaches, orthotics,
ergonomic consultations,
and women’s health.
w w w.tokyophysio.com
03-3443-6769
Osteopathy by a UK-trained
qualified osteopath,
providing safe and effective
treatment of headaches,
back/neck pains, arthritis,
nerve-compression
syndromes such as sciatica,
TM J p r o b l e m s , e tc . AOP
-Aoyama Osteopathy
Practice-. Visit the English
page at www. aoyamaosteopathy.com/english/
1.2 Hair & Beauty
FACIAL LIFT TRIAL OFFER
¥1000! Regular price:
¥3000. Remove wrinkles
and reshape your face
instantly. We offer better
deals than any other salon!
R e s e r v e b y p h o n e o n l y.
0120-50-9091 www.
rakutendou.jp/spiritface.
html
Issue
919
Fri, Nov 4
Issue
921
Fri, Nov 18
Deadline:
Deadline:
Oct 27, 3pm
Nov 10, 3pm
G R A ND OPENIN G !
All furnished private
rooms ¥19,000 for the
first month. Normal
price ¥49,000 ~/m. In
downtown Tokyo, Asakusa,
Roppongi, Ginza, Akasaka,
S an g e njya , Kom azawa ,
Fu t a g o -Ta m a g a w a , a n d
Y o g a . 女性も安心。都心の
国際ハウス全室 I n t e r n e t . 家
具付個室. 03 -3707- 8 8 8 8
www.tokyointerhouse.com
2.2 Rent Under
200,000 yen
O n ly C u t Z o n e s a l o n
provides a hair cut
service for only ¥1000. 5min
walk from Kita se nju stn .
Friendly English-speaking
staff is available. Contact
us at 03-3882-1550. Open
from 10am until 7pm, 7 days
a week. http://meturl.com/
onlycutzone..
1.3 Moving
M OVI N G OVER S EA S ?
Call ECONOSHIP! With over
30 years of experience, you
can count on Econoship for
courteous, efficient, reliable
s e r vi c e a n d r e a s o n a b l e
prices. For real peace of
mind, move with the best.
Move with Econoship! Call,
email, or see our new website.
Ask for the Metropolis
special. 0120 -222-111
info@econoship.net
www.econoship.net
* M OVI N G I N TO K Y O ? *
For hom e re loc ation or
sayonara sale delivery, call
Steve at 090-3801-8083 or
03-5932-7777. Great rates
and efficient moves. Disposal
service of furniture and
appliances also available.
www.quoz.biz
AMERICAN SOCIAL DANCE.
Choreographed wedding
dance, Argentine tango,
salsa, waltz, cha-cha,
foxtrot, swing, hustle,
merengue, samba, tango,
quickstep, Viennese
waltz. Fun lessons, 5min
from Shibuya stn.
G roup l e s so n : ¥2000/h .
t o k y o @ j s d c . o r g
www.jsdc.org
¥55,000~/
MONTH IN
RO P P O N G I .
Roppongi
¥63,000~.
Hanzomon
¥48,000~.
Ikejiri-Ohashi
¥48,000~.
Ginza ¥53,000~. Gotanda
¥48,000 ~. Kachidoki
¥48,000~. Utilities
¥7000/m. Fully furnished, w/
f r e e I n t e r n e t . Yo t s u y a
¥68,000 (utilities ¥10,000).
Dormitory ¥45,000 (utilities
¥ 5 0 0 0). N o key m o n ey,
¥10,000 refundable deposit.
03-3560-7405/080-5436-1777
w w w . r o p p o n g i mayflowerhouse.com
H A NDYM A N .
Disposal services. Furniture
assembly. Removal support.
Pets . Garde ning . Aircon .
Plumbing. House cleaning.
Repairs. Painting. Any type
of reform. Please call Aki
Matsumoto on 080-56783215. I’m happy to consider
any request you may have.
www.handyman-japan.com
R ECYC LE BOY. We a r e a
MOVER and RECYCLE shop
in Tokyo/Yokohama.Our
services include small
t o l a r g e ( f a m i l y /o f f i c e )
domestic moving. We also
buy recyclable goods that
are no longer needed.
Just call us or email.
k-suke@recycle-boy.com
w w w. r e c yc l e - b oy. c o m
0120-234-666
AFFORDABLE APARTMENTS
& GUESTHOUSES IN
TOKYO’S POPULAR AREAS:
Azabu, Roppongi, Asakusa,
Ki c h i j o j i , Yo ko h a m a
¥49,000~/m. No key money/
guarantor/brokerage fee.
O ve r 1 0 0 g u e s t h o u s e s
(Internet, utilities included)
and apartments. Call
Oakridge : 03 -3 502-23 51
oakridgehousing@gmail.
com www.oakridge-housing.
com
2 FIND A PLACE
MOVING? Experienced staff
will assist you at reasonable
prices. Transportation for
overseas/domestic moving.
Packing and warehousing
with care. Customs
clearance. Air or sea freight
f o r w a r d i n g wo r l d w i d e .
03 - 5 8 51 - 93 3 1/0 9 0 -12 16 0012 tyoexp@yahoo.co.jp
www.tyoexp.com
2.1 Guesthouse
1.7 Business Services
Sophisticated Private
Hair Salon. Bondz Salon’s
classifieds.metropolis.co.jp
Want to at ten d Colleges/
Universities in the US or
¥ 1 9 , 0 0 0 / M C A MPA I G N !
G UE S THOU S E A S A KU S A
¥85,000/M, 1min to
Gaku g e i - Dai gaku stn ,
Toyo ko li n e . M egu ro ku. Immediately available:
three studio rooms. Your
own kitchen and bathroom.
日本人も歓迎 . C o n v e n i e n t ,
q u i et a n d c l e a n . 7m i n to
Shibuya, 12min to Roppongi.
Unfurnished: ¥85,000/m.
Fu r n i s h e d : ¥ 9 5 , 0 0 0 / m .
One month deposit. 0806540-4545 fudo-kannonserendipity@softbank.
ne.jp
Find short or long term stays in furnished/
unfurnished apar tments
for singles and families in
the Kasai and Nishi-Kasai
area. Urban Renaissance
p ro p e r t i e s i n Ro p p o n g i ,
N i n g y o c h o , Ts u k i s h i m a
and Nishi-Ojima available.
Buy condominiums and
i nve s t m e n t p ro p e r t y.
i n fo2@ fu j ito m o -f h .co. j p
www.fujitomo -fh.com
03-5696-2341
ICHII CORPOR A TION .
Over 600 affordable,
quality-furnished
apartments in central
To k yo l o c a t i o n s . N o key
m o n ey/g u a ra nto r/a g e nt
fe e re quire d . New, clean
apartments, simple contract
system, full English support.
Call us today 03-5437-5233
www.japt.co.jp
PRI V A TE F URNI S HED
A P A RTMENT S . O d a k y u
l i n e , M u k o g a o k a -Yu e n /
Yomiuri-Land-Mae, 20/30
min from Shinjuku. Keikyu
line, Haccho-Nawate, 15min
from Shinagawa. 1K～2LDK,
¥58,000/m ～ ¥120,000/m.
Tel: 044-933-7000 Email:
mh@minowagroup.jp
w w w. minowagroup. jp/
minowahomes
S ERVICED A PA RTMENT S
in a quiet, residential area of
Hiroo. Studio & suites. 4min
from Hiroo stn. Rates: Daily
¥ 7 5 0 0 . We e k l y ¥ 6 5 0 0 - /
day. Monthly ¥5500-/day.
Over three months ¥4950-/
day. Over one year ¥4400-/
d a y, (t a x , u t i l i t i e s i n c l ) .
f r o n t d e s k@ a z a b u c o u r t .
com w w w. azabucour t .
com/ 03-3446-8610
Metropolis reserves the right to refuse, cancel or edit any ad without notice. Metropolis takes no responsibility for the quality of items or services advertised. Please carefully examine vendors or
items offered before commitment. Please be careful when contacting and arranging to meet people.
Visit classifieds.metropolis.co.jp for complete listings.
S P A CIOU S
MAISONETTE
IN CENTR AL
TOKYO F OR
¥99,000/M
( 3 7 m 2) , w /
spacious
balcony and
city view, wood floors. No
key money, no management
fee, no real estate agent fee.
One month refundable
deposit. tokyoapartment
2010 @ g m a il .co m ht tp : //
tokyoapartment2010.
blogspot.com/
2.6 Buy/Sell Premises
THREE ACRES (3000 TSUBO)
OF LAKESIDE, totally private
wilderness, partly terraced
for hut sites, but only 10min
from the stn. One hour to
Tokyo, and 15min from surf.
¥6,000,000 freehold.
Also neat two-storey 3LDK
Japanese-style house
nearby ¥6,500,000. Contact
secrjo@bii.ne.jp
2.7 Office Space
2.3 Rent Over 200,000 yen
TO K Y O A P ART M E N T S .
Bilingual real-estate agency,
o f fe ri n g fu rn i s h e d a n d
unfurnished apartments
throughout central Tokyo.
Also providing shortstay serviced apartments,
relocation service, furniture
rental and property
management services.
