| |
 |
 News & Announcements |
 Special Article "Charm of Tokyo" |
 Tokyo's Concept Cafe "Knit Cafe" |
| Event Information |
| Updated Radiation-related Information in Tokyo |
| News & Announcements |
| Tokyo Grand Shopping Week 2015 to Be Held in January |
|
| KIRARITO GINZA Opened on October 30 |
 |
 |
|
A new commercial facility "KIRARITO GINZA," which means "A Shining Place in Ginza," opened on October 30 in Ginza 1-chome, a center of Tokyo.
The facility´s concept of "brilliant life stage" includes the best products, service and space for weddings. The building was created under the theme of a brilliant-cut diamond and will present a different look as the reflection of light changes. The open terrace in the fourth floor is about 100m2 wide and creates a new open-space in Ginza. There are 52 stores in all where tourists can fully enjoy shopping, including fashion and beauty stores, restaurants, gift shops, and so on. How about taking a look at this popular spot among Japanese couples? |
| Website | KIRARITO GINZA: http://www.kirarito-ginza.jp/pdf/language.pdf |
|---|
| Bus Operation at Late Night and Early Morning from and to Haneda Airport Available! |
1) Haneda Airport <-> Ginza/Tokyo (Station)/Akihabara 2) Haneda Airport <-> Shinjuku/Ikebukuro 3) Haneda Airport <-> Shibuya 4) Haneda Airport <-> Ōtorii/Kamata/Shinagawa 5) Haneda Airport <-> Yokohama (YCAT) The late night bus starts at Haneda Airport between 1 and 2 a.m. and the early bus arrives there between 4 and 5 a.m. It will make your travel more convenient if you visit Japan via Haneda Airport during this period. |
| Website | Detailed information: http://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001057349.pdf#page=3 |
|---|
| Special Article |
| Charm of Tokyo as a City and Tourist Destination |
| Mike Kubeck, an American who has been living Tokyo for long years, will introduce the charm of Tokyo from a foreigner´s perspective.
|
Profile: Mike Kubeck Executive Producer of ´SuperDeluxe,´ a multi-purpose event space located in Nishi-Azabu. ´SuperDeluxe´ is a venue where in addition to music you can also enjoy a creative ambiance much like a gallery. An atmosphere recognized by Time Magazine who chose ´SuperDeluxe´ as the number one place in Asia for ´spending time and enjoying the avant-garde.´ Mike has lived, studied and worked in Tokyo for over two decades. |
| Website | SuperDeluxe: https://www.super-deluxe.com/?acc=_top |
|---|
| ––Could you share the reason why you came to Tokyo? |
| I first came to Tokyo as an exchange student to study at Waseda University. I started off my Tokyo adventure with local restaurants, used book stores, live-houses, and mountain biking in the Okutama area. Before starting ´SuperDeluxe´ in 2002 I worked as a technical translator and writer.
|
| ––What do you think about your specialized field, the music scene in Tokyo? |
|
| Website | Pit-inn: http://www.pit-inn.com/index_e.html Live performance information in Tokyo: http://www.tochoh.com/ |
|---|
| ––What places do you recommend in Tokyo? |
I also like shrines and temples located throughout the city, which provide relaxing areas in which one can enjoy a quiet stroll. |
| ––What do you think about food in Tokyo? |
Tokyo is great because you can eat cheap and delicious food like ´katsu-curry´ (pork cutlet and curry with rice) and ´cha-han´ (mixed fried rice) at restaurants aimed at students located near universities and student towns. There is a particular old Japanese curry shop called 'Murugi' in Shibuya, which only has short business hours serving lunch from 11:30~15:00 but has some of the best curry I have ever tasted. I also think yaki-niku (grilled slices of meat) is something overseas tourists would enjoy, as it is like having your own personal BBQ, where you can cook the meat to your preference on a grill in the middle of the table. There are also many kinds of wonderful noodles, soba, udon, and ramen. Scenes of people slurping down a hot bowl of ramen can often be seen in Japanese animation and movies. It´s a typical Japanese noodle dish, and seems to be booming overseas as well. Slurping noodles, is not common overseas, but it´s another fun part of Japanese culture that overseas tourists can enjoy while eating (slurping!) their meal. I also like how you can find restaurants which westernize or create new and original combinations of Japanese noodle flavors, like tomato udon and curry udon etc. Not to mention the opposite, where western pasta dishes are given a Japanese flavor. There are countless different noodle dishes that can be found throughout Tokyo for tourists to enjoy. I also love Toraya 'yokan,' a traditional type of Japanese sweet which comes in the form of a bar of sweetened and jellied bean paste made by the Toraya Corporation. Japanese cuisine alone works as an excellent tourist attractor with countless tourists coming to Tokyo every year to indulge on an array of different dishes and sweets that cannot be found elsewhere. |
||||
| ––Where would you take your friends or family from overseas? |
Actually, my parents would be visiting Japan soon and I am planning to take them to an island located in the Tokyo area called Izu Oshima to enjoy a spa resort. Tokyo is not only a city with a bustling nightlife, restaurants and shops, it also includes many rural areas where older generations can relax and enjoy themselves. I hope tourists will enjoy and explore both of these two sides of Tokyo. |
| Website | Nippori Fabric Town: http://goope.jp/goope/12044/140412165627fbce.pdf Izu Oshima: http://www.gotokyo.org/en/izuoshima/ |
|---|
| ––Do you have any tips for overseas travelers to comfortably and conveniently travel around Tokyo? |
|
I want to introduce a simple Japanese word that will help tourists coming to Tokyo enjoy their stay even more. どうも(do-mo) is a simple and particularly useful word that is easy to learn. Do-mo is short and easy to remember, and has various meanings that can be used in most everyday situations such as greeting people and expressing gratitude.
