Tokyo

Back Page emerGenCy numbers Police: 110 Medical: 119 Fire Department: 119 emergency at sea 118 exChanGe rate 元1 Chinese Yuan is ¥15.4547 Japanese Yen 元5 Chinese Yuan is ¥77.2735 Japanese Yen 元10 Chinese Yuan is ¥154.547 Japanese Yen 元20 Chinese Yuan is ¥309.094 Japanese Yen 元50 Chinese Yuan is ¥772.735 Japanese Yen 元100 Chinese Yuan is ¥1545.47 Japanese Yen ¥1 Japanese Yen is 元0.0647 Chinese Yuan ¥5 Japanese Yen is 元0.3235 Chinese Yuan ¥10 Japanese Yen is 元0.647 Chinese Yuan ¥20 Japanese Yen is 元1.294 Chinese Yuan ¥50 Japanese Yen is 元3.235 Chinese Yuan ¥100 Japanese Yen is 元6.47 Chinese Yuan time Zone Tokyo is in the UTC+9 time zone. That’s 1 hours ahead of Shanghai. 8:00 AM in Shanghai is 9:00 AM (the same day) in Tokyo. 8:00 AM in Tokyo is 7:00 AM (the same day) in Shanghai. tiPPinG PoliCy Taxi: None Restaurant: Tipping is perceived as insulting Porter: None eleCtriCity standard, PluG requirements Eastern Japan 50 Hz (Tokyo, Kawasaki, Sapporo, Yokohoma, and Sendai); Western Japan 60 Hz (Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima). Military facilities 120 V. The electrical current in Japan is 100 V, 50/60 Hz alternating current (AC); Type A: Flat blade attachment plug Type B: Flat blades with round grounding pin Weather ForeCast Sat, Jun 28 H: 84°F, L: 66°F Sun, Jun 29 H: 80°F, L: 66°F Mon, Jun 30 H: 84°F, L: 67°F Tue, Jul 01 H: 82°F, L: 66°F Wed, Jul 02 H: 80°F, L: 69°F Chinese Phrase Guide Hello: こんにちは。 (kon-nee-chee-WAH) Please (request): お願いします。 (oh-neh-gigh shee-moss) Thank you (informal): はい。 (High) No: いいえ。 (EE-eh) Excuse me: すみません。 (soo-mee-mah-sen) I can’t speak Japanese [well]: 日本語が「よ く」話せません。 (nee-hohn-goh gah [yo-koo] hah-nah-seh-mah-sen) I don’t understand: わかりません。 (wah-kahree-mah-sen) How much is a ticket to _____?: _____ までいくら ですか (_____ made ikura desu ka?) How do I get to _____?: _____ はどちらですか? (_____ wa dochira desu ka?) Please show me on the map: 地図で指して下さ い。 (chizu de sashite kudasai) An up-to-date travel guide prepared for anonyMity Tokyo T o k yo, J u l 0 1 –Au g 0 1 , 2 0 0 8 Maps Weather What to do Where to go Lodging dining The travel guide made just for anonyMity Copyright 2008, Offbeat Guides Contents Maps Tokyo Region View Tokyo City View Tokyo Neighborhood View Tokyo Street View Tokyo Districts Central Tokyo Old Tokyo (‘’Shitamachi’’) Izu and Ogasawara Islands Suburban wards Understand Culture Language Expenses Get in By plane By train By car or thumb By bus By boat By train and subway By taxi By car By ferry By bicycle By foot See Itineraries Do Learn Work Buy Anime and manga Antiques Books Cameras and electronics Fashion 8 8 10 12 14 16 16 17 18 18 19 19 19 20 20 20 21 22 22 22 23 24 27 28 28 28 28 29 29 30 30 31 31 32 32 32 32 33 Kitchenware Music Souvenirs Street markets Eat Budget Mid-range Splurge Drink Sleep Contact Stay safe Get out Tokyo Name History Geography and administrative divisions The twenty-three special wards Western Tokyo Islands National Parks Cityscape Climate and seismology Global warming Economy Demographics Transportation Education Culture and sports Tokyo in popular media Sister relationships Japanese phrasebook Pronunciation guide Vowels Consonants Examples Katakana Grammar Forming sentences 33 33 33 34 34 35 36 37 37 39 39 39 40 42 43 43 44 45 46 46 47 47 48 48 48 50 50 51 52 53 54 55 55 55 56 57 57 58 59 The verb “to be” Addressing others Reading and writing Basics Problems Numbers Time Colors Lodging Money Eating On the phone Bars Shopping Family Driving Authority Typical Japanese expressions Honourifics Country and territory names Offensive Language Learning more Events Tuesday, July 01, 2008 Wednesday, July 02, 2008 Thursday, July 03, 2008 Friday, July 04, 2008 Saturday, July 05, 2008 Sunday, July 06, 2008 Monday, July 07, 2008 Tuesday, July 08, 2008 Wednesday, July 09, 2008 Thursday, July 10, 2008 Friday, July 11, 2008 Saturday, July 12, 2008 Sunday, July 13, 2008 Monday, July 14, 2008 Tuesday, July 15, 2008 Wednesday, July 16, 2008 59 60 61 63 65 67 69 72 76 77 78 80 81 82 83 84 84 85 86 88 89 89 91 91 91 92 93 93 96 98 98 99 100 103 104 105 106 107 107 Thursday, July 17, 2008 Friday, July 18, 2008 Saturday, July 19, 2008 Sunday, July 20, 2008 Monday, July 21, 2008 Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Thursday, July 24, 2008 Saturday, July 26, 2008 Monday, July 28, 2008 Sunday, July 27, 2008 Weather Forecast References Offbeat Resources 108 109 111 114 114 115 116 116 118 119 120 121 124 124 Tokyo, Japan 7 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 8 tokyo region View Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 9 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 10 tokyo City View Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 11 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 12 tokyo neighborhood View Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 13 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 14 tokyo street View Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 15 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 16 tokyo Tokyo (??; ) is the capital of Japan. At over 12 million people in the official metropolitan area alone, Tokyo is the core of the most populated urban area in the world, Greater Tokyo (which has a population of 35 million people). This huge, wealthy and fascinating metropolis brings high-tech visions of the future side by side with glimpses of old Japan, and has something for everyone. Located geographically at about the center of the Japanese archipelago and in the southern part of the Kanto area, Tokyo shares borders with Chiba prefecture to the east along the Edogawa River, Yamanashi to the west along a mountain range, Kanagawa in the south along the Tamagawa River, and Saitama in the north. Being 2187 km² in area, the metropolis occupies only 0.6% of the national land, the third smallest of the 47 administrative divisions of the country. As the land unfolds from east to west, there are hills, plateaus, and mountains scattered around the city. Small as it is, Tokyo’s geographical features are rich in variety, comprising low lands of only four meters above the sea-level and mountainous areas of over 2000 meters. In addition, it must be noted that certain volcanic islands in the Pacific such as the Izu and Ogasawara Islands also are part of Tokyo. distriCts Huge and varied in its geography, with over 2,000 square kilometers to explore, Tokyo prefecture (??? Tokyo-to) spans not just the city, but rugged mountains to the west and subtropical islands to the south. This article concentrates on the 23 central wards (? ku) near the bay, while the western cities and the islands are covered in a separate article. The geography of central Tokyo is defined by the JR Yamanote Line (see Get around). The center of Tokyo — the former area reserved for the Shogun and his samurai — lies within the loop, while the Edo-era downtown (?? shitamachi) is to the north and Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 17 east. Sprawling around in all directions and blending seamlessly into Yokohama, Kawasaki and Chiba are Tokyo’s suburbs. Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the largest cities of the world with a population of 12.64-million and the biggest of the 47 prefectures throughout Japan. Its long history of prosperity started with the establishment of the shogunate by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1603. At that time, Tokyo was called Edo, which by the 18th century had grown to a huge city of over a million people. It is now Japan’s center for political, economic, cultural, and various other activities as well as the origin for the dissemination of information. The ward area in Tokyo is 621Km2 in area, where 8.53-million people live. Tokyo attracts tourists not only from abroad, but from all over the country as it provides many points of interest to visit, well-developed traffic networks, and facilities for business enterprises that are linked together. The Metropolitan Government Office which runs the city, Tokyo Station constructed in 1914 as the largest brick building in Japan, the Odaiba Marine Park commanding a wide ocean view are just a few examples of the sightseeing spots of this charming city full of history and tradition, that is continually generating new points of interest. Cultural facilities such as museums and art galleries are also abundant, making Tokyo, undoubtedly, one of the most advanced cities of the world. Central tokyo ■■ Chiyoda, the seat of Japanese power (both political and economical) that includes the Imperial Palace, the Ministries near Kasumigaseki, the Parliament in Nagatacaho, the corporate headquarters of Marunouchi, and the electronics mecca of Akihabara ■■ Chuo district, including the famed department stores of the Ginza and the fish markets of Tsukiji ■■ Minato, including the business center of Akasaka and the neighbouring nightclub district of Roppongi, the port dis- Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 18 trict (at least in name) which includes the artificial island of Odaiba, the skyscrapers of Shiodome ■■ Shinjuku, home to luxury hotels, giant camera stores, futuristic skyscrapers, hundreds of shops and restaurants, and Kabukicho, Tokyo’s wildest nightlife and red-light district ■■ Shibuya, the fashionable shopping district which also encompasses the teenybopper haven of Harajuku (also home to the Meiji Shrine) and the nightlife of Ebisu ■■ Shinagawa, a major train hub and business center ■■ Toshima including Ikebukuro, another giant train hub ■■ Meguro, a residential area with a few nice parks and museums old tokyo (‘’shitamaChi’’) ■■ Sumida by the river of the same name, including Ryogoku, home of the Edo-Tokyo Museum and Tokyo’s main sumo arena (Ryogoku Kokugikan). ■■ Taito and Bunkyo, the heart of Old Tokyo featuring the temples of Asakusa and many museums of Ueno ■■ Koto, between the two rivers Sumida and Arakawa, located on just the south of Sumida. It is famous for the former woodland in Kiba, and Kameido Tenjin the shrine worshiping Michizane Sugawara known as the father of study in Kameido. ■■ Arakawa ■■ The South part of Adachi iZu and oGasaWara islands The Izu islands lie southeast of the city in the Pacific Ocean, ranging in order from those closest to the Metropolitan Government Office: Oshima, Toshima, Niijima, Shikinejima, Kouzushima, Miyakejima, Mikurajima, Hachijojima, and Aogashima. Oshima island is 108 km away and Aogashima is 354 km away from the metropolitan office. Each island is unique in that it has its own character and all sorts of marine sports such as swimming, scuba diving, surfing, and fishing can be enjoyed. There are many places that offer scenic beauty, which are crowded with tourists during the summer. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 19 Ogasawara Islands are about 1000 km away from Tokyo. They are made up of some 20 islands in the subtropical zone but only Chichijima and Hahajima are inhabited. Almost the whole area of the islands is included in the Ogasawara National Park, which is full of beautiful nature. You can visit the marine park as well. This is an area known for whale watching. Although the access to the islands is limited to ship, it is always highly popular among tourists. suburban Wards ■■ Edogawa ■■ Itabashi ■■ Katsushika ■■ Kita ■■ Nakano ■■ Nerima ■■ Ota ■■ Setagaya, an upscale residential area that houses the student drinking spot of Shimokitazawa ■■ Suginami understand Over 400 years old, the city of Tokyo grew from the modest fishing village of Edo (??). The former seat of the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Imperial family moved to the city after the Meiji Restoration in 1868. The metropolitan center of the country, Tokyo is the destination for business, education, modern culture, and government. (That’s not to say that rivals such as Osaka won’t dispute those claims.) Culture Tokyo is vast: it’s best thought of not as a single city, but a constellation of cities that have grown together. Tokyo’s districts vary wildly by character, from the electronic blare of Akihabara to the Imperial gardens and shrines of Chiyoda, from the hyperactive youth culture mecca of Shibuya to the pottery shops and temple markets of Asakusa. If you don’t like what you see, hop on the train and head to the next one, and you will find something entirely different. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 20 The sheer size and frenetic pace of Tokyo can intimidate the first-time visitor. Much of the city is a jungle of concrete and wires, with a mass of neon and blaring loudspeakers. At rush hour, crowds jostle in packed trains and masses of humanity sweep through enormous and bewilderingly complex stations. Don’t get too hung up on ticking tourist sights off your list: for most visitors, the biggest part of the Tokyo experience is just wandering around at random and absorbing the vibe, poking your head into shops selling weird and wonderful things, sampling restaurants where you can’t recognize a single thing on the menu (or on your plate), and finding unexpected oases of calm in the tranquil grounds of a neighbourhood Shinto shrine. It’s all perfectly safe, and the locals will go to sometimes extraordinary lengths to help you if you just ask. lanGuaGe It’s easier than ever for English speakers to navigate their way around Tokyo without speaking any Japanese. Signs at subway and train stations include the station names in romaji (Romanized characters). It can be helpful to know some tips for ordering in restaurants, shopping in stores, and asking for directions. Learning the script is not difficult and most words written with it can be understood by English speakers so it can be useful even for people with no Japanese vocabulary. If you plan on asking for directions to Tokyo destinations, it especially helps to carry the name of the destination written in Japanese characters. exPenses The cost of living in Tokyo is not as astronomical as it once was. Deflation and market pressures have helped to make costs in Tokyo comparable to most other large cities. Visitors from San Francisco, New York, London, Paris and Toronto will not be at all surprised. Travelers should budget a similar amount of money for their stay in Tokyo as they would for any other great city in Europe or North America. Locals will know the bargains, but experienced cheapskates from anywhere in the world can get by with a little ingenuity. Get in In Japan, all roads, rails, shipping lanes and planes lead to Tokyo. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 21 by Plane Tokyo has two large airports: Narita for international flights, and Haneda for (mostly) domestic flights. narita airPort Tokyo’s main international gateway is Narita Airport (????) , located in the town of Narita nearly 70 kilometers northeast of Tokyo and covered in a separate article. A brief summary of options for getting there and away: Limousine bus direct to major hotels, ~120 minutes (subject to traffic), ¥3000 ■■ Fastest: Narita Express to Tokyo Station, Shibuya, Shinjuku, Yokohama, 55 minutes, ¥2940 ( Japan Rail Pass valid) ■■ Cheapest: Keisei Limited Express train to Nippori/Ueno, ~80 minutes, ¥1000 ■■ Most expensive: Taxi to the city, more than ¥30,000 haneda airPort ■■ Easiest: Haneda Airport (???? ) , officially known as Tokyo International Airport, in Ota is the busiest airport in all Asia despite being (almost) entirely limited to domestic traffic. Terminal 1 houses the JAL group including Skymark and Skynet, while Terminal 2 is home to ANA and affiliate Air Do. Shuttle services to Hong Kong, Seoul-Gimpo and Shanghai-Hongqiao use the small separate International Terminal, which is connected to the main domestic terminals by a free shuttle bus that runs every 5 minutes. The easiest and most scenic way from Haneda to the city is the Tokyo Monorail with a station in each terminal running to Hamamatsucho (16 min, ¥470), from where you can connect to almost anywhere in Tokyo on the JR Yamanote line. The other, slightly cheaper alternative is the private Keikyu (??) line, which has a single station between the terminals and runs to Shinagawa (19 min, ¥400) and Yokohama (27 min, ¥470). Keikyu also runs trains to Haneda from the Toei Asakusa subway line, and even a few direct services to Narita. Note that there is no JR service to the airport, and the “Airport Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 22 Terminal 2” station that pops up in some route search engines is located in Narita, not Haneda! Expect to pay anywhere from ¥4,000 to ¥10,000 for a taxi to central Tokyo. ChoFu airField Chofu Airfield (????? Chofu hikojo) serves only some turboprop flights to the Izu Islands south of Tokyo. The nearest railway station is Nishi-Chofu on the Keio Line, a 15-minute walk away. Alternatively, you can take a bus from Chofu or Mitaka stations. by train There is a frequent intercity Shinkansen service to and from Tokyo Station (??? Tokyo-eki) in Chiyoda, from where you can easily connect pretty much anywhere in the city on the JR Yamanote or Metro Marunouchi lines. For all northbound trains, you can also hop on at Ueno, while most (but not all) westbound trains stop at Shinagawa. For non-Shinkansen services, Shibuya and Shinjuku stations offer local connections to the west. Ueno and Ikebukuro stations connect you to the northern suburbs; and neighboring prefectures. by Car or thumb While you can drive into the city, it’s really not recommended as the city can be congested, signs may be confusing and parking fees are astronomical. Hitchhiking into Tokyo is pretty easy, but hitchhiking out is considerably more difficult. It’s definitely possible for determined cheapskates though, see Hitchhiking in Japan for a detailed list of tested escape routes from the city. by bus Highway bus services link Tokyo to other cities, resort areas and the surrounding prefectures. There are JR and private bus companies. Bus service may be cheaper, but the train is probably more convenient. If you have a JR pass, then you should generally stick with the trains. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 23 Long-distance buses use a number of terminals scattered throughout the city, but the main JR depot is at Tokyo Station’s Yaesu-minamiguchi (?????) exit, while Keio and some other private companies use the Shinjuku Highway Bus Terminal (???????????), opposite Yodobashi Camera near the West Exit. ■■ The JR Bus Group . A major operator of bus services to and from Tokyo. Seat reservations for JR Buses can be made in train stations at the same “Midori-no-Madoguchi” ticket windows used to reserve seats on trains. Moreover, the Japan Rail Pass is valid on all bus runs between Tokyo and Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. ■■ 123bus . A company that has nightly bus services to and from Tokyo. Its bus services link many cities in Japan. Online booking available in English. by boat One of the great ports of the world, Tokyo also has domestic ferry services to other points in Japan. However, none of the regular international ferries to Japan call at Tokyo. The main long-distance ferry terminal is , located on an artificial island adjacent to Odaiba in Tokyo Bay. The nearest station is Kokusai-Tenjijo-Seimon on the Yurikamome line, but it’s still a bit of a hike. You can also take a direct bus from Shin-Kiba station on the Metro Yurakucho line. The main services from this terminal are: (Hokkaido): Kawasaki Kinkai Kisen, 033528-0718. This ferry has no passenger facilities, so it can only be used if you have a car fares for a car and driver start at ¥25,820. ■■ Tokyo-Tokushima-Kitakyushu: Ocean Tokyu Ferry, 03-51480109. Tokyo-Kitakyushu passenger fares are ¥14,000 for second class, ¥26,600 for first class. Ferries to the Izu and Ogasawara Islands leave from Takeshiba Terminal (?????????), adjacent to Takeshiba station on ■■ Tokyo-Tomakomai Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 24 the Yurikamome line. Cruise liners tend to use the Harumi Terminal (?????????), best accessible on bus ?05(To-05) from Tokyo station Marunouchi South Exit or ?12(Tou-12) from Tokyo station Yaesu exit. International ferries and cargo ferries that also take passengers can leave from other terminals too, enquire with your shipping company. by train and subWay Tokyo has the most extensive mass transit system in the world. It is clean, safe and efficient - and confusing. The confusion arises from the fact that several distinct railway systems operate within Tokyo - the JR East network, the two subway networks, and various private lines - and different route maps show different systems. Avoid rush hours if possible; trains get overcrowded very easily. The defining rail line in Tokyo is the JR Yamanote Line (???), which runs in a loop around central Tokyo; being inside the Yamanote loop is synonymous with being in the core of Tokyo. Almost all inter-regional JR lines and private lines start at a station on the Yamanote. JR’s lines are color-coded, and the Yamanote is green. The JR Chuo (???, orange) and Sobu (???, yellow) lines run side-by-side, bisecting the Yamanote loop from Shinjuku on the west to Tokyo on the east. JR’s other commuter lines, the Saikyo and Keihin-Tohoku, run off the rim of the Yamanote loop to the north and south. JR East has a good English information line, 050-2016-1603 or 03-3423-0111. Tokyo has an extensive subway network with frequent trains, and these are primarily useful for getting around within the Yamanote loop. The Tokyo Metro (web-site only in Japanese) or TWR, that passes through the island of Odaiba. A number of private commuter lines radiate from the Yamanote loop out into the outlying wards and suburbs, and almost all connect through directly to subway lines within the loop. The private lines are useful for day trips outside the city, and are slightly cheaper than JR. Among these, the most important to visitors is arguably the Yurikamome which offers great views on the way to the island of Odaiba. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 25 Fares and hours Most tickets and passes are sold from automated vending machines. Keep in mind that JR trains are free with a Japan Rail Pass . Prepaid fare cards are convenient and highly recommended because they allow you to ride trains without having to read the sometimes Japanese-only fare maps to determine your fare. There are two brands of prepaid fare cards, JR East’s Suica, and PASMO, offered by private (non-JR) lines. Functionally they are completely interchangeable and can be used on just about every subway, train and bus line in Tokyo (with the noted exception of JR’s Shinkansen and limited express trains). The fare cards are rechargeable “smart cards”: you simply tap your card on the touch pad next to the turnstile as you go in, and do the same when going through to exit. There is an initial ¥500 deposit that you must pay when purchasing a fare card, but up to ¥20,000 in value can be stored on each card. Most private lines also maintain the older non-rechargeable Passnet cards, available in 1000, 3000 & 5000 Yen units. If you get towards the end of your card e.g. you have 70 Yen left, then you can either buy another card and use them together in the turnstiles (in which case it will remove the 70 Yen from the 1st card and take the remainder from the new card) or you can use the card as credit for an ordinary ticket. There are also some special tickets that allow unlimited travel, but most are unlikely to be useful to tourists unless you’re planning to spend half your day on the train. ■■ The Tokunai Pass (?????) is a one-day pass good for travel on JR lines anywhere in the 23 wards of Tokyo (including the entire Yamanote Line and many stations surrounding it). It costs ¥730, making it economical if you plan to make five or more train hops in one day. A variant is the Tokunai Free Kippu (?????????), which also includes a round-trip into Tokyo from stations in the surrounding prefectures. The Monorail And Tokunai Free Kippu, which is good for two days and Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 26 includes a round-trip from Haneda Airport to central Tokyo, is also sold for ¥2,000. ■■ The Tokyo Free Kippu (????????) covers all JR, subway and city bus lines within the 23 wards. It costs ¥1,580 for one day, and covers a number of areas that are not served by JR, such as Roppongi and Odaiba. ■■ The Holiday Pass (??????) covers the entire JR network in the Tokyo metropolitan area, including Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama and west Tokyo. It costs ¥2,300 for one day, and is only available on weekends, national holidays and during summer vacation ( July 20 through August 31). If you’re paying a la carte, subway and train fares are based on distance, ranging from ¥110 to ¥310 for hops within central Tokyo. As a general rule of thumb, Tokyo Metro lines are cheapest, Toei lines are most expensive, and JR lines fall somewhere in the middle (but are usually cheaper than Metro for short trips, i.e. no more than 4 stations). Many of the private lines interoperate with the subways, which can occasionally make a single ride seem unreasonably expensive as you are in essence transferring to another line and fare system, even though you’re still on the same train. E.g. changing between Metro and Toei subway lines amounts to paying the sum of each fare: minimum fare Metro ¥160 + minimum fare Toei ¥170 = ¥330. It pays to check your route beforehand. The Tokyo Transfer Guide by the Tokyo Metro and Toei subway companies, is an online service that allows you to plan subway and train travel from point A to point B, based on time, cost, and transfers. This guide provides information for Tokyo only, and there are other sites which additionally cover the whole country, see the Japan page. Some major stations have terminals providing information similar to the Tokyo Transfer Guide. If you can’t figure out how much it is to the destination, you can buy the cheapest ticket and pay the difference at the Fare Adjustment Machine (norikoshi) at the end. Most vending machines will let you buy a single ticket that covers a transfer between JR, subway and private lines, all the way to your Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 27 destination, but working out how to do this may be a challenge if you are not familiar with the system. Most train lines in Tokyo run from around 500 a.m. During peak hours they run about once every three minutes; even during offpeak hours it’s less than ten minutes between trains. The only night when regular passenger services run overnight is for the New Year’s Holiday on select lines. For additional information for train travel in Japan generally, refer to the By rail section in the Japan article. by taxi Taxis are very pricey, but may be a value for groups of three or more. Also, if you miss your last train, you may not have another choice. Fares generally start at ¥710 for the first two kilometers and can add up rapidly. A 20% night surcharge is tacked on from 22:00-5:00 (10 PM to 5 AM). As a rule of thumb, a daytime trip across the city from Tokyo station to Shinjuku station will cost approximately ¥3000, while a daytime trip from Tokyo station to Haneda Airport costs around ¥6200. These examples are based on standard routing and traffic conditions, so your actual fare may vary in relation to the estimated fare. Do not count on your taxi driver speaking English--or knowing more than the best-known locations, though most taxis have GPS “car navi” systems installed. The best and easiest thing to do is to prepare a map with you marked with the places you want to go, and point out the place on the map to the taxi driver. If you are staying at a hotel, they will provide you with a map. If possible, get a business card, or print out the address in Japanese of any specific places you wish to go. However, because in Japan streets are often unmarked, if the taxi driver does not have GPS he may not be able to do more than take you to the general vicinity of where you want to go. Also, note that taxis can get caught in traffic jams. No tips are expected or given. Taxi doors are operated by the driver and will open (and close) automatically. Don’t open or close them yourself. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 28 by Car Tokyo is a gigantic warren of narrow streets with no names, with slow-moving traffic and extremely limited and expensive parking. In this city with such an excellent mass transit system, you would need a good reason to want to drive around instead. While renting a car can make sense in Japan in some contexts (e.g., visiting a rural onsen resort), in general it is neither convenient nor economical to rent a car to get around metro Tokyo. Taxis are much more convenient if your budget allows it; walking or public transportation is much less expensive and given the difficulties of navigation and finding parking in popular areas, probably easier too. by Ferry The Tokyo Cruise Ship Company operates a series of Water Bus , which runs on the Asakusa-Odaiba Direct Line. You might want to arrive well before the departure time just in case tickets on the Himiko sell out! by biCyCle Bicycles are very commonly used for local transport, but amenities like bicycle lanes are rare, drivers pay little heed to bikes and traffic can be very heavy on weekdays, so if you use a bicycle, do not be afraid to cycle on the sidewalk (everyone does). Keep in mind, however, that parts of Tokyo are surprisingly hilly, and it’s a sweaty job pedaling around in the summer heat. Central Tokyo can still be covered fairly comfortably by bike on the weekends. Tokyo Great Cycling Tour offers a one day guided tour for biking around major tourist spots in Tokyo, like Marunouchi, Nihonbashi, Tsukiji, Odaiba, Tokyo tower, Imperial palace and so on. by Foot In this large city with such an efficient public transportation system, walking to get from point A to point B would seem a bit stupid at first glance. However, as the city is extremely safe even at night, walking in Tokyo can be a very pleasant experience. In some areas, walking can be much shorter than taking the subway and walking the transit (the whole Akasaka/Nagatacho/ Roppongi area in the center is for instance very easily covered on foot). If you have the time, Shinjuku to Shibuya via Omotesando Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 29 takes roughly one hour, Tokyo Station to Shinjuku would be a half a day walk, and the whole Yamanote line Grand Tour takes a long day. see Tokyo has a vast array of sights, but the first items on the agenda of most visitors are the temples of Asakusa, the gardens of the Imperial Palace (in Chiyoda) and the Meiji Shrine (in Harajuku). Tokyo has many commercial centres for shopping, eating and simply wandering around for experiencing the modern Japanese urban phenomenon. Each of these areas have unique characteristics, such as dazzling Shinjuku, youthful Shibuya and upmarket Ginza. These areas are bustling throughout the day, but they really come into life in the evenings. If you’re looking for a viewing platform, the Tokyo Tower is the best known but a rather overpriced, not to say uninspiring, choice. The highest spot in Tokyo is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building (in effect, Tokyo’s City Hall) in Shinjuku. Its twin towers have viewing platforms that are absolutely free, and offer a great view over Tokyo and beyond. However, the best option would probably be from the World Trade Center Building (1000 pm. The city is dotted with museums, large and small, which center on every possible interest from pens to antique clocks to traditional and modern arts. Many of the largest museums are clustered around Ueno. At ¥500 to ¥1,000 or more, entrance fees can add up quickly, but the GRUTT Pass allows access to 56 of them for a flat ¥2000 fee. The pass can be purchased from any participating museum and is valid for two months. itineraries ■■ Classic Tokyo, Modern Tokyo — a one-day tour of the old and the new ■■ One day in Tokyo — a hectic whirlwind tour of the many faces of the city Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 30 do a sushi breakfast at the Tsukiji Fish Market. a boat ride on the Sumida River from Asakusa. ■■ Lose yourself in the dazzling neon jungle outside major train stations in the evenings. Shibuya and east Shinjuku at night can make Times Square or Piccadilly Circus look rural in comparison - it has to be seen to be believed. ■■ Enjoy a soak in a local “sento” or public bath. Or one of the onsen theme parks such as LaQua at the Tokyo Dome (Bunkyo) or Oedo Onsen Monogatari in Odaiba. ■■ Go to an amusement park such as Tokyo Disney Resort, which consists of Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea which are the world’s most visited and second most visited theme parks respectively, or the more Japanese Sanrio Puroland (in Tama), home to more Hello Kittys than you can imagine. ■■ Check out the hip and young crowd at Harajuku’s TakeshitaDori (Takeshita Street) or the more grown up Omotesando. ■■ In the spring, take a boatride in Kichijoji’s lovely Inokashira Park, and afterwards visit the Ghibli Studios Museum (wellknown for their amazing movies, like Spirited Away, and Princess Mononoke), but you will need to buy tickets for these in advance at a Lawson convenience store. ■■ Take the Yurikamome elevated train across the bay bridge from Shimbashi station to the bayside Odaiba district, and go on the giant ferris wheel - the largest in the world until recently. ■■ Watch a baseball game, namely the Yomiuri Giants at the Tokyo Dome, or the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at Jingu Stadium. Nearby Chiba hosts the Chiba Lotte Marines. ■■ Take a stroll through the Imperial Palace’s East Gardens (open to the public daily at 9am, except Fridays and Mondays). ■■ Have a picnic in a park during the cherry blossom (Sakura). Unfortunately Sakura only lasts for about a week. ■■ Take ■■ Eat learn The curious can study traditional culture such as tea ceremony, calligraphy, or martial arts such as Karate, Judo, Aikido and Kendo. There are also many language schools to help you Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 31 work on your Japanese. Several universities in Tokyo cater to international students at the undergraduate or graduate level. University (?????? Keio Gijuku Daigaku), . Japan’s top private university (unless you ask a Waseda student). Established in the samurai days of yore and has a stuffier rep than Waseda, with alumni including former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi. Main campus in Mita. ■■ Tokyo Institute of Technology (?????? Tokyo Kogyo Daigaku), . Tokyo’s top technical university. Main campus in Ookayama. ■■ University of Tokyo (???? Tokyo Daigaku), . Japan’s uncontested number one university, especially strong in law, medicine and literature. Passing the entrance exams is fiendishly difficult if you’re Japanese, but getting in as one of its 2000+ exchange students is easier. Five campuses scattered around town, but the original one is in Hongo. ■■ Waseda University (????? Waseda Daigaku), . Japan’s top private university (unless you ask a Keio student), famous as a den of artists and partiers. Main campus in Waseda. ■■ Keio Work Teaching English (or to a lesser extent, other foreign languages) is still the easiest way to work in Tokyo, but the city also offers more work options than other areas of the country: everything from restaurant work to IT. Certain nationalities are eligible for working holiday visas: for others, work permits can be very hard to come by without a job offer from a Japanese company. Consult your local Japanese consulate/embassy as far in advance as possible. buy If it is for sale anywhere in the world, you can probably buy it in Tokyo. Items to look for include electronics, funky fashions, antique furniture and kimono, and specialty items like Hello Kitty goods, anime and comics, and their associated paraphernalia. Cash payment is the norm. Although credit cards are more and more widely accepted, they are far less widespread than in most other developed countries. Most Japanese ATMs do not Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 32 accept foreign cards, but post office, 7-11 and Citibank ones do and usually have English menus as well. The crime rate is very low, so don’t be afraid of carrying around wads of cash as the Japanese do. See Buy under Japan. for general caveats regarding electronics and media compatibility. There are numerous convenience stores throughout Tokyo, which are open around the clock, and sell not only food and magazines, but also daily necessities such as underwear and toiletries. Supermarkets are usually open until 10 PM, while drugstores and department stores usually close at 9 PM. anime and manGa Akihabara, Tokyo’s Electric Town, is now also the unquestioned center of its otaku community, and the stores along Chuo-dori are packed to the rafters with anime (animation) and manga (comics). antiques Serious collectors should head for the Antique Mall in Ginza or the Antique Market in Omotesando, which despite the rustic names are collections of small very specialist shops (samurai armor, ukiyo-e paintings, etc) with head-spinning prices. Mere mortals can venture over to Nishi-Ogikubo, where you can pick up scrolls of calligraphy and such for a few thousand yen. The Antique Festival (?????????) is held over the weekend about 5-6 times a year at the Tokyo Ryutsu Center, on the Tokyo Monorail line, and is well worth a visit. books Jinbocho is to used books what Akihabara is to electronics. It’s clustered around the Jinbocho subway stop. Cameras and eleCtroniCs Ever since Sony and Nikon became synonymous with hightech quality, Tokyo has been a favored place for buying electronics and cameras. Though the lines have blurred since the PC revolution, each has its traditional territory and stores: Akihabara has the electronics stores, including a large number of duty-free shops specializing in export models, and Shinjuku has the camera stores. Unfortunately, local model electronics Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 33 are not cheap, but the export models are similar to what you’ll pay back home. It’s also surprisingly difficult to find certain things e.g. games machines. Fashion Shibuya and neighboring Harajuku are the best-known shopping areas for funky, youthful clothes and accessories. Note that, almost without exception, clothes are sized for the petite Japanese frame. Department stores and exclusive boutiques stock every fashion label imaginable, but for global labels prices in Tokyo are typically higher than anywhere else in the world. The famous Ginza and Ikebukuro’s giant Seibu and Tobu department stores (the largest in the world) are good hunting grounds. Recently, Roppongi Hills has emerged as a popular area for high-end shopping, with many major global brands. Other department stores in Tokyo are Mitsukoshi, Sogo, and Takashimaya. Mitsukoshi is Japan’s biggest department store chain. It’s anchor store is in Nihonbashi. kitChenWare The district for this is Kappabashi Street near Asakusa, also known as “Kitchen Town.” The street is lined with stores selling all kinds of kitchen wares — this is where the restaurants of Tokyo get their supplies. It’s also a great place to find cheap Japanese ceramics, not to mention plastic food! musiC Ochanomizu is to the guitar what Jinbocho is to used books. There, you’ll find what must be the world’s densest collection of guitar shops. Plenty of other musical instruments (though not traditional Japanese ones) are also available. souvenirs For touristy Japanese knickknacks, the best places to shop are Nakamise in Asukusa and the Oriental Bazaar in Omotesando, which stock all the kitschy things like kanji-emblazoned T-shirts, foreigner-sized kimonos, ninja outfits for kids and ersatz samurai swords that can be surprisingly difficult to find elsewhere. Both also have a selection of serious antiques for the connoisseur, but see also Antiques above. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 34 street markets Bustling open-air bazaars in the Asian style are rare in Tokyo, except for Ueno’s Ameyoko, a legacy of the postwar occupation. Yanaka Ginza in the Shitamachi Taito district, a very nice example of a neighborhood shopping street, makes for an interesting afternoon browse. There are often small flea and antique markets in operation on the weekend at major (and minor) shrines in and around Tokyo. eat The sheer quantity and variety of food in Tokyo will amaze you. Department stores have food halls, typically in the basement, with food which surpasses top delicatessans in other world cities. Not only is cold food on offer, but also food to go. Tokyo has a huge amount of restaurants, so see the main Japan guide for the types of food you will encounter and some popular chains. Menus are often posted outside, so you can check the prices. Some shops have the famous plastic food in their front windows. Don’t hesitate to drag the waiting staff out to the front to point at what you want. Always carry cash. Many restaurants will not accept credit cards. Tokyo has literally tens of thousands of restaurants representing more or less every cuisine in the world, but it also offers a few unique local specialties. Nigirizushi (fish pressed onto rice), known around the world around simply as “sushi,” in fact originates from Tokyo. Another is monjayaki (??????), a gooey, cabbage-filled version of okonomiyaki that uses a very thin batter to achieve a sticky, caramelized consistency. It is originally from the Tsukishima area of Chuo and today there are many restaurants near Asakusa offering monjayaki. ■■ Hot Pepper Available in various editions, by region, around Tokyo, this free magazine offers a guide to local restaurants in Japanese but provides pictures and maps to the restaurants. Some restaurants even offer coupons. Most restau- Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 35 rants within this magazine are on the mid-range to high end scale. Although Tokyo is famous for its sky-high cost of living, it offers a wide range of dining opportunities to satisfy every taste bud of its vast population. While there are many reasonable eateries available, the city is also abundant in prestigious restaurants of a variety of cuisines, both domestic and international, where sophisticated food prepared by renowned chefs are served. All kinds of food for all budgets-- this is what describes Tokyo’s food culture and its excitement best. Some of the best cusines include: Sushi, Kaiseki Ryori, and Teishoku. budGet Go to the convenience store (konbini), there is one every second corner. Really, the options may surprise you. You can get rice balls (onigiri), bread-rolls, salads, prepared foods (like nikuman and oden), and drinks (both hot and cold) for ¥100-150, bento lunch boxes for around ¥500 and sandwiches for ¥250350. At some convenience stores, microwaves are available to heat up your food for no additional cost. Supermarkets (suupaa) are usually cheaper and offer a wider choice, but more difficult to find. (Try Asakusa and the sidestreets of Ueno’s Ameyoko market for local--not big chain--supermarkets.) Also, look for bento shops like Hokka-Hokka-Tei which sell takeout lunch boxes. They range in quality and cost, but most offer good, basic food at a reasonable price. This is what students and office workers often eat. Noodle shops, curry shops, and bakeries are often the best option for people eating on the cheap. They are everywhere. The noodle bars on every corner are great for filling up and very cheap at ¥200-1000. You buy your meal ticket from a vending machine at the door with pictures of the dishes and hand it to the serving staff. The one question you will typically have to answer for the counterman is whether you want soba (smaller diameter) or udon (larger diameter) noodles. Some offer standing room only (but with a counter to place your bowl), while others have limited counter seating. During peak times, you need to be quick as others will be waiting. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 36 Fast food is available just about everywhere, including many American chains like McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and KFC. But if you are visiting Japan from overseas, and wish to sample Japanese fast food, why not try MOS Burger, Freshness Burger, Lotteria, or First Kitchen. If you’re looking for something more Japanese (not to mention more cost-effective and probably tastier), try one of the local fast food giants, Matsuya or Yoshinoya. For under ¥500, you can get a giant bowl of meat, rice, and vegetables, sometimes with egg thrown in for good measure. Drinking water or hot ocha ( Japanese green tea) is usually available at no extra cost. Raw fish enthusiasts are urged to try kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi), where the prices are very reasonable. Prices are depending on the color of the plate, so be sure to check before they start to pile up. Many of the larger train and subway stations have fast, cheap eateries. Around most stations, there will be ample choices of places to eat, including chain coffeeshops (which often serve sandwiches, baked goods, and pasta dishes), yakitori places, and even Italian restaurants. The ubiquitous “izakaya”, a cross between a pub and a casual restaurant, invariaby serve a good range of Japanese dishes and can be good places to fill up on the cheap in the evening. Many chains have picture menus. mid-ranGe By tradition the basement of almost any department store, including Mitsukoshi, Matsuzakaya, or Isetan, is devoted to the depachika (????), a huge array of small shops selling all kinds of prepared take-out food. You can assemble a delicious if slightly pricey picnic here — or, if you’re feeling really cheap, just go around eating free samples! The very largest department stores are Tobu and Seibu in Ikebukuro, but Shibuya, Ginza and in fact any major Tokyo district will have their fair share. Shinjuku Station is home to several famous department stores, such as the Keio and Odakyu department stores. Many stores begin discounting their selections at about 7pm each night. Look for Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 37 signs and stickers indicating specific yen value or percentage discounts. You will often see half-price stickers which read ?? (hanne). sPlurGe There are countless very expensive restaurants in Tokyo, but one splurge is worthwhile for fans of sushi. The best sushi in town, if not the world, can be found in Tsukiji, fresh from the famous fish market. Figure on ¥3000 for a set meal, which is a bargain compared to how much sushi of similar caliber would cost elsewhere. A sushi breakfast in Tsukiji, after exploring the fish market, is a great option for the jet-lagged traveler’s first morning in Tokyo. For upmarket Japanese eats, Ginza is guaranteed to burn a hole in your wallet, with Akasaka and Roppongi Hills close behind. You can limit the damage considerably by eating fixed lunch sets instead of dinner, as this is when restaurants cater to people paying their own meals instead of using the company expense account. drink The party never stops in Tokyo (but generally takes place in Karaoke bars amongst locals during the week), and you will find good little bars and restaurants everywhere. You will also find that you are never far from a beer vending machine in Tokyo. If you’re new in town then hit Roppongi for establishments which specialize in serving foreigners, although things can get a little rowdy in some gaijin bars. The area is pretty dead during the week but livens up a little on Friday and Saturday night. Furthermore, this area might not be to everyone’s liking as it is generally overflowing with foreigners, hostesses and most annoyingly ‘patrons’ who will continually hassle you to visit their gentlemens clubs. Be warned, a drink will typically cost you 5000 Yen in a gentlemen’s club, hence the reason for the vast number of pimps hassling foreigners. At least the pimps are easy to spot. Hub pubs are available in Roppongi and Shibuya which resemble English pubs and are reasonably priced. Gaspanic clubs are Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 38 also in those 2 areas which provide decent music, if nothing more. Throughout Tokyo, Happy Hours which typically last for a couple of hours between 5pm and 7pm at weekends and to 9.30pm during the week, will take the typical cost of a pint in a Western bar down from 900 Yen to 500 Yen, or lower if willing to stand. The First Bar does cheap cocktails in Roppongi on a Sunday night. If you are looking for a more Japanese and/or pleasant international experience, visit Shibuya for cool nightclubs and dancing. The bar area is between the station and the area where the love hotels are located. Just head over the footbridge straight ahead when you go out of the station and then take a right and follow the neon from street to street. Shinjuku is home to Kabukicho, Japan’s largest red-light district, and the massive gay bar district of Ni-chome. As a gaijin, you will also experience a great deal of hassle in this area, similar to Roppongi. A little further from the city center are Shimokitawaza, Koenji and Nakano, which are full of good bars, restaurants and “live houses” offering underground/indie music, and popular with students and 20/30-somethings. The cheapest nights out would be at Japanese-style watering holes called izakaya (???), which offer food and drink in a convivial, pub-like atmosphere. Cheaper chain izakaya like Tsubohachi (???) and Shirokiya (???) usually have picture menus, so ordering is simple even if you don’t know Japanese. Night out Western-style can get expensive, with clubs and live houses enforcing weekend cover charges in the ¥20005000 bracket (usually including a drink coupon or two) and a single drink at a bar as much as ¥1000. For a splurge on a beverage or two, Western Shinjuku’s Park Hyatt Tokyo houses the New York Bar on level 52. Providing stunning views day and night across Tokyo it was also the setting for the movie Lost in Translation. Cocktails here start around ¥1400 - single malt whiskies are upwards of ¥2000. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 39 sleeP There are thousands of hotels in the Tokyo area, ranging from cheap to very expensive. They are distributed throughout the city, with some of the high end and the low end almost everywhere. Many Western-style hotels, especially those affiliated with American hotel chains, have English-speaking staff. ContaCt Good connections are available at Internet cafes everywhere. Expect to pay ¥400-¥500 per hour. “Gera Gera” is a popular chain. Paid WiFi service is also taking off in Tokyo with reasonable coverage - at a price. WiFi services are probably not convenient for those just visiting. If you bring your own computer with a WLAN card, it is possible to find a free connection in a fast food outlet like McDonald’s or Mos Burger. You also have a good chance to find a free connection in one of the numerous coffee shops. Just look for a wireless connection sign in the front window or computers within the shop. stay saFe Tokyo is probably one of the safest big cities you will ever visit, and Japan in general is one of the safest places to visit in the world. Street crime is extremely rare, even late at night, and continues to decrease. However, “little crime” does not mean “no crime”, and common sense should still be applied as anywhere in the world. Small police stations, or Koban, can be found every few blocks. If you get lost or need assistance, by all means go to them; it’s their job to help you! They may, however, have difficulties with English, so some knowledge of the Japanese language helps. Take the usual precautions against pickpockets in crowded areas and trains. The red-light and nightlife districts can be a bit seedy, but are rarely dangerous. Note some small, back-street drinking establishments in red-light districts have been known to charge extortionate prices. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 40 Still in a jam? Call Tokyo English Life Line , tel. 03-5774-0992, daily 9 a.m.-11 p.m. If you make it as far out as Izu Islands, note that visitors to Miyakejima Island are currently required to carry a gas mask, due to volcanic gases. Those in poor health are advised against travelling to the island. Get out From Tokyo, the entire surrounding Kanto region is your oyster. Particularly popular destinations nearby include: ■■ Hakone ■■ Kamakura — for hot springs and views of Mount Fuji — home to dozens of small temples and one Big Buddha ■■ Nikko — grandiose shrine and burial site of Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu ■■ Tokyo Disney Resort — with Tokyo Disneyland ( just like the ones everywhere else) and Tokyo DisneySea (an only-Japan theme park which includes some unique rides and some imported rides from Disney parks outside of Japan) ■■ Yokohama — Japan’s second-largest city The Tokyo area also has some less-famous destinations that are easy day trips from central Tokyo: ■■ Ashikaga — historical hometown of a famous shogun clan ■■ Hachioji — a refreshing climb up Mt. Takao through a forest to a shrine and beer garden ■■ Kawasaki — home to the Nihon Minka-En park with 24 ancient farmhouses (more interesting than it sounds), not to mention the shrine of the Lord Big Iron Penis Tourism_in_Tokyo Asia/Japan/Prefectures/Tokyo/ asia/northeastasia/japan/tokyo Tokyo Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 41 Tokio Tokio Tokio Tokyo Tokyo ?? Tokio Tóquio Tokyo ????? Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 42 tokyo , formally , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu, Tokyo is unique among the prefectures, providing certain municipal services characteristic of a city, as defined by Japanese law. Because it is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family, Tokyo is the de facto capital of Japan. The name Tokyo literally means eastern capital. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, although each administratively a city in its own right, constitute the area informally considered as the “city of Tokyo” and are collectively one of the largest cities in the world with a total population of over 8 million people. The total population of the prefecture exceeds 12 million. The Greater Tokyo Area, centered on Tokyo but also including Chiba, Kanagawa, and Saitama, is the most populous metropolitan area in the world with a population of over 35 million people. It has been the world’s most populous urban area since between 1965 and 1970, and despite Japan’s overall declining population, is still growing. Tokyo has the largest metropolitan gross domestic product in the world for a city. Tokyo is a major global city and megacity. The name “Tokyo” refers variously to Tokyo Metropolis (the prefecture) as a whole, or only to the main urban mass under its jurisdiction (thus excluding west Tama and Izu and Ogasawara Islands), or even the whole of Greater Tokyo Area, which includes Tokyo and parts of Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, and Yamanashi prefectures, depending on context. This article uses the name to refer to Tokyo Metropolis unless otherwise stated. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 43 name Tokyo was originally known as Edo, meaning estuary. Its name was changed to Tokyo (Tokyo: to (east) + kyo (capital)) when it became the de facto imperial capital in 1868. This pronunciation is now obsolete. history Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo. In 1457, Ota Dokan built Edo Castle. In 1590, Tokugawa Ieyasu made Edo his base and when he became shogun in 1603, the town became the center of his nationwide military government. During the subsequent Edo period, Edo grew into one of the largest cities in the world with a population topping one million by the 18th century. It became the de facto capital of Japan even while the emperor lived in Kyoto, the imperial capital. After about 263 years, the shogunate was overthrown under the banner of restoring imperial rule. In 1869, the 17-year-old Emperor Meiji moved to Edo. Tokyo was already the nation’s political and cultural center, and the emperor’s residence made it a de facto imperial capital as well with the former Edo Castle becoming the Imperial Palace. The city of Tokyo was established, and continued to be the capital until it was abolished as a municipality in 1943 and merged with the “Metropolitan Prefecture” of Tokyo. Central Tokyo, like Osaka, has been designed since about the turn of the century (1900) to be centered around major train stations in a high-density fashion, so suburban railways were built relatively cheaply at street level and with their own rightof-way. This differs from cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles, that are low-density and automobile-centric. Though expressways have been built, the basic design has not changed. Tokyo went on to suffer two major catastrophes in the 20th century, but it recovered from both. One was the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake, and the other was World War II. The firebombings in 1945, with 75,000 to 200,000 killed and half of the city destroyed, were almost as devastating as the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. After the war, Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 44 Tokyo was completely rebuilt, and showcased to the world during the 1964 Summer Olympics. The 1970s brought new highrise developments such as Sunshine 60, a new and controversial airport at Narita (well outside Tokyo), and a population increase to about 11 million (in the metropolitan area). Tokyo’s subway and commuter rail network became one of the busiest in the world as more and more people moved to the area. In the 1980s, real estate prices skyrocketed during an economic bubble. The bubble burst in the early 1990s and many companies, banks, and individuals were caught with real estate shrinking in value. A major recession followed, making the 1990s Japan’s “lost decade” from which it is slowly recovering. Tokyo still sees new urban developments on large lots of less profitable land. Recent projects include Ebisu Garden Place, Tennozu Isle, Shiodome, Roppongi Hills, Shinagawa (now also a Shinkansen station), and the Marunouchi side of Tokyo Station. Buildings of significance are demolished for more up-to-date shopping facilities such as Omotesando Hills. Land reclamation projects in Tokyo have also been going on for centuries. The most prominent is the Odaiba area, now a major shopping and entertainment center. Various plans have been proposed for transferring national government functions from Tokyo to secondary capitals in other regions of Japan, in order to slow down rapid development in Tokyo and revitalize economically lagging areas of the country. These plans have been controversial within Japan and have yet to be realized. GeoGraPhy and administrative divisions The mainland portion of Tokyo lies northwest of Tokyo Bay and measures about 90 km east to west and 25 km north to south. Chiba Prefecture borders it to the east, Yamanashi to the west, Kanagawa to the south, and Saitama to the north. Mainland Tokyo is further subdivided into the special wards (occupying the eastern half ) and the Tama area (????) stretching westwards. Also within the administrative boundaries of Tokyo Metropolis are two island chains in the Pacific Ocean directly south: the Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 45 Izu Islands, and the Ogasawara Islands, which stretch more than 1,000 km away from mainland Japan. Because of these islands and mountainous regions to the west, Tokyo’s overall population density figures far underrepresent the real figures for urban and suburban regions of Tokyo. Under Japanese law, Tokyo is designated as a to (?), translated as metropolis. Its administrative structure is similar to that of Japan’s other prefectures. Within Tokyo lie dozens of smaller entities, most of them conventionally referred to as cities. It includes twenty-three special wards (??? -ku) which until 1943 comprised the city of Tokyo but are now separate, self-governing municipalities, each with a mayor and a council, and having the status of a city. In addition to these 23 municipalities, Tokyo also encompasses 26 more cities (? -shi), five towns (? -cho or machi), and eight villages (? -son or -mura), each of which has a local government. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is headed by a publicly elected governor and metropolitan assembly. Its headquarters are in the ward of Shinjuku. They govern all of Tokyo, including lakes, rivers, dams, farms, remote islands, and national parks in addition to its famous neon jungle, skyscrapers and crowded subways. the tWenty-three sPeCial Wards The special wards (tokubetsu-ku) of Tokyo comprise the area formerly incorporated as Tokyo City. On July 1, 1943, Tokyo City was merged with Tokyo Prefecture (???, Tokyo-fu) forming the current “metropolitan prefecture”. As a result of this merger, unlike other city wards in Japan, these wards are not part of any larger incorporated city. Each ward is a municipality with its own elected mayor and assembly like the other cities of Japan. The wards differ from other cities in that certain governmental functions are handled by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. The special wards of Tokyo are as follows: Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 46 The term “central Tokyo” today may refer to all of the 23 special wards, to all but the outermost special wards, or only to the three centrally located wards of Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato. Western tokyo To the west of the special wards, Tokyo Metropolis consists of cities, towns and villages that enjoy the same legal status as those elsewhere in Japan. While serving a role as “bed towns” for those working in central Tokyo, some of these also have a local commercial and industrial base. Collectively, these are often known as the Tama Area or Western Tokyo. Cities Twenty-six cities lie within the western part of Tokyo: The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has designated Hachioji, Tachikawa, Machida, Ome and Tama New Town as regional centres of the Tama area, as part of their plans to disperse urban functions away from central Tokyo. distriCts, toWns and villaGes The far west is occupied by the district (gun) of Nishitama. Much of this area is mountainous and unsuitable for urbanization. The highest mountain in Tokyo, Mount Kumotori, is 2,017 m high; other mountains in Tokyo include Takasu (1737 m), Odake (1266 m), and Mitake (929 m). Lake Okutama, on the Tama River near Yamanashi Prefecture, is Tokyo’s largest lake. ■■ Hinode ■■ Mizuho ■■ Okutama ■■ Hinohara islands Tokyo has numerous outlying islands, which extend as far as 1850 km from central Tokyo. Because of the islands’ distance from the administrative headquarters of the metropolitan government in Shinjuku, local offices administer them. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 47 The Izu Islands are a group of volcanic islands and form part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. The islands in order from closest to Tokyo are Izu Oshima, Toshima, Niijima, Shikinejima, Kozushima, Miyakejima, Mikurajima, Hachijojima, and Aogashima. Izu Oshima and Hachijojima are towns. The remaining islands are six villages, with Niijima and Shikinejima forming one village. The Ogasawara Islands include, from north to south, Chichijima, Nishinoshima, Haha-jima, Kita Iwo Jima, Iwo Jima, and Minami Iwo Jima. Ogasawara also administers two tiny outlying islands: Minami Torishima, the easternmost point in Japan and at 1,850 km the most distant island from central Tokyo, and Okino Torishima, the southernmost point in Japan. The last island is contested by the People’s Republic of China as being only uninhabited rocks. The Iwo chain and the outlying islands have no permanent population, but host Japanese Self-Defense Forces personnel. Local populations are only found on Chichijima and Haha-jima. The islands form the village of Ogasawara. national Parks There are several national parks within Tokyo, among them: ■■ Meiji no Mori Takao Quasi-National Park, around Mount Takao to the south of Hachioji ■■ Ogasawara National Park. As of 2006, efforts were being made to make Ogasawara National Park a UNESCO natural World Heritage Site. CitysCaPe Architecture in Tokyo has largely been shaped by Tokyo’s history. Twice in recent history has the metropolis been left in ruins: first in the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake and later after extensive firebombing in World War II. Because of this, Tokyo’s current urban landscape is one of modern and contemporary architecture, and older buildings are scarce.Hidenobu Jinnai. Tokyo: A Spatial Anthropology. University of California Press (1995), . ISBN 0520071352. Tokyo also contains numerous parks and gardens. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 48 Climate and seismoloGy Tokyo lies in the humid subtropical climate zone (Koppen climate classification Cfa), with hot humid summers and generally mild winters with cool spells. Annual rainfall averages 1,380 mm (55 inches), with a wetter summer and a drier winter. Snowfall is sporadic, but does occur almost annually. Tokyo is an example of an urban heat island; the city’s population is a significant contributor to its climate. Tokyo has been cited as a “convincing example of the relationship between urban growth and climate”. Tokyo also often sees typhoons each year, though few are strong. The last one to hit was Fitow in 2007. Tokyo was hit by powerful earthquakes in 1703, 1782, 1812, 1855 and 1923. The 1923 earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 8.3, killed 142,000 people. Global WarminG Tokyo is preparing to force industry to make big cuts in greenhouse gases, taking the lead in a country struggling to meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations. Tokyo’s outspoken governor, Shintaro Ishihara, decided to go it alone and create Japan’s first emissions cap system, reducing greenhouse gas emission by a total of 25 percent by 2020 from the 2000 level. eConomy Tokyo is one of the three world finance “command centres”, along with New York City and London. Tokyo has the largest metropolitan economy in the world. According to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Tokyo urban area (35.2 million people) had a total GDP of US$1,191 billion in 2005 (at purchasing power parity), ranking again as the largest urban agglomeration GDP in the world. See also List of cities by GDP. Tokyo is a major international finance center, houses the headquarters of several of the world’s largest investment banks and insurance companies, and serves as a hub for Japan’s transportation, publishing, and broadcasting industries. During the centralized growth of Japan’s economy following World War II, many large firms moved their headquarters from cities such as Osaka (the historical commercial capital) to Tokyo, in an Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 49 attempt to take advantage of better access to the government. This trend has begun to slow due to ongoing population growth in Tokyo and the high cost of living there. Tokyo was rated by the Economist Intelligence Unit as the most expensive (highest cost-of-living) city in the world for 14 years in a row ending in 2006. This analysis is for living a Western corporate executive lifestyle, with items like a detached house and several automobiles. The Tokyo Stock Exchange is Japan’s largest stock exchange, and second largest in the world by market capitalization and fourth largest by share turnover. In 1990 at the end of the Japanese asset price bubble, it accounted for more than 60% of the world stock market value. Tokyo had 8,460 ha (20,900 acres) of agricultural land as of 2003, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, placing it last among the nation’s prefectures. The farmland is concentrated in Western Tokyo. Perishables such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers can be conveniently shipped to the markets in the eastern part of the prefecture. Japanese leaf spinach and spinach are the most important vegetables; as of 2000, Tokyo supplied 32.5% of the Japanese leaf spinach sold at its central produce market. With 36% of its area covered by forest, Tokyo has extensive growths of cryptomeria and Japanese cypress, especially in the mountainous western communities of Akiruno, Ome, Okutama, Hachioji, Hinode, and Hinohara. Decreases in the price of lumber, increases in the cost of production, and advancing old age among the forestry population have resulted in a decline in Tokyo’s output. In addition, pollen, especially from cryptomeria, is a major allergen for the nearby population centers. Tokyo Bay was once a major source of fish. Presently, most of Tokyo’s fish production comes from the outer islands, such as Izu Oshima and Hachijojima. Skipjack tuna, nori, and aji are among the ocean products. Tourism in Tokyo is also a contributor to the economy. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 50 demoGraPhiCs Over eight million people live within Tokyo’s 23 wards. During the daytime, the population swells by over 2.5 million as workers and students commute from adjacent areas. This effect is even more pronounced in the three central wards of Chiyoda, Chuo, and Minato, whose collective population is less than 300,000 at night, but over two million during the day. The entire prefecture has 12,790,000 residents in October 2007 (8,657,000 in 23 wards), with an increase of over 3 million in the day. Tokyo is at its highest population ever, while that of the 23 wards peak official count was 8,893,094 in the 1965 Census, with the count dipping below 8 million in the 1995 Census. People continue to move back into the core city as land prices have fallen dramatically. As of 2005, the five most common foreign nationalities found in Tokyo are Chinese (123,661), Korean (106,697), Filipino (31,077), American (18,848) and British (7,696). The 1889 Census recorded 1,389,600 people in Tokyo City, Japan’s largest city at the time. transPortation Tokyo is Japan’s largest domestic and international hub for rail, ground, and air transportation. Public transportation within Tokyo is dominated by an extensive network of clean and efficient trains and subways run by a variety of operators, with buses, monorails and trams playing a secondary feeder role. Within Ota, one of the 23 special wards, Tokyo International Airport (“Haneda”) offers mainly domestic flights. Outside Tokyo, Narita International Airport, in Chiba Prefecture, is the major gateway for international travelers. Various islands governed by Tokyo have their own airports. Hachijojima (Hachijojima Airport), Miyakejima (Miyakejima Airport), and Izu Oshima (Oshima Airport) have service to Tokyo International and other airports. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 51 Rail is the primary mode of transportation in Tokyo, which has the most extensive urban railway network in the world and an equally extensive network of surface lines. JR East operates Tokyo’s largest railway network, including the Yamanote Line loop that circles the center of downtown Tokyo. Two organizations operate the subway network: the private Tokyo Metro and the governmental Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation. The metropolitan government and private carriers operate bus routes. Local, regional, and national services are available, with major terminals at the giant railroad stations, including Tokyo and Shinjuku. Expressways link the capital to other points in the Greater Tokyo area, the Kanto region, and the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku. Other transportation includes taxis operating in the special wards and the cities and towns. Also long-distance ferries serve the islands of Tokyo and carry passengers and cargo to domestic and foreign ports. eduCation : Tokyo has many universities, junior colleges, and vocational schools. Many of Japan’s most prestigious universities are in Tokyo, the University of Tokyo being the most prestigious of all. National universities located in Tokyo include Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, University of ElectroCommunications, Tokyo Institute of Technology and University of Tokyo. There is only one public university (i.e., not national): the Tokyo Metropolitan University. Keio University and Waseda University, top private universities in Japan, are located in Tokyo. Tokyo also has a few universities well-known for classes conducted in English. They include International Christian, Sophia, Waseda University, and Temple University Japan. For an extensive list, see List of universities in Tokyo. Publicly run kindergartens, elementary schools (years 1 through 6), and junior high schools (7 through 9) are operated by local wards or municipal offices. Public high schools in Tokyo are run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education and Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 52 are called “Metropolitan High Schools”. Tokyo also has many private schools from kindergarten through high school. Culture and sPorts Tokyo has many museums. In Ueno Park are four national museums: Tokyo National Museum, the country’s largest museum and specializing in traditional Japanese art; the National Museum of Western Art; and the Tokyo National Museum of Modern Art, with its collections of Japanese modern art as well as over 40,000 Japanese and foreign films. Also in Ueno Park are the National Museum of Science and the public zoo. Other museums include the Nezu Art Museum in Aoyama; the Edo-Tokyo Museum in the Sumida Ward across the Sumida River from the center of Tokyo; and the National Diet Library, National Archives, and the National Museum of Modern Art, which are located near the Imperial Palace. Tokyo has many theaters for the performing arts as well. These include national and private theaters for traditional forms of Japanese drama (like noh and kabuki) as well as modern dramas. Symphony orchestras and other musical organizations perform Western and traditional music. Tokyo also hosts modern Japanese and Western pop and rock music at venues ranging in size from intimate clubs to internationally known arenas like the Nippon Budokan. Many different festivals occur throughout Tokyo. Major events include the Sanno at Hie Shrine, the Sanja at Asakusa Shrine, and the biennial Kanda Festivals. The last features a parade with elaborately decorated floats and thousands of people. Annually on the last Saturday of July, an enormous fireworks display over the Sumida River attracts over a million viewers. Once cherry blossoms, or sakura, bloom in spring, many residents gather in Ueno Park, Inokashira Park, and the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden for picnics under the blossoms. Harajuku Station on the Yamanote Line in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo, Japan is known internationally for its youth style and fashion. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 53 Cuisine in Tokyo is internationally acclaimed. In November of 2007, Michelin released their guide for fine dining in Tokyo, garnering 191 stars in total, or about twice as many as its nearest competitor, Paris. Eight establishments were awarded the maximum of three stars (Paris has 10), 25 received two stars, and 117 earned one star. Of the eight top-rated restaurants, three offer traditional Japanese fine dining, two are sushi houses, three serve French cuisine. Sports in Tokyo are diverse. Tokyo is home to two professional baseball clubs, the Yakult Swallows (Meiji-Jingu Stadium) and Yomiuri Giants (Tokyo Dome). The Japan Sumo Association is also headquartered in Tokyo at the Ryogoku Kokugikan sumo arena where three official sumo tournaments are held annually (in January, May, and September). Football (soccer) clubs in Tokyo include FC Tokyo and Tokyo Verdy 1969, both of which play at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chofu. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics. National Stadium, also known as Olympic Stadium, Tokyo is host to a number of international sporting events. With a number of world-class sports venues, Tokyo often hosts national and international sporting events such as tennis tournaments, swim meets, marathons, American football exhibition games, judo, karate, etc. Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, in Sendagaya, Shibuya, is a large sports complex that includes swimming pools, training rooms, and a large indoor arena. tokyo in PoPular media As the largest population center in Japan and the location of the country’s largest broadcasters and studios, Tokyo is frequently the setting for many Japanese movies, television shows, animated series (anime), and comic books (manga). In the kaiju (monster movie) genre, landmarks of Tokyo are routinely destroyed by giant monsters such as Godzilla. Some Hollywood directors have turned to Tokyo as a filming location for movies set in Tokyo. Well-known examples from the postwar era include Tokyo Joe, My Geisha, and the James Bond film You Only Live Twice; well-known contemporary examples include Kill Bill, Tokyo Drift and Lost in Translation. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 54 sister relationshiPs Tokyo has eleven sister cities/states: In addition, Tokyo has “partnership” agreements with London, Auckland, Paris, and Rome. Many wards and cities within Tokyo also maintain sister-city relationships with other foreign cities. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 55 Japanese phrasebook Japanese (??? nihongo) is spoken in Japan, and essentially nowhere else other than South Korea and China, where some use it as a second language. The language is strongly influenced by Chinese though the two are unrelated; Japanese may be distantly related to Korean, although the written form uses a combination of Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji characters which were all derived from Chinese characters. PronunCiation Guide Japanese is not a tonal language like Chinese or Thai, and is comparatively easy to pronounce. The vowels are pronounced virtually identical to the “Italian way” and there are very few consonants that do not exist in English. All syllables are to be pronounced equal in length. Long vowels take the length of two syllables. Combinations like ?? kya are treated like one syllable and are the only occurrence of sliding vowels, all other syllables are to be pronounced rather separately. Also avoid placing too much emphasis on particular words or syllables. Although Japanese does have a form of stress and intonation, it is significantly flatter than English. Word stress is much more subtle and neglecting it at this point should not interfere with meaning. Trying to keep your intonation flat will make your attempts to speak Japanese more comprehensible to local listeners. When asking questions, you can raise the tone at the end, as in English. voWels Japanese has both short and long vowels and the distinction is often important. Long vowels are either formed by a prolonged sound mark, as in ??a, or by an ? o followed by ? u, as in ??o. In romanized Japanese, these long vowels are marked with a macron. The sounds below are first given in romanized Japanese, then Hiragana and finally Katakana. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 56 ?, ? : like ‘a’ in “father” ?, ? : like ‘i’ in “machine” ■■ u, ?, ? : like ‘oo’ in “hoop”, but short ■■ e, ?, ? : like ‘e’ in “set” ■■ o, ?, ? : like ‘o’ in “rope”, but less round ■■ a, ■■ i, Note that “u” is often weak at the end of syllables. In particular, the common endings desu and masu are usually pronounced as des and mas respectively. Consonants With the solitary exception of “n” (?·?), consonants in Japanese are always followed by a vowel to form a syllable. Consonants and vowels are not freely combinable as in English, see table on the right for all possible syllables and note irregularities like ? shi or ? fu. Certain syllables can be marked with diacritics, which alters the pronunciation of the consonant part. The list below first gives the consonant part of the syllable in romanized Japanese, then the Japanese syllables that the sound occurs in first in Hiragana, then Katakana. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 57 in ?????·????? : like ‘k’ in “king” in ?????·????? : like ‘g’ in “go” ■■ s in ????·???? : like ‘s’ in “sit” ■■ z in ????·???? : like ‘z’ in “haze” ■■ t in ???·??? : like ‘t’ in “top” ■■ d in ???·??? : like ‘d’ in “dog” ■■ n in ?????·????? : like ‘n’ in “nice” ■■ h in ????·???? : like ‘h’ in “help” ■■ p in ?????·????? : like ‘p’ in “pig” ■■ b in ?????·????? : like ‘b’ in “bed” ■■ m in ?????·????? : like ‘m’ in “mother” ■■ y in ???·??? : like ‘y’ in “yard” ■■ r in ?????·????? : no equivalent in English, a sound between ‘l’, ‘r’ and ‘d’, but close to a very soft ‘r’ ■■ w in ?·? : like ‘w’ in “wall” ■■ sh in ?·?: like ‘sh’ in “sheep” ■■ j in ?·?: like ‘j’ in “jar” ■■ ch in ?·?: like ‘ch’ in “touch” ■■ ts in ?·? : like ‘ts’ in “hot soup” ■■ f in ?·?: like ‘wh’ in “who” ■■ n, ?, ? : short ‘n’, slides towards ‘m’ in some cases ■■ double consonants through ?·? (small tsu) : ???? nippon is pronounced “nip-(pause)-pon”. The consonant is prepared, held and stopped for the duration of one syllable. Not to be confused with with a “real” double consonant as in ????? konnichiwa, which is usually shown by an apostrophe in the romanized version: kon’nichiwa. ■■ k ■■ g examPles ■■ kon’nichiwa ? kon-nee-chee-wa (not kounneeCHEEua) ■■ sumimasen ? soo-mee-mah-sen (not sue my maysen) ■■ onegai shimasu ? oh-neh-gigh shee-mahss (not ouneeGAY SHYmessu) katakana Katakana are used to write foreign and loanwords and are hence a good choice for travellers to learn. The katakana set of characters encompasses exactly the same sounds as hiragana, they only look different. The table on the left only reproduces the basic character set, diacritics (???) and combinations (??) Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 58 apply just as for hiragana. One additional sound though is ? vu and combinations like ?? ve based on it, accommodating additional foreign sounds (actually ? vu exists in hiragana as well, but is rarely if ever used). Every once in a while you may spot additional ingenious combinations or use of diacritics. Since Japanese doesn’t accommodate consonants, and especially rapid successions of consonants, very well, the katakana transcription can often only approximate the actual pronunciation of a foreign word. While some words like café (??? kafe) can be represented quite gracefully, other words like beer (??? biru) or rent-a-car (????? rentaka) seem slightly strange. Nonetheless, many English expressions and concepts are used in everyday life, as are a number of German, French, Dutch and Portugese loanwords. Oftentimes the exact meaning of a word has changed in Japanese (de: Arbeit ?????? arubaito is used only for part-time work) or a completely new meaning was invented (?????? wanmanka? “one-man car”, trains and buses without inspector, only one driver), but you can usually at least guess at the meaning. To identify a katakana word, it’s usually helpful to repeat it out loud a few times and to leave out superfluous vocals, especially the ‘u’ in ? su and ‘o’ in ? to. That way ??? raisu quickly becomes “rice” and ???? chiketto becomes “ticket”. Try not too hard though, as sometimes original Japanese words are written in katakana as well, similar to the use of uppercase or italic letters in English. Grammar At its core, Japanese grammar is pretty simple, though sentence structures differ greatly from English. For instance, Japanese uses postpositions instead of prepositions ( Japan in and not in Japan). It has no gender, declensions or plurals. Nouns never conjugate while adjectives follow a generally standardised conjugation pattern. However, verbs have extensive conjugation patterns and much of Japanese lessons for foreign language learners is about getting these conjugations right. Verbs and adjectives also conjugate by politeness level though, and in a rather peculiar way. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 59 Japanese is a so called agglutinative language, meaning several morphemes which have purely grammatical functions are glued to the end of a word stem to express the grammatical function. The more the intended meaning differs from the basic form of the word, the more morphemes are glued together. ForminG sentenCes Japanese grammar generally employs a subject-object-verb order, but is very modular and flexible since the grammatical meaning of a word is expressed by the morphemes glued to its end and special marker particles. The two most important particles are the topic marker ? wa and the object marker ? o. It becomes a little more complicated if both objects and subjects are mixed within a sentence and the subject marker ? ga is thrown in. Students of the language can spend years wrapping their heads around the difference between the topic of a sentence (marked by ? wa) and the subject of a sentence (marked by ? ga). However, as a beginner, you can fairly safely always use ? wa to mark the person doing the action and get your message across. Some other useful particles are: the verb “to be” There is no verb “to be” as such. The two words ?? iru and ?? aru express the presence of a person or an object respectively, but they are not in any way equivalent to “to be”. E.g. ??????????? Yamada-san wa koko ni iru. means “Mr. Yamada is (physically present) here”. For expressions like “I am ...” or “This is ...” it is technically sufficient to only state the subject or object in question, and colloquially this is often what is done. E.g. ??????? Kore Yamada-san. - “This Yamada-san.” Without sufficient knowledge of the Japanese language and culture one should generally add the polite copula desu though to make the sentence more complete and give it a politeness level: ???? Yamada desu (“I am Yamada.”), ????? ringo desu (“This is an apple.”), ???? akai desu (“It is red.”). Note that “I am” or “it Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 60 is” is not stated in these sentences but is rather implied by the context: “Who is on call today?” - Yamada desu. “Yamada is.”, “Who screwed this up?” - Yamada desu. “Yamada did.” To put it another way: There is no Japanese equivalent to “to be” and no English equivalent to ?? desu, both are only relevant within their respective grammatical contexts. They are both used in roughly the same situations though. addressinG others More a cultural than a grammatical problem is the problem of addressing somebody. Even though there exist a multitude of word with the meaning “you”, it is generally avoided to address somebody directly. The closest equivalent to “you” is ??? anata, but it’s only being used among friends or equals. It is usually preferred to address somebody by name, title or status, applying appropriate honorifics. ■■ ?? -san : The most basic honorific, about equivalent to Mister or Miss (no distiction between the two in Japanese). ???? Yamada-san: Mister Yamada ■■ ? -sama : Politer than -san, used to address people ranking higher on the social ladder. ■■ ??? -chan : Usually used to address young children. Also used to address (usually female) close friends. ■■ ? -kun : Used to adress male close friends. ■■ ??? okyaku-sama : “Mister customer”, used by hotel or shop owners to address you. ■■ ???? tencho-san : The way to address the owner of a shop, though not the part-time workers. ■■ ???? oni-san, ???? one-san : Literally brother and sister respectively, is used to address young people who you’re having a hard time finding a better honorific for. ■■ ???? oji-san, ???? oba-san : “Gramps” and “granny”, very popular to address old people. Cuter when used with -chan. ■■ ?? shacho : The boss of the company. ■■ ??? sochira : Means something like “on your side” and is used when absolutely no better honorific can be found. There are also several different words for “I”, with ? watashi being the most commonly used. Grammatically it’s often unnecessary Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 61 to use the words “you” or “I”, so they should generally be avoided. Sometimes people will also call themselves by their own name. When doing so they must not add any additional honorifics though, you only do this when addressing others. There’s no specific form for “we” or the plural “you”. To address groups of people you add the plural particle ?? -tachi to somebody within the group or the group designator. ■■ ??? watashi-tachi : lit. “the group around myself ”, meaning “we” ■■ ?? ware-ware : a less formal way of saying “we” ■■ ????? anata-tachi : “the group around you”, plural “you” ■■ ???? kodomo-tachi : “a group of children”, meaning “the children” ■■ ?????? Yamada-san-tachi : “the group around Yamada-san”, everybody you’d associate with Mr. Yamada, based on context readinG and WritinG Reading and writing Japanese are advanced skills which take years of work to gain much real proficiency. Japanese themselves use three different writing systems of various complexity, two of which (hiragana and katakana) are syllabic and relatively easy to learn with 50 characters each. The clincher is the set of Chinese characters known as kanji, roughly 2,000 of which are in daily use while many more exist. Kanji originated as pictures, where each character originally represented a meaning, idea or concept, not a sound as in English. Even though kanji have since evolved dramatically and many have long since jettisoned any connection to the original concept, the meaning of some simple kanji can still be easily guessed at (see below). One difficulty in reading Japanese lies often in the fact that a kanji can have several different pronunciations. The kanji ? for example has the meaning of a person, and by itself it may be pronounced hito. The kanji ? means big (imagine a person with outstretched arms) and can be pronounced as dai or o. Together Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 62 they form the word ?? otona, “adult” (lit. big person). In the word ??? gaikokujin (“foreigner”, lit. outside country person) the same kanji ? is pronounced jin. These pronunciations exist because a single kanji may be used to write one or more different words, or parts of words. These “readings” are normally categorized as either Sino-Japanese(??? onyomi); a Japanese approximation of the Chinese pronunciation of the character at the time it was introduced to Japanese, or native Japanese(??? kunyomi); based on the pronunciation of a native Japanese word. Generally, kanji are read with their native Japanese reading when on their own(eg. ?, hanashi) and with Sino-Japanese readings when part of compound words(eg. ??, denwa), though there are many exceptions. Kanji are mixed with hiragana and katakana in everyday writing for historical reasons. Japan adopted the Chinese hanzi system, but found it difficult to impossible to express soundbased Japanese grammatical inflections with the meaning-based Chinese characters. Hence the sound-based hiragana characters have been invented and tacked onto the end of hanzi/kanji characters. In the course the katakana system was invented to express foreign and loan words. There are also several competing systems for rendering Japanese in the Latin alphabet, although the system is the most common and is used on Wikitravel as well. Do not be surprised if you see these words romanized differently elsewhere. Also note that there are many homophones in Japanese, i.e. words with different meanings that have the same prononciation (like “there”, “they’re” and “their”). This can be confusing even to native speakers, to the extend that words have to be explained with an alternative reading or need to be drawn. These words may also employ a pitch-accent system to distinguish them, which speakers of non-tonal languages may have difficulty catching on. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 63 basiCs ■■ Good afternoon. : ?????? Konnichiwa. (kon-nee-chee-wah) ■■ How are you? : ??????? O genki desu ka? (Oh-GEN-kee desska?) ■■ Fine, thank you. : ???????? Hai, genki desu. (Ha-ee, gen-kee dess) ■■ How about you? : ????? Anata wa? (Ah-nah-tah wa) ■■ What’s your name? (lit. “Your name is...”) : ????? O namae wa? (Oh-nah-mah-eh wah?) ■■ My name is ... . : … ??? ... desu. (... dess.) ■■ Nice to meet you. (formal) : ??????????????????? Hajimemashite. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu. (Hah-jee-meh- Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 64 mash-teh dohh-zoh yoh-roh-sh-ku oh-neh-gah-ee shee-mahss) ■■ Please. (request) : ??????? Onegai shimasu. (oh-neh-gah-ee shee-mahs) ■■ Please. (offer) : ???? Dozo. (Dohh-zoh) ■■ This person is ... . (when introducing somebody) : ???? … Kochira wa ... (ko-chi-rah wah...) ■■ Thank you very much. (formal) : ???????????? Domo arigato gozaimasu. (doh-moh ah-ree-GAH-toh go-ZAh-ee-mah-ss) ■■ Thank you. (less formal) : ????????? Arigato gozaimasu. (ahree-GAH-toh go-ZAh-ee-mahs) ■■ Thank you. (normal) : ???? Arigato. (ah-ree-GAH-toh) ■■ Thanks. (informal) : ???? Domo. (doh-moh) ■■ You’re welcome. : ????????? Do itashimashite. (doh EE-tahshee mah-shteh) ■■ yes : ?? hai (High) ■■ no : ??? iie (EE-eh) ■■ Excuse me. : ?????? Sumimasen. (soo-mee-mah-sen) ■■ I’m sorry. : ?????? Gomen’nasai. (goh-men-nah-sah-ee) ■■ I’m sorry. (informal) : ??? Gomen (goh-men) ■■ Goodbye. (long-term) : ?????? Sayonara. (sa-YOHH-nah-rah) ■■ Goodbye. (informal) : ???? Ja ne. ( Jah-neh) ■■ I can’t speak Japanese (very well). : ????(??)?????? Nihongo ga (yoku) hanasemasen. ( nee-hohn-goh gah (yo-koo) hahnah-seh-mah-sen) ■■ Do you speak Japanese? : ?????????? Nihongo ga hanasemasu ka? (ni-HON-go gah hah-nah-se-mahs-KAH?) ■■ Yes, a little. : ?????? Hai, sukoshi. (HIGH sko-shee) ■■ Do you speak English? : ????????? Eigo ga hanasemasu ka? (EHH-goh gah hah-nah-seh-mahs-KAH?) ■■ Is there someone here who speaks English? : ???????????? Dareka eigo ga hanasemasu ka? (dah-reh-kah EHH-goh gah hah-nah-seh-moss-KAH?) ■■ Please speak slowly. : ???????????? Yukkuri hanashite kudasai. (YOO-kuree hanash-teh koo-dah-sah-ee) ■■ Please say it again. : ???????????? Mo ichido itte kudasai. (mo EE-chee-doh ee-te koo-dah-sah-ee) ■■ Please help! : ???! Tasukete! (tahs-keh-teh!) ■■ Look out! : ???! Abunai! (ah-boo-NIGH!) ■■ Good morning. : ????????? Ohayo gozaimasu. (oh-hah-YOH go-zah-ee-mahs) Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 65 morning. (informal) : ????? ohayo evening. : ?????? Konbanwa. (kohn-bahn-wah) ■■ Good night (to sleep) : ??????? Oyasuminasai. (oh-yah-soomee-nah-sigh) ■■ I don’t understand. : ??????? Wakarimasen. (wah-kah-reemah-sen) ■■ I am not Japanese. : ??????????? Nihonjin ja arimasen. (neehon-jin ja a-ree-ma-sehn) ■■ Where is the toilet? : ??????????? Otearai wa doko desu ka? (Oh-teh-ah-rah-ee wah DOH-koh dess kah?) ■■ What? : ?? Nani? (nah-nee) ■■ Where? : ??? Doko? (doh-koh) ■■ Who? : ?? Dare? (dah-reh) ■■ When? : ??? Itsu? (it-soo) ■■ Which? : ??? Dore? (doh-reh) ■■ Why? : ???? Doshite (doh-sh’teh) ■■ How? : ?????? Doyatte (dohh-yah-teh) ■■ How much? : ???? Ikura? (ee-koo-rah) ■■ What type of? : ???? Donna? (dohn-nah) ■■ Good ■■ Good Problems ■■ Leave me alone. : ????? Hottoke. ■■ Don’t touch me! : ????! Sawaruna! ■■ I’ll call the police. : ???????? Keisatsu o yobimasu. ■■ Police! : ??! Keisatsu! ■■ Stop! Thief! : ??! ????! Mate! Dorobo! ■■ I need your help. : ????????? Tasukete kudasai. ■■ It’s an emergency. : ????? Kinkyu desu. ■■ I’m lost. : ????? Maigo desu. ■■ I lost my bag. : ????????? Kaban o nakushimashita. ■■ I dropped my wallet. : ?????????? Saifu o otoshimashita. ■■ I’m sick. : ????? Byoki desu. ■■ I don’t feel well. : ????????? Kibun ga warui desu. ■■ I’ve been injured. : ??????? Kega shimashita. ■■ Please call a doctor. : ??????????? Isha o yonde kudasai. ■■ Can I use your phone? : ????????????? Denwa o tsukatte mo ii desu ka? Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 66 in an emerGenCy need a doctor. : ???????????????? Oishasan ni mite moraitai desu. ■■ Is there a doctor who can speak English? : ????????????????? Eigo no dekiru oishasan wa imasu ka? ■■ Please take me to a doctor. : ???????????????? Oishasan ni tsurete itte kudasai. ■■ My wife/husband/child is sick. : ?·??·???????? Tsuma/ shujin/kodomo ga byoki desu. ■■ Please call an ambulance. : ??????????? Kyukyusha o yonde kudasai. ■■ I need first aid. : ???????????Okyu teate o shite kudasai. ■■ I need to go to the emergency room. : ???????????????? Kyukyushitsu ni ikanakereba narimasen.shorter: ?????????? Kyukyushitsu ni ikanai to. ■■ How long will it take to get better? : ?????????????? Naoru made dono kurai kakarimasu ka? ■■ Where is a pharmacy? : ????????? Yakkyoku wa doko desu ka? ■■ I allerGies allergic to ... . : ?? … ???????? Watashi wa ... arerugii desu. ■■ antibiotics : ???? kosei busshitsu ■■ aspirin : ????? asupirin ■■ codeine : ???? kodein ■■ dairy products : ??? nyuseihin ■■ food coloring : ????? jinko chakushokuryo ■■ fungus : ?? kinrui ■■ MSG : ??? ajinomoto ■■ mushrooms : ??? kinoko ■■ peanuts : ????? pinattsu ■■ penicillin : ????? penishirin ■■ pollen : ?? kafun ■■ seafood : ??? gyokairui ■■ sesame : ?? goma ■■ shellfish : ?? kairui ■■ tree nuts, fruits or berries : ??? ki no mi ■■ wheat : ?? komugi ■■ I’m Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 67 exPlaininG symPtoms ... hurts. : … ????... ga itai. feel unwell. : ????? kibun ga warui ■■ I have a fever. : ??????? Netsu ga arimasu. ■■ I cough a lot. : ?????? Seki ga demasu. ■■ I feel listless. : ?????? Karada ga darui. ■■ I feel nauseated. : ???????? Hakike ga shimasu. ■■ I feel dizzy. : ???????? Memai ga shimasu. ■■ I have the chills. : ??????? Samuke ga shimasu. ■■ I swallowed something. : ????????????? Nanika o nonde shimaimashita. ■■ I am bleeding. : ????? Shukketsu desu. ■■ I broke a bone. : ????? Kossetsu desu. ■■ He/she is unconscious. : ??????? Ishiki fumei desu. ■■ I burnt myself. : ????? Yakedo desu. ■■ He/she cannot breath. : ??????? Kokyu konnan desu. ■■ He/she had a heart attack. : ??????? Shinzo hossa desu. ■■ My vision got worse. : ????????? Shiryoku ga ochimashita. ■■ I can’t hear well. : ??????????? Mimi ga yoku kikoemasen. ■■ My nose bleeds a lot. : ????????? Hanaji ga yoku demasu. ■■ My ■■ I numbers While Arabic (Western) numerals are employed for most uses in Japan, you will occasionally still spot Japanese numerals at eg. markets and the menus of fancy restaurants. The characters used are nearly identical to Chinese numerals, and like Chinese, Japanese uses groups of 4 digits, not 3. “One million” is thus ?? (hyaku-man), literally “hundred ten-thousands”. There are both Japanese and Chinese readings for most numbers, but presented below are the more commonly used Chinese readings. Note that, due to superstition (shi also means “death”), 4 and 7 typically use the Japanese readings yon and nana instead. Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 68 : ? (zero or maru) / ? (rei) in finance : ? (ichi) ■■ 2 : ? (ni) ■■ 3 : ? (san) ■■ 4 : ? (yon or shi) ■■ 5 : ? (go) ■■ 6 : ? (roku) ■■ 7 : ? (nana or shichi) ■■ 8 : ? (hachi) ■■ 9 : ? (kyu) ■■ 10 : ? ( ju) ■■ 11 : ?? ( ju-ichi) ■■ 12 : ?? ( ju-ni) ■■ 13 : ?? ( ju-san) ■■ 14 : ?? ( ju-yon) ■■ 15 : ?? ( ju-go) ■■ 16 : ?? ( ju-roku) ■■ 17 : ?? ( ju-nana) ■■ 18 : ?? ( ju-hachi) ■■ 19 : ?? ( ju-kyuu) ■■ 20 : ?? (ni-ju) ■■ 21 : ??? (ni-ju-ichi) ■■ 22 : ??? (ni-ju-ni) ■■ 23 : ??? (ni-ju-san) ■■ 30 : ?? (san-ju) ■■ 40 : ??(yon-ju) ■■ 50 : ?? (go-ju) ■■ 60 : ?? (ro-ku-ju) ■■ 70 : ??(nana-ju) ■■ 80 : ?? (hachi-ju) ■■ 90 : ?? (kyu-ju) ■■ 100 : ? (hyaku) ■■ 200 : ?? (ni-hyaku) ■■ 300 : ?? (san-byaku) ■■ 600 : ?? (roppyaku) ■■ 800 : ?? (happyaku) ■■ 1000 : ? (sen) ■■ 2000 : ?? (ni-sen) ■■ 3000 : ?? (san-zen) ■■ 10,000 : ?? (ichi-man) ■■ 1,000,000 : ?? (hyaku-man) ■■ 0 ■■ 1 Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan : ?? (ichi-oku) : ?? (itcho) ■■ 0.5 : ?·? (rei ten go) ■■ 0.56 : ?·?? (rei ten go-roku) ■■ number _____ (train, bus, etc.) : _____? (____ ban) ■■ half : ?? (hanbun) ■■ less (few) : ??? (sukunai) ■■ more (many) : ?? (ooi) ■■ 100,000,000 ■■ 1,000,000,000,000 69 time ■■ now : ? (ima) ■■ later : ?? (atode) ■■ before : ?? (mae ni) ■■ before ___ : ___ ??? ( ___ no mae ni) ■■ morning : ? (asa) ■■ afternoon : ?? (gogo) ■■ evening : ?? (yugata) ■■ night : ? (yoru) CloCk time Clock times are formed as Chinese numeral plus ? ji, for example, goji 5? for five o’clock. The exception is four o’clock which is pronounced yoji(??) instead of shiji. You will be understood if you simply substitute gozen ?? for “AM” and gogo ?? for PM, although other time qualifiers like ? asa for morning and ? yoru for night may be more natural. The 24-hour clock is also commonly used in official contexts such as train schedules. TV schedules occasionally use a modified 24-hour clock, with late night showtimes counted from the previous day, e.g. Monday at 2600 AM. o’clock AM : ?6? (asa rokuji) o’clock AM : ??9? (gozen kuji) ■■ noon : ?? (shogo) ■■ one o’clock PM : ??1? (gogo ichiji.) ■■ two o’clock PM : ??2? (gogo niji) ■■ midnight : ?12? (yoru juniji), ?? (reiji) ■■ six ■■ nine Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 70 duration Confusingly, the Japanese words for “N days” (long) and “Nth day” are the same, so eg. ?? futsuka means both “two days” and “the second day of the month”. (See #Days of the Month for the full list.) You can tag on -? kan at the end, eg. futsukakan 2??, to clarify that you mean “two days long”. minute(s) : _____ ? (fun or pun) hour(s) : _____ ?? ( jikan) ■■ _____ day(s) : _____ ? (nichi or ka, see note above) ■■ _____ week(s) : _____ ?? (shukan) ■■ _____ month(s) : _____ ?? (kagetsu) ■■ _____ year(s) : _____ ? (nen) ■■ _____ ■■ _____ days : ??(kyo) : ??(kino) ■■ tomorrow : ??(ashita) ■■ tomorrow (formal) : ??(asu) ■■ this week : ??(konshu) ■■ last week : ??(senshu) ■■ next week : ??(raishu) ■■ today ■■ yesterday days oF the Week The days of the week are named after the sun, the moon and the five elements of Chinese philosophy. ■■ Sunday : ??? (nichiyobi) ■■ Monday : ??? (getsuyobi) ■■ Tuesday : ??? (kayobi) ■■ Wednesday : ??? (suiyobi) ■■ Thursday : ??? (mokuyobi) ■■ Friday : ??? (kin’yobi) ■■ Saturday : ??? (doyobi) days oF the month The 1st through the 10th of the month have special names: Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan day of the month :1? (tsuitachi) day of the month : 2? (futsuka) ■■ Third day of the month : 3? (mikka) ■■ Fourth day of the month : 4? (yokka) ■■ Fifth day of the month : 5? (itsuka) ■■ Sixth day of the month : 6? (muika) ■■ Seventh day of the month : 7? (nanoka) ■■ Eighth day of the month : 8? (yoka) ■■ Ninth day of the month : 9? (kokonoka) ■■ Tenth day of the month : 10? (toka) ■■ First ■■ Second 71 The other days of the month are more orderly, just add the suffix -nichi to the ordinal number. Note that 14, 20, and 24 deviate from this pattern. day of the month : 11? ( juichinichi) day of the month : 14? ( juyokka) ■■ Twentieth day of the month : 20? (hatsuka) ■■ Twenty-fourth day of the month : 24? (nijuyokka) ■■ Eleventh ■■ Fourteenth months Months are very orderly in Japanese, just add the suffix -gatsu to the ordinal number. : 1? (ichigatsu) : 2? (nigatsu) ■■ March : 3? (sangatsu) ■■ April : 4? (shigatsu) ■■ May : 5? (gogatsu) ■■ June : 6? (rokugatsu) ■■ July : 7? (shichigatsu) ■■ August : 8? (hachigatsu) ■■ September : 9? (kugatsu) ■■ October : 10? ( jugatsu) ■■ November : 11? ( juichigatsu) ■■ December : 12? ( junigatsu) ■■ January ■■ February Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 72 seasons : ? (haru) : ? (natsu) ■■ Autumn : ? (aki) ■■ Winter : ? (fuyu) ■■ Spring ■■ Summer WritinG time and date Dates are written in year/month/day (day of week) format, with markers: 2007?3?21?(?) Note that Imperial era years, based on the name and duration of the current Emperor’s reign, are also frequently used. 2007 in the Gregorian calendar corresponds to Heisei 19 (??19?), which may be abbreviated as “H19”. Dates like “19/03/24” (March 24, Heisei 19) are also occasionally seen. Colors Many of the English words for colors are widely used and understood by almost all Japanese. These are indicated after the slash. Note that some Japanese colors are normally suffixed with -iro (?) to distinguish between the color and the object. For example, ? cha means “tea”, but ?? chairo means “tea-color” → “brown”. : ? / ???? (kuro / burakku) : ? / ???? (shiro / howaito) ■■ gray : ?(?) / ??? (hai(iro) / gure) ■■ red : ? / ??? (aka / reddo) ■■ blue : ? / ??? (ao / buru) ■■ yellow : ?(?) / ???? (ki(iro) / iero) ■■ green : ? / ???? (midori / guriin) ■■ orange : ? / ???? (daidai / orenji) ■■ purple : ? / ???? (murasaki / papuru) ■■ brown : ?(?) / ???? (cha(iro) / buraun) ■■ black ■■ white Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 73 bus and train much is a ticket to _____? : _____ ????????? (_____ made ikura desu ka?) ■■ One ticket to _____, please. : _____ ???????????(_____ made ichimai onegaishimasu) ■■ Where does this train/bus go? : ??????????? (kono densha/ basu wa doko yuki desuka?) ■■ Where is the train/bus to _____? : _____ ?????????? (_____ yuki no densha/basu wa doko desuka?) ■■ Does this train/bus stop in _____? : ??? _____ ???????? (kono densha/basu wa _____ ni tomarimasuka?) ■■ When does the train/bus for _____ leave? : _____ ?????????????? (_____ yuki no densha/basu wa nanji ni shuppatsu shimasuka?) ■■ When will this train/bus arrive in _____? : ?????? _____ ??????? (kono densha/basu wa nanji ni _____ ni tsukimasuka?) ■■ How Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 74 direCtions do I get to _____? : _____ ???????? (_____ wa dochira desu ka?) ■■ ...the train station? : ?...? (eki...) ■■ ...the bus station? : ???...? (basu tei..) ■■ ...the airport? : ??...? (kuko...) ■■ ...downtown? : ????...? (machi no chushin...) ■■ ...the youth hostel? : ???·????...? (yusu hosuteru...) ■■ ...the _____ hotel? : _____ ???...? (hoteru...) ■■ ...the _____ embassy/consulate? : _____???/???...? (_____ taishikan/ryojikan...) ■■ Where are there a lot of _____ : _____??????????? (_____ga ooi tokoro wa doko desuka?) ■■ ...lodgings? : ?...? (yado...) ■■ ...restaurants? : ?????...? (resutoran...) ■■ ...bars? : ??...? (baa) ■■ ...sites to see? : ??...? (mimono...) ■■ Where is _____? : _____??????? (_____ wa doko desuka.) ■■ Is it far from here? : ?????????? (Koko kara tooi desu ka.) ■■ Please show me on the map. : ?????????? (chizu de sashite kudasai) ■■ street : ? (michi) ■■ Turn left. : ??????????? (Hidari e magatte kudasai.) ■■ Turn right. : ???????????(Migi e magatte kudasai.) ■■ left : ? (hidari) ■■ right : ? (migi) ■■ straight ahead : ???? (massugu) ■■ towards the _____ : _____ ????? (e mukatte) ■■ past the _____ : _____ ?? (no saki) ■■ before the _____ : _____ ?? (no mae) ■■ Watch for the _____. : _____?????? (ga mejirushi desu) ■■ intersection : ??? (kosaten) ■■ traffic light : ?? (shingou) ■■ north : ? (kita) ■■ south : ? (minami) ■■ east : ? (higashi) ■■ west : ? (nishi) ■■ uphill : ?? (nobori), also used for trains heading towards Tokyo ■■ downhill : ?? (kudari), also used for trains coming from Tokyo ■■ How Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 75 taxi : ????! (Taxi!) me to _____, please. : _____????????? (_____ made onegai shimasu.) ■■ How much does it cost to get to _____? : _____ ????????? (_____ made ikura desuka) ■■ Take me there, please. : ??????????? (soko made onegai shimasu.) ■■ Taxi! ■■ Take Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 76 lodGinG ■■ Do you have any rooms available? : ???????????? (Aiteru heya arimasuka?) ■■ How much is a room for one person/two people? : ??