e-TOKYO TODAY Vol,2 E-mail Newsletter ''e-Tokyo Today'' #2 August 2006 ......................................................................................... ... e-Tokyo Today < 2nd Issue > ........................................ ......................................................................................... Welcome to Tokyo Metropolis, where traditional and advanced cultures coexist! Come and discover the allure of Tokyo you have never seen. Tokyo awaits you with a true spirit of hospitality. The e-mail newsletter e-Tokyo Today provides hot tourist information from the Tourism Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government once every three months. *Please see the bottom of this e-mail for information on how to unsubscribe. +++++ INDEX ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ - The details of TOKYO CITY PROMOTION (U.S.A.) have been decided - The convenient logo mark, '' English OK! '' - The Ginza Washington Hotel will be opened - Event information from September 2006 - Tokyo volunteer tour guide activities - Did you know? Convenience in Tokyo is in tickets - Event Report - Wa Odori (Japanese Dance) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ - The details of TOKYO CITY PROMOTION (U.S.A.) have been decided The dates, times, and locations of the Tokyo city promotion events mentioned in the previous have been decided! - - - - Chicago - - - - 24th Oct 3:00pm - Business Meeting & Seminar (business day) @ Crowne Plaza Chicago O'hare - - - - New York - - - - 26th Oct 3:00pm - Business Meeting & Seminar (business day) @ Gotham Hall 27th Oct to 28th Oct Tokyo Fiesta (public event) @ Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal About twenty suppliers from Tokyo and Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau will provide the latest information on Tokyo along with travel components on these days. An online registration site for the business meetings has opened. We will be eagerly awaiting your registration. Chicago http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/citypromotion/chi_inv.html New York http://www.tourism.metro.tokyo.jp/english/citypromotion/nyc2_inv.html - The convenient logo mark, '' English OK! '' Have you ever had difficulty in communicating even in a popular restaurant? Next time, look for a restaurant with the '' English OK! '' logo mark! This logo mark not only represents restaurants that have menus in English and staff members who can speak English, but it also shows that they are highly international restaurants that provide guests from abroad with the spirit of warm hospitality. Such places can be searched in advance through the website so be sure to check it out to find that great restaurant you have been looking for! http://www.englishok.jp/ - The Ginza Washington Hotel will be opened The high-class Washington Hotel opens in Ginza in October. In addition to allowing you to enjoy the sophisticated Ginza area, it is perfect as the base point for business and sightseeing as it is located only three minutes walk from Ginza Station. The amenities such as the massage chairs and foot baths that are prepared in the rooms, all of which have high-speed Internet connections, provide guests with time of rest and relaxation for soothing the tiredness from business and sightseeing. http://www.wh-rsv.com/english/index.html - Event information from September 2006 [ JATA World Tourism Congress & Travel Fair 21, 22 Sep to 24 Sep ] http://jata-wtf.com/content.php?lang=en&cate=6&content=overview The largest tourism exhibition in Asia. It will be coming soon! [ YOKOSO! JAPAN Travel Mart ] http://www.yjtm.jp/index.php?lang=en&content=top Business meetings will be held along with the JATA World Tourism Congress & Travel Fair this year, too. [ Tokyo International Film Festival 2006 21 Oct to 29 Oct 2006 ] http://www.tiff-jp.net/entry/2006/index_e.html All productions have been decided upon by judges such as review committee members! [There are various activities at the end of the year.] Events such as the Rooster Fair (4, 16 and 28 Nov) and the New Year's Eve Bell Tolling (31 Dec) are held at various temples and shrines all around Tokyo such as Sensoji Temple and Kan'ei-ji Temple in Ueno. * The Bird Fair (4, 16 and 28 Nov) There are bamboo rakes with various decorations on sale. These bamboo rakes are lucky charms that ''rake up'' happiness and good fortune. * New Year's Eve Bell Tolling (31 Dec) A hundred and eight bells are rung at various temples on New Year's Eve, praying that the coming year will be a good year. Event information here http://www.taitocity.com/kanko/asakusa_ueno/e_guide/events/events.html - Tokyo volunteer tour guide activities There are many volunteer tour guide organizations in Tokyo. The ''Tokyo City Guide Club'' in this issue can accommodate visitors in both Chinese (Mandarin) and English. The package tours that Tokyo city guides provide are already available through major travel agencies in Japan. Furthermore, the club has twenty three original city walking courses ready, and pamphlets in multiple languages are coming soon! Guide Fees : 1 Group (up to ten visitors) 4,000 yen. 400 yen extra for each visitor in groups of eleven or more (2.5 to 3 hour courses / please contact us for further details). Applications & Inquiries : Tokyo City Guide Club Office (Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau) Suzuyo Kawada kawada@tcvb.or.jp (Applications accepted until ten days before the desired date.) - Did you know? Convenience in Tokyo is in tickets Metropolitan Park Welcome Tickets The best time to see autumnal leaves in Tokyo is between mid November and early December. There are many parks in Tokyo that you can choose your favorite spots for viewing these leaves from. Entrance fees for metropolitan gardens are 20% off when this Welcome Ticket is presented at the gates. In addition, the Tokyo Mizube Cruising Line Water Cruises can be enjoyed at 10% off. Available at major hotels and various tourist associations. Information on metropolitan parks & Mizube Cruising Line here http://www.tokyo-park.or.jp/english/index.html - Event Report - Wa Odori (Japanese Dance) *BON Odori Festivals are traditional Japanese events that are held in various locations in summer, and help promote the peace and conformity of the areas that they are held. In ''Tokyo International BON Odori Festival'' which was held for the first time this year on August 10th, 4,500 people danced and walked in the Asakusa area in a 2-kilometer circle with ''The World Greatest BON Odori Festival'' as the catch phrase. Foreign participants such as overseas students living in Tokyo and tourists also joined in with the ''Geisha'' and local dance groups of Asakusa in colorful *yukatas to enjoy this international BON Odori festival. It is scheduled to be held again next year at around the same time. The ''Wa'' in ''Wa Odori'' means both ''Japanese'' and ''Harmony''. People from all over the world dancing together to form a friendly circle of Harmony... That is the kind of harmonious dance that we think would be perfect for you. *BON: the period when ancient spirits come back *yukata: a single-layer summer kimono Photos Taken on that Day (text is in Japanese only) http://www.waodori.jp/ http://kanko-sumida.com/sumidagawa-edo/060804_news_waodori_eg.pdf ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, please send an email to news@tcvb.or.jp titled, Unsubscribe. Issued by : Tourism Division, Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Planning / Editing : Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau E-mail : news@tcvb.or.jp Tel : +81-3-5840-8892 Fax : +81-3-5840-8895 ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++ ++++++++