Please call 0120-957-520
www.tokyoapartments.jp
2.4 House Share
VILLA SARANDA. Furnished
single rooms ¥45,000¥60,000/m . 8min from
Odakyu Yomiuri-Land-Mae
stn. ¥30,000 deposit, plus
monthly utilities. Wi-Fi,
kitchen, laundry, garden, and
bathrooms part of common
area. fleetofdreams@
gmail.com 080-1672-7210
Facebook@”Villa Saranda”
A m az i n g O m o t e sa n d o .
Exclusive location in the beautiful
center of Omotesando/Gaienmae.
Near Roppongi/Nishi-Azabu. Fully
furnished, w/WiFi/TV/aircon everything you need! No deposit
or fees. Shared (one other) large
living room, kitchen, bath. Private
bedroom. New building. Amazing
views. 090-6145-2871. a.anshin@
cgaasset.com
G r e at valu e , q ual i t y
design, new, serviced office
space in Shibuya. Open
concept, all the facilities you
need, lounge area, private
meeting room, pricing
starting from ¥55,000/m.
Please contact us for more
information or to arrange
a v i s i t : 0 3 - 6 8 5 5 -7 1 1 5
inquiry@agora-tokyo.com
www.agora-tokyo.com
3 EDUCATION
J a p a n e s e L e ss o n s
Anywhere, Anytime.
We are qualified teachers.
Lessons in your area
or online. Prices from
¥ 1 0 0 0/ h (w r i t t e n i n o u r
resumes) emailed to
you. No registration fee!
japaneseanywhere@yahoo.
co.jp www.sunlesson.com
090-2709-3736
Nihongo lesson. Why don’t
you start to study Japanese
in Nihonbashi? Private and
semi-private (2-3 students)
classes are available.
Class design is negotiable.
Qualified Japanese instructor
helps you. Please check our
website: http://n-bridge.net
info@n-bridge.net
COSMOS CLUB JAPANESE LESSONS.
Group of volunteers offer basic
Japanese lessons for foreigners.
Every Wednesday, 10am-noon.
¥ 2 0 0 0/m o n t h . Ku d a n S h o g a i
Gakushuukan, Kudan. Nearest stn:
Kudanshita. Tel: 03-6379-6898.
E J U J L PT 留学試験能力試験 .
日本留学試験、能力試験対策のプラ
イベートレッスン. 2500 円 /h+ 交通費 .
gem_love@hotmail.com
3.4 English Teachers
3.2 Japanese Teachers
ASSOCIATION OF JAPANESE
TEACHERS. Highly qualified,
exp e rie n ce d in struc to r s
offer individual/small group
lessons at your home/office/
instructor’s home. Business/
daily conve r s ation/J LPT
available. Lesson fee from
¥ 2 2 0 0 / h a t i n s t r u c t o r ’s
home, from ¥2700/h +
transportation fee at other
places. Discount negotiable
for longer/frequent /
g ro u p l e s s o n s . 03 -3 9 1 8 0876/044-855-5039
ajtkyokai@yahoo.co.jp
http://ajt.rakurakuhp.net/
ajtk
FREE TRIAL LESSON. Friendly
professional Japanese
teacher offers private
lessons. Have teaching
experience at schools
in Australia and Japan.
B e g i n n e r l e s s o n s , d a i lyc o nve r s a t i o n , J LPT, e tc .
available. Lessons at your
place or Tam a Ce nte r on
Odakyu line/Keio line/Tama
Monorail. ¥3000/90min.
iriya96black@nifty.com
スカイプでネイティブスピーカーと英
語のレッスン. Skype native English
teachers online! Travel, English
conversation, business and
custom lessons! 080-4206-5044
gotravelenglish@gmail.com
www.gotravelenglish.com
3.5 Language
Exchange
Deutsch und Japanisch. JM seeks
language exchange with someone
who can teach me German. I can teach
you Japanese in return. Prefer central
Tokyo or Kanagawa. M/F, native
German speakers only. snowsurfsk8@
yahoo.com
English and Japanese. I am a Japanese
female, 30s, living in Kanagawa, working
in Shinjuku. My English conversation
level is intermediate. I like movies, music,
cooking, eating. Females and nonsmokers
only. yokky0103@gmail.com
English and Japanese. Japanese
female, 30. I’ve stayed in the UK. I’m
seeking a nonsmoking casual exchange
friend around my age who speaks
British English. Hope to hear from you.
Thanks. london_street@mail.goo.ne.jp
Connect with us
on twitter
twitter.com/metropolistokyo
ODANGO HOMES
Family
friendly
Specialist Real Estate Agent
For Visitors To Japan
Life in
Chiba
WELCOME PACK
Why not stay in one of our apartments
while you find your perfect home in
Japan? At ODANGO HOMES we are
dedicated to finding the right home to
fit the lifestyle of each of our guests!!
¥20,000→¥6,000~/day
 03-5366-6217
 info@odangohomes.com
Talk to
us first!
www.odangohomes.com
Collective Residence is an engaging, social and eco-friendly experience.
Omotesando
¥95,000~/m
Motoazabu
¥99,000~/m
Kikuna
¥64,000~/m
Matsubaradanchi ¥39,000~/m
03-6805-0531 info@h-k.co.jp
http://collectiveresidence.com
Many more Classified ads online! Please visit classifieds.metropolis.co.jp
English and Japanese. I am a JF, 30,
seeking an English speaker to meet
once/week for language exchange.
I would be happy to help you with
your Japanese in Ebisu or Roppongi.
eihiretabetai@gmail.com
English and Japanese. Interesting,
well-educated and cute SJM seeks
native English speakers in Tokyo for a
language exchange. Let’s meet once
or twice/week to improve our language
abilities. I’m sure that it’ll be a wonderful
experience. lovely75@mail.goo.ne.jp
English and Japanese. JF, advancedlevel speaker of English, creative
professional, seeking E/J conversation
friends in Tokyo/Yokohama. Native
or fluent English speakers, mid-20s
to early 30s preferred. I like music,
nature and adventure. lalumiereak-7@
yahoo.co.jp
English and Japanese. A qualified
JF Japanese teacher, 40s, w/20
years’ experience, seeks serious
native English speakers for language
exchange. Gaien-Mae or Omotesando.
satomayuko3@gmail.com
English and Japanese. JF, 30s, office
worker in Tokyo. My spoken English
is junior high school level. If your
Japanese is the same, would you like to
do a language exchange with me? maki.
naka@yahoo.com
English and Japanese. JM, 35, seeks
people who want to learn the Japanese
language. I can go to Tokyo, Chiba and
Saitama. Only web-chatting also ok.
kokusaikouryujp@yahoo.co.jp
English and Japanese. Japanese
studying English casually seeks
someone to talk to about movies at
a cafe. Any subject is fine. language_
exchange3@hotmail.com
English and Japanese. Hi, I’m a JF,
20. I can help you with your Japanese.
I seek a native English speaker, M/F ok,
20-29. mamiringorin@yahoo.co.jp
TOP QUALITY AND THE MOST REASONABLE JAPANESE LESSONS
English and Japanese. JF, 30s, seeks
English speaker for exchange in AzabuOji, Namboku line. M/F, professional,
any level, with the desire to improve
Japanese, who can enjoy helping my
English. Sense of humor a plus. ejle11map@yahoo.co.jp
English and Japanese. Hi, I’m
seriously seeking someone to teach me
English, no romance. I’d be glad to help
your Japanese in return. I’m female,
23, living in Yokohama, but my office is
near Shinjuku. kaolu711@yahoo.co.jp
Azabu-Juban School
Private & Course lesson
We make Japanese language lessons fun!
• Excellent English-speaking
instructors with plenty of experience.
• No registration fee
• Private lesson: NIC school, your office
or home. Free trial lesson
30 sec walk
from AzabuOctober Beginner’s, BJT & JLPT N1, Juban stn.
Tully’s Coffee
Darjeeling
Drug store Nanboku/Oedo Line
N2, N3 courses start now!
Hotel the Glanz
NIC
Azabujuban Stn exit 1
Nanboku/Oedo Line
Contact us for details. Metropolitan Area.
Tel 03-3454-5002 • Email info@nicjapanese.com • www.nicjapanese.com
Japanese Lesson
SPECIAL
CAMPAIGN
English and Japanese. JF, 25, seeks
a native English speaker to exchange
language, culture, and hobbies. Not
really seeking business-like lessons:
more interested in having fun hanging
out. moonstones17@gmail.com
English and Japanese. A native
Japanese speaker seeks study buddy/
exchange partner to make learning
enjoyable and practical. Can meet
two-three times/m near Otemachi
afterwork, or Aoyama on weekends.
M/F ok. Around my age (mid-20searly 30s) preferred. white.magnolian.
lamp@gmail.com
French and Japanese. I know only a
few basic French phrases, but would
like to learn French conversation. I am
a JM, 42, who speaks English as well. I
can help you improve your Japanese
in exchange. showme2005jp@yahoo.
co.jp
Group Intensive
French, English, Japanese. Hello, I’m
a Japanese guy. I am seeking an English
or French speaker who I can practice
with. Please feel free to contact me.
