gong xi fa cai - Metropolis

Japan’s Nº1 English Magazine 

FEATURE 

GOING UP: 

TOKYO’S 

chaNGING 

SKYLINE 

IN 2012 

gong 

xi 

fa 

cai 

WIShING YOU 

PEacE, haPPINESS, 

GOOd FORTUNE 

& PROSPERITY 

#930 Jan 20~Feb 2, 2012 

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#930 

Jan 20-Feb 2, 2012 

08 fEATURE 

Building 

the Future 

A preview of Tokyo’s 

architectural skyline in 2012 

By Deanna MacDonald 

04 THE SMALL PRINT 

05 UPfRoNT 

06 TRAvEL 

10 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT 

Music, Clubbing, 

Book Reviews 

13 AGENDA 

26 MovIES 

29 DINING oUT 

Bites, Restaurant Review, 

Bar Review 

32 CLASSIfIEDS & JoBS 

37 HoRoSCoPE & MAILBox 

38 THE LAST woRD 

Cover DeSiGn: kohji Shiiki, illuSTraTion: TeTSuya aBe 

CEO/PUbLISHER Terrie lloyd CHIEF OPERaTING OFFICER neil Butler EdITORIaL jeff W. richards (manaGinG eDiTor) 

David labi (eDiTor) akane “margarita” ichikawa, kazuki koizumi (eDiTorial aSSiSTanTS) anna Cock Gibson, kyle 

hedlund (ProofreaDerS) lisa Wallin, ayaka Goto (inTernS) CONTRIbUTING EdITORS Dan Grunebaum (muSiC & 

PerforminG arTS) Don morton (movieS) C.B. liddell (arT & arChiTeCTure) fred varcoe (SPorTS) dESIGN kohji Shiiki 

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Licence No. 724 

Travel 

Zamami island 

Camp on an unspoiled Okinawa beach 

Text and photos by lauren Hill 

As I awake the early 

morning sunlight 

bursts through the 

t r e e s o v e r h e a d , 

my tent slowly getting 

warmer. I slip 

on some sandals and wander the 

short distance through the trees 

to a secluded strip of white sand— 

Ama beach. My only company is the 

early-bird kayakers getting ready to 

hit the water before the heat of the 

day rises. A morning swim is just the 

wake-up call I was hoping for, with 

water so clear that every stray rock 

or shell can be seen on the sandy 

seabed. I do a double take as one of 

the aforementioned rocks begins 

to move—just a couple of meters 

away a huge sea turtle bobs gently in 

the water, basking in the sun, until 

spotting his unexpected visitor and 

swimming away. So begins my first 

day on Zamami Island. 

Just a short domestic flight from 

Tokyo, Zamami feels a world away 

from the pace of life in the metropolis. 

Nobody on the island is in a 

hurry, schoolchildren and elderly 

islanders greet visitors that are passing 

through. 

See and do 

Surrounding the village, Zamami is 

a nature lover’s paradise of junglecovered 

hilltops, soaring cliffs and 

deserted beaches. Each viewpoint 

on the island is punctuated by observation 

decks. 

Most visitors come to Zamami 

for the world-class snorkeling and 

scuba diving. The water is renowned 

for visibilit y and the abundance 

Zamami 

Tokyo 

Trip TipS 

Tokyo—Naha, Okinawa: Flights vary 

in price between seasons, airlines 

and national holidays. ¥20,000 is a 

standard price, outside of national 

holidays. Naha—Zamami Island: 

Two boats run between Naha and 

Zamami each day. The fast passenger 

ferry leaves twice a day and is 

around ¥6,000 for a return ticket. A 

slower ferry leaves once a day and is 

around ¥4,000 for a return ticket. 

of coral, fish and turtles. One dive, 

arranged through one of the many 

dive centers on the island, costs 

around ¥6,000, but you can also 

snorkel straight from the beach. 

Kayaks can be hired for a more 

advent urous ex plorat ion of t he 

island’s coastline. A half-day tour 

can be organized for around ¥7,000. 

Zamami is also a prime spot for 

whale watching from Januar y to 

March. At this time there are regular 

boat trips for around ¥5,000. The 

Zamami Whale Watching Association 

has spotters who watch the 

whales from the island’s observatories 

and tell the tour boats where 

they need to be.

EaT 

Ok inawan food brings toget her 

t he Islands’ Japanese, Chinese, 

South-East Asian and US culinary 

inf luences. The most well-known 

dish is champuru (stir fry), with goya 

(bitter gourd), or alternatively with 

tofu, meat or papaya. Pork and fresh 

seafood are in abundance, as well 

as seaweed and locally made soba. 

Sweet potato is a long established 

Okinawan staple food, particularly 

for sweets and cakes. Black-sugar 

and sweet-bean filled rice cakes are 

popular Okinawan sweets, as well 

as donuts, with f lavors including 

mango, pumpkin and sesame. 

Try the locally brewed awamori: 

an Okinawan rice sake which some 

distilleries bottle with a habu snake 

to test the bravery of its drinkers. 

Orion is the locally brewed beer and 

shikuwasa (Okinawan lime) is the 

fruit juice to get that sugar boost on 

those long hot days. 

STay 

The activity in Zamami is centered 

around the village that surrounds the 

port. Guesthouses, restaurants and 

dive centers are found along every 

street and alley. The village’s guesthouses 

charge from ¥3,000 upwards 

per person for a private room. 

Fifteen minutes’ walk from the 

harbor (maps available from tourist 

information) is a campsite. Here 

you can camp in the shade of the 

trees for as little as ¥300, or ¥1,000 if 

you need to hire camping gear. The 

spot is steps away from a secluded 

white sand beach. I recommend hiring 

a BBQ set from the campsite and 

rounding the day off by cooking up 

some of the fresh local seafood. 

Okinawa 

The Okinawa Island Guide 2011- 

2012 (¥1,500) is a thick, juicy 

magazine stuffed with pics 

and articles about Japan’s southern 

islands to equip the English-speaking 

aspiring visitor with a wealth of 

tips and tricks for making the most 

out of a trip there. Produced by Okinawa 

Index, it comes with the Tourist 

Booklet (available separately, ¥800) a 

veritable encyclopedia of bars, restaurants, 

nightclubs, services and maps 

in the area, which seems to make 

good its claim to be Okinawa's only 

comprehensive English-language 

tourist booklet. In this year’s guide 

find features about the islands’ seagod 

festival, Okinawa’s longevity diet 

(featuring interviews with several 

nonagenarians from the famously 

givEaway 

Getaway 

long-living 

population), 

hotels, craftware, 

spotlights 

o n d i f f e r e n t 

regions, history 

a nd plenty of 

g lossy photos 

to m a ke yo u r 

heart yearn for the subtropical paradise. 

¥1,500; tourist guide alone ¥800; 

available from major bookstores. 

Metropolis is giving away five copies of Okinawa Island Guide 2011-2012 absolutely 

FREE! Just email your answer to the question below with your name, 

country of origin and address to giveaways@metropolis.co.jp and you too 

could be perusing its pages and planning your getaway. Winners will be 

selected at random from the correct entries. 

Which of the following is a traditional Okinawan saying? 

A. Okinawans eat every part of the pig except its squeal. 

B. Okinawans drink every drop of the awamori except the bottle. 

C. Okinawans put anything in champuru (stir-fry) except human flesh. 

inSidE infOrmaTiOn 

We asked JapanTourist.jp’s 

Okinawa travel specialist 

Edo Heinrich-Sanchez 

for his suggestions on making the 

most of your trip to the area. His 

recommendations? 

Set yourself up for some offthe-radar 

exploration by renting a 

navi-equipped car in Naha in southern 

Okinawa, and then point yourself 

at some of his favorite spots. 

Down at the southern tip of the 

island, visit the Okinawa Prefectural 

Peace Memorial Museum. The Battle 

of Okinawa was the only battle fought 

on Japanese soil during WWII, and 

the names of all those lost during the 

fighting—regardless of nationality— 

have been engraved in the waves of 

black granite. Along with the museum’s 

log of eyewitness accounts, the 

place will give you a sense of the Okinawans’ 

renowned resiliency. 

While Naha’s Shuri Castle gets more 

visitors, another UNESCO World Heritage 

Site in the central part of the island, Zakimi 

Castle, has been able to maintain a lower 

profile—and the views here are spectacular. 

Up the road is Ryukyu Folk Village 

with regular free live performances. Eat 

a freshly made sata andagi (Okinawan 

“donut hole”) with complimentary tea. 

From Zakimi, Cape Maeda and the 

famous Blue Cave are just a short drive 

away. Park at the secure gated area (¥100 

per hour) and walk down to some excellent 

cliff ocean vistas or a little south for 

beautiful beach coves. 

Since Zakimi’s not far from Okinawa 

City, get a taste of that Okinawa champuru 

(stir-fry) culture with a visit to the Koza 

area, also known as Music Town. There is 

a small museum that showcases how the 

area was influenced by American bases. 

More info at: 

JapanTourist.jp 

PHOTO BY RYU SUZUKI-RYUKYU MURA 

Advertorial 

Secret of 

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Metropolis chats to 

Attorney at Law 

Hangnyeon Chang, 

AITS LPC 

What should I do if my husband or wife 

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www.aits-lpc.com 

#930 • WWW.METROPOLIS.CO.JP • 07

Feature 

Building 

the 

Future 

A preview 

of Tokyo’s 

architectural 

skyline in 

2012 

By Deanna MacDonald 

Tokyo’s architectural landscape is a 

constantly changing scene. Don’t 

like a building in Tokyo? Wait five 

minutes and the scaffolding crews 

will arrive, take it down and presto, 

before you know it—new building. With this etcha-sketch-like 

approach to planning, Tokyo is one 

of the most exciting urban landscapes on the 

planet. If you turn a blind eye to the consequent 

construction waste, high carbon footprint, etc.— 

and despite the uncertain economic times—you 

can look forward to an architecturally exciting 

2012 in Tokyo. 

The city has always loved big architectural 

gestures and the biggest of 2012 will surely be 

the 634-meter Sky Tree (www.tokyo-skytree. 

jp/english). Slated to officially open on May 22, 

it is already the world’s tallest free-standing 

tower—topping the former number one, China’s 

Guangzhou Tower, by 34 meters. Intriguingly, the 

cutting-edge technology employed in the Sky Tree 

was inspired by traditional multistoried pagoda 

that employ shimbashira-seishin, or “central-column 

vibration control.” 

Meanwhile, more vertical thrills are to be 

had at the 182.5-meter Shibuya Hikarie (www. 

hikarie.jp), opening on April 26. Its 34 glass-clad 

floors filled with youth-oriented shops, offices, a 

theater and exhibit hall, will be Shibuya’s answer 

to Laforet Harajuku and a stern test for the 109 

emporium. 

Both of these projects show the genius (and 

daring) of structural engineering in tremor-prone 


Japan as well as the love for all things, well… big. 

Yet in terms of design, they are somewhat generic 

and raise questions about the need for yet another 

bland commercial tower in Tokyo. 

Yet, the mood in the Year of the Dragon looks 

to be moving towards a subtler design aesthetic 

in public buildings, reflecting a growing consideration 

of the environment, both manmade 

and natural. With reconstruction in Tohoku only 

beginning, the desire to find innovative, sustainable 

ways of building is growing. Several new 

projects seek not only to fit into, but also enhance 

their surroundings. 

With the rise of the Sky Tree, the Asakusa area 

has seen a spate of new architectural projects. One 

of the most exciting is the Asakusa Culture and 

Tourist Center, by Kengo Kuma (www.kkaa.co.jp), 

which promises to make an elegant contemporary 

counterpart to its historic neighbor, the temple 

complex of Sensoji. Presently under construction 

opposite the iconic Kaminari-mon Gate, Kuma’s 

design resembles a delicate house of cards, with 

one glass and wooden lattice structure atop 

another. It will house a tourist information center 

as well as a community hall, exhibition space and 

cafeteria, which will all offer spectacular views of 

the ancient temple’s swooping roofs. 

The much-awaited Daikanyama T-Site (http:// 

tsite.jp/daikanyama), designed for Tsutaya by 

Klein Dytham Architects (www.klein-dytham. 

com), opened in early December to general delight 

and is drawing even more urban cool hunters to 

one of Tokyo’s most stylish neighborhoods. Covering 

a 12,000m 2 site, the attractive low-rise complex 

of shops, eateries and an art gallery is organized 

around a public green space with old-growth 

© ToKyu corporATion 

trees. Three distinctive T-covered buildings 

house a huge, browser-friendly Tsutaya. The 

buildings are linked by overhead walkways and, 

on the ground level, by a “magazine avenue”—a 

wooden path through the three buildings where 

you can find every local and international magazine 

imaginable. One upper floor is devoted to a 

chic cafe and lounge space lit by a large skylight 

and open until 2am. The larger complex even has a 

dog-grooming salon with a sawdust-covered “doggarden” 

where newly coiffed pets frolic beneath a 

giant canine sculpture. Overall, it is a welcoming 

space that successfully blends well-designed 

architecture, greenery, and places for people 

to shop, eat, socialize or work. It is a new kind of 

complex for Tokyo—on a smaller, human-sized 

scale, design-oriented with a restrained, green 

aesthetic. Considering the numbers of black-clad 

young architects strolling around the site, camera 

courTesy of Kengo KumA And AssociATes

Courtesy of edWard suzuki assoCiates 

in hand, at its opening, 

it will no doubt 

prove a template for 

future projects. 

More experiments 

in urban planning 

are now underway 

in Fujisawa Cit y on 

the southwest outskirts 

of Tokyo, where 

Panasonic and other 

Japanese companies 

are building an energy-efficient “smart town.” 

Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town, or Fujisawa 

SST for short, aims to be a model for sustainable 

living (http://meturl.com/fsst). And at a projected 

cost of ¥60 billion, it better be. 

The project began in 2009 but has taken on 

new impetus since March as setsuden concerns 

became daily conversation. Being built on the site 

of an old Panasonic factory, the town is designed 

with an intelligent network of electricity grids that 

will permit energy conservation, sharing and storage. 

There will be a system of electric-car sharing, 

solar panels, LED lights and smart appliances, 

which will communicate with a main network in 

order to conserve energy. Passive energy sources 

will also be tapped with “wind paths” and strategically 

placed greenery. When complete in 2014, it 

will support 1,000 households for approximately 

3,000 people and should, according to Panasonic, 

reduce normal carbon emissions by 70%. Other 

companies are also proposing similar ideas in 

Saitama, Yokohama and elsewhere, so watch out 

for a new “smart town” near you. 

The growing interest in green architecture 

takes a literal turn in several individual projects. 

The busy and much-loved Azabu Juban shotengai 

often sees buildings come and go as businesses 

look to attract customers with fresh designs. 

Among the latest crop is an elegant plant-clad 

project by Edward Suzuki Architects (www.edward. 

net). Called the Vent Vert, or “Green Wind,” its ninestorey 

facade will be covered by live greenery which, 

when completed in the spring 2012, will give both 

tenants and passersby the visual and tactile pleasures 

of a vertical garden on a dense city street. 

Hiroshi Nakamura and NAP Architect’s Tokyu 

Plaza Harajuku Omotesando (http://meturl.com/ 

tokyuplaza) will even attempt a small forest. Opening 

in April, the shopping complex will feature a 

roof like a bouquet of trees, a symbolic nod to the 

famous zelkova trees of Omotesando Dori and 

inserting an ecological note into a glamorous consumerist 

boulevard. Already, treetops can be seen 

peeking out behind the construction site’s fences. 

Omotesando is a constantly changing showplace 

for new architecture, even at the cost of the 

loss of older buildings by major architects. Pritzker 

Prize-winning architect Kenzo Tange’s 1977 

Aoyama Obayashi Building (better known as the 

Hanae Mori Building) on Omotesando was recently 

demolished despite protests, to make way for a new 

construction. Considering that the average lifespan 

of a building in Tokyo is about 20 years, Tange’s 

building was practically ancient at 33. But Tokyo’s 

astronomical land prices mean that older buildings 

are rarely renovated, even one by such an iconic 

Courtesy of kLein dytham arChiteCts 

Courtesy of east Japan raiLWay Company 

architect like Tange. Instead they are demolished 

and replaced by larger, more profitable buildings. 

The structure now being built (by Obayashi Corporation, 

builders of the Sky Tree) will reach the 

maximum height allowable on the street rising, 48 

meters with nine stories (compared to Tange’s five) 

and add some 5,000m 2 of profitable retail space. 

It will be interesting to see, when the scaffolding 

comes down, how this new building compares to a 

work by the modern master. 

However, not all old buildings are just for 

tearing down. Tokyo’s long preferred scrap-andrebuild 

method of urban renewal is starting to 

be questioned. Economic uncertainty as well as 

issues of recycling, building waste and preservation 

are helping to start a new trend: renovations 

of historic buildings. The 1914 Tokyo Station has 

been receiving a major facelift for several years. 

But the construction wrapping will come off this 

year. Topped by shiny new copper roofs, the brick 

complex will return a bit of refurbished Meiji/ 

Taisho-Era charm to the crisp business district of 

Marunouchi and hopefully add a bit of pleasure and 

convenience for train and metro users, who have 

long skirted around the huge construction site. The 

exterior should be fully revealed in March and services 

at the station could start as early as June. 

All these trends—to more ecologically minded 

buildings, more user-friendly public spaces, 

more renovations of older buildings—have been 

growing in recent years. But since the March 

earthquake and tsunami, architects and others 

are seriously reflecting on where Japanese architecture 

goes next. 

Look out for the above projects as well as for 

avant-garde works by smaller, up-and-coming 

firms in Japan, such as Tezuka Architects 

(www.tezuka-arch.com), Sou Fujimoto Architects 

(www.sou-fujimoto.net) and Kumiko 

Inui (www.inuiuni.com). 

#930 • www.METROPOLIS.CO.JP • 09 

© hiroshi nakamura & nap 

Courtesy of obayashi Corporation

Arts & Entertainment all The BesT in arTs & CulTure aCross The meTropolis 

music 

Washed Out 

Washed Out 

The chillwaver is just a 

salaryman at heart 

By Dan Grunebaum 

We like to romanticize rock 

musicians, and think of them 

as hard-living, early-to-thegrave 

poets—but they come 

in all stripes and flavors. 