/?????????????? (Hitori/futari-yo no heya wa ikura desuka?) ■■ Is the room Japanese/Western style? : ??/?????? (Washitsu/ yoshitsu desuka?) ■■ Does the room come with... : ??? ... ?????? (Heya wa ___ tsuki desuka?) ■■ ...bedsheets? : ???????...? (beddo no shiitsu...) ■■ ...a bathroom? : ???? (furoba...) ■■ ...a telephone? : ??? (denwa...) ■■ ...a TV? : ???? (terebi...) ■■ May I see the room first? : ???????????? (heya o mitemo ii desuka?) ■■ Do you have anything quieter? : ??? heya arimasuka?) ■■ ...bigger? : ??? (hiroi) ■■ ...cleaner? : ????? (kirei na) ■■ ...cheaper? : ??? (yasui) ■■ OK, I’ll take it. : ???????????(hai, kore de ii desu.) ■■ I will stay for _____ night(s). : _____ ???????(____ ban tomarimasu.) ■■ Do you know another place to stay? : ??????????? (hoka no yado wa gozonji desuka?) ■■ Do you have arimasuka?) ■■ ...lockers? : ...????? (rokkaa (locker)) ■■ Is breakfast/supper included? : ??/????????? (choshoku/ yushoku wa tsukimasuka?) ■■ What time is breakfast/supper? : ??/????????? (choshoku/ yushoku wa nanji desuka?) ■■ Please clean my room. : ???????????? (heya o soji shite kudasai) ■■ Please wake me at _____. : _____ ?????????? (____ ni okoshite kudasai.) ■■ I want to check out. : ??????????(chekku auto (check out) desu.) Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 77 money ■■ Do you accept American/Australian/Canadian dollars? : ????/???????/???????????? (Amerika/osutoraria/kanada doru wa tsukae masuka?) ■■ Do you accept British pounds? : ?????????????? (igirisu pondo wa tsukaemasuka?) ■■ Do you accept credit cards? : ??????????????? (kurejitto kaado (credit card) wa tsukaemasuka?) ■■ Can you change money for me? : ?????????? (okane ryogae dekimasuka?) ■■ Where can I get money changed? : ?????????????? (okane wa doko de ryogae dekimasuka?) you change a traveler’s check for me? : ■■ Can ??????·???????????? ((traveler’s check) ryogae dekimasuka?) ■■ Where can I get a traveler’s check changed? : ??????·???????????????? ((traveler’s check) wa doko de ryogae dekimasuka?) ■■ What is the exchange rate? : ?????????????(kawase reeto wa ikura desu ka?) ■■ Where is an automatic teller machine (ATM)? : ATM ?????????? (ATM wa doko ni arimasuka?) Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 78 eatinG ■■ I’m hungry. : ??????? (onaka-ga-suita) ■■ A table for one person/two people, please. : ??/????? (hitori/futari desu) ■■ Please bring a menu. : ????????? (menu o kudasai.) ■■ Can I look in the kitchen? : ????????????? (choriba o mite mo ii desu ka?) ■■ Is there a house specialty? : ?????????? (O-susume wa arimasuka?) ■■ Is there a local specialty? : ????????????? (Kono hen no meibutsu wa arimasuka?) ■■ Please choose for me. : ??????? (O-makase shimasu.) ■■ I’m a vegetarian. : ????????? (Bejitarian desu.) ■■ I don’t eat pork. : ???????? (Butaniku wa dame desu.) ■■ I don’t eat beef. : ????????(Gyuniku wa dame desu.) ■■ I don’t eat raw fish. : ?????????(Nama no sakana wa dame desu.) ■■ Please do not use too much oil. : ?????????(Abura o hikaete kudasai.) ■■ fixed-price meal : ?? (teishoku) ■■ à la carte : ???? (ippinryori) ■■ breakfast : ?? (choshoku) / ??? (asagohan) ■■ lunch : ?? (chushoku) / ??? (hirugohan) ■■ light meal/snack : ?? (keishoku) ■■ supper : ?? (yushoku) / ??? (bangohan) ■■ Please bring _____. : _____ ?????(_____ o kudasai.) ■■ I want a dish containing _____. : _____???????????? (____ ga haitteru mono o kudasai.) ■■ chicken : ?? (toriniku) ■■ beef : ?? (gyuniku) ■■ pork : ?? (butaniku) ■■ fish : ? (sakana) ■■ ham : ?? (hamu) ■■ sausage : ????? (soseeji) ■■ cheese : ??? (chiizu) ■■ eggs : ? (tamago) ■■ salad : ??? (sarada) ■■ (fresh) vegetables : (?)?? ( (nama) yasai) ■■ (fresh) fruit : (?)?? ( (nama) kudamono) ■■ bread : ?? (pan) Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 79 : ???? (tosuto) : ?? (menrui) ■■ pasta : ??? (pasta) ■■ rice : ?? (gohan) ■■ soup : ??? : (supu) ■■ beans : ? (mame) ■■ May I have a glass/cup of _____? : _____ ??????? (____ o ippai kudasai.) ■■ May I have a bottle of _____? : _____ ??????? (_____ o ippon kudasai.) ■■ coffee : ???? (kohii) ■■ green tea : ?? (o-cha) ■■ black tea : ?? (kocha) ■■ juice : ?? (kaju) ■■ water : ? (mizu) ■■ beer : ??? (biiru) ■■ red/white wine : ?/???? (aka/shiro wain) ■■ Do you have _____? : _____ ??????? (_____ wa arimasuka?) ■■ chopsticks : ?? (o-hashi) ■■ fork : ???? (foku) ■■ spoon : ???? (supun) ■■ salt : ? (shio) ■■ black pepper : ?? (kosho) ■■ soy sauce : ?? (shoyu) ■■ ashtray : ?? (haizara) ■■ Excuse me, waiter? (getting attention of server) : ????? (sumimasen) ■■ (when starting a meal) : ???????(itadakimasu) ■■ It was delicious. (when finishing a meal) : ????????? (Gochiso-sama deshita.) ■■ Please clear the plates. : ??????????? (Osara o sagete kudasai.) ■■ The check, please. : ?????????? (O-kanjo onegai shimasu.) ■■ toast ■■ noodles Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 80 on the Phone ■■ Telephone : ?? denwa ■■ Telephone number : ???? denwa bango ■■ Phone book : ??? denwa cho ■■ Answering machine : ????? rusuban denwa ■■ Hello : ???? moshi moshi ■■ May I speak to ... . : … ????????... o onegaishimasu. ■■ Is ... there? : … ??????????? ... wa irasshaimasu ka? ■■ Who is calling? : ??????? Donata desu ka? ■■ One moment, please. : ???????????? Chotto omachi kudasai. ■■ ... is not here right now. : … ??????? ... wa ima imasen. ■■ I will call you again later. : ????????? Mata ato de denwa shimasu. ■■ I got the wrong number. : ??????? Machigaemashita. ■■ The line is busy. : ?????? Hanashichu desu. ■■ What is your phone number? : ??????????? Denwa bango wa nanban desu ka? Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 81 bars ■■ Do you serve alcohol? : ???????? (O-sake arimasuka?) ■■ Is there table service? : ?????????????? (Teburu sabisu arimasuka?) ■■ A beer/two beers, please. : ?????/??????(Biiru ippai/nihai kudasai.) ■■ A glass of red/white wine, please. : ?/??????????(Aka/shiro wain ippai kudasai.) ■■ A mug (of beer), please. : ????????????(Biiru no jokki kudasai.) ■■ A bottle, please. : ?????? (Bin kudasai.) ■■ _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please. : _____ ? _____ ????(_____ to _____ kudasai.) ■■ sake : ??? (nihonshu) ■■ Japanese liquor : ?? (shochu) ■■ whiskey : ????? (uisukii) ■■ vodka : ???? (wokka) ■■ rum : ?? (ramu) ■■ water : ? (mizu) ■■ club soda : ??? (soda) ■■ tonic water : ????????? (tonikku uota) ■■ orange juice : ???????? (orenji jusu) ■■ cola (soda) : ??? (kora) ■■ with ice : ?????? (onzarokku) ■■ Do you have any bar snacks? : ?????????? (o-tsumami arimasuka?) ■■ One more, please. : ????????? (Mo hitotsu kudasai.) ■■ Another round, please. : ?????????????????? (Minna ni onaji mono o ippai zutsu kudasai.) ■■ When is closing time? : ????????? (Heiten wa nanji desuka?) Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 82 shoPPinG ■■ Do you have this in my size? : ???????????? (Watashi no saizu de arimasuka?) ■■ How much is this? : ??????? (Ikura desuka?) ■■ That’s too expensive. : ?????? (Takasugimasu.) ■■ Would you take _____? : _____???????? (_____ wa do desuka?) ■■ expensive : ?? (takai) ■■ cheap : ?? (yasui) ■■ I can’t afford it. : ??????????????? (Sonna-ni o-kane wa motte imasen.) ■■ I don’t want it. : ??????? (Iranai desu.) ■■ You’re cheating me. : ??????? (Damashiterun da.) Use with caution! ■■ I’m not interested. : ??????? (Kyomi nai desu.) ■■ OK, I’ll take it. : ?????????? (Hai, sore ni shimasu.) ■■ Can I have a bag? : ???????????? (Fukuro moratte mo ii desuka?) ■■ Do you ship (overseas)? : ??????????? (Kaigai e hasso dekimasuka?) ■■ I need... : ___??????? (____ ga hoshii desu.) ■■ ...spectacles. : ?? (megane) ■■ ...toothpaste. : ??? (hamigaki) ■■ ...a toothbrush. : ???? (ha-burashi) ■■ ...tampons. : ???? (tanpon) ■■ ...soap. : ?? (sekken) ■■ ...shampoo. : ????? (shanpu) ■■ ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen) : ??? (chintsuzai) ■■ ...cold medicine. : ??? (kazegusuri) ■■ ...stomach medicine. : ??? (ichoyaku) ■■ ...a razor. : ?? (kamisori) ■■ ...an umbrella. : ? (kasa) ■■ ...sunblock lotion. : ????? (hiyakedome) ■■ ...a postcard. : ?? (hagaki) ■■ ...postage stamps. : ?? (kitte) ■■ ...batteries. : ?? (denchi) ■■ ...writing paper. : ? (kami) ■■ ...a pen. : ?? (pen) ■■ ...a pencil. : ?? (en-pitsu) ■■ ...English-language books. : ???? (eigo no hon) ■■ ...English-language magazines. : ????? (eigo no zasshi) Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 83 English-language newspaper. : ????? (eigo no shinbun) Japanese-English dictionary. : ???? (waei jiten) ■■ ...an English-Japanese dictionary. : ???? (eiwa jiten) ■■ ...an ■■ ...a Family ■■ Are you married? : ????????? (Kekkon shiteimasu ka?) ■■ I am married. : ???????? (Kekkon shiteimasu.) ■■ I am single. : ????? (Dokushin desu) ■■ Do you have brothers and sisters? : ???????? (Kyodai ga imasu ka?) ■■ Do you have children? : ???????? (Kodomo ga imasu ka?) talkinG about your oWn Family : ? (chichi) : ? (haha) ■■ Older Brother : ? (ani) ■■ Older Sister : ? (ane) ■■ Younger Brother : ? (ototo) ■■ Younger Sister : ? (imoto) ■■ Grandfather : ?? (sofu) ■■ Grandmother : ?? (sobo) ■■ Uncle : ??/?? (oji) ■■ Aunt : ??/?? (oba) ■■ Husband : ? (otto) / ?? (shujin) ■■ Wife : ? (tsuma) / ?? (kanai) ■■ Son : ?? (musuko) ■■ Daughter : ? (musume) ■■ Grandchild : ? (mago) ■■ Father ■■ Mother Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 84 talkinG about another’s Family : ???? (otosan) : ???? (okasan) ■■ Older Brother : ???? (onisan) ■■ Older Sister : ???? (onesan) ■■ Younger Brother : ??? (ototosan) ■■ Younger Sister : ??? (imotosan) ■■ Grandfather : ????? (ojisan) ■■ Grandmother : ????? (obasan) ■■ Uncle : ???? (ojisan) ■■ Aunt : ???? (obasan) ■■ Husband : ??? (goshujin) ■■ Wife : ??? (okusan) ■■ Son : ???? (musukosan) ■■ Daughter : ???? (ojosan) ■■ Grandchild : ??? (magosan) ■■ Father ■■ Mother drivinG ■■ I want to rent a car. : ???????????? (rent-a-car onegaishimasu.) ■■ Can I get insurance? : ???????? (hoken hairemasuka?) ■■ Do you have a driver’s license? : ???????????? (Menkyosho o motte imasu ka.) ■■ stop (on a street sign) : ???/??? (tomare) ■■ one way : ???? (ippo tsuko) ■■ caution : ?? ( joko) ■■ no parking : ???? (chusha kinshi) ■■ speed limit : ???? (seigen sokudo) ■■ gas (petrol) station : ???????? (gasorin sutando) ■■ petrol : ???? (gasorin) ■■ diesel : ??/????? (keiyu / diizeru) authority In Japan, you can legally be incarcerated for twenty-three (23) days before you are charged, but you do have the right to see a lawyer after the first 48 hours of detention. Note that if you sign a confession, you will be convicted. Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 85 haven’t done anything (wrong). : ??(????)??????(Nani mo (warui koto) shitemasen.) ■■ It was a misunderstanding. : ?????? (Gokai deshita.) ■■ Where are you taking me? : ????????????? (Doko e tsurete yukuno desuka?) ■■ Am I under arrest? : ????????????? (Watashi wa taiho sareteruno desuka?) ■■ I am a citizen of ____. : ____ ?????? (____ no kokumin desu.) ■■ I want to meet with the ____ embassy. : ____ ???????????? (____ taishikan to awasete kudasai.) ■■ I want to meet with a lawyer. : ????????????(Bengoshi to awasete kudasai.) ■■ Can it be settled with a fine? : ????????? (Bakkin de sumimasuka?)Note: You can say this to a traffic cop, but bribery is highly unlikely to work in Japan. ■■ I tyPiCal JaPanese exPressions ■■ ?????? So desu ne. : “That’s how it is, isn’t it?”General agreement. Especially old people can be heard going so desu ne back and forth quite a few times. ■■ (??)????????? (Taihen) omataseshimashita. : “I have made you wait (terribly) long.”Used as an excuse after any amount of downtime, even just seconds. Often also used as a starter to get things going again. ■■ ????????? Otsukaresama deshita. : “It’s been honorably tiresome.”To colleagues in the sense of “you gave it all, good work”, but more generally at the end of almost any activity. ■■ ????! Ganbatte! : “Give it your best!”Meant to be encouraging and motivating. ■■ ??????? Itadakimasu. : “I will receive.”To yourself before starting to eat or when accepting something offered to you. ■■ ?????? Shitsurei shimasu. : “I will trouble you.” or “I will be impolite.”When entering your superiors room or an unfamiliar house, when trying to get someone’s attention or generally when interrupting someone. ■■ ??????? Shitsurei shimashita. : “I have troubled you.” or “Excuse my impoliteness.”When leaving your superiors room or Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 86 an unfamiliar house or generally as “Sorry to have bothered you, carry on.” ■■ ???? Daijobu. : “It is alright.”For general reassurance. Used with desu ka? to inquire if something or somebody is alright. ■■ ??! Sugoi! : “Great!”, “Incredible!”Very popular amongst girls and greatly overused. ■■ ???! Kawaii! : “How cute!”See sugoi. ■■ ???? Eee~ : “Reallyyyyyyy~?”Almost a standard reaction to any kind of news. Can be lengthened indefinitely and is hence useful to stall for time when thinking about a real answer. ■■ ??! Uso! : “Lie!”Doesn’t necessarily accuse one of lying, usually used in the sense of “Seriously?!” honouriFiCs Japanese makes extensive use of honorific language (?? keigo) when talking to people of higher status. Keigo is famously difficult to master and even Japanese salespeople often need to take special courses to learn to speak correctly, but it is very commonly used in situations like salespeople talking to customers and train announcements, so even passive familiarity with the most common keigo verbs and constructs can be very handy. resPeCtFul Form When talking to someone of higher status than yourself, it is important to use a respectful form (??? sonkeigo) when talking about the other person. Generally, this follows the pattern ?~???(o ~ ni naru), where ~ represents the stem of the basic polite form: eg. to read, ??(yomu), basic polite form ????(yomimasu) becomes ??????(o-yomi-ni-naru). The naru at the end follows the normal conjugation patterns for naru, most commonly becoming narimasu (present) or narimashita (past). The main exceptions are listed below: Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 87 see: ?? becomes ????? (goran-ni-naru). eat/drink: ???/?? becomes ????? (meshi-agaru). ■■ To come/go/be at a place: ??/??/?? becomes ?????? (irassharu). (basic polite form ???????? irasshaimasu and not ????????) ■■ To know: ?? becomes ???? (gozonji-da). ■■ To give (to yourself ): ??? becomes ??? (kudasaru). (basic polite form ????? kudasaimasu and not ?????) ■■ To do: ?? becomes ??? (nasaru). (basic polite form ????? nasaimasu and not ?????) ■■ To say: ?? becomes ????? (ossharu) (basic polite form ??????? osshaimasu and not ???????) ■■ To ■■ To humble Form When talking about yourself to someone of higher status than you, it is important to put yourself down by using a humble form (??? kensongo). Generally this follows the pattern ?~?? (o ~ suru), where ~ reprents the stem of the basic polite form: eg. to borrow, ???(kariru), basic polite form ???? (karimasu) becomes ????? (o-kari-suru). The suru at the end follows the usual conjugation pattern of suru, most commonly becoming shimasu (present) or shimashita (past); for an extra helping of humility, the verb ?? itasu ???? itashimasu can be substituted. The main exceptions are listed below: see: ?? becomes ???? (haiken-suru). come/go: ??/?? becomes ?? (mairu). ■■ To eat/drink/receive: ???/??/??? becomes ???? (itadaku) ■■ To give: ??? becomes ????? (sashi-ageru). ■■ To do: ?? becomes ?? (itasu) ■■ To know: ?? becomes ??? (zonjiru) ■■ To say: ?? becomes ????? (moshi-ageru) ■■ My name is: ?? becomes ?? (mosu) ■■ To ■■ To Polite Form The third type of keigo is called simply “polite language”, or teineigo (???). Whereas respectful and humble language refer to the subject (you and I), teineigo is used to simply imply respect to the listener. An example: Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 88 wo goran ni narimasuka? : Can you see the apple? (respectful) ■■ Ringo wo haiken shimasu. : I see the apple. (humble) ■■ Kare mo ringo wo mimasu. : He also sees the apple. (polite) In fact, the desu copula and the -masu form taught to beginning students of Japanese are both examples of teineigo. A few verbs and adjectives have special teineigo forms: be : aru (??) &rarr gozaru (???????) (basic polite form ????? (gozaimasu) and not ?????) ■■ to die : shinu (??) &rarr nakunaru (????) ■■ good : ii/yoi (??/??) &rarr yoroshii (????) ■■ to ■■ Ringo Country and territory names Country and territory names in Japanese are generally borrowed from their English names and written in katakana. Some of the main exceptions are as follows: ■■ ?? ■■ ?? Nihon/Nippon : Japan Chugoku : China (or, confusingly, Western Honshu) ■■ ?? Taiwan : Taiwan ■■ ?? Honkon: Hong Kong ■■ ?? Kankoku : South Korea ■■ ??? Kitachosen : North Korea ■■ ??? Doitsu : Germany ■■ ???? Igirisu, ?? Eikoku (written) : United Kingdom ■■ ??? Indo : India ■■ ?? Tai : Thailand ■■ ???? Itaria : Italy ■■ ???? Amerika, ?? Beikoku (written) : United States of America (not the whole American continent) ■■ ????? Minami-afurika : South Africa ■■ ???? Oranda : The Netherlands ■■ ???? Berugi : Belgium ■■ ???????? Arabu-shuchokoku-renpo : United Arab Emirates Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 89 oFFensive lanGuaGe It might happen that there is a need to express negative emotions towards others. Or it might happen that others do this to you. In those cases it is useful to understand some Japanese offensive words. Please use these with care. or idiot (Kanto) : ?? (baka) or idiot (Kansai) : ?? (aho) ■■ Doing something untimely : ??? (manuke) ■■ A slow person : ??? (noroma) ■■ Being bad at something : ?? (heta) ■■ Being very bad at something : ??? (hetakuso) ■■ A stingy person : ?? (kechi) ■■ An old man : ??? ( jijii) ■■ An old woman : ??? (babaa) ■■ Not being cool : ??? (dasai) ■■ Fussy or depressing : ??? (uzai) ■■ Creepy : ??? (kimoi) ■■ Drop dead! : ???? (kutabare) ■■ Get out of the way! : ?? (doke) ■■ Noisy! : ???? (urusai) ■■ Shit : ? (kuso) ■■ These words are mostly used by young people ■■ Fool ■■ Fool learninG more English-Japanese-English dictionary including sentence translation, kanji lookup and place/personal name dictionary ■■ — A collection of online study aids and quizzes ■■ — Some Japanese lessons in mp3. ■■ — Daily Japanese lessons. Japanese language Sprachführer Japanisch Guía de conversación en japonés Guide linguistique japonais Frasario giapponese Guia de conversação japonês ■■ — Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 90 Japanin matkasanakirja Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 91 events tuesday, July 01, 2008 business shoW tokyo 2008 Office Equipment Exhibition DATE: Jul 01—Jul, 31 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 Jean deroyer, ConduCtor; nhk symPhony orChestra Jean Deroyer, conductor; NHK Symphony Orchestra 7.00pm, Tuesday 1 July 2008 Akira Nishimura: Vision and Mantra Keiko Harada: Echo Montage for orchestra DATE: Jul 01 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall the tokyo Comedy store imProv WorkshoP meetinG DATE: Jul 01 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Wednesday, July 02, 2008 Pharma PaCk JaPan 2008 International Pharmaceutical Packaging Machinery & Materials Expo DATE: Jul 02—Jul, 04 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 92 international bio exPo JaPan 2008 International Exhibition & Conference for Biotechnology in the Fields of Drug Discovery, Food and Environment DATE: Jul 02—Jul, 04 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 interPhex JaPan ‘2008 International Pharmaceutical Exposition and Conference DATE: Jul 02—Jul, 04 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 thursday, July 03, 2008 raFael FrühbeCk de burGos, ConduCtor; mariko senJu, violin; dresden PhilharmoniC Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor; Mariko Senju, violin; Dresden Philharmonic 7.00pm, Thursday 3 July 2008 Carl Maria von Weber: Der Freischütz (overture) Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, op. 64 Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68 DATE: Jul 03 VENUE: Suntory Hall oPen miC niGht @ CoZmo’s CaFe meetinG DATE: Jul 03 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 93 Friday, July 04, 2008 nahoko asai, Piano Nahoko Asai, piano 7.00pm, Friday 4 July 2008 Mozart: Fantasia in D minor, K 397 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major (Pastoral), op. 28 Debussy: Preludes, Book I DATE: Jul 04 VENUE: Suntory Hall/Small Hall raFael FrühbeCk de burGos, ConduCtor; hiroko nakamura, Piano; dresden PhilharmoniC Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor; Hiroko Nakamura, piano; Dresden Philharmonic 7.00pm, Friday 4 July 2008 Carl Maria von Weber: Oberon Overture, J 306 Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major (Emperor), op. 73 Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 DATE: Jul 04 VENUE: Suntory Hall WineliGht JaZZ niGht July meetinG CoZmo’s Cafe presents a new and fun wine tasting and live jazz music event the first Friday of every month! Please join us to learn about wine, food, and what foods pair with different wines! There will also be live jazz music featuring various local musicians for your listening pleasure! Food pairings will be prepared by Ronna Fujisawa, owner and coordinator of CoZmo’s Cafe! Please call or email your reservation! tel: 033407-5166 info@cozmoscafe.com DATE: Jul 04 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan saturday, July 05, 