Thank you. Merci. spherefriends7@
hotmail.co.jp
Level: Beginner ~ Intermediate
Classes: Mon~Fri
10:00am~12:00pm
German and Japanese. JF seeks G/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
4 Weeks ¥19,800
Start: Every Monday
Please call us now
Listen to Alpha on the Tokyo Metpod, August 21.
Spanish and Japanese. Hi, I’m a JF,
late 20s. I’m practicing Spanish by
myself. I’m seeking a native speaker
to help me improve it. I can teach you
Japanese in return. Thanks! ty830617@
gmail.com
Spanish, French, English, Japanese.
JM, living in Tokyo, is seeking an
English, French or Spanish speaker who
I can practice with. I’d be glad to help
your Japanese in return. Encantado,
enchanté. zeno77dst@hotmail.com
Taiwanese and Japanese. JF, mid30s, seeks Taiwanese friends for
language and cultural exchange in
central Tokyo or the Chiba area. I have
some experience teaching Japanese
to Chinese speakers. yantai_love@
yahoo.co.jp
3.8 Other Languages
N ATI V E S PA NI S H - S PE A KIN G
BABYSITTER WANTED. Buscamos
un canguro de lengua materna
española para cuidar de nuestras
dos hijas (9 años, 11 años). Los
miércoles de 1-4pm. A 5min de la
estación de Iidabashi. ¥4000/tres
horas. laurence@sakata-cret.com
Teach me Dutch. JF seeks Dutchspeaking friend. My Dutch level is very,
very basic. I can teach you Japanese in
return. Thanks. eribuzz@hotmail.com
3.9 Teach Me!
English lessons. JM, 30, seeks native
English teacher for reasonably-priced
lessons via Skype. umek2002jp@
yahoo.co.jp
English teacher in Ikebukuro.
I’m seeking someone who can teach
during the day. I can pay ¥2000/h.
nakajimakazutoshi@hotmail.com
English teacher sought. I’m seeking
a native English teacher. I’m studying
English and I have some questions
about pronunciation and grammar. I’m
a JF, 35, working in Tokyo. I’ll pay you.
I hope we get along well. maki.naka@
yahoo.com
Photo website. Hello, I have photos
and I’d like to make a simple photo
website. Currently, I’m working with
FrontPage. I can exchange for English
lessons. Let’s talk! eric2025ten@
yahoo.com
Teach me English. I am seeking
someone to teach me English.
In return, I will teach you karate.
tsuneokobayashi@hotmail.com 0908498-1298
4 HOUSEHOLD GOODS
4.1 Furniture &
Fittings
Bed, Muji, single, dark brown, new this
year, w/Sealy mattress (201x102x23cm)
¥10,000. Pick up only Minato-ku. Photo
available. nicolekhoo@i.softbank.jp
080-66116654
Cabinet, kitchen, white, wood finish
(W59xD36xH194cm) ¥10,000. Pick up
Kamakura. ermenz999@yahoo.com
Carpet, Ikea Hemmet, green
(165x240cm), bought last year ¥3000.
Cash only. Pick up only. nicolekhoo@i.
softbank.jp 08066116654
Curtains, Muji, three available, beige,
polyester-cotton blend (150x200cm),
never used ¥6000/set. Pick up near
Sangenjaya, Gotokuji, Shibuya,
Omotesando or Yotsuya. greglogan@
gmail.com
Kotatsu, brand new ¥5000. Akasaka,
Minato-ku. davidcheong@gmail.com
08033680560
Shelves, Muji, pine (86x39.5x120cm),
minor cosmetic wear, in otherwise
perfect condition. Pick up near
Wakabayashi stn or Sangenjaya.
greglogan@gmail.com
Sofa, small, black, in very good
condition ¥3000. morgan_san@live.fr
090-4522-1855
Sofa, Hukla, large, L-shaped, threepiece, w/several pillows ¥150,000.
Photos available. Minami-Azabu.
montycarlo62@yahoo.com 0906483-6571
Table, dining, DaVinci, fine wood, folds
out to fit 10 people, w/four Effezeta
chairs ¥200,000. Photos available.
Minami-Azabu. montycarlo62@yahoo.
com 090-6483-6571
Table, study, dark brown, three
y/o, in excellent condition, can be
disassembled ¥5000. Pick up or arrange
own delivery Minato-ku. nicolekhoo@i.
Table, Muji, coffee, folding, in
excellent condition ¥2000. Cash
only. Pick up Minato-ku. Photo
available. nicolekhoo@i.softbank.jp
08066116654
4.2 Appliances
Oven, Twinbird TS-4117B, convection
(W270xD270xH200mm), almost new,
w/original box. andreja.lenart@gmail.
com nasa.blogspot.si
Water boiler, Toshiba PDK-G, electric,
3L, less than one y/o ¥2000. Pick up
Shirokanedai or Meguro stn. jamie.
chie@gmail.com
4.3 Sayonara Sale
SAYONARA SALE IN KICHIJOJI!
Lots of ite m s , fair price s . HD
T V, f r i d g e , w a s h e r, s o fa b e d ,
double bed, and more! Lots of
electronic items and furniture.
Everything must go by end of Nov.
phil.myu@gmail.com
h t t p s : //p i c a s awe b .g o o g l e .
com/102034001409419250291/
SayonaraSaleInKichijoji
Sayonara sale! Laptop, digital
camera, DJ set, humidifier, air cleaner,
microwave, Xbox, workout bench,
dining table, etc. Details available.
sequick@hotmail.com
Sayonara sale! Oven, baby chair
and bath, toaster, bar blender, etc.
Shirokanedai. andreja.lenart@gmail.
com http://sayonarasale.blogspot.si
Sayonara sale! Vacuum, humidifiers,
three oil heaters, blender, hair
straightener, outdoor fairy lights,
desk lights, kids’ slide, kids’ swing,
basketball hoop. 2denisebell@gmail.
com 08043439411
Sayonara sale! Double bed, w/mattress
¥15,000. National dishwasher ¥10,000.
Rattan lounger ¥4000. National iron
¥1000. White chest of drawers, w/
matching wardrobe ¥10,000. Two
wooden folding chairs ¥2000. Pick up
Itabashi. januska55@yahoo.com
Sayonara sale! Fridge (150cm), in
good condition ¥15,000/obo. Sony
Vaio laptop ¥17,000/obo. Bookshelves,
coffee maker, Muji chair, etc. Pick up
Shonandai. spiritjest@hotmail.com
09085007598
4.6 For Kids
Saitama English Playgroup. We’re
an English-speaking playgroup for
families with kids aged 0-12. We
meet regularly for birthdays, play
dates and holidays. Call/email Amy
for information. long@sta.att.ne.jp or
048-883-2536.
Tricycle, Winnie the Pooh, three y/o,
in great condition, still plays music
¥3500. Pick up Shirokanedai or
Meguro stn. jamie.chie@gmail.com
Various items. Kids’ bike, doll
house, ski set, ski wear, humidifier,
homeschooling LifePac, roller
skates. Photos available. zhaoan@
yahoo.com http://www.flickr.com/
photos/30249643@N07/
To Advertise In Japan’s No.1
English magazine, log on at www.
metropolis.co.jp/classifieds or email
your commercial ads to commercial@
metropolis.co.jp
5 HOBBIES & INTERESTS
5.1 Cameras
Camera/camcorder backpack, Kata
HB-207, for pro camera, lenses, etc.,
as new, can fit smaller professional/
prosumer camcorders as well, w/
modifiable compartments, separate
compartment for laptop, tripod
holder, rain cover. New ¥50,000. Sell
¥20,000. forcesoul@yahoo.com 0905423-8732
DSLR, Pentax K5 semi-pro, in almostnew condition, w/accessories and
box, five months’ warranty remaining
¥70,000 body only. ¥75,000 w/DA1855WR lens. nyagoblog@gmail.com
SLR, Canon AE-1, w/Canon 50mm f1.8,
70~210mm f4 macro and Sigma 28mm
f2.8 macro lenses, and Samsonite carry
bag ¥10,000. nyagoblog@gmail.com
5.3 Musical Equipment
Keyboard, Yamaha NP-30 “Portable
Grand,” digital, w/stand and pedal
¥12,000. Pick up Ebisu. matsb@matsusan.com
Keyboard, Casio CTK-230, in excellent
condition, w/adapter and metal stand
¥6500. Pick up Komaba-Todaimae.
hala__87@hotmail.com
6 VEHICLES
6.1 Cars, Parts, &
Accessories
6.3 Bicycles, Parts, &
Accessories
Bike, folding, six gears, rear supension,
blue, in working condition ¥5000. Pick
up Nishi-Koyama or Gakugei-Daigaku.
agusplastra@gmail.com
Frameset, Surly Cross Check, gloss
black (42cm), brand new, in box. New
¥46,000. Sell ¥35,000. leeleedesu@
softbank.ne.jp 080-3498-7474
Handlebars, Nitto Bullhorn B263,
black, w/black threadless stem, no
holes, in good condition ¥5000/set.
Pick up Sangenjaya, Gotokuji, Shibuya,
Omotesando or Yotsuya. greglogan@
gmail.com
Road bike, Cervelo R3 Rival ‘11, w/
Squoval (Square Oval) tubing, razorthin seat stays, multi-shape top tube,
oversized bottom bracket. maryadian@
hotmail.com
7 General
7.2 Fashion
J CE
A UTO S
THE A UTOMOBI L E
PRO F E S S ION A L S .