Washed Out’s Ernest Greene is just fine with 

his 9 to 5 existence, thank you. When I catch up 

with him in suburban Atlanta he’s busy wrapping 

up another day. 

“I don’t know if people realize I’m married 

and lead a very simple life,” he says. “My wife 

plays in the band and handles the business 

end of things. When we’re at home we have a 

pretty normal domestic life where I do my creative 

things in one room while she’s in the other 

scheduling the year for us.” 

Despite being dubbed a leader of the hipperthan-thou 

“chillwave” movement, the Georgia 

native says he gets his fill of trendsetting megacities 

like LA and New York, and that he’s happier 

living close to family. “Atlanta has a bustling 

music scene anyway,” he quips, “so it’s the best 

of both worlds.” 

Not that there isn’t any romanticism to his 

music. Greene paints lushly textured soundscapes 

that ooze emotion—and if there was any 

doubt, he’s erased it with the photograph of a 

naked couple locked in a tight embrace against 

an all-white background on the cover of his new 

album Within and Without. 

“It’s so different from my other covers,” he 

explains. “My past artwork had very saturated 

colors, and I liked the idea of stark white, it kind 

of mimicked some of the sonic changes I was 

making. And I had the same feeling about the 

music—that it was very intimate.” 

A quiet youth spent in Georgia’s peach fields 

followed by several years of literature and 

clubbing 

Soul Clap 

The Boston duo pushes 

the limits of house 

By Don Crispy 

Few associate Boston with dance music, 

but house duo Soul Clap don’t see it that 

way. With roots in ’70s disco and a career 

forged amid the city’s ’90s rave scene, they 

continue to base themselves in their hometown. 

From Boston, they travel the world, and are in such 


libraries at the University of South Carolina segued 

to a career in music when growing internet 

fame led storied indie-rock label Sub Pop to sign 

Greene last April. 

“They were one of the first that reached out, 

and one of the only that stuck around,” says the 

28-year-old. “It was clear they were passionate 

about working together and I’d been a fan for a 

long time. I liked the idea of putting the record 

out on a traditional indie rock label. I feel like the 

world I’ve come out of, although my music has a 

strong electronic element, is from that tradition.” 

Greene’s music applies DJ Shadow’s dreamy 

downtempo pastiche approach to an ’80s vocabulary 

of synth-pop keyboards and impassioned 

vocals. Songs like 2009’s “Feel It All Around” put 

him on the musical map as an architect of the budding 

chillwave scene. 

demand that it took Tokyo party Lilith a year and a 

half to book them. With an opulent sonic vocabulary 

spanning classic to minimal and tech-house on their 

new album EFUNK, Elyte and Cnyce’s upcoming set 

at Eleven promises to get the Year of the Dragon off to 

a flaming start. 

What was your first impression of each other? We 

were 16 when we met and were psyched because 

at that time there weren’t many DJs our age and 

the only way to learn was from other DJs. 

How did you decide to become a team? We didn’t 

really decide. We got thrown together opening 

for Joey Beltram in Washington DC and it just 

clicked. After that Soul Clap was born and soon we 

combined our record collection. 

Who does what in Soul Clap? Charlie writes the 

CourTesy of Third CulTure 

“The synth-pop inf luences are definitely 

there,” Greene admits. “But I had a roundabout 

way of getting to the ’80s. I started off making 

hip-hop, and came out of the sampling world. The 

classic formula for a hip-hop sample-based song 

is taking material from ’70s funk, but I got tired 

of doing that and started exploring other music. I 

was listening to a lot of disco, which led to more 

mainstream synth-pop from the ’80s, when analog 

synths were really big.” 

Life has been turned upside down since Greene 

signed with Sub Pop. “A lot of attention came fast, 

and I wasn’t sure how to approach it,” he says. “But 

I’ve been around long enough now to see how 

quickly bands can get a lot of attention and then 

slip off the radar. I try to just do my thing and not 

think about it.” 

Hitting #6 on the US rock charts, Within and 

Without sees Greene moving in some new directions, 

building off the last year of touring as a band 

after launching as a solo act. “A lot of the early 

recordings were sample-based and I wanted to 

move away from that,” he recalls. “Having more 

time and money allowed me to sculpt these sounds 

in a way that I’d never been able to. And I was able 

to bring in some musicians to play on it, which was 

really exciting. The first recordings were done with 

just a computer and keyboard, so it was an expansion 

in a number of different ways.” 

For a taste of the long future he has planned for 

himself as a musician, consider the last song on 

the album, “A Dedication.” 

“We’d finished the other songs but the ending 

just didn’t feel right so I wrote it to close the 

record,” Greene says in his deliberate, considered 

style. “I wrote it sitting at my piano, which was the 

first time I’ve recorded with a clean piano tone. 

“My music is known for soundscapey synth 

sounds and very little organic sounds. That was one 

of the first times I’d done that. It’s just a very simple 

song and something I really enjoyed and see as a 

bridge to what the next record might sound like.” 

Liquidroom, Jan 24. See concert listings (popular) 

for details. 

CourTesy of melissa - The maouris Company

ooks 

Aftershock: 

Artists respond to 

disAster in JApAn 

Biguglyrobot 

Publishing, 2011, 

138pp. 

Edited by Adam 

Pasion 

¥1,000, from http:// 

biguglyrobot.net/ 

mailorder; $4.99 from 

Amazon.com (Kindle) 

Spearheaded by edit 

o r A d a m P a s i o n , 

this is a collection of 

cartoons from 35 different 

i nter nat iona l 

artists, including Jeffrey 

Brown (Incredible 

Changebots, Clumsy), 

N o a h V a n S c i v e r 

(Blammo, Mad magazine) 

and Ben Snakepit 

(Snakepit Comics) and 

their response to the 

events of March 11. The 

project aims to help by 

donating all monies 

raised to Architecture 

for Humanity and their 

efforts to help rebuild 

in Tohoku. The book, 

in no way associated 

with the highly successful 

crowd-sourced 

2:46 Aftershocks: Stories 

from the Japan Earth- 

quake, suffers somewhat from the inclusion of a 

few artists who simply describe some minimal 

passing contact with Japanese culture, or those 

who rely on clichéd anime/Godzilla/samurai 

views of Japan, without having had anything to do 

with the catastrophe. Better inked, though, are the 

special few that live up to the book’s title—and the 

reader’s expectation—as they are drawn by artists 

with first-hand experience of the disaster, allowing 

readers to feel what the artists went through or 

imagine what it must have felt like. Nonetheless, 

giving is good—and these cartoonists do it with a 

few good strokes. Ayaka Goto 

songs, Eli plays the drums. Charlie is the lead 

singer, Eli runs the internet. Bam. 

Boston is not a big dance music town. tell us what 

it’s like to base your careers there. Believe it or not, 

Boston was a hotbed for disco in the ’70s and 

’80s. Even in the ’90s when we were growing up, 

Boston had a thriving rave scene. After that the city 

cracked down and made it impossible to party all 

night, which basically killed dance music. We had 

a tight crew of DJs and friends and we’d just party 

at each others’ houses and spin and make music 

together so we really developed our own sound. We 

definitely wouldn’t be who we are without Boston 

so we have a lot of love and pride for our city! 

Give us a taste of the upcoming album—how is it an 

evolution from past work? We really haven’t released 

towArd dusk And 

other stories 

Kurodahan Press, 

2011, 248pp. 

Yoshiyuki Junnosuke; 

Translated by 

Andrew Clare 

$16, from Amazon and 

major bookstores 

Born in 1924, Yoshiyuki 

Junnosuke is one 

of t he most prol i f ic 

authors of post-war 

Japan, and someone 

recognized by literary 

legend Yukio Mishima 

a s c a p t u r i n g t h e 

e s s enc e of mo der n 

Japanese youth with 

unparalleled subtlety. 

His writings, which 

of t e n c onc e r n s e x , 

p r o s t i t u t i o n , a n d 

assorted degradations, 

f ill 20 volumes, and 

this collection of short 

stories—whose title 

work won Japan’s highest 

literary award, the 

Noma P r i z e — c ou ld 

be a good route into 

his oeuvre. In style the 

writing is minimalist, 

matter-of-fact. He has 

been compared to Albert Camus and a notable 

influence on Haruki Murakami can be observed 

in the strange stillness of his scenes. Characters 

are generally as observed by the narrator, and 

little personal history or copious contexts crowd 

the sensor y present. The preface, written by 

James Dorsey, talks of how Junnosuke’s writings 

leave you with a desire to scrub yourself all over. 

This reviewer might be more used to that kind of 

depravity as I didn’t have to dash to the shower, 

but I did find that the peculiar suspended world 

he conveyed remained around me as I went about 

my day. David Labi 

that much original music up till now so the album 

is our first real statement about what Soul Clap 

really is. It’s an exploration of our many influences 

and runs through different genres and tempos. In 

the end we really wanted to make a timeless album, 

not a compilation of dance songs for DJs. 

in your college course on dance music, what was the 

most important wisdom you imparted to students? 

The most important wisdom we’ve learned is that 

house wears many hats. 

what’s right and wrong with dance music today? 

Beyond dance music there is so much creative 

genre-bending music out there, it’s a really 

exciting time for music in general. The problem is 

that in dance music most DJs limit themselves to 

one genre and just play the new popular tracks. To 

tune in tokyo: 

the GAiJin diAries 

Tim Anderson 

AmazonEncore/ 

Wayward Mammal, 

2011, 264pp. 

¥1,700, from Amazon 

and major bookstores 

If you’re look ing for 

some Japa n-related 

reading but aren’t 

qu ite fe el i ng up to 

M u r a k a m i ’s l a t e s t 

1,000 page of fer i ng 

or working your way 

through another nonfiction, 

crowd-sourced, 

non-profit 3/11 contribution 

to the relief 

effort or treatise on 

Japan’s fast retailing 

superstars, then Tune 

In Tokyo: The Gaijin 

Diaries may be just 

what you need. Tim 

Anderson’s cheeky collection 

of stories based 

on his life in Tokyo run 

riot from Fujisawa to 

Roppongi, and are all 

the funnier as the tall, 

w h i t e r-t h a n-w h i t e , 

gay diabetic from the 

American South takes on English teaching, gets 

frustated with Japanese porn, uses the Metropolis 

classifieds to start a rock band, hits the clubs for 

some fungus-fueled conversations with vaginas, 

tries in vain to avoid Roppongi and makes all the 

other usual mistakes we all make on the way to 

earning full-fledged been-there-done-that gaijin 

cred. Throw in liberal amounts of soap-opera 

confessional, Wikipedia crumbs of Japanese 

culture and travel, and disarmingly funny inner 

monologues, and you’ve got yourself that novel 

about life in Japan you never knew you wanted to 

read on the train. Jeff W. Richards 

quote Bob Marley “if you don’t know your history 

then you don’t know where you’re coming from.” 

tell us about your relationship with Japan thus far. We 

spent a week in Tokyo last summer and fell in love. 

The food and music and shopping are so unique. 

Plus you have the best record stores and of course 

we love the Japanese aesthetic. 

what can we look forward to at eleven? A journey 

through time and space. Guided by bass that will 

move your ass. 

what’s the perfect night out for soul clap? Sushi + 

ramen + sake. Arigato! 

Dommune, Jan 26 and Eleven, Jan 27. See club 

listings for details. Soul Clap’s debut album 

EFUNK is out on Wolf + Lamb at the end of 

March. 

#930 • www.METROPOLIS.CO.JP • 11

Metpod 

AGENDA 

classical 

barbara FriTToli 

Italian soprano Barbara is not only statuesque, 

she’s also capable of effortlessly hitting 

a high C. The Milan native has been the toast 

of the opera circuit for the last decade, playing 

starring roles at La Scala and the Royal Opera 

House et al. A fitting environment for such quality 

will be the superb Tokyo Opera City, where 

the diva is to perform selections from Italian 

operas and Richard Strauss, under the baton of 

Italian conductor Carlo Tenan and accompanied 

by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. 

Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, Jan 26 & Feb 1. 

See concert listings (classical) for details. 

By Dan GruneBaum 

Long after reaching the end of their shelf life 

in North America, Afro-cool hip-hop collective 

Arrested Development remain Big in Japan. 

But there’s more to the story than a band past its 

prime trying to eke out a living, because Speech 

and co. still rock, as they showed recently at Summer 

Sonic ’11. Speech still can’t keep his mouth 

shut, most recently recording “I’m a Fight Back 

Right Now” to support the No Wedding No Womb 

campaign to highlight a situation in which 73% of 

American black children are born out of wedlock. 

Billboard Live, Jan 19-21. See concert listings 

(jazz/world) for details. 

©Jean-miCHel otHoniel/aDaGp, paris 2011, ColleCtion françois oDermatt, 

pHoto By patriCk Gries; Courtesy of Galerie perrotin, paris pHoto Courtesy of smasH 

art 

Jean-michel 

oThoniel, my Way 

My Bed (Mon Lit) 2002 

One of the most popular shows in the history of 

Paris’s Pompidou Center opens this week in Tokyo. 

Jean-Michel Othoniel is a 47-year-old French 

artist whose large-scale glass abstractions have 

made him one of his country’s most renowned 

artists. Othoniel avoids the didactic ethos of much 

contemporary art and offers visions of color and 

sensuality. Named after the famous Frank Sinatra 

song, “Jean-Michel Othoniel, My Way” exhibits 60 

works, many made from colorful Italian Murano 

glass, from over 25 years of the artist’s career. 

Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, until Mar 

11. See exhibition listings (other areas) for 

details. 

gig 

arreSTed developmenT 

concert 

Trombone ShorTy & 

orleanS avenue 

He’s got a Grammy nomination, appears on 

HBO, and jams with Lenny Kravitz—but what 

people really need to know about Trombone 

Shorty is that he’s one of the burningest live acts 

to be heard. 26-year-old Troy “Trombone Shorty” 

Andrews mixes up the Dixieland jazz traditions 

of his native New Orleans with the contemporary 

vocabulary of hip-hop and rock ‘n’ roll in one of 

the most combustible acts in years. Those who’ve 

seen him at Fuji Rock will already know—the rest 

can “bone” up with his 2010 Grammy-nominated 

album Backatown or brand-new disc For True. 

Club Quattro, Feb 2. See concert listings (popular) 

for details. 

Courtesy of BillBoarD live yuta HinoHara 

dance 

evaneScere 

Mercurial contemporary dancer and choreographer 

Yukio Suzuki presents two new pieces 

at cozy Theater Tram, next to the Sangenjaya 

station of the Setagaya Line tram. A leading figure 

of the post-butoh generation, Suzuki blends 

butoh’s stark sensibilities with contemporary 

dance and ballet. Evanescere (“evanesce” or “disappear”) 

is a solo work, while Hisokana Gishiki 

no Mokugekisha (“Witness to a Secret Ritual”) is 

a group piece for four women dancers from his 

Kingyo company. 

Theater Tram, Feb 3-5. See dance listings for 

details. 

Featured exhibition, 

"Alice in Wonderland," 

by patchwork and quilt 

professional Reiko 

Washizawa 

exhibition 

Tokyo inTernaTional 

GreaT QuilT FeSTival 

Usually covered in AstroTurf, the Tokyo Dome 

once each year gives up its surfaces to quilt fanatics. 

Bedding might not sound so exciting, but as 

quilt otaku will know, blankets have provided the 

canvas for many an artist’s imagination, resulting 

in some of the world’s most intriguing creations. 

19th century American masterpieces are exhibited 

along with the latest creations from Japan’s current 

generation of quilters competing for a grand 

prize. The festival will be enlivened by Hawaiian 

dance performances and other attractions each 

and every day. 

Tokyo Dome, Jan 20-28. See exhibition listings 

(other areas) for details. 


advertorial 

new ciTy 

residence 

nishiazabu 

A hidden jewel for glamorous 

urban living 

The locaTion 

Tucked quietly away on a small side 

street, just steps away from the upscale 

action of its namesake neighborhood, 

New City Residence Nishiazabu is a lowrise, 

upscale apartment nestled in one of 

Tokyo’s sought-after residential areas. 

Nishi-Azabu has been a famed suburban 

area for people involved in the fields of 

fashion, gourmet food, fine art and more 

since the Edo Period. At the end of the 

Edo Period, Nishi-Azabu was known as 

Kasumicho, after a shrine still located in 

the Nishi-Azabu Ichome area. Today, the 

area can trace its glamorous atmosphere 

back to its history of being a desired 

residential area just close enough to 

the capital to be convenient for business 

people, but just far enough away to 

enable a higher quality lifestyle. 

The area offers convenient access to 

the main business centers via Roppongi 

station and the Tokyo Metro Hibiya and 

Toei Oedo lines, while the Chiyoda line 

is just a short walk away at Nogizaka 

station—just past the world-renowned 

architecture and exhibitions of The 

National Art Center, Tokyo. After work, 

unwind amid a veritable playground 

of upscale brand-name shopping, Roppongi 

nightlife, and unbeatable gourmet 

dining in Azabu-Juban or Hiroo. The 

entertainment centers of Roppongi Hills 

and Tokyo Midtown are both just minutes 

away. Fully equipped gyms and fitness 

14 • Special advertiSing Section 

centers are all available nearby.Adding 

to its international flavor, the neighborhood 

is also home to embassies from all 

over the world, as well as top-notch international 

schools and supermarkets to 

make your life as comfortable and enjoyable 

as possible. The stylish, elegant and 

safe low-rise apartments are hidden away 

on a small alley just off the main streets, 

offering a quiet oasis amongst the hustle 

and bustle of this energetic and dynamic 

neighborhood. The lively urban setting of 

New City Residence Nishiazabu offers its 

residents the vibrant lifestyle that Tokyo 

is famous for, while still maintaining the 

relaxing comfort and privacy of a home 

away from home. 

The properTy 

Ideal for the active businessman or 

woman who works hard and plays hard, 

residence sizes vary from 50.69m 2 to 

121.64m 2 w ith monthly rents f rom 

¥250,000. Each of the residences offers 

different layouts suitable to various lifestyles. 

The modern French design is 

achieved with premium materials and 

quality in mind. Once inside, each residence 

comes standard with automatic 

card-key locks, TV-monitor intercom, 

bedrooms with either wood flooring or 

carpet, bathrooms, and laundry appliances—including 

dryer. Kitchens come 

equipped with a gas range and grill, a 

microwave oven and a water purification 

NOTE: These photographs are sample onsite images. All fixtures and fittings are for design purposes only and are not furnished to each residence. 