2008 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 94 suntory hakushu distillery tour Hi All, The Grail Bar is organizing a day trip to the Hakushu distillery, which is in Yamanishi prefecture on Saturday, July 5th. Transportation will be by bus. Attendees will meet at 8AM and leave from the Grail Bar in Nishi-Azabu at and return around there around 6PM (depending on traffic conditions). Cost will be 10,000 JPY which includes transportation and tour. Details of the tour can be found here: Suntory Hakushu Distillery Tour Only 5 spots are available so please RSVP as soon as possible. Thanks. DATE: Jul 05 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan beGinner Classes For kiteboardinG (oPtion 2) Get ready to become professional kite surfers! With this class we are going to be teaching you to setup the large kites used in KiteSurfing, all the saftey skills, and the flying techniques required for you to both drag yourself back to shore/yourboard and also the balance/kite skills you are going to need in order to mount a board. The great news is we can have our first “Beginners Introduction to Kite Surfing” school! Read on if you are interested. I was so excited that I made a quick Flyer so you can get a feel for what we will be doing. Lesson Overview WHEN: We are going to do a 2day course on the 31st/1st (lets hope for lots of wind!) WHERE: We will be using one of a couple of locations in Chiba area (Futtsu, or Kujukuri) depending on weather/wind. If you would like to stay in a Hotel, let me know and I will organise it. INSTRUCTOR: Our main instructor, Nick, is a Brit and a professional IKO (International Kite Organization) instructor, he may also bring another assistant who will be a Cabrinha kite professional rider (and one of the first kiters in Japan). THE COURSE We will be using the IKO system of grading so that the training is structured, fast to learn and safe for you all. After the lessons Nick will give you a graducation card with the level you got to, then you can pick right up from there on your next lesson. I have also asked for the “Guide Books” for you all too. It also has the benefit that its internationally recognized so you can continue easily no matter where you go next in the world. (I started in Thailand, and continued in US and Japan). EQUIPMENT/INSURANCE The Kites (training Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 95 and small begineer), Boards, Wet Suits, Helmets and Radios are all included in the price. The insurance isnt included, and normally isnt available at most schools. Its very unlikely you will get hurt, and any instructor will always make choices so that its an absolutely safe learning environment. Those that are still worried can rely on Japanese medical insurance covering most problems, and I can recommend Tokyu Marine special insurance if you are still worried. Let me know and I can have it arranged with you. THE COST The cost for our special 2day is Y1,5000/day. Comparitively this is the average pricing in Japan, and compared to costs around the rest of the world its amazingly good. DATE: Jul 05 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan shibuya mixed Chorus Shibuya Mixed Chorus 2.00pm, Saturday 5 July 2008 J.S. Bach: Cantata, Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland I, BWV 61 J.S. Bach: Cantata, Freue dich, erlo ste Schar, BWV 30 J.S. Bach: Cantata No. 147, Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147 DATE: Jul 05 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall toyama beer Festival overniGht! On July 5th - 6th some 12 brewers from around Japan will participate in this event. An all-you-can-drink ticket is 5,500 yen, available only by advance reservation. Alternately, a set of 11 drink and food tickets are 3,000 yen. Contact by e-mail beerfesta-toyama@mail.goo.ne.jp Website (in Japanese only) ? http10 Shinkansen is 11600 Yen each way.. Hotel TBD. DATE: Jul 05 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Children oF bodom JaPn tour 2008 DATE: Jul 05 VENUE: Studio Coast Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 96 seikyo kim, ConduCtor; emi saWahata, soPrano; tokyo symPhony Chorus; tokyo symPhony orChestra Seikyo Kim, conductor; Emi Sawahata, soprano; Tokyo Symphony Chorus; Tokyo Symphony Orchestra 6.00pm, Saturday 5 July 2008 Schubert/Berlioz: Erlko nig, lieder, after the poem by Goethe Mahler: Symphony No. 2 in C minor (Resurrection) DATE: Jul 05 VENUE: Suntory Hall rhythms oF liFe Capoeira Zoador, Sun and Moon Yoga, and Mycapoeirashop. com are collaborating to create a truly cross-cultural event celebrating the African Diaspora in the Americas! Each floor of the venue will be devoted to a unique aspect of the continent’s diversity uniting influential artists from across the globe all under one roof. Advance Tickets 3500 (1 drink) Door 4000 (1 drink) (You can get advanced tickets through Rock Inn Shinjuku 03-52690795 or Capoeira Zoador in Takadanobaba or Magome 03-3361-1971/03-3378-0263) Here is the line up: Second FloorBrazil (Samba, MPB, Bossa Nova, Capoeira and Afro-Brazil Dance Show) Silvio Anastacio and Braziliansaurus DJ Popozudo Fourth Floor- (Salsa, Son, Reggaeton and Salsa Show) Alexander Laborde Padron with Puros Habanos DJ Frank Abel Sixth FloorAfrican Roots (African Roots Music, Reggae and African Dance Show) Anyango- African Jamaica 1st Ave. Riddim with Ya-man, Takashi, and Blue Mountain Cafe Crew Plus, performances by Capoeira Zoador Academy and Francis Silva, the Father of Samba in Japan and a frequent guest on Peace Boat’s global voyages. Last night there was a pre-event in Takadanobaba to promote the event and it was a full house, no an overflowing house! Anyone who misses this next event will really regret it! There is even more event info available at www.capoeira.jp Studio Cube326 http 03-5439-9199 DATE: Jul 05 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan sunday, July 06, 2008 Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 97 a Course in miraCles tokyo July meetinG Greetings to Fellow Students of A Course in Miracles, Our next meeting will take place: SUNDAY, June 8th from 10 go to Tsukishima Station on either the Yurakucho or Oedo line, and leave from Exit 9. Take 2 escalators two stories up and the Kominkan will be right in front of you. We’re on the 2nd floor. The telephone number there is 3531-6932. And my keitai is 090 4740-7508. In the event we locate a more convenient location for our meeting, we will contact everyone by email. Peace, Stuart DATE: Jul 06 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan daJ GrouP GoinG to ty harbor July bbq TY Harbor out on Tennoz Isle always has a great 4th of JULY event every year. This year on 7/6 from 2pm-8pm Live Music, Drinks, Food and FUN. I want to get a group of us together to go, wearing OBAMA and VFA Gear and bringing voter reg cards to get info out to voters! Who wants to come with us??? RSVP here or Email me. Lauren.shannon@gmail.com more details ON TY Event 14:00~20:00, all you can eat, 3 drink tickets included, extra tickets available for Â¥500. Will have live music too, a great R&B band. Men Â¥4500 Ladies Â¥3500 Kids Â¥1500 I would like to make sure there is a good sized Group of us there to draw attention to Voter Assistance and DAJ! DATE: Jul 06 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan ryusuke numaJiri, ConduCtor; katsunori kono, baritone; nhk symPhony orChestra Ryusuke Numajiri, conductor; Katsunori Kono, baritone; NHK Symphony Orchestra 3.00pm, Sunday 6 July 2008 Mahler: Das Knaben Wunderhorn (excerpts) Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, song cycle Mahler: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor DATE: Jul 06 VENUE: Suntory Hall JlPt study GrouP meetinG Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 98 DATE: Jul 06 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Children oF bodom JaPn tour 2008 DATE: Jul 06 VENUE: Studio Coast raGe DATE: Jul 06 VENUE: Shibuya O-East monday, July 07, 2008 roPPonGi edGe shoW FeaturinG us army saxoPhone Player ryan kniGht Film Music live show featuring Ryan Knight US Army saxophone player open 18.30 start 19.00 1,800 yen (ADV) and drink www. edge-club.net DATE: Jul 07 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan biGFish live vol.5 DATE: Jul 07 VENUE: shibuya 7th floor ADDRESS: 2-3 maruyama Shibuya TOkyo, Tokyo , 13 tuesday, July 08, 2008 ken-iChiro kobayashi, ConduCtor; alina PoGostkina, violin; yomiuri niPPon symPhony orChestra Ken-ichiro Kobayashi, conductor; Alina Pogostkina, violin; Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra 7.00pm, Tuesday 8 July 2008 Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 99 Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K 218 Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, op. 34 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, symphonic suite, op. 35 DATE: Jul 08 VENUE: Suntory Hall the tokyo Comedy store imProv WorkshoP meetinG DATE: Jul 08 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Wednesday, July 09, 2008 oFmex - international oFFiCe maChines & equiPment exPo tokyo 2008 International Office Machines & Equipment Expo Tokyo DATE: Jul 09—Jul, 11 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 isot - international stationery & oFFiCe ProduCts Fair tokyo 2008 International Stationery & Office Products Fair Tokyo DATE: Jul 09—Jul, 11 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 GiFtex 2008 International Variety-Gift Expo Tokyo DATE: Jul 09—Jul, 11 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 100 oseC - oFFiCe seCurity exPo tokyo 2008 O-SEC is a Trade Show focused on Office Security DATE: Jul 09—Jul, 11 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 July Wednesday PalaCe run I haven’t decided the menu of this training yet. If you have a request, please let me know! ***In the case of rain, this event will be canceled. DATE: Jul 09 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan the tokyo PubliC sPeakinG July meetuP DATE: Jul 09 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan thursday, July 10, 2008 tibF - tokyo international book Fair 2008 Tokyo International Book Fair DATE: Jul 10—Jul, 13 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 diGital PublishinG Fair 2008 Japan’s e-Publishing Event DATE: Jul 10—Jul, 13 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 101 ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 Christian Funke, direCtor, violin; baChorChester des GeWandhauses Zu leiPZiG Christian Funke, director, violin; Bachorchester des Gewandhauses zu Leipzig 7.00pm, Thursday 10 July 2008 J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047 J.S. Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056 J.S. Bach: Harpsichord Concerto in E major, BWV 1053 J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F major, BWV 1046 J.S. Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major, BWV 1050 DATE: Jul 10 VENUE: Suntory Hall July FeW meetinG- restaurant ConFidential! First Meeting in Our New Home Restaurant Confidential! Three iconic women in the Tokyo Restaurant scene whip up a recipe full of savvy business tips, shortcuts and insider secrets. Ronna Fujisawa from Cozmos, Suji Park from Sujis and Lauren Shannon from Fujimamas will reveal a behind the scenes look at the ups, downs and in betweens of the restaurant business. These three women know first-hand that the secrets of success in the restaurant world can help every business woman. In fact, numerous business books, by renowned authors, have put a microscope on the hospitality sector to reveal exactly how their business models influence so many industries. July 10th is your chance to hear it from the pros who know just how to spice up your life. Solo restaurateur, Ronna Fujisawa, will show us how to juggle a truly one-woman show; Suji Park demonstrates what it takes to bring foreign concepts to a discerning market and exactly which ingredients are needed for success; and Lauren Shannnon will talk about the 3 door theory: how community support and building community is a win-win proposition. They will also share some secrets about how they compete in a predominantly male industry AND that?s not all! You get to sample some delectable treats from each of their famous Tokyo kitchens. So, come join in the feast as we say hello to our new home at the City Club, goodbye to the last meeting of Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 102 our historic 25th year, and get set to launch the next generation of FEW: ?The New Face of FEW? signature campaign. Please remember the City Club has a dress code policy of smart casual ? no jeans. Venue CITY CLUB B1, 7-3-38 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 www.cityclub.co.jp Starting time is 7 PM and COST 2000 yen for members 5000 yen for guests BIOS Ronna Beth Fujisawa graduated with a BFA in Painting and minor in French from Miami University, Ohio. She moved to Tokyo in October 1994 to work for a Japanese firm specializing in graphic design and international relations. Wanting to strike out on her own, she started CoZmo?s Cafe in February 2004. Suji Park has a BA in Administration of Marketing and Fashion from the Fashion Institute of Technology in State University, New York. She lived and worked in New York City for over 10 years, and is a Certified Meeting Professional, responsible for arranging high level corporate functions between senior management and clientele for organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Hewlett Packard, Samsung Electronics, IBM and Korean government agencies. She founded Suji?s Restaurant & Bar on Jan 24th 2007. Lauren Shannon, Managing Director of Fujimamas and To the Moon and Back Catering, has a diverse background of entrepreneurial business development in the Food/Beverage and hospitality industry, education and the arts. She has studied new world wine, and is passionate about customer relations, excellence in service, and community building. She does a bit of everything at Fujimamas: events, community outreach, HR, business development, marketing, menu development, design and so much more. Her biggest asset, and one she feels is the life blood of being a restaurateur, is an absolute love of the business. DATE: Jul 10 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan uranus risinG tokyo astroloGy July meetuP Hi Folks, As there was a lot of interest in vedic astrology in our last meeting, we’ll probably continue this fascinating discussion. Hope to see you all there DATE: Jul 10 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 103 monthly dinner at Pink CoW Hello! Pink Cow is now a monthly dinner! Please note that this is a set price (2,650 YEN, drinks are separate). Food is prepared based on people who commit to “yes.” Please only commit to “yes” if you are absolutely sure you can come (or I have to pay for you if you don’t show up). Please RSVP one week prior so I can give a headcount estimate to the chef. RSVP list will be closed Tues July 8 at 9PM and no cancellations will be allowed after this list closes (sorry, I’ll may ask for your payment even with the best of excuses). This is important because the restaurant prepares the shopping order based on the number of confirmed people. The dinner is “family style” buffet at The Pink Cow in Shibuya. This is a set price dinner with many delicious vegan dishes that will be prepared special for us (like Thai Bean Curry!!). English Map: http//gmap.jp/shop-911.html?&uid=197621 I hope you can attend! DATE: Jul 10 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan oPen miC niGht @ CoZmo’s CaFe meetinG DATE: Jul 10 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Friday, July 11, 2008 maki mori, soPrano Maki Mori, soprano 7.00pm, Friday 11 July 2008 Chausson: Le temps des lilas; Le colibri Duparc: Phidyle DATE: Jul 11 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall Jun-iChi hirokami, ConduCtor; boris belkin, violin; JaPan PhilharmoniC orChestra Jun-ichi Hirokami, conductor; Boris Belkin, violin; Japan Philharmonic Orchestra 7.00pm, Friday 11 July 2008 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 104 Toru Takemitsu: 3 Film Scores Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, op. 63 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12 (To the Memory of Lenin/The Year 1917) DATE: Jul 11 VENUE: Suntory Hall Pioneer toastmasters Club meetinG July meetuP What is Toastmasters? Toastmasters International is a leading organization in helping people become more competent and comfortable in Public Speaking. This NPO now has nearly 220,000 members in 11,300 clubs in 90 countries, offering a proven and enjoyable way to practice and hone communication and leadership skills. There are approx. 1,200 members in Japan. This club was originally launched in October 2007. Pioneer TMC is a bilingual club so it is suitable for foreign member to learn Japanese or Japanese member to learn English. WHENOpen to anyone - Who wants to practice Public Speaking and Leadership skills. - Who wants to meet people. - Who wants to brush up Japanese and/or English. DATE: Jul 11 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan saturday, July 12, 2008 WorkshoP: “hoW to Get stronG letters oF reCommendation” A letter of recommendation provides an objective evaluation of your academic performance and personal qualities from a third-party perspective. Most schools will ask for two or three recommendation letters. Steve will talk about how schools handle letters of recommendation, who to ask for writing them, how to get strong letters of recommendation when your boss or professor don’t agree to write them, and how to support your boss or professor when they agree to write them. For people who are going to or planning to apply for graduate schools and MBA programs for 2009, this workshop is for you. The workshop will include plenty of time to ask questions about searching for schools and other parts of the preparation process. The workshop will be held in Japanese. The Tokyo Grad School Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 105 Meetup is produced by Ivy League Consulting - Elite Application Support: http://www.daigakuinryugaku.com/ DATE: Jul 12 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Jun-iChi hirokami, ConduCtor; boris belkin, violin; JaPan PhilharmoniC orChestra Jun-ichi Hirokami, conductor; Boris Belkin, violin; Japan Philharmonic Orchestra 2.00pm, Saturday 12 July 2008 Toru Takemitsu: 3 Film Scores Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, op. 63 Shostakovich: Symphony No. 12 (To the Memory of Lenin/The Year 1917) DATE: Jul 12 VENUE: Suntory Hall tribal Fusion niGht belly danCe shoW & live musiC July meetuP UPCOMING : Friday March 14, 2008 TRIBAL FUSION NIGHT “Deep & Mystical” open//www.dakinirecords.com provides both lounge and dance sets in an ethno-electric style. Come see the future styles of bellydance every 2nd Saturday. DATE: Jul 12 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan sunday, July 13, 2008 yukinori teZuka, ConduCtor; tomoko kato, violin; symPhoniCa orChestra Yukinori Tezuka, conductor; Tomoko Kato, violin; Symphonica Orchestra 2.00pm, Sunday 13 July 2008 Mozart: Die Zauberflo te (The Magic Flute) (overture), K 620 Brahms: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 77 Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30 DATE: Jul 13 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 106 the sCienCe oF GettinG riCh July meetuP Event : Free screening of the movie “The Secret” The screening of the movie is free. Everyone is invited. Invite anyone who is interested to know more about living in abundance. Contributions of 500yen per person will be collected on the actual day : 250yen for the rental of place 250yen for adminstrative purposes Link showing the access map to the venue is as follows : http://www. swagat-jp.com/ningyocho.html DATE: Jul 13 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan JlPt study GrouP meetinG DATE: Jul 13 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan 2nd meetinG, FoCus on Forex Hello guys! Sorry for being absent for some time. I had to get my GMAT, process my MBA application, sell my house in Yokohama, move from Yokohama to Tokyo, etc, etc... So without much ado, I present our next Meetup July 13 and we will be focusing on Forex. I have somebody from that area who is willing to talk about how you can make money out of Forex. DATE: Jul 13 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan monday, July 14, 2008 Gerd albreCht, ConduCtor; yomiuri niPPon symPhony orChestra Gerd Albrecht, conductor; Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra 7.00pm, Monday 14 July 2008 Edgard Varese: Ameriques, for orchestra Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor (From the New World), op. 95 DATE: Jul 14 VENUE: Suntory Hall Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 107 tuesday, July 15, 2008 the tokyo Comedy store imProv WorkshoP meetinG DATE: Jul 15 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Pierre-laurent aimard, Piano Pierre-Laurent Aimard, piano 7.00pm, Tuesday 15 July 2008 Programme to include excerpts from Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuge (Art of the Fugue), BWV 1080 DATE: Jul 15 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall the tokyo it ProFessional July meetuP As it will be the first meeting, we will be primarily just introducing ourselves and getting to know each other in a casual environment. I started this IT professional meetup group to try and develop a community for all those in the IT industry here in Tokyo. It’d be a good way to meet other people in the industry, keep up to date, and find out about other career opportunities in the market. If you are interested please feel free to come by and take a look! If I don’t get 10 rsvp’s I will be postponing the meetup till the next month. DATE: Jul 15 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Wednesday, July 16, 2008 international modern hosPital shoW 2008 The Most Comprehensive Hospital / Medicine-Related Show in Japan DATE: Jul 16—Jul, 18 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 108 the tokyo beer July meetuP The first ever meeting of the Tokyo Beer Meetup! Think of this as a logical extension of the other great beer clubs around Tokyo. I have been striving to find an active one and since I couldn’t find one, I decided to create one. This first meeting will be to a get to know you and see what kind of interest is out there. Networking, conversation, oh yeah and BEER! Location info: http Baird Beer, Echigo, Fujizakura Kogen, Hakusekikan, Isekadoya, Iwate Kura, Shiga Kogen, Swan Lake, Yona Yona DATE: Jul 16 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan July better read than dead meetinG DATE: Jul 16 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan imProv-a-Go-Go July meetuP TCS Home Page - IAGG Info IAGG- our open-mike improv jam! Love improv comedy? Love performing it even more? The Tokyo Comedy Store and Pink Cow Goddess Tracy are providing a venue for anyone with a yen for non-scripted comedy to not only come to hang out and see some awesome comedy, but also the chance to come up on the stage and perform with us whenever you feel like it! Took one class? Been doing it for seven years? It?s all good, and more importantly its all good fun, so come on down to the Pink Cow to rock out with us, airguitar style. Improv Comedy for the price of FREE! All we ask is that the performers support our venue by buying a drink and maybe something to eat. So grab some food, jump on stage, and perform with your fellow improvisors! 