Specializing in car sales,
buy-backs, door-to - door
s h i p p i n g , l o n g - te r m c a r
storage and any other
car-related matters. If you
need assistance with your
car, we are here to help. Tel:
03-6868-3366 or 090-93625098 inquiries@jce-autos.jp
www.jce-autos.jp
Bag, Bailey Works Super Pro,
messenger, medium, black, hardly
used, light marking on the interior
¥8000. Pick up near Sangenjaya,
Gotokuji, Shibuya, Omotesando or
Yotsuya. greglogan@gmail.com
Shoes, Lacoste, black, similar design
to low-top Chuck Taylor All Stars, size
US 8.5/GB 6.5/Japan 27, never worn
¥7000. Pick up near Sangenjaya,
Gotokuji, Shibuya, Omotesando or
Yotsuya. greglogan@gmail.com
8 COMPUTERS
Monitor, LG, LCD, 22”, black, three y/o,
in excellent condition ¥5000. Cash only.
Pick up only Minato-ku. nicolekhoo@i.
10 HELP!
10.2 Support
NEED TO TALK? We’re here to
listen. TELL (Tokyo English Life
Line) provides free, anonymous
telephone counseling everyday
9am to 11pm by trained volunteers:
03 - 57 74 - 09 92 . Af fo rd a b l e
and professional face -to -face
c o u n s e l i n g i n To k y o a n d
Yokohama in multiple languages:
03-4550-1146. Invaluable
information & links, resources for
parents & teachers, and materials
on how to cope after a disaster in
several languages are available on
the TELL website: www.telljp.com.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS TOKYO
If you have a problem with drinking,
we can help. English-speaking
m e e t i n g s d a i ly. 0 3 -3 97 1 -147 1
inquiries@aatokyo.org http://
aatokyo.org inquiries@aatokyo.org
http://aatokyo.org 03-3971-1471
12 SOCIAL SCENE
12.1 Let’s Party
8.1 Services
Lexus RX 400 Hybrid 4900km. One
owner. Lexus RX 400 Hybrid 4WD, in
almost new condition, 4900km, two
years of warranty left, w/navigation,
HD music, reverse camera, cruise
control, etc. ¥3,550,000. Contact
Rudy at 090-2918-7536 or euro@
eurojp.com
Volkswagen Golf ‘04 for sale by
owner. Well-kept and maintained.
Shakken through Apr ‘13. ¥400,000.
Call Matt at 090-1851-6663 or email
mattnaiman@gmail.com
Mazda Campervan. Mazda 1.8cc
Bongo Campervan, A to Z “Anthony”
c o nve r s i o n , o n l y 4 0,0 0 0 k m ,
mechanically excellent, shaken
until 3/’ 13, FF heater, Fiamma
a w n i n g , fa n a n d f r i d g e , n e w
batteries, good tires, J/navigation,
bunk beds in rear ¥2,000,000.
hansvondietze@gmail.com
042-750-2670
T o ky o IT S e r v i c e s .
We fix all kinds of computer
problem s and also offer
data recovery service in
Tokyo. We provide a range
of computer services
to c o rp o rate , s m a l l a n d
medium-sized businesses,
and individual PC and Mac
users as well. Onsite call and
English computers for sale.
Rental is also available. 1min
walk from JR Yamanote line,
Hamamatsucho stn S5 exit,
3min from Daimon subway
B4 exit. 10am-6:30pm.
Call 03-3437-2312.
www.tokyoit.jp/english
8.2 Hardware
Mac, MacBook Aluminum ‘10, 13”,
2.4GHz Intel Core Duo, upgraded to
4GB RAM, 250GB, w/Lion, M2TV TV
tuner, in great condition ¥80,000/obo.
Japan only, please. gewatson@gmail.
com 08056842220
C O S M O P OLITA N
INTERNATIONAL AUTUMN
F E S TIVAL P ART Y .
Sat , Nov 5, 6:20 -9pm ,
Int ’l Club Tokyo Loose .
Shinjuku’s biggest and fullscale international party.
200 p e ople . Eve rybody
welcome! All-you-can-drink
and free snacks. Female:
¥3000. Male: ¥3500.
party@shinjukuparty.com
www.shinjukuparty.com
G I N Z A’ S B I G G E ST I NT ’ L
P ART Y , 2 5 0 P EO P LE !
Sat, Oct 22, 7:10-9:30pm.
Ginza party for international
people! Only ¥2000 for
women and non-Japanese w/
reservation from our website.
http://internationalparty.pkit.com/ ginzaparty@gmail.
com
13 CLUBS & INTERESTS
13.1 Sports
JAPAN I NTER NATIO NAL
P ART Y – H ALLO W EE N
SPECIAL. Sat, Oct 22, 6:309pm, Devi Fusion (Roppongi).
Japan’s biggest international
p a r t y. M e e t 2 5 0 n e w
people. All-you-can-drink
and free snacks. ¥3000.
J a p a n e s e m a l e : ¥ 3 50 0.
Mobile: www.getyourfriend.
com/mobile/emtop. htm .
jiparty@hotmail.com
www.getyourfriend.com/
090-1735-5405
SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL
P ART Y – H ALLO W EE N
S P E C IAL . S a t , O c t 2 9 ,
6-8:30pm, Polygon
(O m ote s a n d o). H e l d by
Japan’s biggest international
friendship site and English
portal site. 2 50 people.
Everybody welcome! All-youcan-drink and snacks. ¥3000.
sip@toeiclesson.com www.
toeiclesson.com/sip/
HALLOWEEN INT’L Party
in Roppongi. Sat, Oct
1 5 , 7- 9 : 3 0 p m , B a r Q u e s t
Roppongi. We’ll have
a Halloween party for
foreigners and Japanese.
Two d ri n k s & fo o d . M e n :
¥3000. Ladies: ¥2000.
¥500 discount w/costume.
sds_hijiken@hotmail.com
www.nomitomo.net
TOKYO INTERN ATION A L
F RIEND S HIP P A RTY .
Fri, Oct 14, 7pm~, int’l singles
party at Mania Roppongi.
Sat, Oct 15, 6:30pm~, Ebisu
int’l party at Ebisu Seven.
Sat, Oct 22, Kanda int ’l
party! Also, Tokyo Speed
Dating on Oct 16 & Nov 6.
Please check website!
best@internationalparty.
com www.internation
inte rnationalpar t y.com/
index_e.html
T o k y o Hall o w e e n Pa r t y
2011. Sat, Oct 29, 7pm~last, @
Maharaja Roppongi. Costume
Contest - dress up & win great
prizes! All-you-can-drink. Over 400
people. Everybody welcome! LIVE
performances. 50% OFF (¥2000) at
www.tokyoparty.info.
style of aikido in an international
environment. Sat, 1-3pm. Itabashi-ku,
Toei Mita/Saikyo line. We welcome
men and women, foreign and Japanese.
dojo@tokyoseidokan.com www.
tokyoseidokan.com
Diving in Izu. Get in touch to talk about
scuba diving near Tokyo. Information
on scuba lessons, equipment advice,
dive trips, monthly social events, CPR
training, etc. kowtokyo@yahoo.co.jp
A M ERI C A N F OOT B ALL .
Nihon Unisys 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/
¥ 5 0 0 PI L ATE S OR G O L F
PI L A TE S L E S S ON f o r
m e n a n d wo m e n , by p r o
d a n c e r. T h i s w e e k o n l y.
20sec from Harajuku stn.
g o p o n . j p ５００円のプロダ
ンサーによるピラテスレッスン
かゴルフ専用ピラテスレッスン
（男性、女性 OK ）今週だけ。
原宿駅からすぐ。g o p o n . j p
neil@gopon.jp
ALL-NATIONALITY TOUCH
FOOTBALL . N o n - co nt a c t
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
AMATEUR RUGBY LEAGUE
PLAYERS . Japan ANZAC S
rugby league team is looking
for rugby league players for
J a pa n e s e Ru g by Le a g u e
official games from Apr to
S e p. Eve r yo n e we lco m e .
For more details, contact
japananzacs@gmail.com
FENCIN G IN TOKYO. Th e
YMC A F e n c i n g Te a m i s
looking for new members!
Fencing is both a mental and
physical sport that is fun and
challenging! Both Japanese
and foreigners, beginners
and advanced fencers
welcome! ymzk@king.odn.
ne.jp for more information!
English inquiries welcome.
h t t p : // m e m b e r s 3 . j c o m .
home.ne.jp/tokyo -ymcafencingteam/home.html
Aikido in English. Seidokan Aikido of
Tokyo invites you to practice a modern
Gaijin Golfers. Come join the most
fun and active golf group in Japan
for expats, foreign residents and
English-speaking Japanese. Excellent
network for finding golf partners,
regular golf outings and lots more!
info@gaijingolfers.com http://www.
gaijingolfers.com
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
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
To Advertise In Japan’s No.1
English magazine, log on at www.
metropolis.co.jp/classifieds or email
your commercial ads to commercial@
metropolis.co.jp
13.2 Leisure
SEWING CLASSES. Interested in
learning sewing and tailoring
techniques using the sewing machine
and pat te rn making? Variou s
workshops and classes can be booked
at http://sewingcircle.wordpress.com
tokyo.workshop@googlemail.com
13.3 Arts
Art Model. Individual amateur
photographer is seeking nude models
for art photography project/practice.