Actual conditions of the residences override the printed information. 

system while the apartment itself is 

ready for cable and satellite TV and highspeed 

internet connections. For safety, 

a SECOM home security system ensures 

your peace of mind. 

Ta i sei Hou sy P rop erty Co. , Ltd . 

administrates New City Residence Nishiazabu. 

The greater metropolitan area of 

Tokyo is the core of our management, 

though we maintain over 170 houses 

and 11,000 apartments across Japan. 

We take pride in offering our customers 

cordial service and the best in relaxing 

and safe lifestyle environments. 

Taisei Housy Property, 2-4-5 Roppongi, 

Minato-ku. Tel: 03-6862-8181

advertorial 

new ciTy 

residence 

nishiazabu 

A hidden jewel for glamorous 

urban living 

The locaTion 

Tucked quietly away on a small side 

street, just steps away from the upscale 

action of its namesake neighborhood, 

New City Residence Nishiazabu is a 

low-rise, upscale apartment nestled in 

one of Tokyo’s sought-after residential 

areas. Nishi-Azabu has been a famed 

suburban area for people involved in 

the fields of fashion, gourmet food, fine 

art and more since the Edo Period. At 

the end of the Edo Period, Nishi-Azabu 

was known as Kasumicho, after a shrine 

still located in the Nishi-Azabu Ichome 

area. Today, the area can trace its glamorous 

atmosphere back to its history 

of being a desired residential area just 

close enough to the capital to be convenient 

for business people, but just far 

enough away to enable a higher quality 

lifestyle. 

The area offers convenient access to 

the main business centers via Roppongi 

station and the Tokyo Metro Hibiya and 

Toei Oedo lines, while the Chiyoda line 

is just a short walk away at Nogizaka 

station—just past the world-renowned 

architecture and exhibitions of The 

National Art Center, Tokyo. After work, 

unwind amid a veritable playground of 

upscale brand-name shopping, Roppongi 

nightlife, and unbeatable gourmet dining 

in Azabu-Juban or Hiroo. The entertainment 

centers of Roppongi Hills and 

Tokyo MidTown are both just minutes 


away. Fully equipped gyms and fitness 

centers are all available nearby.Adding 

to its international flavor, the neighborhood 

is also home to embassies from all 

over the world, as well as top-notch international 

schools and supermarkets to 

make your life as comfortable and enjoyable 

as possible. The stylish, elegant and 

safe low-rise apartments are hidden away 

on a small alley just off the main streets, 

offering a quiet oasis amongst the hustle 

and bustle of this energetic and dynamic 

neighborhood. The lively urban setting of 

New City Residence Nishiazabu offers its 

residents the vibrant lifestyle that Tokyo 

is famous for, while still maintaining the 

relaxing comfort and privacy of a home 

away from home. 

The properTy 

Ideal for the active businessman or 

woman who works hard and plays hard, 

residence sizes vary from 50.69m 2 to 

121.64m 2 with rents from ¥250,000. 

Each of the residences offers different 

layouts suitable to various lifestyles. 

The modern French design is achieved 

with premium materials and quality in 

mind. Once inside, each residence comes 

standard with automatic card-key locks, 

TV-monitor intercom, bedrooms with 

either wood flooring or carpet, bathrooms, 

and laundry appliances—including dryer. 

Kitchens come equipped with a gas range 

and grill, a microwave oven and a water 

NOTE: These photographs are sample onsite images. All fixtures and fittings are for design purposes only and are not furnished to each residence. 

Actual conditions of the residences override the printed information. 

purification system while the apartment 

itself is ready for cable and satellite TV 

and high-speed internet connections. 

For safety, a SECOM home security system 

ensures your peace of mind. 

Ta i sei Hou sy P rop erty Co. , Ltd . 

administrates New City Residence Nishiazabu. 

The greater metropolitan area of 

Tokyo is the core of our management, 

though we maintain over 170 houses 

and 11,000 apartments across Japan. 

We take pride in offering our customers 

cordial service and the best in relaxing 

and safe lifestyle environments. 

Taisei Housy Property, 2-4-5 Roppongi, 

Minato-ku. Tel: 03-6862-8181

Hot ProPerty 

TOKyO’S HOuSES AND HOMES ARE IN yOuR REACH 

Live your Passion 

Top pastime-related housing 

solutions 

Dance For those part of a dance group or who want to rehearse standup 

comedy gags. Kitchen and lounge are shared, bedrooms include aircon 

and fridge. www.oakhouse.jp 

Eco These mansions have communal spaces powered by solar panels, 

which you can even use to charge your electric car. Save up to ¥1,200 

monthly on electricity bills. www.ipd.co.jp 

Art Multipurpose rooms allow artists, musicians, dancers, etc. to do their 

thing. Soundproof gym doubles as jam space for band practice, first floor a 

gallery for exhibitions. http://meturl.com/arthouse 

Pets Many apartment blocks won’t let you live there with a pet. These ones 

will. www.pet-adpark.jp 

Cars The “garage house” allows you to live in the same room with your 

automobile. www.garent.jp/owner 

Bikes More of a garage than a mansion, the front door is “motorcycle 

friendly,” and glass bathroom walls allow you to scope your bike at all 

times. www.early-age.co.jp 

Mutenka Live in a harmonious setting in this abode made from organic 

construction materials. www.siam-india.org 

azabu courT 

For the cultured traveler stoppi 

n g by Tok yo for a br ief 

vacat ion or busi ne ss t r ip, 

steer clear of the downtown 

l ice -i n fe s te d bu n k hou s e s 

p a c k e d w i t h l e p e r s a n d 

thieves. Hang your bowler 

hat, Chanel handbag or diamond- 

e ncr u s te d wa l k i n g 

cane in the vestibule of one of 

Azabu Court’s fully serviced 

apartments—in the heart of the sophisticated Azabu neighborhood—and inhale the 

sweet air of the privileged. 

Full service, in Azabu Court’s case, includes free broadband, an in-house concierge, 

and laundry/dry-cleaning pick-up among other services, to ensure you are 

more comfortable than a Roman noble in the dying years of the Empire. Apartments 

feature an equipped kitchenette to enable all kinds of domestic activity, and residents 

also receive free, automatic membership to Fitness Club Hiroo (and ¥700 tickets for 

fitness programs) to maintain freshness of body and spirit. 

Just a few steps away is Roppongi Hills, a shiny complex of top-class shops, restaurants 

and bars, with a luscious multiscreen cinema. And with the main nightspots 

of Roppongi just round the corner, residents will find all they desire within walking 

distance. 

Apartments at Azabu Court are rented on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Take 

advantage of their new-year special offer—ten percent off in January, and five percent 

in February and March (for short-term stays). Regular rates are daily: ¥7,500-25,000; 

weekly: ¥6,500-22,000; monthly: ¥5,500-18,500 (price per night). Long-term stays for 

three months or more cost ¥4,950-16,650, and for one year or more: ¥4,400-14,800 

(price per night). 

● 4-5-39 Minami-Azabu, Minato-ku. Tel: 03-3446-8610. Nearest stn: Hiroo. 

www.azabucourt.com 

Special Advertising Section 

MetroHoMes 

Japan’s biggest English-language 

housing site has launched 

Sick of browsing through a million hard-to-use sites to find an apartment? Those 

days are over! Foundation partners (and four of Japan’s largest realtors), Ken Corp., 

Plaza Homes, Japan Home Search and Sumitomo Realty have joined forces with 

other real estate agents and Metropolis to create Japan’s largest English-language 

housing website. At present MetroHomes offers thousands of properties to rent. 

Very soon, properties to buy, as well as guesthouses and serviced apartments, will 

also be on the menu. The interface is easy to use and intuitive, and the listings are 

the most complete you will find on the web. Go ahead, give it a try, and find your 

new home in Japan. 

Key FeaTures: 

● Over 10,000 rental properties to search through 

● Add favorites to a basket to keep an eye on them 

● “What’s New” column updated daily by participating realtors 

● “Property Spotlight” features a home of the day 

● Guesthouse, service apartments and houses for sale to be added 

● Intuitive search filters 

FonTana 

MetroHomes.jp 

Everybody knows that the 

perplexing features of the 

home-renting environment 

here in Tokyo are key money, 

agency fees and guarantors. 

Fortunately for the internat 

ion a l re sident , lon g-t i me 

market leaders in guesthouse 

and apartment solutions, Fontana, 

can do away with these 

meddlesome misfits in one 

saintly swipe. 

For individuals, couples or families in search of affordable dwelling places in 

Japan’s capital, Fontana can provide you with exceptional customer service and a 

place that meets your every housing-related need. The staff are happy to meet the 

inquiries of all comers with their fine people skills and their linguistic flexibility, which 

accommodates such languages as English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and, naturally, 

Japanese. 

As far as prices are concerned, reasonable is the watchword, with guesthouse 

rooms starting at ¥55,000/month and apartments from as low as ¥70,000/month. Set 

up in such throbbing urban hubs as Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Roppongi, these housing 

solutions can be your platform for a better life in the city and your key to unlocking 

the wonders of Tokyo. 

Drop by the office of Fontana any time and say hello, and you’ll be sure to leave 

with a good option for moving forward. They’re open for your consultation every single 

day of the year, from 9:30am until 7pm, and are always more than happy to meet 

new inquirers. 

● 1F Asahi Mansion, 3-31-5 Chuo, Nakano-ku. Tel: 03-3382-0151. Skype: 

tokyocityapartments-fontana. Open daily 9:30am-7pm. Nearest stn: Shin- 

Nakano. www.tokyocityapartments.net 

#930 • www.MetropoliS.co.Jp • 15

Matsubaradanchi 

¥39,000~ 

/month 

• Luxurious shared space and 

private rooms 

• Fully furnished apartment 

(Matsubaradanchi and Kikuna) 

• Interact and make friends with 

Japanese and international 

residents 

• Motoazabu and Omotesando 

guesthouses have adjoining 

farms where residents can learn 

to grow their own produce 

03-6805-0531 

info@h-k.co.jp 

http://collectiveresidence.com 


Kikuna 

¥64,000~ 

/month 

Omotesando 

¥95,000~ 

/month 

Motoazabu 

¥99,000~ 

/month 

Housing Special 

enplus inc. (ToKyo aparTmenTs) 

For an holistic approach to 

accommodation and logistical 

living solutions in Tokyo, 

Enplus Inc. (Tokyo Apartments) 

operates a spectrum 

of websites dealing with all 

the concerns or needs you 

might have. 

First of all, in terms of 

real estate, you can find 

both short- and long-term 

dwellings via Enplus Inc., which is a rarity among the other companies on the market. 

Bilingual leasing consultants are happy to use their skills and knowledge to aid 

in the search for each client’s ideal set-up. Pick from a wide selection of premium serviced 

and rental apartments until you find one that’s good for you. 

Then, Enplus can also help you with relocation services and furniture rentals, to 

ensure that you get settled in as soon as possible. 

Depending on what exactly you are looking for, Enplus Inc. has different websites 

that each provide different services. To start, www.tokyoapartments.jp offers 

listings for both short- and long-term accommodation, as well as helpful info including 

area guides, daily tips, and sightseeing spots. The www.tokyo-living.com site 

focuses on long-term premium furnished and unfurnished rental apartments in 

Tokyo. Meanwhile, www.smart-rental-tokyo.com offers a furniture rental service 

where users can create their very own custom-furnished apartment at affordable 

rates. Finally, www.twainc.co.jp outlines straightforward relocation services split 

into several packages. 

Visit Enplus Inc.’s various websites or simply give the company a call to get a free 

housing consultation today. Enplus also offers a property management service. 

● Tel: 0120 -957-520 (toll fre e w ithin Japan) or +81-3- 6273- 0181 (from 

overseas). Services and rental apartments: www.tokyoapartments.jp. 

Premium rental apartments: www.tokyo-living.com. Furniture Rental: www. 

smart-rental-tokyo.com. Relocation Service: www.twainc.co.jp 

collecTive residence 

The idea of Collective Residence 

is that people living 

t he re s hou ld b e a ble to 

hang out and get to know 

each other’s culture. That 

means it fits perfectly with 

folks from other countries 

gagging to get acquainted 

w it h wh at Jap a n h a s to 

offer. By communicating 

with residents at Collective 

Residence, you can set up a strong link with Japanese culture—not to mention 

making full use of the opportunity to brush up your lingo. 

Share great experiences with your neighbors through social events and parties, 

where you can feast on fresh seafood delivered directly from the harbor. Residents’ 

tours are also offered to explore cultural and natural spots around the nation, and 

indulge in agricultural workshops, visits to sake breweries, snowboarding and 

much more. 

As a place to live, Collective Residence boasts premium dwellings in a number of 

locations, fully equipped with luxurious shared lounges, widescreen TVs and other 

mod cons. Depending on the residence in question, other shared facilities are available 

such as pool tables, darts, fitness centers, music studios and whirlpool baths. 

Private, furnished rooms are also available. 

If you are interested in connecting with the people and culture of Japan, feel 

free to come and join Collective Residence’s sushi party, at the Matsubara Danchi 

residence on Jan 21, 7-10pm, and in Kikuna on Feb 4, 7-10pm. Private tours of residences 

are also available. Get in touch with Collective Residence through Human 

Knot, below. 

● Office: 2F FIK Minami Aoyama Bldg, 5-13-3 Minami Aoyama, Minato-ku. 

Tel: 03-6805-0531. Email: info@h-k.co.jp. Nearest stn: Omotesando. http:// 

collectiveresidence.com

ODANGO HOMES 

Presenting our new 

mascot chosen from 

your submissions: 

TACO DANGO! 

Designed by E. T. 

03-5366-6217 

Talk to 

us rst! 

Specialist Real Estate Agent 

For Visitors To Japan 

www.odangohomes.com 


WELCOME PACK 

Why not stay in one of our apartments 

while you nd your perfect home in 

Japan? At ODANGO HOMES we are 

dedicated to nding the right home to 

t the lifestyle of each of our guests!! 

¥20,000→¥6,000~/day 

info@odangohomes.com 

Housing Special 

odango homes 

Odango Homes provides a 

good honest taste of Japan 

for t he v i sitor, enca si n g 

them in a bright clean, fullyf 

i t t e d a p a r t m e n t a n d 

providing for every aspect 

of life in this country, includi 

n g s i g h t s e e i n g t o u r s , 

concert tickets and anything 

else they might long 

for. The staff are so cheery 

that they give you the same happy sensation as a delicious sweet Japanese dumpling, 

that goes by the name of odango, too. 

Clients frequently send feedback to Odango Homes about their positive experiences 

with the “welcome pack” service, and how it helped them enjoy Japan to the 

fullest. The staff are motivated by the desire to bring people to the country they love 

and make it as easy for them as possible. Based in Funabashi-shi, Chiba, Odango 

Homes offers a beautiful building to live in, just six minutes’ walk from Funabashi 

Keibajo station, with a fine main gate and a reception that makes you feel like you’re 

entering a five-star hotel. 

Odango recently ran a campaign inviting people to design their new mascot. 

They received so many fantastic submissions that it was tremendously difficult to 

choose, but after a long period of deliberation they have settled on a winner. Congratulations 

and thanks to E. T. for “Taco Dango,” who will now be Odango Homes’ 

mascot. They would also like to offer thanks to everybody for showing support. 

● 9-11-1 Miyamoto, Funabashi, Chiba. Tel: 03-5366-6217. Email: info@ 

odangohomes.com. Support available 24/7. Nearest stn: Funabashi 

Keibajo. www.odangohomes.com 

saKura house 

The name of Sakura House is synonymous with 

the foreiger-targeted accommodation industry 

in Japan. In the 20 years since its first residence 

opened in Harajuku, the company has grown to 

offer over 1,600 rooms in 185 locations throughout 

the capital. In 2011 alone, more than 5,000 

people from all over the world stayed at a Sakura 

House residence. It is the go-to solution for the 

short-, medium- and long-term resident who 

wants something clean, serviced and reliable at 

a reasonable price. 

Rooms are all fully furnished, and include 

free internet connection, with assistance available 

in English, French, Spanish, Chinese and 

Korean—and Japanese, of course, if you feel like 

some practice. 

If anything breaks or needs attention, feel free to voice concerns to the maintenance 

team, which is always available, and the landlords, and a solution will be 

found as soon as possible. Share houses benefit from cleaning services and supplyreplenishment 

on a regular basis. Cultural events are frequently organized to bring 

people together to experience Japanese traditional activities, such as tea ceremonies, 

kimono classes and more. 

More than half the Sakura House residents reserve rooms before coming to 

Japan—a testament to the ease of the process. Just go to the site and check the available 

accommodation, scope out photos and videos, and book yourself right in. Feel 

free to get in touch via email, phone, Facebook, or Twitter, and receive a reply within 

24 hours. 

● 2F Nishi-Shinjuku K-1 Bldg, 7-2-6 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku. Tel: 03-5330- 

5250. Open daily 8:50am-8pm. Nearest stn: Shinjuku. www.sakura-house. 

com

Agenda Listings 

hot list 

19 Concerts 

20 Stage 

20 Dance 

20 Clubbing 

22 Exhibitions 

24 Sports 

24 Festivals 

25 Forums & Expos 

25 Bazaars & Markets 

25 Community 

25 Learning 

25 TV Picks 

Concerts 

PoPular 

Simple Plan 

Pop punk band from 

Montreal. Jan 21, 6pm, ¥6,300. 

Yokohama Bay Hall. Nearest 

stn: Motomachi-Chukagai. Jan 

22, 6pm; Jan 23, 7pm, ¥6,300. 

Shibuya-AX. Nearest stn: 

Harajuku. Tel: Creativeman: 

03-3462-6969. 

Noriyuki Makihara 

J-pop singer-songwriter. Jan 

21, 7pm; Jan 22, 5pm, ¥7,350. 

Tokyo International Forum 

Hall A. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel: 

03-5221-9038. 

Honey L Days 

J-pop vocal unit. Jan 22, 

¥5,000. Mt. Rainier Hall. 

Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel: 

03-5436-9600. 

Incubus 

Californian alt-rock band. Jan 

24, 7pm, ¥7,000 (adv). Studio 

Coast. Nearest stn: Shin-Kiba. 