8pm start but come early for dinner and drinks! DATE: Jul 16 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan thursday, July 17, 2008 Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 109 the tokyo briGhts July meetuP You guys all know the place. If there are any problems, please email me and let me know. This is a late scheduling, so if not enough people can make it or respond, I can reschedule for another time. D. DATE: Jul 17 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Paul meyer, ConduCtor, Clarinet; eri niiyama, orGan; tokyo PhilharmoniC orChestra Paul Meyer, conductor, clarinet; Eri Niiyama, organ; Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra 7.00pm, Thursday 17 July 2008 Beethoven: Septet in E flat major, op. 20 Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor (Organ), op. 78 DATE: Jul 17 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall keisuke seto, violin; takuto tatsu, violin; rilka seto, viola; shoGo yoshihira, Cello Keisuke Seto, violin; Takuto Tatsu, violin; Rilka Seto, viola; Shogo Yoshihira, cello 7.00pm, Thursday 17 July 2008 Mozart: String Quartet in D major (Prussian), K 575 Beethoven: String Quartet No. 4 in C minor, op. 18, No. 4 DATE: Jul 17 VENUE: Suntory Hall/Small Hall oPen miC niGht @ CoZmo’s CaFe meetuP DATE: Jul 17 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Friday, July 18, 2008 July better read than dead meetinG Not sure where we will be but - maybe somewhere outside? July is Russian Brick Month! The result from our poll for July is: “Dead Souls” http Since its publication in 1842, Dead Souls has Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 110 been celebrated as a supremely realistic portrait of provincial Russian life and as a splendidly exaggerated tale; as a paean to the Russian spirit and as a remorseless satire of imperial Russian venality, vulgarity, and pomp. As Gogol’s wily antihero, Chichikov, combs the back country wheeling and dealing for “dead souls”--deceased serfs who still represent money to anyone sharp enough to trade in them--we are introduced to a Dickensian cast of peasants, landowners, and conniving petty officials, few of whom can resist the seductive illogic of Chichikov’s proposition. This lively, idiomatic English version by the award-winning translators Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky makes accessible the full extent of the novel’s lyricism, sulphurous humor, and delight in human oddity and error. Sounds like it should do the trick! Let’s jump into this one right away - it’s not really THAT long! And we have weeks and weeks to get it. We’ll pick a place later... (Check out August - I have made the runner-up from our poll the August book! ) DATE: Jul 18 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Paul meyer, ConduCtor; saeka matsuyama, violin; eri niiyama, orGan; tokyo PhilharmoniC orChestra Paul Meyer, conductor; Saeka Matsuyama, violin; Eri Niiyama, organ; Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra 7.00pm, Friday 18 July 2008 Alexis Emmanuel Chabrier: Espana, rhapsody for orchestra Edouard Lalo: Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor (Symphonie espagnole), op. 21 Saint-Saëns: Symphony No. 3 in C minor (Organ), op. 78 DATE: Jul 18 VENUE: Suntory Hall Fabio luisi, ConduCtor; Ju-younG baek, violin; nhk symPhony orChestra Fabio Luisi, conductor; Ju-Young Baek, violin; NHK Symphony Orchestra 7.00pm, Friday 18 July 2008 Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, op. 35 Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 in A major, op. 92 DATE: Jul 18 Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan VENUE: NHK Hall ADDRESS: 2-2-1 Jinnan Shibuya-ku, Tokyo , 13 111 yuka ishiZuka, violin; si Chen, Piano Yuka Ishizuka, violin; Si Chen, piano 7.00pm, Friday 18 July 2008 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, op. 12, No. 2 Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, op. 108 Debussy: Violin Sonata No. 3 in G minor, L 140 Faure: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, op. 13 DATE: Jul 18 VENUE: Suntory Hall/Small Hall saturday, July 19, 2008 the tokyo/JaPan kiteboardinG July meetuP Planning on being there from 2pm. The wind for this weekend is looking a little light, so I thought it would be a good idea to get all our Kitesurf beginners together for a “introduction” and talk in preperation for next weeks kite surf school... Its going to be nice and warm, with a light wind - so a nice afternoon in the park sounds great. What better way to get to know the gear and the sport. - watch some short videos, - have a look at the equipment, - a chance to ask questions, - enjoy the warm sun and nice park surroundings Call me if you get stuck; (0)90 7835 1744. Links to Webs: Access in English Map of local park access General Park information Park’s Photo Galary DATE: Jul 19 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan nettokyo Charity netWorkinG event www.nettokyo.jp Now in its fourth year, NetTokyo 2008 will bring together seven of Tokyo’s premier business networking organizations to create the biggest ‘network of networks’, networking event held this summer. This year NetTokyo will Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 112 be held on Saturday July 19 from 2pm-6pm at the Rolling Stone Café in Roppongi. Last year over 400 people attended the event in a casual、family friendly afternoon setting and this year organizers expect over 500 people to attend and enjoy the great food, drinks and conversation. All net proceeds from the event will be donated to charity and with close to three million yen raised to date, the organizers aim to raise at least one million more this year! DATE: Jul 19 VENUE: Rolling Stone Cafe ADDRESS: 5-10-25 Roppongi 3F Minalo-ku Tokyo 106-0032 Tel 03-5771-6969 Map http //www rs-cafe jp/access html, Tokyo , 13 suPer deleGates - eleCtion system in ameriCa Who are super delegates? What is their importance in US Election system? Are you familiar with US Election system? Why entire World is focusing on upcoming elections in America? The U.S. government has poured more money into helping other countries become democracies than it has into its own election system. Is election system in America better than other nations? How different is election system in America compared to other nations? Who should attend? Everyone - Americans, Japanese and all other nationals living in Japan, specially if you are planning to visit or migrate to America. Want to learn various cultures and gain knowledge. Speaker Mr. Mathew Ownby is going to share his knowledge in a simple and easy to understand language Election system in America, its impact on World economy and the reason what we need to observe? Visit http://www.endeavour-japan.org for more details. DATE: Jul 19 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan the tokyo astral ProJeCtion July meetuP There are many ways of achieving OOBEs, and some are more suited to some people than others. Please bring any books you may have and let’s talk about the various criteria of successful OOBEs. Astral Projection doesn’t have any religious or cult Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 113 overtones - it is an entirely natural experience - that will change your life! “You will learn the real nature of your existence and the pure potential of your spirit. To be freed from the restriction of the physical laws is not only incredibly liberating, but is proof positive that your existence - before or after death - does not depend on your body.” Quoted from “Practical Guide to Astral Projection” by Denning and Phillips. DATE: Jul 19 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan the tokyo exPat sinGaPoreans July meetuP DATE: Jul 19 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan niGht oF emotional exPression It is nice to see so many changes in people?s lives only after one month of this group! Our next meeting/event is a bit different from the rest. One of the key secrets to living a life that is happy and full is to be able to express yourself fully in a number of different ways? dancing, singing, painting? creating? Emotion is a very powerful force that when kept inside for a long time could manifest itself in other ways?health problems, mental unbalance and a general state of unhappiness. People need to learn how to express their emotion in a healthy, non-destructive way. They need to be able to control and express emotion at will. Thus, we have organized the ?Night of Emotional Expression? at Ruby Café near Azabu-Juban Station to help people express themselves fully (for map and details go to? www.venusblossom. net and click on ?news and events?). A special Belly Dance show is in store for everyone! And of course the night will not be perfect without you dancing your ass off! Every makeover member attending the event is required to dance! Note that the event is an organized event outside the Makeover Group so everyone is invited?invite your friends! An entrance fee of 2,900Yen is required. Makeover members will be charged at a discounted 2,000Yen DATE: Jul 19 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 114 sunday, July 20, 2008 JlPt study GrouP meetuP DATE: Jul 20 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan marCo boemi, ConduCtor; vinCenZo la sCola, tenor; hisami namikaWa, soPrano; tasuku naono, hiroyuki narita, shiGeru imao, baritones; tokyo metroPolitan symPhony orChestra Marco Boemi, conductor; Vincenzo La Scola, tenor; Hisami Namikawa, soprano; Tasuku Naono, Hiroyuki Narita, Shigeru Imao, baritones; Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra 4.00pm, Sunday 20 July 2008 Puccini: Tosca, opera in 3 acts (concert version) DATE: Jul 20 VENUE: Suntory Hall monday, July 21, 2008 shiGeo Genda, ConduCtor; odaWara Children’s Choir; kanaGaWa PhilharmoniC orChestra Shigeo Genda, conductor; Odawara Children’s Choir; Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra 2.00pm, Monday 21 July 2008 Brahms: Ein deutsches Requiem, op. 45 Faure: Requiem, op. 48 DATE: Jul 21 VENUE: Suntory Hall Chamber ConCert With the ConCert masters oF the WarsaW PhilharmoniC Chamber Concert with the concert masters of the Warsaw Philharmonic 2.00pm, Monday 21 July 2008 Mozart: Violin Sonata in E minor, K 304 (K 300c) Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 115 Brahms: Piano Trio No. 1 in B major, op. 8 Chopin: Cello Sonata in G minor, op. 65 Ravel: Piano Trio in A minor DATE: Jul 21 VENUE: Hakuju Hall ADDRESS: 1-37-5 Tomigaya Shibuya-ku Tokyo 151-0063 Japan HAKUJU INSTITUTE FOR HEALTH SCIENCE CO LTD, Tokyo , 13 tuesday, July 22, 2008 exPo Comm Wireless JaPan 2008 International Exhibition and Conference to target the Wireless Communications Industry DATE: Jul 22—Jul, 24 2008 VENUE: Tokyo International Exhibition Center (Tokyo Big Sight) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku Tokyo 135-0063, Tokyo , 13 exPo Comm Wireless JaPan EXPO COMM WIRELESS JAPAN is the only event in Japan held annually which is specialized in Wireless & Mobile networks, Personal Area Networks, Internet ITS, Home networks, and other wireless technologies for Japan’s advanced mobile society. DATE: Jul 22—Jul, 24 2008 ALL DAY: Yes VENUE: Tokyo Big Sight Inc. (Tokyo International Convention Center) ADDRESS: 3-21-1 Ariake Koto-ku, Tokyo , 13 krav maGa meet uP Jun tuesday WE MEET AT THE J.C.C (SMALL COMMUNITY CENTER ) MINAMI AOYAMA 5-4-22 BY OMOTE SANDO STATION KOTO STREET . EVERY TUESDAY 11 TO 6 . PLEASE CONTACT ME Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 116 BEFORE HAND ON SATURDAYS WE CAN HOLD MEETING AT SHINJUKU SPORT CENTER ON SATURDAY , 10 TO 12 3F IN KRAV MAGA YOU WILL LEARN REAL DEFENSE MOVES . TECHNIQUES THAT WORKS . IT MAY NOT LOOK NICE . BUT IT WORK . FLEXIBILITY , PRACTICE , SPEED . LEARN TO DO THINGS RIGHT , IN CONFRONTATION . LOOKING FORWARD TO MEET YOU BOAZ DATE: Jul 22 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan marCo boemi, ConduCtor; vinCenZo la sCola, tenor; hisami namikaWa, soPrano; tasuku naono, hiroyuki narita, shiGeru imao, baritones; tokyo metroPolitan symPhony orChestra Marco Boemi, conductor; Vincenzo La Scola, tenor; Hisami Namikawa, soprano; Tasuku Naono, Hiroyuki Narita, Shigeru Imao, baritones; Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra 6.30pm, Tuesday 22 July 2008 Puccini: Tosca, opera in 3 acts (concert version) DATE: Jul 22 VENUE: Suntory Hall the tokyo Comedy store imProv WorkshoP meetuP DATE: Jul 22 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan Wednesday, July 23, 2008 10th JaPan intl seaFood & teChnoloGy exPo 10th Japan Intl Seafood & Technology Expo Tokyo, Japan DATE: Jul 23—Jul, 25 2008 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan thursday, July 24, 2008 Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 117 taiJiro iimori, ConduCtor; tokyo City PhilharmoniC orChestra Taijiro Iimori, conductor; Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra 7.00pm, Thursday 24 July 2008 Richard Strauss: Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), tone poem for orchestra, op. 24 Richard Strauss: Capriccio, op. 85, (extract) Brahms: Symphony No. 1 in C minor, op. 68 DATE: Jul 24 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall drinkinG liberally- tokyo July meetinG (not an oFFiCial daJ event) An informal, inclusive progressive social group. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, leftleaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don’t need to be a policy expert and this isn’t a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it’s not taboo to talk politics. Bars are democratic spaces - you talk to strangers, you share booths, you feel the bond of common ground. Bring democratic discourse to your local democratic space - build democracy one drink at a time. DATE: Jul 24 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan drinkinG liberally- tokyo July meetinG An informal, inclusive progressive social group. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, leftleaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don’t need to be a policy expert and this isn’t a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it’s not taboo to talk politics. Bars are democratic spaces - you talk to strangers, you share booths, you feel the bond of common ground. Bring democratic discourse to your local democratic space - build democracy one drink at a time. DATE: Jul 24 Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 118 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan oPen miC niGht @ CoZmo’s CaFe meetuP DATE: Jul 24 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan saturday, July 26, 2008 naoto otomo, ConduCtor; tokyo symPhony orChestra Naoto Otomo, conductor; Tokyo Symphony Orchestra 11.00am, Saturday 26 July 2008 Takemitsu: Requiem for Strings K. Yamada: Akatombo Y. Toyama: Rhapsodie for Orchestra DATE: Jul 26 VENUE: Suntory Hall saturday Wine sChool; 7/26 Wines From surPrisinG PlaCes 7/26 Wines From Surprising Places We all know about France, California, Italy etc. But there are other interesting wine growing regions- come taste and learn about a few of them! Making wine is becoming a popular business and creative art in surprising places all around the world. You may know all about wines from The Old World, Or California and Australia? but what about Israel, Canada, New York, Japan? Come learn something new and be surprised! Allow us to enlighten you: it’s not brain surgery and it is fun! Come join a small group of ?Hip Tasters? You’ll learn how to sniff and swirl and taste some of the best and most interesting wines available in Tokyo. Sat. 7/26/08 from 4-6 pm 3000 yen per person tax included RSVP required, please! call 03-5485-2283 or email lauren@fujimamas.com DATE: Jul 26 VENUE: Tokyo, Tôkyô, Japan kaZuhiko komatsu, ConduCtor; noriko sasaki, soPrano; misato iWamori, meZZo-soPrano; satoshi ChubaChi, tenor; leGendary Choir For Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 119 verdi requiem 2008; PhilharmoniC ensemble orChestra Kazuhiko Komatsu, conductor; Noriko Sasaki, soprano; Misato Iwamori, mezzo-soprano; Satoshi Chubachi, tenor; Legendary Choir for Verdi Requiem 2008; Philharmonic Ensemble Orchestra 6.00pm, Saturday 26 July 2008 Elgar: Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D major (Land of Hope and Glory), op. 39 Verdi: Messa da Requiem (Requiem Mass) DATE: Jul 26 VENUE: Suntory Hall FrenCh Wine tastinG event ProvenCe Wines With assorted Gourmet menu in a FrenCh restaurant oF tokyo From Event details at localwineevents.com!: French Wine tasting event PROVENCE wines with assorted gourmet menu in a French restaurant of Tokyo From Get all event details at LocalWineEvents.com: Email: frenchwinefriends@hotmail.com French wine friends meet monthly to taste good wines and eat in a superb restaurant . Learn about wines, eat a french gourmet Menu and speak french, english and japanese in an international atmosphere. Enjoyable, interesting, cultural wine tasting for everybody. Reservation needed. DATE: Jul 26 VENUE: Restaurant ADDRESS: Kagurazaka, Tokyo , 13 monday, July 28, 2008 Will’s suPer ChiCken sex bbq DATE: Jul 28 VENUE: Tokyo Makuhari Messe Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 120 sunday, July 27, 2008 vladimir misChouk, Piano Vladimir Mischouk, piano 2.00pm, Sunday 27 July 2008 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 13 in E flat major (Quasi una fantasia), op. 27, No. 1 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor (Moonlight), op. 27, No. 2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor (Moonlight), op. 27, No. 2 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor (Tempest), op. 31, No. 2 Chopin: 24 Preludes, op. 28 DATE: Jul 27 VENUE: Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 121 Weather Forecast saturday, June 28, 2008 4:29 AM 7:01 PM ■■ Expect: Considerable cloudiness with showers and thunderstorms; humid ■■ High: 84 ■■ Low: 66 ■■ Wind: 9SE ■■ UV: 3 ■■ Rain Amount: 0.28 ■■ Sunset: ■■ Sunrise: sunday, June 29, 2008 4:29 AM 7:01 PM ■■ Expect: Cloudy ■■ High: 80 ■■ Low: 66 ■■ Wind: 7ENE ■■ UV: 4 ■■ Sunset: ■■ Sunrise: monday, June 30, 2008 4:30 AM 7:01 PM ■■ Expect: Pleasant with intervals of clouds and sunshine ■■ High: 84 ■■ Low: 67 ■■ Wind: 5ESE ■■ UV: 7 ■■ Sunset: ■■ Sunrise: Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 122 tuesday, July 01, 2008 ■■ Sunrise: ■■ Sunset: 4:30 AM 7:01 PM ■■ Expect: Nice with times of clouds and sun ■■ High: 82 ■■ Low: 66 ■■ Wind: 6S ■■ UV: 8 Wednesday, July 02, 2008 ■■ Sunrise: ■■ Sunset: 4:31 AM 7:01 PM ■■ Expect: Rain ■■ High: 80 ■■ Low: 69 ■■ Wind: 9S ■■ UV: 4 ■■ Rain Amount: 0.03 thursday, July 03, 2008 ■■ Sunrise: ■■ Sunset: 4:31 AM 7:00 PM ■■ Expect: Cloudy and humid with showers and thunderstorms ■■ High: 87 ■■ Low: 73 ■■ Wind: 5SE ■■ UV: 3 ■■ Rain Amount: 0.25 Created for Anonymity Tokyo, Japan 123 Friday, July 04, 2008 4:32 AM 7:00 PM ■■ Expect: Humid with times of sun and clouds ■■ High: 90 ■■ Low: 75 ■■ Wind: 4WSW ■■ UV: 8 ■■ Sunset: ■■ Sunrise: saturday, July 05, 2008 4:33 AM 7:00 PM ■■ Expect: Humid and rainy ■■ High: 83 ■■ Low: 79 ■■ Wind: 8SSW ■■ UV: 3 ■■ Rain Amount: 0.12 ■■ Sunset: ■■ Sunrise: Tokyo, Jul 01–Aug 01, 2008 124 references oFFbeat resourCes 1. Wikipedia, Tokyo; http://en.wikipedia.org 2. Wikitravel, Tokyo; http://wikitravel.org 3. Yahoo! Finance, Japanese Yen; http://finance.yahoo.com/ currency 4. AccuWeather, Forecast for Tokyo; http://www.accuweather. com/world-index-forecast.asp 5. Google Maps, Maps of Tokyo; http://www.google.com/ maps?q=Tokyo%2c+Japan Created for Anonymity