Privacy is 100% respected! Please do
not hesitate to contact me. For more
details: artwithsun@gmail.com
Join the camera fun! Join the “Tokyo
Cameras” club, held the third Sun of
the month. Amateur and professionals
welcome. Each month a new theme.
Have fun and make friends! Inquiries,
contact email. tokyocameras@yahoo.
com http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/
group/tokyocameras/
Knit-a-Square in Tokyo. Join us for
brunch and knit-a-square to help AIDS
orphans in Africa stay warm. Our first
knit-a-square brunch is scheduled for
Nov 13. tami_tokyo@yahoo.co.jp http://
www.meetup.com/ChangeTokyo/
13.4 Music
Drummer sought. Fundamentally
electric blues, but I’m into so much
more. Looking to jam, eventually gig. I’ll
do guitar, vocals. Want to play a loose,
raw, vintage style. Mixture of originals,
improv, tributes. Bonham worshippers
warmly welcomed. zjfire@gmail.com
Many more Classified ads online! Please visit classifieds.metropolis.co.jp
Seeking a keyboard and sax player.
Band (guitarist, bassist, drummer)
is seeking keyboard and sax to play
some fusion and funk covers and also
original tunes. Any nationality ok.
christianpelissero@yahoo.fr
13.5 Mind, Body, Spirit
14.2 Men Looking For
Women
New relationship. I just broke
up with my girlfriend and want to
make a new relationship. Is there
anyone out there for me? I’m 28,
nonsmoker. 日本語だいたい話せます
よ。 akashjp3000@yahoo.com
sex friend wanted! JM , 3 5,
seeking female friends for safe SEX
and fun. I’m 175cm, 78kg, athletic,
and a nonsmoker. Any age, race
welcome! Mature preferred. Privacy
assured. Call 090-9100-4061 or mail
secretlove2009@softbank.ne.jp
AWAKENING NOW:
TEACHINGS WITH ACHARIYA
D OU G D U N C AN . Wh at i s
awakening? How can we
experience it for ourselves?
Achariya Doug Duncan will
demonstrate. Tokyo classes
Oct. 7-10. Please see our
website for details. www.
d h a rm a - ja pa n .o rg ja m @
gaiaworks.com 090-32507829
13.6 Religious
Machida Christian Center. We
celebrate bilingual (E/J) worship
services every Sun at 4:30pm. Our door
is wide open to people from all over
the world. Located in Machida, Tokyo.
Please contact us via email. fumiko.
asano@gmail.com www.cam.hi-ho.
ne.jp/machida/English/default.html
13.7 Environmental
Interested in volunteering? If you’re
interested in doing something positive
to make the world a better place, join
us at Be the Change Tokyo, a new notfor-profit meetup group for socially
conscious people. tami_tokyo@
yahoo.co.jp http://www.meetup.com/
ChangeTokyo/
14 PERSONALS
14.1 Friends
British friends. I’ve stayed in the UK.
I’m hoping to meet some British people
to hang out with. I’m considering going
back to the UK sometime, so it’d be nice
to learn some local information as well.
JF, 30, nonsmoker. Thanks. london_
street@mail.goo.ne.jp
From NY and love wine? Planning
a short stay in NY and would like to
gather information about the city. If
you are new in Tokyo, maybe we can
exchange city information over wine/
beer and nice conversation. JF, 33.
snowballgp@hotmail.com
In/around Machida area. Almost all
of my friends left Japan and I miss the
international atmosphere. If you live in
the Machida area, are from a Western
country, are 28-35, and a nonsmoker,
please write me. I am a Japanese
female, 30s. b2jw13@hotmail.co.jp
New mothers. I’m a JF who had a
baby girl in June. I want mom friends
from any country. Let’s talk about
raising children or other interests. I
love traveling, movies, eating nice food.
konomiymsn@yahoo.co.jp
Seeking female friends. Hi, I’m a JF,
33, seeking female friends to go to bars,
clubs and parties together to search for
nice encounters. Any age/nationality.
tokyokinokonoyama@yahoo.co.jp
Trance rave friends. Do you like trance
music or any other electronic sounds?
Let’s be friends. moonlightomo@
hotmail.com
Volleyball in Yokohama. Middleaged JF seeks a group or some friends
who are interested in volleyball. Not
serious games, but passing the ball in a
circle in a park or somewhere as a way
to keep fit. s2p6d10@yahoo.co.uk
Weekend fun. SJM, 24, seeks
drinking friends. Weekends in Shibuya,
Roppongi or Ageha. People who can
drink at home with a few people. M/F
ok. Serious and crazy in a good way.
Let’s be stupid. akaiyuuwaku@gmail.
com
SUBMISSIVE SJM. Cute submissive
SJM, 32, is seriously seeking a
woman who is into, or interested
in, dominating men. I am so
submissive, with six years’
experience, that I can take
whatever and can serve you in any
way. slaveintokyo@gmail.com
アラフォー？ Cheerful, nice-looking
American, 44, seeks attractive
Japanese female, any age, in Tokyo/
Yokohama area for friendship,
dining out or more. I am 183cm, 73kg,
w/brown hair and blue eyes. I enjoy
good food, wine, movies, etc. 日本語ち
ょっとOK. as.1234@mail.com
American guy is seeking a female
for friendship and a relationship. Let’s
enjoy spending time together. Nihongo
hanasemasu. bhuu1@live.com
Calm JM seeks Caucasian lady for
serious relationship. I am 40, 170cm,
60kg. I like art, music, traveling and am
a nonsmoker. I speak English and a little
Russian. Let’s start with a cup of coffee.
olympia@catv296.ne.jp
Friends first. JM seeks friendship
or a steady relationship with English
or Japanese-speaking people. Any
nationality ok. I like outdoor activities,
movies and music. Tokyo or Kanagawa.
snowsurfsk8@yahoo.com
Granny lover. Young SJM, early
30s, seeking granny girlfriend over
50. I might be unusual, but I only like
mature women. Japanese women also
welcome. shimijimi@auone.jp
Handsome and gentle SJM seeks
well-educated, interesting, nonsmoking,
attractive SWF to share wonderful
times and make a good friendship. So
let’s start our communication and get
to know each other. If no experience,
just try me. healsan@yahoo.com
Love travel and music? I’m Australian,
33, 183cm, slim, but athletic. I love
traveling, music, nature, beaches,
camping, reading, warm weather,
the outdoors, cooking, cycling,
photography, and much more. If you
have similar interests, get in touch.
free_life34@yahoo.com
Male wants female friends. Male, 30,
straight, seeking new female friends.
Exchange emails, phone calls, chat,
hang out together, activity partners to
enjoy life together and someday make a
nice group of people. moonlightomo@
hotmail.com 080-3357-1180
Man of style. I have met many girls
while out, but I still haven’t found the
one for me. Tell me three things about
you that will make me want to know
you better. I am 185cm, athletic, funny,
incredibly attractive. vwwllwwv@
yahoo.com 08034646343
Movie friend. SJM, 31, almost bilingual,
loves traveling and movies, seeks
someone to go to the movies with, and
to talk with after the movies to get to
know each other well as a first step!
rainbowaftertherain@hotmail.co.jp
Pretty woman for my love. Seeking
a cute, romantic, happy SJF, 25-35, for
friendship and hopefully a serious
relationship if the chemistry is good.
I’m a single Canadian male, 40, 184cm,
with an athletic body. I like sports,
nature, music, and traveling. Let’s
have some fun together. glowbend@
hotmail.com
Sophisticated and cute SJM seeks
interesting, warmhearted, mature
Western lady for friendship or possibly
more. If you seek a genuine and ideal
Japanese man, just drop me a line. I’ll
respond to you shortly. jscit2007@
gmail.com
SWM seeking life partner Seeking
a slim, simple, down-to-earth white
lady, 20s or early 30s, for a long-term
relationship or marriage. sunnynairy@
yahoo.com 09057732188
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
Why not? Bored? Want more
excitement? Wanna practice your
English at the same time? I’m a tall,
handsome, 29-year-old British guy
seeking a sexy JF, mature works, for
food, karaoke, dating, and sex. tall.brit.
boy@gmail.com
Help me find my smile. Hi, I am a
divorced American guy, no children,
seeking a serious relationship leading
to marriage. I am an out-going, hardworking business owner who wants
to find his smile again. Help me smile.
gcook069@yahoo.com
Hi there, cute girl! I’m just seeking
some casual dating, nothing serious. I’m
tall, handsome, early 30s. Interested?
vik6900@gmail.com
Interested in JMs? I’m a JM who is
very much into Western (Caucasian)
women. I’m a professional, sexy,
with good manners, and overseas
experience. Email me if you wanna
hang out! nipponish@gmail.com
JM for SWF. Han d som e an d
young professional JM in Tokyo
seeks a SWF living in the Tokyo
area. I’m gentle, smart, humorous,
Westernized, and speak fluent English.
tropicalsmoothskin@gmail.com
Let’s be friends. Expat, 42, in
Minato-ku. I live alone in Japan, love
movies, photography, computers,
driving and outdoor activities. Seeking
a JF for friendship and going out
together. japanesefriend@gmail.com
Let’s have some fun! Wanna have fun
with a good-looking man in Tokyo? Why
don’t you drop me a line and see what
we can do? Satisfaction guaranteed. You
must be between 20 and 50, live in the
Kanto area. jjmasiga007@gmail.com
Love actually. Single European male, 32,
tall, slim, sporty, is seeking his true love in
the Yokohama area. I am not a believer,
but I believe that I will find you. Looking
forward to your mail. priyatel@gmx.net
JOBS
ハロウィンパーティー東京 2011. 10
月29日（土） 7pm~last @ マハラジャ六
本木。ドレスアップしてハロウィン仮装コ
ンテストに参加しよう！！飲み放題！！豪
華賞品をゲットしよう！レディー・ガガ、
リアーナのヒット曲で踊ろう！！参加者は
400名程度。www.tokyoparty.infoの
予約で 50%OFF (2000円).