Tel: Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Washed Out 

Chillwave pioneer Ernest 

Greene. Jan 24, 7:30pm, 

¥5,500. Liquidroom. Nearest 

stn: Ebisu. Tel: Smash: 

03-3444-6751. 

Za 50 Kaitenzu 

Japanese punk. Jan 26, 7pm, 

¥3,500. Chiba Look. Nearest 

stn: Chiba. Tel: 03-5720-9999. 

Radars 

Experimental rock band, Islet, 

post-punk/art rock group 

S.C.U.M, and others. Jan 28, 

5pm, ¥5,000. Liquidroom. 

Nearest stn: Ebisu. Tel: 

03-5464-0800. 

Kalafina 

Japanese band best known for 

anime song “Kara no Kyokai.” 

Jan 28, 6pm; Jan 29, 5pm, 

¥6,300. Nakano Sun Plaza. 

Nearest stn: Nakano. Tel: 

03-3388-2893. 

Yanawaraba 

J-pop female duo. Jan 28, 

5pm, ¥5,500. Mt. Rainier Hall. 


0570-064-708. 

Gan-Ban Night Special 

Featuring Modeselektor 

Monkeytown Tour. Jan 28, 

10pm, ¥4,800. Sound Museum 

Vision. Tel: Smash: 03-3444- 

6751. 

Ontama Carnival 

Two-day J-pop festival 

feat. Ai, TRF, Kumi Koda 

and others. Jan 28-29, 2pm, 

¥7,500 (adv). Yokohama 

Arena. Nearest stn: 

Shin-Yokohama. Tel: Disk 

Garage: 050-5533-0888. 

http://ontamalive.jp 

Cults 

Indie noise-pop band from the 

Big Apple. Feb 1, 7pm, ¥5,000. 

Unit. Nearest stn: Daikanyama. 

Tel: Creativeman: 03-3462- 

6969. 

Tomoyasu Hotei 

Veteran rock guitarist. Feb 

1, 7pm, ¥7,500. Saitama 

Super Arena. Nearest stn: 

Saitamashintoshin. Tel: 

04-8601-1122. 

Toko Furuuchi 

J-pop singer. Until Feb 2, 7 

& 9:30pm, ¥6,500/¥8,500. 

Billboard Live. Nearest stn: 

Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Trombone Shorty & 

Orleans Avenue 

Grammy award-nominated 

horn player from New Orleans. 

Feb 2, 7:30pm, ¥6,000(adv). 

Club Quattro. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: Smash: 03-3444- 

6751. 

Florence and the Machine 

English indie pop band. Feb 

1, 7pm, ¥6,000. Akasaka Blitz. 

Nearest stn: Akasaka. Tel: 

Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Lite 

Japanese instrumental rock 

band. Feb 3, 7pm, ¥3,000 (adv). 

Liquidroom. Nearest stn: Ebisu. 

Tel: Hot stuff: 03-5720-9999. 

Iro Iro #13 

Eclectic guitar based showcase 

with Molice, Smoke Benders, 

Icon Girl Pistols and Remedy's 

Library. Feb 4, 7:30pm, free 

+1d. Crawfish. Nearest stn: 

Akasaka. Tel: 03-3584-2496. 

Story of the Year 

American post-hardcore and 

alternative rock band. Feb 6, 

7pm, ¥5,800 (adv). Akasaka 

Blitz. Nearest stn: Akasaka. Tel: 

03-3584-8811. 

Los Lonely Boys 

Chicano rock power trio 

from Texas. Feb 7, 7:30pm, 

¥6,500. Club Quattro. Nearest 

stn: Shibuya. Tel: Hot stuff: 

03-5720-9999. 

Tedeschi Trucks Band 

Bluesy rock group based 

in Florida. Feb 8-9, 7pm, 

¥7,500/¥8,500. Shibuya 

Koukaido. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: Udo: 03-3402- 

5999. 

Evanescence 

Gothic rock band from 

Arkansas. Feb 8, 7pm, ¥6,800. 

Pacifico Yokohama. Nearest 

stn: Minatomirai. Feb 9, 7pm, 

¥6,500. Zepp Tokyo. Nearest 

stn: Tokyo Teleport. Tel: 

Creativeman: 03-3462-6969. 

Guttermouth 

American punk rock band. Feb 

11, 7pm, ¥2,800. Shibuya the 

Game. Tel: 03-3409-1336. 

Howler 

American rock band. Feb 14, 

7pm, ¥4,000 (adv). Astro Hall. 

Nearest stn: Meiji-Jingumae. 

Tel: Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Next Breakers 

English indie rock band, feat. 

The Vaccines. Feb 15, 7pm, 

¥5,500 (adv). Liquidroom. 

Nearest stn: Ebisu. Tel: Smash: 

03-3444-6751. 

Bryan Adams 

Canadian rock singersongwriter. 

Feb 15-16, 7pm, 

¥8,500/¥9,500. Nippon 

Budokan. Nearest stn: 

Kudanshita. Tel: Udo: 03-3402- 

5999. 

The Pains of Being Pure at 

Heart 

NY Indie pop band. Special 

guests: Lo-fi trio band, and 

Weekend. Feb 17, 7pm, ¥5,000 

(adv). Club Quattro. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: Smash: 03-3444- 

6751. 

Anna Calvi 

UK indie rock. Feb 17, 7 & 

9:30pm, ¥3,500/¥5,500 +1d. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Four Year Strong 

American pop punk and 

melodic hardcore band. Feb 

20, 7pm, ¥5,000 (adv). Club 

Quattro. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Submit your event directly to metropolis.co.jp/listings 

See www.metropolis.co.jp for more listings 

Neon Indian 

Indie electronic band from 

Texas. Feb 21, 7:30pm, ¥5,000. 

Unit. Nearest stn: Daikanyama. 

Tel: Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

The Answer 

Northern Irish hard rock and 

blues. Feb 21, 7pm, ¥5,500. 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-3462-6969. 

Nuclear Assault 

American thrash metal band 

with Black Dahlia Murder. 

Feb 22, 6:30pm, ¥7,000. Club 


Tel: Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Enter Shikari 

Electronicore metalcore 

from UK. Feb 23, 7pm, ¥5,500. 

Liquidroom. Nearest stn: Ebisu. 

Tel: 03-3462-6969. 

Jeff Lang 

Australian songwriter, singer 

and slide guitarist. Feb 24, 7pm, 

¥6,000 (adv). Unit. Nearest stn: 

Daikanyama. Tel: Hot stuff: 

03-5720-9999. 

Eastern Youth 

Indie emocore trio. Feb 24, 

7pm, ¥3,500 (adv). Club 


Tel: Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu 

Model, blogger, and recording 

artist from Harajuku. Feb 25, 

6pm, ¥3,000. Club Quattro. 


03-3477-8750. 

The Naked + Famous 

Sawagi, Japanese fusion 

instrumental band from 

Kansai and others. Feb 27, 7pm, 

¥5,500 (adv). Club Quattro. 


Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Mo’ Some Tonebender 

Japanese three-piece rock 

band. Feb 28, 7:30pm, ¥3,500 

(adv) +1d. Club Quattro. 


Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Foo Fighters 

American alternative 

rock band. Mar 7, 7pm, 

¥8,500/¥9,000. Yokohama 

Arena. Nearest stn: 

Shin-Yokohama. Tel: Hot stuff: 

03-5720-9999. 

Street Dogs 

Punk rock band from Boston. 

Guest: The Cherry Cokes. Mar 

8, 7pm, ¥5,500 (adv). Fever. 

Nearest stn: Shindaita. Tel: 

Smash: 03-3444-6751. 

Lana Del Rey 

NY-based pop music singersongwriter. 

Mar 8, 7pm, ¥5,500 

(adv). Duo Music Exchange. 


03-5459-8711. 

Marilyn Manson Japan 

Tour 

Brian Hugh Warner, in Japan 

for first time in two years. Mar 

9, 7pm; Mar 10, 5pm, ¥8,500. 

Studio Coast. Nearest stn: 

Shin-Kiba. Tel: Creativeman: 

03-3462-6969. 

Cyndi Lauper 

She just wants to have fun. 

Mar 9, 7pm; Mar 10-11, 6pm, 

¥9,500-11,500. Bunkamura 

Orchard Hall. Nearest 

stn: Shibuya. Tel: Kyodo: 

0570-064-708. 

Jack's Mannequin 

American piano and rock 

band. Mar 12-13, 7pm, ¥5,800. 


Shibuya. Tel: Creativeman: 

03-3462-6969. 

Every Little Thing 

J-pop, soft rock duo. Mar 

16, 7pm, ¥6,800. Tokyo 

International Forum Hall 

A. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel: 

03-5221-9038. 

Voices for Nature 

Charity concert from Hawaii. 

Nathan Aweau, Chino 

Montero and others. Mar 

17-18, ¥7,000. Theater 1010. 

Nearest stn: Kitasenju. Tel: 

03-5244-1011. 

Bryan Adams, Feb 15-16 at Nippon Budokan, Kudanshita 

A Day To Remember 

Florida rock band. Mar 21, 

7pm, ¥5,000 +1d. Club Quattro. 


Creativeman: 03-3462-6969. 

The Pogues 

Celtic punk band from London. 

Mar 28, 7pm, ¥7,000 (adv). 

Studio Coast. Nearest stn: 

Shin-Kiba. Tel: Smash: 03-3444- 

6751. 

My Morning Jacket 

Kentucky rock band. Mar 

29, 7:30pm, ¥6,500 (adv). 

Shibuya-AX. Nearest stn: 

Harajuku. Tel: Smash: 03-3444- 

6751. 

Fountains of Wayne 

NY-based power pop band. Mar 

30, 7pm, ¥6,000. Liquidroom. 

Nearest stn: Ebisu. Tel: Smash: 

03-3444-6751. 

Punkspring 2012 

Punk festival with The 

Offspring, SUM41, Totalfat 

and others. Mar 31, 12:30pm, 

¥8,900. Makuhari Messe. 

Nearest stn: Kaihin-Makuhari. 

Tel: 04-3296-0001. www. 

punkspring.com 

Steve Lukather 

American guitarist, singer, 

songwriter, arranger, and 

record producer best known 

for his work with the rock 

band Toto. Apr 11. 7pm, 

¥7,500/¥8,500 +1d. Akasaka 

Blitz. Nearest stn: Akasaka. Tel: 

Udo: 03-3402-5999. 

Jazz/World 

Arrested Development 

Afrocentric hip-hop veterans. 

Jan 19-20, 7 & 9:30pm; Jan 21, 6 

& 9pm, ¥6,500/¥8,500. Billboard 

Live. Nearest stn: Roppongi. Tel: 

03-3405-1133. 

Pete Escovedo Orchestra 

Mexican-US musician with 

Sheila E. & Juan Escovedo. 

Jan 18-20, various times, 

¥8,400. Blue Note. Nearest stn: 

Omotesando. Tel: 03-5485- 

0088. 

Peter Cetra 

American rock singersongwriter. 

Jan 22 & 24 & 26, 

various times, ¥14,500-18,000. 

Cotton Club. Nearest stn: 

Tokyo. Tel: 03-3215-1555. 

Suzanne Vega 

Eclectic folk singer-songwriter. 

Jan 23, ¥6,500/¥8,500. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Finn Silver 

Ambient jazzy pop group 

from Amsterdan. Jan 24, 

¥3,500/¥5,500. Billboard Live. 

Nearest stn: Roppongi. Tel: 

03-3405-1133. 

Spiral Shomyo Vol. 20 

Buddist chanting. Jan 24-25. 

8:30pm, ¥4,300 (adv)/¥4,500 

(door). Spiral Hall. Nearest stn: 

Omotesando. info@kaibunsha. 

net. www.spiral.co.jp 

California Guitar Trio with 

Tony Levin 

Instrumental experimental 

rock. Jan 25, ¥4,300/¥6,300. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

David T. Walker 

American soul/R&B/jazz 

guitarist. Jan 27, 7 & 9:30pm; 

Jan 28, 6 & 9pm, ¥6,500/¥8,500. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Kirk Franklin 

Urban contemporary gospel 

choir leader. Jan 29-30, 

various times, ¥9,500/¥11,500. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Peabo Bryson 

American R&B and soul 

singer-songwriter, with 

Deborah Cox. Jan 30-Feb 1, 7 

& 9:30pm, ¥8,400. Blue Note. 

Nearest stn: Omotesando. 

Tel: 03-5485-0088. Feb 4, 7 & 

9:30pm, ¥8,400-10,500. Cotton 

Club. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel: 

03-3215-1555. 

Benny Green Trio 

Hard-bop jazz pianist. Jan 

31-Feb 2, various times, ¥7,000- 

9,000. Cotton Club. Nearest stn: 

Tokyo. Tel: 03-3215-1555. 

Yuki Koyanagi 

J-pop singer. Feb 4, various 

times, ¥5,800/¥7,800. Billboard 

Live. Nearest stn: Roppongi. 

Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Jorma Kaukonen 

American blues, folk, and rock 

guitarist. Feb 9, 7 & 9:30pm, 



03-3405-1133. 

Halie Loren 

American jazz singer and 

songwriter. Feb 11-13, various 

times, ¥7,500-8,500. Cotton 

Club. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel: 

03-3215-1555. 

Dr. John & The Lower 911 

New Orleans blues genius. 

Feb 13-15, various times, 



03-3405-1133. 

John Pizzarelli 

American jazz guitarist, vocalist, 

songwriter and bandleader. Feb 

14-17, 7 & 9:30pm, ¥7,500-9,500. 

Cotton Club. Nearest stn: Tokyo. 

Tel: 03-3215-1555. 

José James 

American vocalist best known 

for blending modern jazz 

and hip-hop. Special guest: 

Taylor McFerrin. Feb 18-19, 

various times, ¥4,500/¥6,500. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Floral Notes Vol.1 

Flowers meet jazz at the hands 

of artist Nicolai Bergmann. 

Feb 20, 1:30 & 7:30pm, 

¥10,500/¥15,750. Billboard 


Tel: 03-3405-1133. 


COURTESY OF BADMAN LIMITED

Agenda Listings Go to www.meturl.com/listinGs for complete listinGs 

Gretchen Parlato 

American jazz singer. Feb 

21-23, 7 & 9:30pm, ¥6,500- 

8,500. Cotton Club. Nearest 

stn: Tokyo. Tel: 03-3215-1555. 

Bobby Womack 

Motown legend. Feb 22-23. 7 

& 9:30pm, ¥10,800/¥13,800. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Miyuki Hatakeyama 

Female singer-songwriter 

from Kesennuma, Miyagi. 

Feb 23, 7pm, ¥5,800. Shibuya 

Cultural Center Owada. 

Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel: Hot 

stuff: 03-5720-9999. 

Karla Bonoff and J.D. 

Souther 

Folk rock/pop singersongwriters. 

Feb 24, 7 & 

9:30pm; Feb 25, 6 & 9pm, 

¥6,500/¥8,500. Billboard 


Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Robben Ford, Joey 

DeFrancesco, Omar 

Hakim 

Miles Davis's Alumni super 

session. Feb 29-Mar 2, 

various times, ¥7,500-9,500. 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-3405-1133. 

Il Divo 

Multinational operatic 

pop vocal group. Mar 12 & 

15, 7pm, ¥10,000-12,000. 

Nippon Budokan. Nearest 

stn: Kudanshita. Tel: Udo: 

03-3402-5999. 

ClassiCal 

5th Anniversary Opera 

Concert 

Ave Maria, Madame Butterfly, 

etc. Jan 20, 6:30pm, free. The 

National Art Center, Tokyo. 


03-6812-9900. 

Barbara Frittoli Soprano 

Recital 

Leading Italian operatic 

soprano. Program A. Jan 26, 

7pm; Feb 1, 7pm, ¥4,000- 

15,000. Tokyo Opera City 

Concert Hall. Nearest stn: 

Hatsudai. Tel: NBS: 03-3791- 

8888. 

Dialogue with Bach 

Sonata and partita for an 

unaccompanied violin 

by Ryo Terakado. Jan 

28-29&Feb 25, 2pm, ¥3,000- 

4,000/¥1,500 (student). 

Saitama Arts Theater. 

Nearest stn: Yonohonmachi. 

Tel: 048-858-5500. 

Cirque Vivant 

Contemporary circus by 

Le Carre Curieux. Feb 2-5, 

various times, ¥6,000 

(general)/¥3,500 (MS & 

under). The Watari-Um 

Museum of Contemporary 

Art. Tel: 03-3402-3001. 

National Odessa 

Philharmonic Orchestra 

Collaborating with pianist 

Miyuji Kaneko. Feb 4-5, 2pm, 

¥3,500-6,800. Yokohama 

Minato Mirai Hall. Nearest 

stn: Minatomirai. Tel: 

Koransha: 050-3776-6184. 

Special Concert by the 

Music Players of 

Tomorrow 

Nabucco, Turandot and more. 

Feb 7, 7pm, ¥1,000-3,000. 

Tokyo Opera City Concert 

Hall. Nearest stn: Hatsudai. 

Tel: Ticket Space: 03-3234- 

9999. www.meturl.com/ 

operacitycalendar 

Escolta 

Classical crossover group. 

Feb 10, 7pm, ¥6,800. Tokyo 

International Forum. 

Nearest stn: Yurakucho. 

Heirs of Russian 

Pianism 

Feat. Larissa Dedova. Feb 11, 

3pm, ¥4,000/¥5,000. Feat. 

Sergei Edelmann. Mar 29, 

7pm, ¥5,000/¥6,000. Sumida 

Triphony Hall. Nearest stn: 

Kinshicho. Tel: 03-5608- 

5400. 

Take 6 St. Valentine’s Day 

American a cappella gospel 

sextet with New Japan 

Philharmonic. Feb 14, 7pm, 

¥7,000/¥8,000. Sumida 

Triphony Hall. Nearest stn: 

Kinshicho. Tel: 03-5608-1212. 

Bach Festival 2012 

Rachel Podger’s violin solo. 

Feb 18-19, ¥3,000-14,400. 

Sumida Triphony Hall. 

Nearest stn: Kinshicho. Tel: 

03-5608-1212. www.triphony. 

com 

Rei Tsujimoto 

Cello recital. Feb 25, 2pm, 

¥5,000. Hakuju Hall. Nearest 

stn: Yoyogi Hachiman. Tel: 

Ticket space: 03-3234-9999. 