I also want to talk about how useful PASMO is. PASMO, a rechargeable contactless smart card, is mainly used as a replacement for train and bus tickets, but can also be used as e-money when you are in restaurants, convenience stores or even when taking a taxi. PASMO could definitely help ease the language barrier for tourists. |
| Website | PASMO: http://www.pasmo.co.jp/en/ Suica: http://www.jreast.co.jp/e/pass/suica.html |
|---|
| ––Lastly, would you give us your overall view on Tokyo? |
|
| Tokyo's Concept Cafe |
|
Knit Cafe-Mori no Kobuta |
Here is a Knit Cafe in Tokyo which has a cute name, "Mori no Kobuta" (piggy in the forest). Mori no Kobuta is a new type of concept cafe where you can spend relaxing moments while making something by knitting. It is just like an ordinary cafe from morning to lunchtime. After the lunchtime, it can be used as a knit cafe. Besides knitting, you can also embroider or bead on something, or any other handwork if you like. It is the best choice to enjoy a knit-time after having the healthy lunch here. |
| Website | www.morinokobuta.com (Japanese only) |
|---|---|
| Address | Sawa Bldg. 1F, 2-2-2, Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo |
| Map | Map |
| Open | 7:00-18:30 |
| Regular holiday | Sat, Sun, and holidays (except for the day when events are held) |
| Event Information |
|
Events at Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa from Winter to Spring
|
In New Year Asakusa is also thronged with people as Senso-ji Temple is a popular place of Hatsumode (first New Year's visit to shrines and temples). The word Setsubun in Japanese originally meant a traditional celebration taking place on the last day of a season. But in nowadays it especially means the day before the beginning of spring. To celebrate the coming of spring, Setsubun Festival will be held on February 3, 2015 and Mamemaki (bean throwing ceremony) will take place on that day. |
| Website | Hagoita Ichi (Japanese only)
Setsubun Festival (Japanese only) |
|---|---|
| Map | Map |
| Date | Hagoita Ichi : December 17-19, 2014 Setsubun Festival: February 3, 2015 |
|
Ume Matsuri (Plum Festivals)
|
 |
| Yushima Tenjin Ume Matsuri |
|
Yushima Tenjin Shrine has been famous for beautiful ume (plum) blossoms since the Edo period (1603-1867). Ume Matsuri is an annual event there and held from February 8 to March 8. You can enjoy an amazing sight of blooming plum blossoms as the shrine has approximately 300 ume trees (mainly Shirokaga white plums).
|
 |
| Takao Baigo Ume Matsuri |
|
Takao Baigo is also a great place to see ume blossoms and Ume Festival is held in mid-March every year. Seven ume groves with about 10,000 ume trees are located in the area of 4.5 km (about 2.8 miles) long along the Koshu Road. You can enjoy beautiful red, pink and white flowers with a nice smell.
|
| Website | Plum Festival (GO TOKYO) |
|---|---|
| Map |
Yushima Tenjin Takao Baigo |
| Date | Yushima Tenjin Ume Festival : February 8 to March 8, 2015 Takao Baigo Ume Festival: mid-March, 2015 |
|
List of events and festivals Go to our website & find more exciting events and festivals. |
| No Negative Impact on Our Health: Updated Radiation-related |
Radiation dose after touring Tokyo for one day (July 9, 2012) Report on field measurements
by Japan Tourism Agency Measurements results of Environmental radiation levels in Tokyo by Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health Information on the Great East Japan Earthquake by Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare |
 |
 To access the previous edition of e-Tokyo Today and our printed newsletter, Tokyo Today, please visit: e-Tokyo Today back number. If at any time you wish to stop receiving our emails, Please email to news@tcvb.or.jp. Issued by: Tourism Division, Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Planning / Editing: Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau If you want to reprint the articles, please contact us. E-mail: news@tcvb.or.jp Tel: +81-3-5579-2683 Fax: +81-3-5579-2685 |
 |