14.3 Women Looking
For Men
J A P A NE S E W OMEN
S EEK MEN f o r s e r i o u s
relationships possibly
leading to marriage.
Confidential & affordable,
since 1994. Contact TMA for
free pamphlet in English or
Japanese. tma@mxa.mesh.
ne.jp http://tma-marriage.
com 0120-937-909
Attractive Asian? Attractive SJF,
40, seeks a tall, English-speaking
East Asian guy, 35-40-ish. Let’s meet
for a coffee and chat. Hope you are
To advertise:
commercial@metropolis.co.jp
03-4550-2929
Editors! The ACCJ Journal, one
of Japan’s leading English business
publications, is looking for full-time
editorial staff. We need experienced
business writers to join our team. Email
neil@japaninc.com for more details or
see http://metropolis.co.jp/staff
R-DX.CO., LTD. Now hiring PC-operators
& net models. ¥3000/h plus ¥10,000/
day bonus depending on your potential.
Open 24 hours, flexible time, flexible
place. Work at Ikebukuro, Fussa,
Shinkoiwa office, or telecommute.
Conversational Japanese required.
Call 090-6256-9339 or email
internationale8110@gmail.com
GRE E NGRAS S , a n i nte r n at io n a l
hostess club in Roppongi, seeks female
English speakers and international
ladies. Good salary of ¥3500/h and
good bonus. Please call 03-3401-3788
or 090-7202-9208. 日本人歓迎.
Metropolis editorial intern
wanted. Must be native English with
good Japanese reading and speaking
ability and excellent English writing
skills. Social media and proofreading
experience a definite plus. Send CV
and brief cover letter to editor@
metropolis.co.jp.
Teaching Tennis in English!
We are the longest-running English
language tennis school in Tokyo.
Seeking a native English speaker
who loves working with very young
children and has knowledge of tennis
for part-time teaching. 4-6 h/week,
good hourly fee + transportation.
Contact Director, tennisintokyo@
gmail.com
TOKYO AMERICAN CLUB i s
currently recruiting the opening
team for its brand-new dining
destination“Decanter”, opening this
November. Seeking captain, service
attendants, sommeliers, receptionists,
teppan chef. Our family dining and
banquet hall are also seeking service
attendants. Further details:
w w w. t o k y o a m e r i c a n c l u b . o r g /
Please send resume to Akiko Marter at
akiko.marter@tac-club.org
a nature lover, smart, and down-toearth. mon02@hotmail.co.jp
Attractive JF, 30s, in Tokyo, seeks a
Caucasian businessman, nonsmoker,
over 40, and fun to be with. Let’s
meet after work and see if we click.
hanatokyoplane@yahoo.co.jp
Attractive SJF, early 40s, seeks a
SM in the Tokyo area for a normal
relationship. European, nonsmoking,
professional, 35-50. No playboys. No
long distance. asahamada@hotmail.
co.jp
Beach life together. SJF, mid-30s,
loves the ocean and relaxing time,
R ecru itm ent C onsultants .
Are you interested in a career in
recruitment? We’ve trained individuals
from many backgrounds who have
become succe s sful recruiters . If
you feel you’re well organized, can
communicate effectively, and are able
to de l ive r on t h e p rom i s e s you
make, we’d love to hear from you.
Ple a s e co nt ac t leon .hendra@
s p e c i a l i z e d - g r o u p . c o m h t t p : //
w w w. s p e c i a l i z e d- g roup.com
03-4520-6800
I NTE R NATIONALLY OR I E NTE D
ARCHITECTURAL, interior design
and project management firm seeking
experienced bilingual project manager
(basic/good English), project manager
assistant (basic/good English), and
designer w/Cad/3D experience. Flexible
working conditions, good renumeration
for skillful, talented people committed
to excellence. info@mastermindkk.
com 080-4115-7115
CHAT HOSTS & TEACHERS WANTED
@ LEAFCUP ( To k yo , Yo ko h a m a ,
O m iya ). S e e k i n g e nt hu s i a s t ic &
proficient Korean, French, Spanish,
German, and/or English speakers who
can teach and lead lively conversations
@ chat tables and group lessons.
¥1000-¥1800/h Apply online: www.
leafcup.com/job.htm
Sales Intern. Metropolis is looking
for a J/E bilingual intern to join the
most successful English-language
advertising team (Restaurants & Bars
team) in Japan. Great opportunity
to learn about advertising in an
exciting environment. No pay, but
transportation provided. Please fax
your resume (E/J) to 03-4550-2859
or email: knakashima@metropolis.
co.jp
seeks a man to share that with. You
should be intelligent, sensible, goodmannered, 25-40, have nice future
plans (family and work). Only genuine
descriptions get replies. himawarigirl@
inter7.jp
Chat over coffee. Japanese, 30,
working as a translator, based in
Tokyo, seeking friends. Nonsmoking
professionals, around my age
preferred. People from Englishspeaking countries welcome. Hope
to hear from you. flower_notes@mail.
goo.ne.jp
Eccentric and unique SWM?
Cute and fun SJF, 30s, is seeking an
extraordinary and hilarious SWM for
a serious relationship. Brainwash
me with your world! Email w/photo.
reefree1@yahoo.co.jp
Excitement in life. I’m bored and
need someone to hang out with.
JF, 30s, with a pretty face, awaits
emails from hot Caucasians, under
30, in Tokyo. Email me your profile.
ilohas20@yahoo.co.jp
Explore Bunkyo-ku. SJF, recently
moved to Bunkyo-ku, wants to explore
new area for dining out, drinking,
walking around cozy areas of Ya-Na-
Sen district with fun but thoughtful
gentleman. tokyo5girl@gmail.com
Irresistible combo. Born in Japan,
lived overseas for a long time. I have
Western and Eastern qualities: openminded, articulate, sensitive, feminine
and gentle, which are reflected in
my appearance and style so you can
enjoy me. Early 40s, beautiful, sexy,
educated, seeks professional SWM.
sweetybrave1441@gmail.com
My life partner. SJF, 32, seeking a
SWM for a serious relationship leading
to marriage. I love movies, onsen,
music, nice restaurants. Hopefully,
you can speak Japanese. Nonsmokers
only. pandapanda13@gmail.com
Pretty JF seeks attractive, intelligent,
and professional friends working
and living in Tokyo. I’m in my 30s,
attractive, and slim. I like dining and
drinking out, so let’s have a drink after
work first! ydatw@yahoo.co.jp
Romantic winter together?
Elegant and educated SJF, 30s, in
central Tokyo, seeks a sophisticated
and intelligent single gentleman with
a nice smile. How about talking and
laughing over a glass of wine on a
sparkling night in Tokyo? Serious only.
vocalise225@gmail.com
Seeking a boyfriend. Attractive,
charming, slim JF seeking a single
Caucasian man who is warm, kind,
caring, nonsmoking and well-educated
for a serious long-term relationship.
Email w/photo. cherry66blossoms@
yahoo.co.jp
Seeking a boyfriend. I’m 30 and live
in Tokyo. I’m seeking a boyfriend who
can spend time with me. I like going
out, but we can stay home and watch
movies. We can relax on weekends
together. megumi1501@gmail.com
Seeking intelligent SJM. Attractive
SWF, early 20s, would love to meet
an interesting, intelligent JM. I’m
interested in art, architecture, and
learning more about Japanese
culture. Let’s have some great
conversations and hopefully more.
tenderbuttons123@hotmail.co.uk
Seeking the one. SJF, 30s, seeking
partner around my age with whom
to share interests and passions. My
interests are art, movies, literature and
traveling. first0789@hotmail.com
Serious relationship. JF, early 30s,
seeks a well-educated French guy, over
30, for serious relationship, possibly
leading to marriage. I wish to have a
family with kids in the future. Serious
only. tournesol333@gmail.com
Sincere European male, i n /
around Yokohama, sought by
pretty, intellectual JF, 40s. Must be
nonsmoking, intelligent WM, mid-30s40s, with thoughtful/warm character
and sense of humor. Hobby (walking,
films, art)/chatting friend is fine as a
start. miccoast@yahoo.com
Smile together. Genuine, attractive,
down-to-earth JF, soon to be 40,
is seeking a serious relationship.