Stage 

La Bohème 

Giacomo Puccini’s 4th opera 

based on Murger's Scènes de 

la Vie de Bohème. Jan 22 & 24 

& 29, 3pm; Jan 27, 6:30pm. 

¥3,150-21,000. New National 

Theater. Nearest stn: Hatsudai. 

Tel: 03-5352-9999. 

Spamalot 

Monty Python’s musical 

comedy w/ Japanese cast. 

Jan 9-22, various times, 

¥9,000/¥10,000. ACT Theater. 

Tel: Sunrise promotion: 

0570-00-3337. www.spamalot. 

jp 

Otogizoushi / Gikyoku 

Osamu Dazai’s parody of 

two folk tales. Jan 19-22, 

various times, ¥3,000/¥2,000 

(student). Kanagawa Arts 

Theater. Tel: 045-633-6500. 

www.urinko.jp/otogi2012. 

html 

The Drawing Show 

Japanese and Korean speedy 

live-art performance. Jan 

18-26, various times, ¥6,500. 

Hakuhinkan Theater. Nearest 

stn: Ginza. Tel: 03-3402-9911. 

www.originaldrawingshow. 

co.jp 

Rocky Horror Show 

Richard O’Brien’s cult classic. 

Jan 27-Feb 12, various 

times, ¥9,000/¥11,000. 

Sunshine Theater. Nearest 

stn: Ikebukuro. Tel: Parco: 

03-3477-5858. www. 

parco-play.com 

The Temple of the Golden 

Pavilion 

Remake of Yukio Mishima’s 

1956 novel, Kinkakuji. Jan 

27-Feb 12, various times, 

¥8,000/¥10,000. ACT Theater. 

Tel: Parco: 03-3477-5858. 

www.parco-play.com 

Henry Mancini & Julie 

Andrews 

Musical comedy exploring 

sexual identity. Jan 28-29, 

noon, ¥7,800/¥9,800. Tokyo 

International Forum Hall C. 

Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel: Sunrise 

promotion: 0570-00-3337. 

www.kareinaru.jp 

Altar Boyz 

Musical satirizing boy bands 

and Christian rock in the US. 

Jan 28-Feb 14, various times, 

¥6,300-7,800. Shinjuku Face. 

Tel: 03-3419-0536. www. 

altarboyz.jp 

Flamencos Bailan Opera 

Flamenco meets opera. Feb 1-2, 

6:30pm, ¥6,000-12,000. New 

National Theater. Nearest stn: 

Hatsudai. Tel: 03-3314-2568. 

Shitayamannen-cho 

Monogatari 

Kara Juro’s drama of 

homosexuals in 1946. Jan 

6-Feb 12, various times, 

¥5,500-10,000. Bunkamura 

Theater Cocoon. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-3477-3244. 

www.bunkamura.co.jp 

Silence 

Opera of Endo novel about 

Kakure Kirishitan ("Hidden 

Christians"). Feb 15-19, various 

times, ¥3,150-15,750. New 


Hatsudai. Tel: 03-5352-9999. 

20 • dOwNLOAd OuR POdCAST AT • POdCAST.METROPOLIS.CO.JP 

Nabucco 

Verdi opera about the 

Babylonian persecution of 

the Jews. Feb 17, 6:30pm; Feb 

18-19, 2pm, ¥6,000-18,000. 

Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. Nearest 

stn: Ueno. Tel: Ticket Space: 

03-3234-9999. 

Yukiya Konkon 

By Hisashi Inoue. Until Mar 

11, various times, ¥7,350 

(general)/¥5,250 (student). 

Kinokuniya Southern Theater. 

Nearest stn: Shinjuku. Tel: 

03-5361-3321. 

Sohaku no Shonen 

Shojotachi ni yoru Hamlet 

Hamlet performed by Saitama 

Next Theater. Feb 20-Mar 1, 

various times, ¥4,000. Saitama 

Arts Theater. Nearest stn: 

Yonohonmachi. Tel: 048-858- 

5500. 

The Bee 

Play inspired by 9/11 and 

starring Kathryn Hunter. Feb 

24 & Mar 11, various times, 

¥5,000/¥2,500 (limited). 

Suitengu Pit. Nearest stn: 

Suitengu-mae. Tel: 03-6661- 

6901. 

Sleeping Beauty 

Ballet for kids performed by 

Tokyo Ballet Company. Mar 3-4, 

various times, ¥4,000-5,000 

(adult)/¥2,000-2,500 (child). 

Meguro Persimmon Hall. 

Nearest stn: Toritsudaigaku. 

Tel: NBS: 03-3791-8888. www. 

nbs.or.jp/english 

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo 

Scheherazade, Daphnis and 

Chloe, Altro Canto 1 directed 

by Jean-Christophe Maillot. 

Mar 6-7, 7pm, ¥4,000-13,000. 


stn: Ueno. Tel: 03-3791-8888. 

Yabu no Naka 

Contemporary Noh. Mar 

8-11, various times, ¥3,000- 

6,500. Cerulean Tower Noh 

Theater. Tel: 03-3477-6412. 

www.a-tanz.com/cerulean4. 

html 

The Flying Dutchman 

Opera inspired by the 

legendary ghost ship of doom. 

Mar 8-20, various times, 

¥3,150-21,000. New National 


Tel: 03-5352-9999. 

Dairakudakan Kochuten 

The venerable butoh troupe 

performs selections from 

past Kochuten shows, under 

the direction of Takuya 

Muramatsu. Mar 15, ¥2,500. 

Dairakudakan Kochuten. 

Nearest stn: Kichijoji. 

Tel: 0422-21-4984. www. 

dairakudakan.com 

7 Doors 

A staging of Bartok's 

Bluebeard’s Castle feat. Sugizo 

from X Japan. Mar 16 & Apr 

1, ¥8,000-9,500. The Globe 

Tokyo. Nearest stn: Shinokubo. 

Tel: 03-3779-2681. 

The Crane Maiden 

Will Tuckett's remake of 

Japanese folklore feat. 

Yasuyuki Shuto. Mar 16-18, 


Kanagawa Arts Theater. 

Tel: 045-633-6500. www. 

tsuru-ukjp.com 

Anna Karenina 

Remake of Leo Tolstoy’s novel. 


¥3,150-10,500. New National 


Tel: 03-5352-9999. 

Texas 

Keishi Nagatsuka’s early work. 

Mar 17-Apr 8, various times, 

¥7,350. Parco Theater. Nearest 

stn: Shibuya. Tel: 03-3477- 

5858. 

A Magic Flute 

Mozart opera directed by 

Peter Brook. Mar 22-23, 

7:30pm; Mar 24-25, 3pm, 

¥5,000/¥8,000/¥3,000 

(student). Saitama Arts 

Theater. Nearest stn: 

Yonohonmachi. Tel: 048-858- 

5500. 

Kofuku on the Doro 

Suspense drama by 

Mikuniyanai Project. 


¥2,800 (adv)/¥3,200 (door). 

Yokohama Red Brick 

Warehouse. Nearest stn: 

Minatomirai. Tel: 04-5211- 

1555. http://nibroll.com 

Blue Man Group in Tokyo 

A unique theatrical 

performance of music, 

comedy and multimedia. 

Ongoing, various times, 

¥7,500/¥8,500/¥6,500 

(student), Roppongi Blue Man 

Theater. Nearest stn: Roppongi. 

http://blueman.jp 

Phantom of the Opera 

Gaston Leroux’s classic 

adaptation. Ongoing, various 

times, ¥3,000-9,800. Dentsu 

Shiki Theater Umi. Nearest stn: 

Shinbashi. Tel: 03-5776-6730. 

www.shiki.gr.jp/applause/ 

operaza 

The Lion King 

Broadway hit musical of 

Disney movie. Ongoing, 

various times, ¥5,000- 

9,800/¥2,500 (student). Shiki 

Theater Haru. Nearest stn: 

Takeshiba. Tel: 03-5776-6730. 

www.shiki.gr.jp/applause/ 

lionking 

Beauty and the Beast 

Japanese adaptation of 

Broadway musical. Ongoing, 


Shiki Theater Natsu. Nearest 

stn: Oimachi. Tel: 03-5776- 

6730. www.shiki.gr.jp/ 

applause/bb 

Cats 

Japanese version of the hit 

Broadway musical, produced 

by Gekidan Shiki. Ongoing, 


Cannon Cats Theater. Nearest 

stn: Shin-takashima. Tel: 

03-5776-6730. www.shiki. 

gr.jp/applause/cats 

Evita 

Musical on the life of Argentine 

political leader Eva Perón. 

Ongoing, various times, 

¥4,000-9,800/¥3,000-4,000 

(student). Jiyu Theater. Nearest 

stn: Hamamatsucho. Tel: 

03-5776-6730. www.shiki. 

gr.jp/applause/evita 

Dance 

Mary Skeaping’s Giselle 

Ultimate Romantic ballet. Jan 

20, 7pm; Jan 21, 6:30pm; Jan 

22, 2pm, ¥4,000-10,000. Tokyo 

Bunka Kaikan. Nearest stn: 

Ueno. Tel: Inter Muse Tokyo: 

03-3475-6870. 

Shinjin Series 10 

39 new groups of dancers 

perform at an annual show. 

Jan 6-22, 7:30pm, ¥7,300 

(passport), ¥2,500 (one 

day). Die Pratze. Nearest stn: 

Edogawabashi or Kagurazaka. 

Tel: 03-3235-7990. www. 

geocities.jp/kagurara2000 

En Somme 

Choreographed by Marion 

Levy, text by Fabrice Melquiot, 

feat. Denis Lavant. Jan 27, 

7:30pm; Jan 28, 6pm, ¥3,500. 

Theater X Cai. Nearest stn: 

Ryogoku. Tel: 03-5624- 

1181. www.institut.jp/ja/ 

evenements/11475 

Condors 

Hailed as the “Japanese 

Monty Python” by the NY 

Times. Jan 28, 2 & 7pm; Jan 

29, 3pm, ¥4,500. Saitama 

Arts Theater. Nearest 

stn: Yonohonmachi. Tel: 

0570-064-939. www.condors. 

jp 

Etoiles—Love from Paris 

Top dancers from The Paris 

Opera Ballet. Program A. Jan 

28, ¥7,000-14,000. Showa 

Women’s University Hitomi 

Memorial Hall. Nearest stn: 

Sangenjaya. Jan 31-Feb 2, 7pm, 

¥7,000-14,000. U-Port Hall. 

Nearest stn: Osaki-Hirokoji. 

Tel: 03-5500-8267. www.fujitv. 

co.jp/etoiles 

Made in Shibaura 

Ballet, contemporary 

dance, and live jazz. Jan 28, 

7pm, ¥1,500 +1d. Liquor 

Suzukiya. Tel: 03-5730-2732. 

www.a-tanz.com 

Étoile e no Michinori 

Compilation of works by New 

National Theater Ballet School. 

Jan 28-29, 3pm, ¥3,000. New 


Hatsudai. Tel: 03-5352-9999. 

The Bolshoi Ballet & The 

Bolshoi Theatre 

Orchestra 

Spartacus, Raymonda, and 

Swan Lake. Jan 31-Feb 9, 



stn: Ueno. Tel: 03-5774-3040. 

www.japanarts.co.jp 

Cinderella 

Performed by K-Ballet 

Company. Feb 2-10, various 

times, ¥6,000-13,000. 

Bunkamura Orchard Hall. 


03-3477-911. k-ballet.co.jp/ 

performances/2012-cinderella 

Evanescere / Hisoka na 

Gishiki no Mokugeki 

Performed by dance company 

Kingyo. Feb 3, 7:30pm; Feb 

4, 4pm; Feb 5, 3pm, ¥3,500 

(adv)/¥4,000 (door). Theater 

Tram. Nearest stn: Sangenjaya. 

Tel: 03-5432-1526. 

The Bat 

Operetta composed by Johann 

Strauss II to a German libretto 

by Karl Haffner and Richard 

Genée. Feb 4-12, various times, 

¥3,150-10,500. New National 


Tel: 03-5352-9999. 

The Brothers Karamazov 

Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s final 

novel performed by Company 

Derashinera. Feb 8-10, 7pm; 

Feb 11, 6pm; Feb 12, 3pm, 

¥3,150/¥5,250. New National 


Tel: 03-5352-9999. 

Contemporary Dance 

Association 

Feat. modern dancers, Kaoru 

Uchida and Emiko Inoue, 

flamenco dancer, Masami 

Okada. Feb 10, 9pm; Feb 11, 

2 & 6pm, ¥3,000. Fuchu-no- 

Mori Art Theater. Nearest stn: 

Fuchu. Tel: 03-5457-7731. 

The Raven 

Remake of Henry Becque’s 

play, with dance, music, 

and painting. Feb 15-17, 

7:30pm, ¥4,300. Setagaya 

Public Theater. Nearest stn: 

Sangenjaya. Tel: 03-5432-1515. 

Notre-Dame de Paris 

Performed by Asami Maki 

Ballet Tokyo. Feb 18-19, 


New National Theater. Nearest 

stn: Hatsudai. Tel: 03-3360- 

8251. 

Alina Cojocaru Dream 

Project 

Female principal dancer with 

the Royal Ballet of London. 

Program A, Feb 17, 6:30pm; 

Feb 18-19, 3pm, ¥4,000-14,000; 

Program B, Feb 23, 6:30pm, 

¥4,000-14,000. U-Port Hall. 

Nearest stn: Osaki-Hirokoji. 

NBS: 03-3791-8888. 

Tezuka 

Choreographer Sidi Larbi 

Cherkaoui’s take on legendary 

manga artist Osamu Tezuka’s 

worldview. Feb 23-24, 7pm; 

Feb 25-26, 3pm, ¥3,000-8,000. 

Bunkamura Orchard Hall. 


Bunkamura: 03-3477-3244. 

www.bunkamura.co.jp/ 

orchard/lineup/12_tezuka 

Clubbing 

Friday 20 

Ageha 

Juno Reactor Asia Tour. Techno, 

Trance, Electro. Feat. Sugizo 

on guitar (Luna Sea/X-Japan): 

Juno Reactor, Gocoo, uvAntam 

and more. From 11pm, ¥3,000. 

Nearest stn: Shin-Kiba. Tel: 

03-5534-2525. www.ageha. 

com 

Air 

Tight. Abstract: DJs Yas, 

Quietstorm, etc. From 11pm, 

¥3,000. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-5784-3384. www. 

air-tokyo.com 

Atom 

Tokyo Shake. All mix, hip-hop: 

various DJs. From 7pm. 


03-5428-5195. www.clubatom. 

com 

Club Asia 

Vivivi. Electro, pop: DJs Ram 

Rider, Kubota, etc. From 

11pm, ¥3,500 +1d. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-5458-2551. 

asia.iflyer.jp 

Micro Cosmos 

Home Disco Light. Hip-hop: DJs 

Hasebe, Yanatake, etc. From 

midnight, ¥2,000 +1d. Nearest 


5496. www.microcosmostokyo.com 

Module 

Not. House, techno: DJs Erich, 

Hisataka, etc. From 10pm, 

¥2,500 +1d. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-3464-8432. 

www.module-tokyo.com 

Sound Museum Vision 

The Choice. House, tech house: 

DJ Clive Henry and more. 

From 10pm, ¥3,500. Tel: 

03-5728-2824. www.visiontokyo.com 

The New Matrix Bar 

Matrix Friday. Old school 

hip-hop, west side, south side, 

all mix DJ Ykk and more. From 

6pm, ¥1,000 (after 11:30pm). 

Nearest stn: Roppongi. 

Tel: 03-3405-1066. www. 

matrixbar.jp 

The Room 

Wah Wah. Rare groove: DJs 

Kuroda, Ryuhei the Man, 

etc. From 10pm, ¥2,500 +1d. 


03-3461-7167. www.theroom. 

jp 

The Ruby Room 

Beer Pong. All mix: DJ Ethan 

Green. From 8pm, ¥1,500 +1d 

and 1game ticket. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-3780-3022. 

www.rubyroomtokyo.com 

Unit 

Kidz Night x Club Snoozer. 

Electro DJs 80kidz, Baroque, 

etc: Live: Yoji Kido and 

more. From 11pm, ¥3,500. 

Nearest stn: Daikanyama. 

Tel: 03-5459-8630. www. 

unit-tokyo.com 

Warehouse702 

Butterfly Effect. House, techno: 

DJs Amiga, Hatori, etc. From 

10pm, men ¥3,500 +1d, women 

¥2,500 w/1d. Nearest stn: 

Azabu-Juban. Tel: 03-6230- 

0343. www.warehouse702. 

com 

Womb 

Trouble House. House: DJ 

Emma. From 11pm, ¥3,500. 


03-5459-1383. www.womb. 

co.jp 

saturday 21 

Ageha 

Bikini Night. House, electro: 

DJs Norman Doray, Hatiras, 

etc. From 11pm, men ¥3,500. 

Nearest stn: Shin-Kiba. Tel: 

03-5534-2525. www.ageha. 

com 

Air 

Defected in the House. House, 

techno: DJs Rae, Daishi Dance, 

etc. From 10pm, ¥3,500. 


03-5784-3384. www.air-tokyo. 

com 

Atom 

Tokyo Rave. All mix, hip-hop: 

Various DJs. From 7pm, price 

TBA. Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel: 

03-5428-5195. www.clubatom. 

com

Club Asia 

In Business. Funk, soul 

DJs Jin, Muro, etc: Live: Hajime 

Yoshizawa Trio and more. 

From 11pm, ¥3,000 +1d. 


03-5458-2551. asia.iflyer.jp 

Eleven 

Dinky. House, techno: DJs 

Dinky, Pi-Ge, etc. From 10pm, 

¥3,500. Nearest stn: Roppongi. 

Tel: 03-5775-6206. www. 

go-to-eleven.com 

Geisha 

I Love Gf. Women only: DJs 

Chii, Peli, etc. From 9pm, 

¥2,500. Nearest stn: Shinjuku 

Sanchome or Shinjuku. Tel: 

03-3341-5445. 

Micro Cosmos 

Case. Hip-hop: DJs Toru, Shiba, 

etc. From midnight, ¥2,000 

w/1d. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-5784-5496. www. 

microcosmos-tokyo.com 

Module 

Inner Space. Trance, techno: 

DJs Singular, K-Go, etc. From 

11pm, ¥2,500. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-3464-8432. 



Fac51 the Hacienda. House, 

rock: DJs Peter Hook, Takimi, 

etc. From 10pm, ¥5,000. Tel: 


The New Matrix Bar 

Saturday Night Fever. Hip-hop, 

R&B, reggae: DJ Ykk and more. 

From 6pm, ¥1,000 (after 

10pm). Nearest stn: Roppongi. 

Tel: 03-3405-1066. www. 

matrixbar.jp 

The Room 

Vision. House, crossover: DJs 

Kawasaki, Endo, etc. From 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-3461-7167. 

www.theroom.jp 

Warehouse702 

Salt + Trypt. Techno, house: 

DJs Fumi, Tsune, etc. From 

11pm, men ¥3,500 +1d, women 




com 

Womb 

Holic loves Tokyo. House DJs 

Tamura, Kikiorix, etc: Live: Mr 

G. From 11pm, ¥3,500. Nearest 


1383. www.womb.co.jp 

sunday 22 

Atom 

Carnival. All mix, hip-hop: 

Various DJs. From 7pm, 


03-5428-5195. www.clubatom. 

com 

The Room 

Yuragi. House: DJs Kiichiro, 

Gara, etc. From midnight, 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-3461-7167. 


Womb 

Grammy Refined. House: 

DJs Takeda, Drunken Kong, 

etc. From midnight, ¥2,500. 


03-5459-1383. www.womb. 

co.jp 

Monday 23 

Air 

Floor Reading. House, techno: 

DJs Tsuyoshi, Cpu, etc. From 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-5784-3384. 

www.air-tokyo.com 

Atom 

Salon de Disco. All mix, j-pop: 

Various DJs. From 7pm. 


03-5428-5195. www.clubatom. 

com 

Module 

Atlantis. Techno, house: DJs 

Junn, Sinzin, etc. From 10pm, 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-3464-8432. 


The Ruby Room 

Tokyo Freestyle Monday. All 

mix: various DJs. From 7pm, 

Free. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-3780-3022. www. 

rubyroomtokyo.com 

Warehouse702 

Us. House, techno: DJs Otsuki, 

April, etc. From 10pm, ¥2,500 

+1d. Nearest stn: Azabu-Juban. 

Tel: 03-6230-0343. www. 

warehouse702.com 

Womb 

09edge. Techno, house: DJs 

Otoguro, Hoshina, etc. From 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-5459-1383. 

www.womb.co.jp 

tuesday 24 

Air 

Sense. House, techno: DJs 

Yucci, Hayato, etc. From 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-5784-3384. 


Atom 

Style. All mix, hip-hop: Various 

DJs. From 7pm. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-5428-5195. 

www.clubatom.com 

Eleven 

Sdm. Bass music: DJs E-Mura, 

Skyfish, etc. From 10pm, 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-5775-6206. 

www.go-to-eleven.com 

The Room 

Shugyo. Funky 

DJ Sagaraxx: Jam Session: 

Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro 

and more. From 10pm, ¥2,000 

+1d. Nearest stn: Shibuya. Tel: 

03-3461-7167. www.theroom. 

jp 

The Ruby Room 

Open Mic. Rock, indie. From 

7pm, ¥1,000 w/2d. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-3780-3022. 

www.rubyroomtokyo.com 

Womb 

Viorhythm. Techno, house: 

DJs Ist, Koba, etc. From 10pm, 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-5459-1383. 

www.womb.co.jp 

Wednesday 25 

Eleven 

Sml. House: DJs Thrash, 

Atsushi, etc. From 10pm, 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-5775-6206. 

www.go-to-eleven.com 

The Room 

The Room Bar. Bar style: 

Various DJs. Free. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-3461-7167. 


The Ruby Room 

Echo Patrol. Techno: DJs 

Hozuki, Satsuki, etc. From 

8pm. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-3780-3022. www. 

rubyroomtokyo.com 

Warehouse702 

Black Wednesday. Black music: 

DJ Sugi and more. From 10pm, 




com 

Womb 

How High? House: DJs 

Sodeyama, Tanizawa, etc. 

From 10pm, ¥1,500 +1d. 


03-5459-1383. www.womb. 

co.jp 

thursday 26 

Air 

Donutz. House: DJs Yummy, 

Takato, etc. From 10pm, 


Shibuya. Tel: 03-5784-3384. 


Atom 

Dna. All mix, hip-hop: Various 

DJs. From 7pm. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-5428-5195. 

www.clubatom.com 

Club Asia 

Bomboclat Night. Reggae: DJs 

Spicy Chocolate, Asian Star, 

etc. From 11pm, ¥2,500 +1d. 



Eleven 

Publichouse. Techno, house: 

DJs Kikiorix, Tamaki, etc. 

From 10pm, ¥2,000 +1d. 


Tel: 03-5775-6206. www. 


The Room 

Oto no Minamoto. Hip-hop, 

soul: DJs Bara, Yousuke, 

etc. From 10:30pm, ¥2,000 

+1d. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-3461-7167. www. 

theroom.jp 

Warehouse702 

Social Meeting. All mix: DJs 

The Luster, Nate, etc. From 

11pm, ¥1,500. Nearest stn: 



com 

Womb 

Sensual. Deep tech house, 

tech house: DJs Fumi, 

Oo-Kazu, etc. From 10pm, 

¥1,500. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-5459-1383. www. 

womb.co.jp 

Friday 27 

Ageha 

Fever. Hip-hop DJs Kaori, 

Koya, etc. From 11pm, 

¥3,500. Nearest stn: 

Shin-Kiba. Tel: 03-5534- 

2525. www.ageha.com 

Air 

Likemind. Techno, house: 

DJs Uchiyama, Okamoto, 

etc. From 10pm, ¥3,000. 

Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-5784-3384. www. 

air-tokyo.com 

Club Asia 

Up Beat. House, techno: DJs 

Aquamode, Watsui, etc. 

From 11pm, ¥3,500 +1d. 



Eleven 

LiLiTH "the party!!! #12". 

House, disco: dJs Soul Clap, 

Naoki Serizawa, Primitive, 

etc. From 10pm, ¥3,500. 


Tel: 03-5775-6206. www. 


Micro Cosmos 

Lounge the Sky. Hip-hop: 

DJs Saat, Tkc, etc. From 

midnight, ¥2,500 +1d. 


03-5784-5496. www. 

microcosmos-tokyo.com 

Module 

Chivila. House, techno: DJs 

Sakurai, Quma, etc. From 

10pm, ¥2,500 +1d. Nearest 


8432. www.module-tokyo. 

com 


Straight to Hell. Techno, 

house: DJs Ishino, 

Sugiurumn, etc. From 

11:30pm, ¥3,500. Tel: 


The Room 

Champ. Funky, jazzy music: 

DJs Tominaga, Oibon, 

etc. From 10pm, ¥2,500 

+1d. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-3461-7167. www. 

theroom.jp 

Unit 

Omnivorous. All mix 

DJs Yogurt, Takarada, etc: 

Live: Zazen Boys and more. 

From 10:30pm, ¥4,000. 

Nearest stn: Daikanyama. 

Tel: 03-5459-8630. www. 

unit-tokyo.com 

Warehouse702 

Everlust. House, electro 

DJs Tanaka, N6, etc: Live: 

I-Dep. From 10pm, men 

¥3,500 w/1d, women 

¥2,500 w/1d. Nearest stn: 



com 

Start a 

Company 

in Japan 

Terrie Lloyd 

President and CEO 

LINC Media Inc. and 

Japan Inc Holdings Group 

Sat, 

Feb 18, 

2012 

Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 

If you have been considering setting 

up your own company, find out what 

it takes to make it successful. 

Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 17 

start-up companies in Japan, will be 

giving an English-language seminar 

and Q & A on starting up a company 

in Japan. 

This is an ideal opportunity to find out 

what is involved, and to ask specific 

questions that are not normally 

answered in business books. 

All materials are in English and are 

Japan-focused. 

››› www.japaninc.com/entrepreneur_handbook_seminar 



Agenda Listings Go to www.meturl.com/l 

Womb 

So Very Show. House, techno: 

DJ Hyota and more. From 

11pm. Nearest stn: Shibuya. 

Tel: 03-5459-1383. www. 

womb.co.jp 

uPCoMing 

Ageha 

Ultra Music. House: DJs 

Emma, Inoue, etc. Jan 28, 

from 11pm, ¥3,500. Nearest 

stn: Shin-Kiba. Tel: 03-5534- 

2525. www.ageha.com 

Exhibitions 

akasaka/ 

roPPongi 

21_21 Design Sight 

Irving Penn and Issey 

Miyake. Visual Dialogue. 

Until Apr 8, ¥1,000/¥800 

(univ)/¥500 (HS, MS). Open 

Mon & Wed-Sun 11am-8pm, 

closed Tue. 9-7-6 Akasaka, 

Minato-ku. Nearest stn: 

Nogizaka. Tel: 03-3475-2121. 

www.2121designsight.jp 

Design Hub 

UNICEF Tree of Prayers 

Project. 1,200 ornaments 

collected for the project 

in 2011. Until Feb 5, free. 

Open daily 11am-7pm. 9-7-1 

Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo. 


Tel: 03-6743-3776. www. 

designhub.jp/eng 

Fujifilm Square 

Memories of Bakumatsu, 

Meiji Era. Photography and 

paintings. Until Feb 29, free. 

Open daily 10am-7pm. 

9-7-3 Akasaka, Minato-ku. 


Tel: 03-6271-3350. http:// 

fujifilmsquare.jp 

Gallery Ma 

Study in Real. Go Hasegaya’s 

architecture. Until Mar 

24, free. Open Mon-Thu 

& Sat-Sun 11am-6pm, 

Fri 11am-7pm. 3F, 1-24-3 

Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku. 

Nearest stn: Nogizaka. Tel: 

03-3402-1010. www.toto. 

co.jp/gallerma 

Gallery Side 2 

End of Photography. 

Photographs by Steven 

Pippin. Until Jan 27, free. 

Open Tue-Sat 11am-7pm, 

closed Sun-Mon. 2-6-5 

Higashiazabu Minato-ku. 

Nearest stn: Akabanebashi. 

Tel: 03-6229-3669. http:// 

www.galleryside2.net/ 

gallery/current/index.php 

Gallery Trinity 

Sannin Ten. Paintings by 

Kenichi Obara, Michihiro 

Kawabata and Yuta Sasaki. 

Until Jan 28, free. Open 

Tue-Fri noon-8pm, Sat 

11am-8pm, closed Sun-Mon. 

9-6-19 Akasaka, Minato-ku. 

Nearest stn: Nogizaka. Tel: 

03-3746-1112. www.g-trinity. 

com 

Mori Arts Center Gallery 

Kuniyoshi: Spectacular 

Ukiyo-e Imagination. 

Japanese woodblock 

prints. Until Feb 12, ¥1,500 

(general), ¥1,200 (univ & 

HS), ¥500 (4yr old to MS). 

One Piece. Experience the 

world of manga and anime 

One Piece. Mar 20-Jun 17, 

¥2,000 (general)/¥1,500 

(HS, MS)/¥800 (elem and 

under). 52F Roppongi Hills 

Tower, 6-10-1 Roppongi, 


Roppongi. Tel: 03-5777- 

8600. 

The National Art Center, 

Tokyo 

Noda Hiroji. Abstract 

paintings. Until Apr 2, 

¥1,000/¥500 (univ). Domani: 

The Art of Tomorrow. From 

the Overseas Study Program 

for Artists. Until Feb 12, 

¥1,000/¥500 (univ). Open 

Wed-Mon 10am-6pm, 

closed Tue. 7-22-2 Roppongi. 


03-6812-9900. www.nact.jp 

Wako Works of Art 

Wyeth. Various media by 

James Welling. Until Mar 10, 

free. Open Tue-Sat 11am-7pm, 

closed Sun-Mon. 3F Pyramid 

Bldg. 6-6-9 Roppongi, Minatoku. 

Nearest stn: Shinjuku. 

Tel: 03-6447-1820. www. 

wako-art.jp 

ginza/kyobashi/ 

tokyo 

B Gallery 

Kin Shiotani, various media. 

Until Jan 24, free. Open daily 

11am-8pm. Yoshii Bldg B1F, 

3-5-4 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku. 

Nearest stn: Kyobashi. Tel: 

03-5524-1071. www.gallery-btokyo.com 

Bridgestone Museum 

Ishibashi Collection. Art 

collected by the founder 

of Bridgestone. Until Mar 

18, ¥800. Open Tue-Sat 

10am-8pm, closed Mon. 1-10-1 

Kyobashi, Chuo-ku. Nearest 

stn: Tokyo. Tel: 03-3563-0241. 

www.bridgestone-museum. 

gr.jp/en 

Mitsubishi Ichigokan 

Museum, Tokyo 

Odilon Redon Collection. 

Painting. Until Mar 4, ¥1,400 

(general)/¥1,000 (univ, HS). 

Wed-Fri 10am-8pm, Tue, 

Sat-Sun & hols 10am-6pm, 

closed Mon. 2-6-2 Marunouchi, 

Chiyoda-ku. Nearest stn: 

Tokyo. Tel: 03-5777-8600. 

www.mimt.jp 

Creation Gallery G8 

Postalco Wheel Printer. Paper 

lined with inked wheels by 

Mike Abelson. Until Feb 16, 

free. Open Tue-Sun 11am-7pm, 

closed Mon. 1F, 8-4-17, Ginza, 

Chuo-ku. Tel: 03-3575-6918. 

rcc.recruit.co.jp 

Galerie Nichido 

Showa no Kyosho Sannin Ten. 

50 paintings by three great 

artists of Showa. Until Jan 25, 

free. Open Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, 

Sat-Sun 11am-6pm. 5-3-16 

Ginza, Chuo-ku. Nearest stn: 

Ginza. Tel: 03-3571-2553. www. 

nichido-garo.co.jp 

Ginza Graphic Gallery 

Ikko Tanaka Posters 1980–2002. 

Painting. Until Feb 25, free. 

Open Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, 

Sat 11am-6pm, closed Sun & 

hols. 1F Ginza Blg, 7-7-2 Ginza, 

Chuo-ku. Nearest stn: Ginza. 

Tel: 03-3571-5206. www.dnp. 

co.jp/gallery/ggg_e/index.html 

Ginza Nikon Salon 

Facing Shibuya. Photography 

by Howard Weizman. Until 

Jan 31, free. Topophilia: To 

an Original Image in Kyushu. 

Photography by Masako 

Imaoka. Until Feb 14, free. 

While You Have Light. 

Photography by Yoshichi 

Hara. Until Feb 28, free. 1F 

Strate Ginza, 7-10-1 Ginza, 

Chuo-ku. Nearest stn: Ginza. 

Tel: 03-3248-3783. www. 

nikon-image.com/activity/ 

salon/index_en.htm 

National Museum of 

Modern Art Tokyo 

Masterpieces of Modern 

Crafts and Living National 

Treasures from the Museum 

Collection. One hundred 

pieces of artwork. Until Jan 29, 

¥200 (Dec 4). Masterpieces of 

Contemporary Weaving. Works 

by human national treasure, 

Takeshi Kitamura. Until Apr 

15, ¥500 (general)/¥300 (univ). 

Hara Hiromu and The National 

Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. 

The artist’s posters designed 

for exhibitions held by the 

museum. Until May 6, ¥420 

(general)/¥130 (univ). Open 

Tue-Thu & Sat-Sun 10am-5pm, 

Fri 10am-8pm. 3-7-6 Kyobashi 

Chuo-ku. Nearest stn: 

Takebashi. Tel: 03-5777-8600. 

www.momat.go.jp 

Vanilla Gallery 

Hiro no Utage Manchin Zenseki. 

Kyoichi Tsuzuki’s collection of 

28 wax sculptures of genitals 

found in Northern Kyushu. 

Until Jan 21, ¥1,000. Tsunagaru. 

CG, photography, illustrations 

of Gothic Lolitas by Tomizaki 

Nori. Jan 23-Feb 4, free. Tangled 

Tale. Digital art. Mysteriously 

ominous and surreal works by 

Lithuanian artist Natalie Shau. 

Until Feb 18, free. Femmelette. 

Water color illustrations of girls 

by Tsubaki Torii. Until Feb 25, 

free. Open Mon-Fri noon-7pm, 

Sat noon-5pm, closed Sun. 

4F 2nd Kamata Bldg, 6-10-10 

Ginza, Chuo-ku. Nearest stn: 

Ginza. Tel: 03-5568-1233. 

haraJuku/aoyaMa 

Design Festa 

Shinkou. Painting. Until Jan 

24, free. Toilet Karimasu. 

Exhibition of the novel at the 

Gallery’s WC. Until Jan 31, free. 

The Monsoon. Collages on 

Japanese calligraphy paper. 

Until Jan 28, free. Keicha Tea 

Room. Miniature café food. 

Until Jan 27, free. Open daily 

11am-7pm. 3-20-18 Jingumae, 

Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-3479-1442. 

www.designfestagallery.com 

Embassy of Canada 

Prince Takamado Gallery 

Rebirth: Reflections for Japan 

Post-3/11. Multi-media group 

exhibit in response to the Great 

East Japan Earthquake. Until 

Mar 16, free. 7-3-38 Akasaka, 


Aoyama. Tel: 03-5412-6305. 

www.japan.gc.ca 

Laforet Museum 

Mika & Hiroko Ninagawa. 

Mother and daughter’s 

cooperative photography, 

patchwork, and quilt. Until Feb 

19, ¥600. Laforet Harajuku 6F, 

1-11-6 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. 

Nearest stn: Meiji-jingumae. 

Tel: 03-6406-6378. www. 

laforet.ne.jp/index.html 

The Watari-Um Museum 

of Contemporary Art 

Mirei Shigemori 1896-1975. 

Japanese style garden 

designs. Until Mar 25, ¥1,000 

(general)/¥800 (student). Open 

Tue & Thu-Sun 11am-7pm, 

Wed 11am-9pm, closed Mon. 


Tel: 03-3402-3001. www. 

watarium.co.jp 

Ukiyo-e Ota Memorial 

Museum of Art 

Directory of Edo Stars. Ukiyo-e 

of kabuki actors, sumo 

wresters, and other stars of 

the Edo Period. Until Feb 26, 

¥700/¥500 (univ, HS). Sakura 

Sakura Coming of Spring. 

Ukiyo-e consisting of cherry 

blossoms. Mar 1-25, ¥700 

(general). Open Tue-Sun 

10:30am-5:30pm, closed Mon. 