Would love to meet gentlemen who
are sincere, active, and successful.
Let’s have coffee to see if there’s
good chemistr y between us .
wordsarefewest@yahoo.co.jp
Who is my dream lover? Charming
woman, 30s, wishes to meet a noble
man who speaks native English,
is educated, likes to go to nice
restaurants, concerts, traveling, and
who likes adventure and sharing all
the beautiful things in life together.
Serious only. momijileaf@yahoo.com
Wine for two. Attractive SF, 30,
seeks a serious relationship with
an understanding, caring and likeminded male of any nationality. My
interests include wine, dining out,
going to the gym, nature, music (jazz,
latin, R&B, bossa) and traveling. Must
be a nonsmoker. youvegotmail2008@
yahoo.co.jp
14.4 Gay & Lesbian
Seeking gay Caucasian male for
friendship or possible dates. I like
movies, music, books, travel, cooking,
wine and gardening. I am a JM, 42, in
Tokyo. Prefer similar aged guys. No
one-night stands. showme2005jp@
yahoo.co.jp
14.5 Escorts
AA+A1 ABSOLUTE JAPANESE
BEAUTIES 24/7. All aged 18-27.
Ja pa n e se a n d Europ e a n
upscale flight attendants,
actresses, dancers, models
are offering GFE. Dominatrix &
fetish play. Friendly & prompt.
Credit cards welcome. Always
the best quality & fresh faces,
with class & style. You will be
amazed! Available 24 hours.
090-8304-1888 www.missplatinum.com
NO.1 ESCORT CLUB IN TOKYO.
G o rg e o u s a n d b e a u t ifu l
young Japanese ladies. Clean
and discreet. Nurses, OLs,
models. Over 19 years only.
Call: 080-1262-8080. Open:
5pm-12am. Check out real
images at www.clubboo.jp
A A A DE A R S IR S .
C A L L U S F IR S T
A ND G ET THE BE S T .
To p - q ua l it y g i rl s fo r to p
demand are wishing
for the opportunity
to share enjoyable,
wonderfully satisfying
times with generous,
classy gentlemen. Our
best attention at all times.
www.lipsescorttokyo.com
Te l : 03 -3 5 8 8 -1 5 9 0.
Prompt referrals. Seeking
new girls. 応募歓迎.
Japan’s complete Adult
Nightlife Guide for
foreigners! Having trouble
finding a Japanese girl for
fun? Come to http://erolin.net
and check all possible clubs,
b roth e l s a n d e sco r t s fo r
foreigners! When you visit,
d o n ’ t fo r g e t t o m e n t i o n
“Erolin Guide”! info@erolin.
net
JAPANESE MILF LIVE VIDEO
CH AT ! Wa n t to t a l k w i t h
mature Japanese women?
Register FREE and send an
email to inq-en@madamu.tv
saying “I saw Metropolis” to
get ¥1000 worth of BONUS
points! Valid once/person.
www.madamu.tv inq-en@
madamu.tv
ASIAN MYSTIQUE ESCORTS.
Asian Mystique provides
“girl-next-door ” type
escorts for your girlfriend
experience in Tokyo, Osaka,
N a g o y a . S e x y, f r i e n d l y
Japanese escorts provide
the fun, professional
staff provide peace of
m i n d . O p e n 2 4 / 7, s a m e
day orders welcome.
asianmystiquejp@yahoo.
co.jp www.asianmystique.
com 080-5454-9795
To Advertise In Japan’s
No.1 English magazine,
log on at www.metropolis.
co.jp/classifieds or email
your comme rcial ad s to
commercial@metropolis.co.jp
14.6 And Others
Bondage lover wanted. Are you a
submissive lady who enjoys being
bound and gagged? I’m trying to find
someone into fantasies involving
bondage, high heels, boots and
role playing. Age, looks, race are
unimportant. Beginners are welcome
and limits respected. johnlikeschat@
hotmail.co.uk
Couple seeking curious WF/JF.
Mature Japanese couple (M and
F), early 30s, seeking female for
threesome. We are nice and friendly.
Let’s have fun. Send photos, please.
avsesa81@gmail.com
Dominant queen. U K m a l e ,
submissive, needs disciplining,
seeking dominant female. jhdf2007@
yahoo.co.uk
Serving at your feet. I am a submissive
male from the UK. I am confident and
outgoing in real life, but behind closed
doors I dream about serving at the feet
of a dominant mistress. Please email
me, Mistress. instant_noodles17@
hotmail.com
Are you a kinky girl? Seeking a cute
girl, into fetish, for friendship and casual
fun. I’m Caucasian, tall, fit, good-looking,
early 30s. andy45000@gmail.com
Are you from the Philippines?
Generous Englishman seeks a Filipina
for sexy and erotic times. If you are
open-minded and would like to try
something new and exciting, please
contact me. grahamorchard71@
yahoo.co.uk
I’ll make you go Mmph! Do you liked
to be tied up, gagged and dominated?
Kept quiet and punished? Gag-loving
Western master is looking for a kinky
lady for fun and erotic times together.
Let me hear you mmmmmppppph.
johnlikeschat@hotmail.co.uk
Seeking mature woman. Strong
Frenchman, 25, seeks a mature woman
for pleasure and fun. Please use me: I’ll
be happy! mavinanul@yahoo.fr
15 JOBS
15.1 Job Wanted
HOME HELPER. Experienced
Filipina cleaner and
babysitter. Excellent service
with a smile . Refe re nce s
available. ¥1500/h. Please
contact Joy Kawi at 080 4092-8923. maryjoylaus@
yahoo.com
JAPANESE BILINGUAL BABYSITTER
/バイリンガルベビーシッター.
I’m looking for a babysitting job.
I love to play with kids! ¥3000/h,
a t l e a s t s i x h o u r s e ve r yd ay.
Studying with kids for free. ringo_
sakurannbo2001@yahoo.co.jp
080-5490-4518
by Cathryn Moe
Horoscope
♥ Love ¥ Money ♣ Luck
ARIES
TAURUS
GEMINI
May 21~June 21 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
June 22~July 22 ♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣
Surprises keep coming. With Uranus
in Aries, some of them may seem a tad
personal. Your focus on the philosophical combined with your sense of the practical
strengthens your grip as others fall off this merrygo-round. Saturn, the Sun and Juno in your sector
of romance are another story altogether. This is a
week for love to support, soothe and encourage
your dreams.
If you feel you’ve bitten off more than you
can chew (tense tummy a factor?), know
that Jupiter retrograde feels like that. It’s
temporary, but doable—especially now that the
Mercury/Venus opposition has occurred. Uranus
in your sector of dreams may bring surprises, but
they’re all to uproot you for the yummy stuff coming in... just wait and see! Someone wants to take
romance further but isn’t sure where you stand.
Mars flies through your solar third
house of communication. This is a great
week to “get it all out,” if there is anything
in the back of your mind. You’re stronger, focused, and filled with courage. At least, that’s
how others see you. You'd be wise to make a wish
list, or keep a journal of your dreams (the ones you
want to see happen). Jupiter expands your desires,
so you’re ready when fulfillment arrives.
Looking ahead, do you just want to
see through the next week? Or keep
yourself wrapped up in the covers
on the bed? Cancers have a wonderful chance
to cuddle and snuggle in. Why, you may well ask.
Your ability to assess a situation, emotionally and
financially, while staying in your safety zone, has a
lot to do with it. The other reason is that Saturn, the
Sun, and Juno protect you at home right now.
LEO
VIRGO
Libra
SCORPIO
Mars in your Sign cruises through high
altitudes, and so do you. This is a week to
stand up for yourself, pursue a new job,
be seen, or hide away just doing what you like. Conversations bring hope, reaffirming the structures
you have created, and enjoying support along the
way. Something beneath the surface is about to be
revealed at home. It could be about love and how
you feel, or it could just be the plumbing.
Ceres, the asteroid who nurtures and
keeps the breadbasket f ull, travels
retrograde in your house of partnership. If a relationship doesn't offer what it used to,
or requirements have changed, this is the week to
take inventory. Ceres had to negotiate with Pluto,
her daughter’s abductor in the underworld. She
brings out your talents and strengths. Whatever
your reservations, know you have what it takes.
Saturn is near the Sun, which is near
Juno—all in your Sign. Continuing to
skate through your Birthday Zone
(happy birthday dear Libra!) you can delight in all
things beautiful. Money is likely to come through,
especially with regard to your income or investments you have made. You may have to sell off a
bit for this increase, but a wonderful world waits to
fill up your coffers as soon as you make space.
You’re set up for a sexy week if you don’t
walk away. Jupiter, bringing opportunities and good fortune, is in your
relationship house. It’s retrograde, so that you may
reassess what you have. At the same time, Mercury
the messenger and Venus the love goddess are in
your Sign. Love of a different type may be in your
dreams, with so much activity flowing through
your subconscious. A new job is on the horizon.