Nearest stn: Harajuku. Tel: 

03-5777-8600. www.ukiyoeota-muse.jp 

kayabaCho/kiba 

Tomio Koyama Gallery 

Pick Up a Leaf When it Falls. 

Photography and video works 

by Wang Yahui. Until Feb 25, 

free. Open Tue-Sat noon-7pm, 

closed Sun-Mon. 1-3-2-7F 

Kiyosumi, Koto-ku. Nearest 

stn: Kiyosumishirakawa. 

Tel: 03-3642-4090. www. 

tomiokoyamagallery.com/en/ 

shibuya/ebisu 

Art Front Gallery 

Bunpei Kado: Nest. 

Reproduction of everyday 

things by combining nature 

and manmade materials. 

Until Jan 29, free. Sound 

Scenes Daikanyama. Sound 

installations by Akinori 

Matsumoto. Until Jan 29, free. 

Open Tue-Sun 11am-7pm, 

closed Mon. Hillside Terrace 

A, 29-18 Sarugakucho, 

Shibuya-ku. Nearest stn: 

Daikanyama. Tel: 03-3476- 

4868. www.artfrontgallery. 

com/index.html 

Bunkamura Gallery 

Kouji Yoshioka Shikisai no 

Tabi. Painting. Until Feb 12, 

free. Open daily, 10am-7pm. 

2- 24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku. 

Nearest stn: Shibuya.

istinGs for complete listinGs 

Tel: 03-3477-9111. www. 

bunkamura.co.jp/english 

Bunkamura: The Museum 

The Love Letter From 

Vermeer. Painting. Until Mar 

14, ¥1,500/¥1,000 (univ, 

HS)/¥700 (MS & under). Open 

Mon-Thu 10am-7pm, Fri-Sat 

10am-8pm, Sun 10am-7pm. 

2- 24-1 Dogenzaka, Shibuya-ku. 


03-3477-9111. http://www. 

bunkamura.co.jp/english/ 

Gallery Le Deco 

NPO Minna no Kotoba. Free 

music event. Jan 24-29, free. 

Open Tue-Sun 11am-7pm. LE 

DECO Building, 3-16-3 Shibuya, 

Shibuya-ku. Nearest stn: 

Shibuya. Tel: 03-5485-5188. 

http://home.att.ne.jp/gamma/ 

ledeco/index.html 

Gallery Sequel 

As time goes by. Photography 

by Eric Luk Ho Man. Until Feb 

26, free. Open 11am-7pm. 3-9-3 

Jingu-mae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 

150-0001. Tel: 03-3478-1025. 

sequelart.com/Gallery 

Gallery Speak For 

Suteki na Something. Painting 

by Chigusa Aihara. Until Feb 1, 

free. Open Fri-Wed 11am-8pm, 

closed Thur. B1F, Speak For, 

28-2 Sarugakucho, Shibuya-ku. 

Nearest stn: Daikanyama. Tel: 

03-5459-6385. http://www. 

galleryspeakfor.com/ 

Gift Lab 

Pheno Psycho Mime. A video 

and sound art installation 

based on the theme of 

Japanese onomatopoeic 

words by Ryoko Akama. Until 

Jan 29, free. Open Tue-Sun 

noon-8pm. 202 Maruyama 

bldg. 1-16-1 Ebisu-Nishi, 

Shibuya-ku, 150-0021 Tokyo. 

Tel: 03-5784-0441. www. 

giftlab.jp 

Nadiff Gallery 

Walk Up-And Down-Form- 

Being Formed. Photography. 

Until Feb 12, free. Open daily 

noon-8pm. 1-18-4 Ebisu, 

Shibuya-ku. Nearest stn: Ebisu. 

Tel: 03-3446-4977. www. 

nadiff.com 

Parco Museum 

Kita no Isaitachi. Collections 

from Aomori Museum 

of Art. Until Jan 29, ¥500 

(general)/¥400 (student). 

Omoi wo Tsutaeru to Iukoto. 

Short stories and interactive 

installations by Ellie Omiya. 

Until Feb 27, ¥500. Open daily 

10am-9pm. B1F Parco Part1, 

15-1 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku. 


03-3477-5873. www.parco-art. 

com/web 

Tobacco and Salt Museum 

Portraits of Showa Literati 

in Purple Tobacco Smoke. 

Photography by Tadahiko 

Hayashi. Jan 21-Mar 18, ¥100 

(general)/¥50 (HS, MS, elem). 

Open daily 10am-6pm. Jinnan 

1-16-8, Shibuya-ku,Tokyo, 

Japan 150-0041. Nearest 


2041. www.jti.co.jp/Culture/ 

museum_e 

Tokyo Metropolitan 

Museum of Photography 

Street Life. Chronicles of 

Europe by 7 photographers. 

Until Jan 29, ¥600. 

Contemporary Japanese 

Photography Vol. 10. Works 

by 5 photographers. Until 

Jan 29, ¥700. Quest for Vision 

vol.4: Beyond the Naked Eye, 

various media. Historical 

and current perspectives 

of the cosmos. Until Jan 29, 

¥500. Yebisu International 

Festival for Art & Alternative 

Visions 2012. Annual video art 

fest. Until Feb 26, free. Open 

Tue-Wed & Sat-Sun 10am-6pm, 

Thu-Fri 10am-8pm, closed 

Mon. 1-13-3 Mita Meguro-ku 

Tokyo. Nearest stn: Ebisu. Tel: 

03-3280-0099. syabi.com/e/ 

contents/index.html 

Tokyo Wonder Site, 

Shibuya 

Wonder Seeds. Emerging Artist 

Support Program. Until Feb 26, 

free. 1-19-8 Jinnan, Shibuya-ku. 


03-3463-0603. www.tokyo-ws. 

org/shibuya 

shinJuku/ 

ikebukuro 

Eitoeiko Gallery 

Celebration Day, various works 

by gallery artists. Until Feb 11, 

free. Open Wed-Sun noon-7pm, 

closed Mon-Tue. 32-2 Yaraicho, 

Shinjuku-ku. Nearest stn: 

Kagurazaka. Tel: 03-6479- 

6923. eitoeiko.com 

The Artcomplex Center of 

Tokyo 

Koto no Ha. Exhibition 

demonstrating of the power of 

words. Until Jan 29, free. Girls 

Illust Exhibition × Japanism Art 

Exhibition. Painting by various 

artists. Jan 24-29, free. Oishi 

Nisemono. Fake foods that will 

stimulate your appetite. Jan 

31-Feb 5, free. Open Tue-Sun 

11am-8pm, closed Mon. 12-9 

Daikyomachi, Shinjuku-ku, 

Tokyo. Nearest stn: Yotsuyasanchome. 

Tel: 03-3341-3253. 

www.gallerycomplex.com 

Tokyo Opera City Art 

Gallery 

Nambata Fumio: Works 

1960-1974. Painting. Until Mar 

25, ¥1,000 (general)/¥800 

(univ, HS). 15 Years of Fumio 

Nambata. Painting. Until 

Mar 25, free. Open Tue-Thu 

11am-7pm, Fri-Sat 11am-8pm. 

3-20-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, 


Hatsudai. Tel: 03-5353-0756. 

www.operacity.jp/en/ag 

ueno 

Amuse Museum 

Minna no Nuno Jizo. Fabric 

bodhisattva. Until Feb 5, 

¥1,000. 2-34-3 Asakusa, Taito 

Ku. Nearest stn: Asakusa. 

Tel: 03-5806-1181. www. 

amusemuseum.com 

Edo-Tokyo Museum 

Taira no Kiyomori. Collection 

of 120 national treasures and 

important cultural properties 

of Japan. Until Feb 5, ¥1,300 

(general)/¥1,040 (univ)/¥650 

(HS, 65 and over). Open Tue-Fri 

& Sun 9:30am-5:30pm, Sat 

9:30am-7:30pm, closed Mon & 

hols. 1-4-1 Yokoami, Sumidaku. 

Nearest stn: Ryogoku. 

Tel: 03-3626-9974. www. 

edo-tokyo-museum.or.jp 

Scai the Bathhouse 

We Are Living in a Time Machine. 

Various media installations by 

Nobuko Tsuchiya . Until Jan 28, 

free. Open Tue-Sat noon-7pm, 

closed Sun-Mon. 6-1-23 Yanaka, 

Taito-ku. Nearest stn: Nippori. 

Tel: 03-3821-1144. www. 

scaithebathhouse.com 

The National Museum of 

Western Art 

Lights and Shadows, Goya. 

Painting. Until Jan 29, 

¥1,500/¥1,200 (univ)/¥800 

(HS). William Blake. Engraving 

and dry point. Until Jan 29, 

¥420/¥130 (univ). Hubert 

Robert. Painting. Mar 6-20, 

¥1,300 (general)/¥1,000 

(univ)/¥600 (HS). Open 

daily 9:30am-5:30pm. 7-7 

Ueno-Koen, Taito-ku. Nearest 

stn: Ueno. Tel: 03-3828-5131. 

www.nmwa.go.jp 

Tokyo National Museum 

Two Hundred Selected 

Masterpieces from the 

Palace Museum, Beijing. 200 

masterpieces including Song- 

and Yuan-dynasty calligraphic 

works and paintings. until Feb 

19, ¥1,500 (general)/¥1,200 

(univ)/¥900 (HS). Open Tue-Sun 

9:30am-5pm. 13-9 ueno Park, 

Taito-ku. Nearest stn: ueno. Tel: 

03-5777-8600. www.tnm.jp 

Tokyo Wonder Site, 

Hongo 

Tokyo Wonder Site. Emerging 

Artist Support Program. Until 

Feb 26, free. 2-4-16 Hongo, 

Bunkyou-ku. Nearest stn: 

Suidobashi. Tel: 03-5689-5331. 

www.tokyo-ws.org 

other areas 

Bice 

In Between Dreams. 

Contemporary paintings by 

David Vincenzi. Until Jan 29, 

free. 47F Caretta Shiodome, 

1-8-1 Higashi-shinbashi, 

Minato-ku, Tokyo. Tel: 

03-5537-1926. bicetokyo. 

com/eng 

ChinaTown80 

New Year Children’s Gallery. 

Local students' New 

Year-themed drawings. 

Feb 9-19, free. Open 

Mon-Thu & Sun 10am-8pm, 

Fri-Sat 10am-9pm. 80 

Yamashitamachi, Naka-ku, 

Yokohama, Kanagawa. Tel: 

045-681-6022. 

Hara Museum of 

Contemporary Art 

Jean-Michel Othoniel, 

My Way. various media. 

until Mar 11, ¥1,000 

(general)/¥700 (univ)/¥500 

(MS & elem). Open Tue-Sun 

11am-5pm, closed Mon. 

4-7-25 Kita-Shinagawa, 

Shinagawa-ku. Nearest stn: 

Kitashinagawa. Tel: 03-3445- 

0651. www.haramuseum. 

or.jp 

Hoki Museum 

The Aesthetics of Life: 

Gazing, Smiling, Feeling. 

Figure paintings. Until 

May 20, ¥1,500/¥1,000 

(senior)/¥750 (MS)/free 

(elem & under). Open Mon 

& Wed-Thu 10am-6pm, 

Fri, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 

10am-5pm, closed Tue. 

3-15 Asumigaokahigashi, 

Midori-ku, Chiba. Nearest 

stn: Toke. Tel: 043-205-1500. 

www.hoki-museum.jp/en 

Kawamura Memorial 

Museum of Art 

The Unseen Relationship: 

Form and Abstraction. 

Painting by Tomoo Gokita. 

Until Apr 15, ¥1,200 

(general). Open Tue-Sun 

9:30am-5pm, closed Mon. 

631 Sakado, Sakura-shi. 

Nearest stn: Sakura. Tel: 

04-3498-2131. kawamuramuseum.dic.co.jp 

Museum of 

Contemporary Art 

Tokyo 

Bloomberg Pavilion Project. 

A white building that 

looks like crumple paper 

designed by Akihisa 

Hirata stages exhibitions 

and performances. Until 

October, free. The Art of 

Connecting. Painting by 

Atsuko Tanaka. Until May 6, 

¥1,000 (general)/¥800 (univ, 

65 and over)/¥500 (MS, 

HS). Ay-O: Over the Rainbow 

Once More. Large-scale, 

participation installation 

and painting. Until May 

6, ¥1,100 (general)/¥850 

(univ, 65 and over)/¥550 

(HS, MS). 4-1-1 Miyoshi, 

Koto-ku. Nearest stn: 

Kiyosumi-shirakawa. Tel: 

03-5245-4111. www.mot-artmuseum.jp 

National Museum of 

Japanese History 

Winter flowers: Camellia 

Sasanqua. Japan’s native 

flower. Until Jan 29, ¥100. 

Tatsudoshi no Ryu. Works 

related to dragons, various 

media. Until Jan 29, 

¥420/¥250 (univ, HS). Open 

Tue-Sun 9:30am-4:30pm, 

closed Mon. 117 Jonai-cho, 

Sakura City. Nearest stn: 

Keiseisakura. Tel: 04-3486- 

0123. www.rekihaku.ac.jp 

Nerima Art Museum 

Masayoshi Nakamura. 

Modern paintings. Until 

Apr 1, ¥500. Morii Kaju. 

Collections of novels and 

art from the end of Meiji 

Era. Until Feb 14, free. 

Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm, 

closed Mon. 1-36-16 Nukui, 

Nerima-ku. Nearest stn: 

Nakamurabashi. Tel: 

03-3577-1821. www.city. 

nerima.tokyo.jp/manabu/ 

bunka/museum 

Aesthetic 

Dentistry 

Ceramics 

Implants 

Orthodontics 

Closed Wed. & Hols. 

1F Osakabe Bldg, 5-46-12 

Jingumae, Shibuya-ku. 

Tel: 03-3486-4484. 

FREE 

COUNSELING 

FOR 

METROPOLIS 

READERS 

info@aoyama-omotesando.jp 

www.aoyama-omotesando.jp 

Petit Cotton 

BRAIN REFRESH THERAPY 

Petit Cotton is a men’s restoration salon 

that also offers treatments for couples. 

Brain Refresh Therapy Course Menu: 

60 min __________ ¥10,000 

90 min __________ ¥15,000 

120 min _________ ¥20,000 

4-3-1 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 

(JR Ebisu st. East exit, station square. 

We inform you room number when 

you call us for appointment.) 

FREE 

ENTRANCE 

(regular ¥10,000) 

petit@cotton.sakura.ne.jp 

Tel: 03-3446-2751 

Open: 10am-10pm 

365 days a year 

O R I E N T A L O I L M A S S A G E 

cotton brain refresh SEARCH 


SHINGEN JAPON 

Hair & Make-up 

Cut ¥7,000 ~ 

Cut & Color ¥16,000 ~ 

Highlight ¥10,000 ~ 

Make-up ¥6,000 ~ 

ARISUGAWA 

WEST 

We studied hair cutting in New York for many years. 

Nous utilisons des produits Français. 

Tel: 03-3441-4117 

www.shingenjapon.com 

SHINGEN 

JAPON 


POST 

OFFICE 

20% o 

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readers on 

rst visit 

(hair only) 

NATIONAL 

AZABU 

HIROO STN UFJ BANK 

EXIT 1 

GAIEN-NISHI DORI 

HIRO PLAZA 

Agenda Listings Go to www.meturl.com/l 

Pola Museum of Art 

The Development of 

Impressionism: Monet, Renoir 

and the Next Generations. 

Painting. Jan 21-Jul 8, ¥1,800 

(general)/¥1,300 (univ, 

HS)/¥700 (MS. elem). 1285 

Kozukayama, Sengokuhara, 

Hakone-machi. Nearest stn: 

Gora. Tel: 04-6084-2111. 

www.polamuseum.or.jp 

Sogo Museum of Art 

Miyako no Asobi, Ocho 

no Bi. Hosomi Museum 

Collection of Kyoto artifacts. 

Until Mar 20. Goto Sumio. 

Painting. Until 25, ¥900 

(general)/¥700 (univ, HS). 

Open daily 10am-8pm. 

2-18-1 Takashima, Nishi-ku, 

Yokohama. Nearest stn: 

Yokohama. Tel: 04-5465- 

5515. www2.sogo-gogo. 

com/common/museum 

Studio C Tokyo 

Sparks. Photos by Kenichi 

Iwai. Until Mar 10, free. Open 

Mon-Fri noon-5pm, closed 

Sat-Sun & hols. 3-36-10 

Sasazuka Shibuya-ku, 

Tokyo 151-0073. Nearest 

stn: Sasazuka. http:// 

studioctokyo.core.ne.jp 

Studio Ghibli Museum 

The View from the Cat Bus. 

Painted backgrounds 

of Studio Ghibli anime 

films. Until May, ¥1,000 

(general)/¥700 (univ, HS). 

Open 10am-6pm, closed 

Tue. 1-1-83 Shimorenjaku, 

Mitaka, Tokyo 181-0013. 

Nearest stn: Mitaka. Tel: 

0570-055-777. www.ghiblimuseum.jp/en 

The French Institute 

Silent Blues. A large 

shiny blue “breathing” 

stone installation of Sara 

Dolatabadi. Until Feb 5, free. 

15 Ichigaya-funagawara-cho 


Iidabashi. Tel: 03-5206-2500. 

www.institut.jp 

The Museum of Modern 

Art, Hayama 

Ben Shahn: Cross Media Artist. 

Photographs, paintings 

and graphic arts. Until Jan 

29, ¥1,000 (general). Open 

Tue-Sun 9:30am-5pm, 

closed Mon. 2208-1 Isshiki, 

Hayama, Kanagawa. Tel: 

04-6875-2800. 

The Museum of Modern 

Art, Saitama 

Henri Le Sidaner. French 

Painter. Until Feb 5, 

¥1,100/¥880 (univ). Nature 

and Human, Unzenugan-dake 

mountain. Kazushi Oura’s 

photographs and videos of 

the volcanic eruption and 

casualties in 1990s. Until Apr 

15, ¥200. Shikkoku no Kanata 

/ Inu no Yukue, various 

media, by Akira Shimizu 

and Tatsumi Yoshino. Until 

Mar 15, ¥900/¥720 (univ, 

HS). Open daily 10:00am- 

5:30pm. 9-30-1 Tokiwa, 

Urawa-ku, Saitama-shi. Tel: 

048-824-0111. www.momas. 

jp/022eng/e_index.htm 

Tokyo Dome 

Tokyo International Great Quilt 

Festival 2012. world’s largest 

quilt exhibition displaying 

works of 1,200 quilters. Jan 

20-28, 10am-6:30pm, ¥2,000. 