SAGITTARIUS
CAPRICORN
AQUARIUS
Jan 20~Feb 18 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣
Feb 19~Mar 20 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣♣
Be the crystal that you are. Allow the
highest light to flow through you and
watch the rainbows show up. Are you
spending any time at all hoping an old situation will
change? Free yourself from emotional traps and
find pathways to what makes you feel yummy. Mars
in your solar ninth house pushes you to consider a
spiritual course or a journey to gather new insights.
Love is in the air and actively looking for you.
People look to you for structure and
steadfast thinking. When things are
falling apart, they call you. Then of
course you get the reputation (well-earned) of
being “the rock” in others’ lives. That’s great, except
now, Pluto in Capricorn is in the process of “undoing.” It’s your turn to ask for help! Pallas Athene in
your Sign insists on an original approach to an old
point of view. Fight for your share. It’s yours.
The word on Aquarians is they can
detach emotionally, but that is not always
the case. Each Sign reflects aspects of its
opposite. For you, this is Leo, king and queen of the
jungle, ruler of the heart. Thus it’s a stellar week
for you. Mars opposing your Sign in your house of
relationships gives you energy to chase. Generally
this is a romantic encounter, but you could also
rope in a business partner with ease.
Water Signs are experiencing a
watershed now. Neptune, ruler of
Pisces, oversees the oceans, so your
insights are huge. A lot of this comes from healthy
revelations that, in the paradigm we are leaving,
were secret. If you find you suddenly express your
feelings or share things where once you would not,
congratulations. You are stepping through a door
of change which allows you new loves and joy.
Mar 21~Apr 19 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Apr 20~May 20 ♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣♣
July 23~Aug 22 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Aug 23~Sep 22 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Nov 22~Dec 21 ♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣♣
Dec 22~Jan 19 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Metropolis Mediabox
Courtesy Tokyo Metro
SMOKEY AND THE
BANDIT
Re: “Public Enemy #1” (Feature, Oct 7):
No mention of the HOSPITAL costs
further down the road from ailing
smokers. The Japanese government
should be deeply ashamed for
sacrificing the health of its people
for a few yen, most of which are
counterbalanced by the extended
costs in the big picture.—darthmiffy
“Nonsmoking” areas in Japan are a
complete joke. I went to a Subway
CANCER
Sep 23~Oct 22 ♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣
Oct 23~Nov 21 ♥♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣
PISCES
facebook.com/MetropolisMagazine
metropolis.co.jp/community
twitter.com/MetropolisTokyo
metrodining.jp
a few years ago that was one large
open room with about 20 tables in the
smoking area, and four lined up against
the wall with “No Smoking” signs on
the tables. Luckily there was only one
smoker in the restaurant, sitting in the
far corner. But can you imagine 100
smokers puffing away while ten poor
nonsmokers sit along the walk? Japan,
you stink!—marcello
Japanese-language nationwide
database of places to eat and drink
where a nonsmoking policy exists,
to varying degrees of effectiveness.
Invaluable resource. Vote with your
pocket and support these places. www.
kinen-style.com—Woody
Being vegan, many of the vegetarian
restaurants either have outside smoking,
or no smoking. Smoking at health food
restaurants confuses me the most.
Also—smoking in front of small children?
Do people not think? I am convinced that
the Japanese government/culture plays
down the dangers of smoking. When it's
extremely necessary due to my allergies,
my Japanese boyfriend will be "rude"
and ask people not to smoke in our
face.—Andy George
REIMAGINE THIS
Re: “Reimagining Japan” (Book
Review, Oct 7): Actually, I was thinking
that there are at least a half dozen
contributors, Sanger near the top of
the list, who really don’t know *&$%-all
about Japan and should never have
been included. When Sanger was
NYT Tokyo bureau chief back in
the early ’90s he did nothing but
embarrass himself. The inclusion of
people like Howard Schultz, Thomas
“the Mustache of Understanding”
Friedman and Tyler Brule—the latter
knowing Japan no more than a very
well-heeled tourist with a hobby
business—is insulting and bizarre.
—Jeff Huffman
READ MY SHIRT, NO NEW
TAXES
Re: “Street Literature” (The Last Word,
Sep 30): Glad to know I’m not the only
one who does this and just can’t help
myself!—Ian
Worn by an elementary school student:
I HAVE THE BEST BOOBS ON THE
WORLD!
20-year-old guy: LET’S GET PANDA!!!
—Charltzy
This is why I look for t-shirts that have
no slogan, no words, no advertising
and no logo. Surprisingly hard to find.
Why do we think t-shirts always have
to say something? My dress shirts
don’t say anything. And why do t-shirt
makers expect us to pay for a shirt that
advertises THEIR brand? This was a
good article.—Kevin
GROUP OF THE WEEK
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The Last Word
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to: editor@metropolis.co.jp
Dogtown and J-boys
Japanese social
dynamics
in a sport of
individual selfexpression
By Marc-Emil Beyers
universit y st udent t urned loca l
skate guru. Interestingly, those not
in the “in-group” (the less-skilled,
younger, etc.) make a point of getting Kenta’s okay before they hit
the impromptu contraption. The
unw ritten rules are well understood, it seems.
These social dynamics, however,
extend beyond interpersonal relationships. As in the surfing world,
skaters develop a relationship with
a certain store, usually where they
bought their first board, and they
tend to remain loyal. If you notice
your reception in a given skate/surf
ramps w ith additions of rails or
pieces of plywood. In one such ceremony, a wooden box is dragged to
the middle of the runway and a narrow triangular box leaned against
it, creating a primitive structure
whose transition to the table top is
brutally sharp—which is the whole
point. As usual, the skaters gradually get drawn into the challenge,
accompanied by mounting cheers
and jeers, continuing until all possible variations on the new obstacle
are exhausted.
T hese i mprompt u c reat ion s
materialize under the tacit direction of Kenta sempai, a lackluster
store growing gradually colder, it is
because you haven’t set up or maintained the relationship properly,
usually with a token purchase (“just
looking” is not valid), or you haven’t
done your greetings before hitting
the ramps.
There is of course a dark side to all
this. Everyone has heard the recurring stories of bullying that take
place in broader society. In Chiba
there was the case of a middle-school
student who was taken into the club
activities locker room by her seniors,
made to strip to her underwear and
had dirty water from the mop pail
slopped over her. Apparently she
Shane Busato
book). He flings his skateboard to the
pavement in frustration and lets out
a roar. A second later he is all smiles
as one of his peers crosses his path—
probably a sempai. In all this chaos,
no one collides, cuts someone off,
or starts an argument. Everything
is promptly resolved with nods of
“sumimasen.” Everyone is keenly
aware of others, and the Japanese
custom of assuming you yourself
are at fault prevails, even here in the
world of extreme sports.
A lmost ever y weekend, skaters spontaneously get together to
perform sudden modifications to
S
kateboarding a lways
seemed to me to be the
ultimate brash, individualistic endeavor. So much
so, in fact, that I hesitate to
call it a sport. It is pure self-expression with no rules, no teams, and
limited competition. I assumed the
same applied in Japan until one day,
with my friend, Masa. Having just
hung up his keitai, he told me, “Oh
sorry, that was my sempai.”
“You mean your senior in junior
high?” I queried.
“No, m y s k at e s empa i ,” he
replied, “the one who taught me to
skate when I was growing up.”
Go to the local skate park in
Chiba, the first thing that strikes you
like a sledgehammer is Metallica
blaring out of a guitar amp hooked
up to an iPod, so loud you almost
can’t hear the skateboards slapping
the decks. People are flying in the
air and wiping out, cursing, and so
on. One skater has a fit because he
consistently fails to land an ollie to
mid-air grab way above the ramp
coping (don’t be so hard on yourself, it’s only the hardest trick in the
wasn’t greeting her peers appropriately, in a loud voice and with bow, as
is the custom.
American writer Robert Whiti ng—somewhat a n ex per t on
baseba l l i n Japa n—ta l k s about
how this groupism suffocates Japanese athletes, inhibiting their full
development. Ironically, while that
might have some truth in baseball, it
seems to contradict the skateboarding world in Japan, where skaters
quickly develop through mentoring
and mutual encouragement.
All merits considered however,
the sempai-kohai factor in skateboarding is a double-edged sword,
in that it also discourages beginners. The ones who quit soon after
starting out are usually the ones
without skate sempais. In contrast
to North America, showing up at the
park unaccompanied is in itself a big
barrier. In the surfing world, part of
the reason there are few arguments
in the water is that the hierarchy is
very well understood and not questioned. A surfer dissed by someone
who considers him an unwanted
kohai or simply an outsider w ill
rarely counter, due to intense selfand group consciousness.
As much as I respect it, I personally could never get used to such
dense socia l dy na mics, t houg h
it might delay my “progress as a
skater.” It rubs too squarely against
the rebellious, free-spirited nature
of a sport essentially created by
disaffected (read: delinquent) suburbanites (Jay Adams and Dog Town)
in 1970s California.
Skateboarding is about forgetting
everything, people included.
In all this chaos,
no one collides,
cuts someone
off, or starts an
argument.”
■ Marc-Emil is an English instructor,
translator and translation trainer living
the quiet life in the ‘burbs
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