1-3-61 Korakuen, Bunkyo-ku. 

Nearest stn: Suidobashi. 

Tel: 03-5800-9999. www. 

tokyo-dome.co.jp 

Urawa Art Museum 

Collaboration of Art and 

Book. Illustration. Until Jan 

22, ¥600/¥400 (HS)/¥200 

(MS & elem). Open daily 

10am-5pm. 3F Urawa 

Century City, 2-5-1 Naka-cho, 

Urawa-ku, Saitama. Nearest 

stn: Urawa. Tel: 048-827- 

3215. www.uam.urawa. 

saitama.jp 

Yokohama Museum of 

Art 

Becoming Friends with all 

the Children in the World. 

Painting by Fuyuko Matsui. 

Until Mar 18, ¥1,100 

(general)/¥700 (univ, HS)/¥400 

(MS). Yokohama Museum of 

Art Collection. 200 works by 

various master artists across 

time and place. Until Mar 18, 

¥500 (general)/¥300 (univ, HS). 

3-4-1 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, 

Yokohama. Nearest stn: Minato 

Mirai. Tel: 03-5777-8600. www. 

yaf.or.jp/yma 

Sports 

basketball 

Japan Basketball League 

Alvark vs. Diamond Dolphins. 

Jan 20, 7:15pm, ¥2,500-5,000. 

Yoyogi National Gymnasium. 


Tel: 03-3468-1171. 

Brave Thunders vs. Trians. 

Jan 20, 7pm, ¥2,500-5,500. 

Todoroki Arena. Nearest 

stn: Musashi Nakahara. Tel: 

044-798-5000. 

Toshiba Brave Thunders 

vs. Panasonic Trians. Jan 20, 

7pm, ¥2,500-5,500. Todoroki 

Arena. Nearest stn: Musashi 

Nakahara. Tel: 044-798-5000. 

Sunrockers vs. Alvark. Jan 

27, 7:15pm, ¥2,500-5,000. 

Yoyogi National Gymnasium. 


Tel: 03-3468-1171. 

Brave Thunders vs. Brex. Feb 

3, 7pm, ¥2,500-5,500. Todoroki 

Arena. Nearest stn: Musashi 

Nakahara. Tel: 044-798-5000. 

Alvark vs. Sea Horses. Feb 4, 

3pm, ¥2,500-5,500. Sumida-ku 

Sports Center. Nearest stn: 

Kinshi-cho. Tel: 03-3623-7273. 

boxing 

Super-featherweight: 

Shigetaka Ikehara vs. 

Takuya Kogawa 

Jan 26, 6pm, Korakuen Hall. 

Nearest stn: Suidobashi. Tel: 

03-5800-9999. 

Super-bantamweight: 

Masaaki Serie vs. 

Yasutaka Ishimoto 

Feb 13, 6pm, Korakuen Hall. 


03-5800-9999. 

Super-featherweight: Yuji 

Wauke vs. Shinya 

Uwabuchi 

Feb 13, 6pm, Korakuen Hall. 


03-5800-9999. 

iCe hoCkey 

Asia League 

Nikko Icebucks vs. China 

Dargon. Jan 28, 4pm, ¥1,700- 

3,600. Nikko Shimofuri Ice 

Arena. Tel: 0288-53-5881. 

Nippon Paper Cranes vs. 

High 1. Jan 28, 6:30pm, ¥1,000- 

6,000. DyDo Drinco Ice Arena. 

Nearest stn: Higashi-fushimi. 

Tel: 042-467-7171. 

Oji Eagles vs. Anyang Halla. 

Jan 28, 3pm, ¥1,000-6,000. 

DyDo Drinco Ice Arena. 

Nearest stn: Higashi-fushimi. 

Tel: 042-467-7171. 

Nikko Icebucks vs. China 

Dragon. Jan 29, 2pm, ¥1,700- 

3,600. Nikko Shimofuri Ice 

Arena. Tel: 0288-53-5881. 

Nippon Paper Cranes vs. 

Anyang Halla. Jan 29, 4:30pm, 

¥1,000-6,000. DyDo Drinco Ice 

Arena. Nearest stn: Higashifushimi. 

Tel: 042-467-7171. 

Oji Eagles vs. High 1. Jan 

29, 1pm, ¥1,000-6,000. DyDo 

Drinco Ice Arena. Nearest stn: 

Higashi-fushimi. Tel: 042-467- 

7171. 

MMa 

Ultimate Fighting 

Championship 

Frank Edgar vs. Ben 

Henderson. Feb 26, 10am, 

¥5,800-100,000. Saitama 

Super Arena. Nearest stn: 

Saitamashintoshin. Tel: 

04-8601-1122. 

Pro Wrestling 

NJPW presents CMLL 

Fantastica Mania 

Jan 21-22, 6:30pm, ¥4,000- 

10,000. Korakuen Hall. Nearest 

stn: Suidobashi. Tel: 03-6407- 

3111. 

rugby 

Top League 

Green Rockets vs. West 

Red Sparks. Jan 22, noon, 

¥1,500-4,000. Chichibunomiya 

Rugby Stadium. Nearest stn: 

Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3401-3881. 

03-6407-3111 

Sungoliath vs. Brave Lupus. 

Jan 22, 2pm, ¥1,500-4,000. 

Chichibunomiya Rugby 

Stadium. Nearest stn: 

Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3401-3881. 

03-6407-3111 

Green Rockets vs. 

Shining Arcs. Jan 28, 2pm, 



Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3401-3881. 

03-6407-3111 

Shining Arcs vs. Heat. 

Jan 28, 2pm, ¥1,500-4,000. 



Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3401-3881. 

03-6407-3111 

Black Rums vs. Brave Lupus. 

Jan 29, 2pm, ¥1,500-4,000. 



Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3401-3881. 

03-6407-3111 

Brave Lupus vs. Wild 

Knights. Feb 5, 2pm, 



Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3401-3881. 

03-6407-3111 

Sungoliath vs. Kobelco 

Steelers. Feb 5, noon, 



Gaienmae. Tel: 03-3401-3881. 

03-6407-3111 

table tennis 

Emperor’s Cup/Empress’s 

Cup All-Japan 

Championship 

Jan 20-22, ¥1,000/¥2,000, 

Tokyo Metropolitan 

Gymnasium. Nearest stn: 

Sendagaya. Tel: 03-5474-2112 

Festivals 

Shunsetsu Goraku Hyoen 

Celebration of Chinese New 

Year. Jan 23-Feb 6, free. 

Yamashita Park, Naka-ku, 

Yokohama. Nearest stn: 

Motomachi-Chukagai. Tel: 

045-662-1252. www.chinatown. 

or.jp/e 

Usokae Kamiwaza 

Shinto festival where 30,000 

people gather to buy wood 

carved bullfinch. Jan 24-25, 

8:30am, free. Kameido Ten 

Shrine, 3-6-1 Kameido, Koto. 

Nearest stn: Kameido. Tel: 

03-3681-0010. 

Lantern Festival 

On the last day of New Year’s, 

there will be exotic Chinese 

dance and a display of lanterns 

bearing people’s written wishes. 

Feb 6, 5:30-7pm, free. Yamashita 

Park, Naka-ku, Yokohama. 

Nearest stn: Motomachi- 

Chukagai. Tel: 045-662-1252. 

www.chinatown.or.jp/e 

Forums & Expos 

Mynavi Career Expo 

Job expo for 2013 graduates. 

Jan 21-22, 11am-6pm, free. 

Tokyo Big Sight. Nearest stn: 

Kokusai-Tenjijo-Seimon. Tel: 

0120-194-237. 

Tableware Festival 

Showcase and sale of 

tableware from around the 

world. Until Feb 12, 10am-7pm, 

¥1,700 (adv)/¥2,000 (door). 

Tokyo Dome. Nearest stn: 

Suidobashi or Korakuen. 

Tel: 03-5800-9999. www. 

tokyo-dome.co.jp/tableware 

Japan Shop 

The largest retail fair in Japan. 

Mar 6-9, 10am-5pm, ¥1,500 

(door)/free (RSVP). Tokyo Big 

Sight. Nearest stn: Kokusai- 

Tenjijo-Seimon. Tel: 03-6256- 

7355. www.shopbiz.jp/en/js 

Architecture and 

Construction Materials 

A construction must. Mar 6-9, 

10am-5pm, ¥1,500 (door)/

istinGs for complete listinGs 

free (RSVP). Tokyo Big Sight. 

Nearest stn: Kokusai-Tenjijo- 

Seimon. Tel: 03-6256-7355. 

www.shopbiz.jp/en/ac 

Security Show 

Technology to protect 

sites from crime, info leaks 

and other perils.Mar 6-9, 

10am-5pm, ¥1,500 (door)/ 

free (RSVP). Tokyo Big Sight. 

Nearest stn: Kokusai-Tenjijo- 

Seimon. Tel: 03-6256-7355. 

www.shopbiz.jp/en/ss 

Franchise Show 

Franchisers in various 

industries with free 

consultation. Mar 6-8, 

10am-5pm, free (RSVP). Tokyo 

Big Sight. Nearest stn: Kokusai- 

Tenjijo-Seimon. Tel: 03-6256- 

7355. www.shopbiz.jp/en/fc 

Bazaars & Markets 

Art Bazaar 2012 

Over 300 works by both 

contemporary and master 

artists such as Picasso and 

Chagall on sale. Until Jan 30, 

free. Bunkamura Gallery. 


03-3477-9111. 

Fudaten Jinja Market 

Every second Sun, Fudaten 

Jinja. Nearest stn: Chofu. Tel: 

04-2489-0022. 

Hanazono Shrine Market 

Every Sun, 8am-4pm, 

Hanazono Shrine. Nearest 

stn: Shinjuku-sanchome. Tel: 

03-3200-3093. 

Oedo Antique Fair 

Japan’s largest outdoor 

antique marketww. Every first 

and third Sun, 8am-4:30pm, 

Tokyo International Forum 

Hall C. Nearest stn: Tokyo. Tel: 

03-5805-1093. 

Community 

Reiwaryu Ryushinkan 

Karatedo 

Strengthen body and mind 

though karate. E-mail: 

reiwaryukaratedo@ 

googlemail.com. Culture Blend 

Studio. Nearest stn: Akasaka. 

Tel: 03-5820-3667. 

Stitch-n-Bitch 

Meet fellow knitters, 

crocheters and sewers to talk, 

share ideas, eat, drink and 

create. Every first and third 

Tue, 7pm, free, Cafe Respekt. 


03-6418-8144. www.meetup. 

com/TokyoStitchandBitch 

Half-Fast Cyclists 

Bicyclists of all treads meet 

for slide shows, lectures, 

ride-planning, etc. Every 

second Wed, 7pm, free, The 

Pink Cow. Tel: 03-3406-5597. 

cowmail@thepinkcow.com 

Learning 

Cosmos Club Japanese 

Lessons 

Every Wed, 10am-2pm, Kudan 

Shogai Gakushuukan. Nearest 

stn: Kudanshita. Tel: 048-761- 

1788. 

TCS Improv Workshop 

The Tokyo Comedy Store’s 

weekly improv workshop. All 

levels welcome. Real Dear, 

Mita. Nearest stn: Azabu-Juban. 

Tel: 03-5770-7401. 

Tokyo Wine Tasting 

Meetup Group 

Learn about wines and make 

new friends in an international 

atmosphere while enjoying 

gourmet food. Every last Sat, 

from 7pm, restaurant venue 

changes monthly. 

MOvIE REvIEwS 

& CINEMAS P. 26 

tv 

picks 

Friday 20 

Begin Japanology ______________________________________ 2-2:30pm BS1 

Sumo: Grand Tournament, day 13 ___________________3:15-6pm 1 

Prison Break: Season Finale _______________________ 11pm-12am BS4 

saturday 21 

Table Tennis: All-Japan Championship _______________ 3-4pm 2 

Nine Lives (M) _________________________________________ 9-11:30pm Fox 

90210: Season 3 _____________________________________ 10-10:45pm 2 

Chuck: Season 1 _____________________________________2:10-3:05am 4 

sunday 22 

All-Japan Inter-Prefectural Men’s 

Ekiden Relay Race _________________________________ 12:15-3:10pm 1 

One Tree Hill: Season 1 ____________________________ 1:30-2:30pm Fox 

Sumo: Grand Tournament final day ________________3:15-6pm 1 

Soccer: AC Milan vs. Genoa ______________________________ 7-9pm 

Monday 23 

BS12 

Shark Attack 3: Megalodon (M) ___________________ 1:25-3:25pm 7 

Soccer: EPL; Norwich vs. Chelsea ________________________1-3am BS1 

White Collar: Season 1 __________________________________ 1:55-3am 6 

Brown Sugar (M) ________________________________________1:59-4am 4 

tuesday 24 

The Outlaw Josey Wales (M) _____________________ 1:25-3:25pm 7 

Tokyo Eye _______________________________________________ 2-2:30pm BS1 

iCarly: Season 1 ______________________________________7:25-7:50pm 2 

Ghost Whisperer: Season 3 ________________________2:29-3:24am 4 

Wednesday 25 

Absolute Power (M) ________________________________ 1:25-3:25pm 7 

Soccer: EPL; Arsenal vs. ManU __________________________ 7-9pm BS1 

One Tree Hill: Season 1 __________________________________ 9-10pm Fox 

The Pillars of the Earth ____________________________ 1:10-2:04am BS3 

thursday 26 

Blood Work (M) ______________________________________ 1:25-3:25pm 7 

NFL: Conference Championship ______________________7-10pm BS1 

Lipstick Jungle: Season 1 _______________________________ 9-10pm Fox 

Supernatural: Season 3 _________________________________ 9-10pm BS11 

Friday 27 

Medium: Season 1 __________________________________________ 6-7pm Fox 

The Good Wife: Season 2 ____________________________ 11-11:46pm BS3 

Prison Break: Season Final _________________________ 11pm-12am BS4 

NBA: TBD _____________________________________________________1-3am BS1 

saturday 28 

Basketball: Women’s Japan League ____________________ 2-4pm BS1 

90210: Season 3 _____________________________________ 10-10:45pm 2 

Tsotsi (M) ____________________________________________________ 3-5am BS6 

Chuck: Season 1 ____________________________________ 3:10-4:05am 4 

sunday 29 

Project Wisdom _____________________________________________1-3pm BS1 

FIS Jump Ski World Cup 2012 ________________________ 3-4:10pm 4 

Soccer: AC Milan vs. Plzeň _______________________________ 7-9pm BS12 

Being Julia (M) _________________________________________ 9-11:30pm Fox 

Monday 30 

China Wow ______________________________________________ 2-2:30pm BS1 

BS Documentary ___________________________________________12-1am BS1 

Flight of Fury (M) ___________________________________ 1:25-3:25pm 7 

December Boys (M) ____________________________________1:59-4am 4 

tuesday 31 

Freedomland (M) ___________________________________ 1:25-3:25pm 7 

Tokyo Eye _______________________________________________ 2-2:30pm BS1 

iCarly: Season 1 ______________________________________7:25-7:50pm 2 

Ghost Whisperer: Season 3 ________________________2:29-3:24am 4 

Wednesday 1 

World Wave _________________________________________________ 5-9am BS1 

The A-Team (M) ____________________________________ 4:20-6:25pm BS9 

News Watch 9 _____________________________________________ 9-10pm 1 

BBC Documentary _________________________________________8-9pm BS5 

thursday 2 

Tokyo Fashion _________________________________________ 2-2:30pm BS1 

NHK News 7 _____________________________________________ 7-7:30pm 1 

Supernatural: Season 3 _________________________________ 9-10pm BS11 

BS Documentary ___________________________________________12-1am BS1 

channel guide 

1=NHK 

2=NHK 

Educational 

4=NTV 

5=TV Asahi 

6=TBS 

8=Fuji TV 

Get the full Metro TV guide online! 

http://metropolis.co.jp/multimedia 

7=TV Tokyo 

BS1=BS1 

BS3=BS 

Premium 

BS4=BS NTV 

BS5=BS Asahi 

BS6=BS TBS 

BS7=BS Japan 

BS8=BS Fuji 

BS9=Wowow 

BS11=BS11 

BS12=TwellV 

FOX=Fox 

Japan 

PROGRAMMING MAY CHANGE AT THE DISCRETION OF EACH STATION 

M=Movie 

R=Rerun 

D=Delayed 

New year, 

new you. 

Try Yuri: our new junior stylist 

cut ¥5,500! 

colour 30% off your first time! 

SIN DEN 

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BASI PILATES! 

Offering you “Authentic Pilates” 

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Admission Fee: ¥15,750 ¥0 

Trial Machine Private Lesson: ¥10,000 ¥8,400 

Package 3 Machine 

Private Lessons 

¥30,000 ¥18,000 

Machine Private Lessons available at our Roppongi studio 

Lessons in English available 

Studios in Roppongi, Ginza, Nakameguro and more 

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Agenda Movies By Don Morton 

Metpod 

AnimAl Kingdom 

Apparently the only thing Joshua’s heroinaddict 

mother ever did right was to 

shield him from her brothers, a vicious 

family of feral thugs dys-functioning 

in the Darwinian lower levels of the Melbourne 

underworld. the clan is presided over by the teen’s 

grandmother, a sweet-faced woman nicknamed 

“Mama Smurf” who’s ready and willing to eat her 

young for the sake of self-preservation. But his mom’s 

fatal overdose lands the hulking teenager right in the 

middle of this gang’s world of suspicion, greed and 

betrayal. Guy just wanted a home. Writer-director 

David Michod’s stylish and well-plotted debut 

NEW 

Johnny enGlish 

reBorn 

About what you’d expect from 

a ta rdy a nd needle ss sequel 

(Johnny English Resuscitated?) to 

the not-that-funny 2003 James 

Bond sendup, a concept that was 

done better anyway in the Austin 

Powers movies. But determined fans of the still lovable rowan 

Atkinson doing things like dangerously misusing the latest spy 

weaponry, badly misjudging dire situations, taking multiple 

shots to the groin and beating elderly ladies senseless will be 

amused, though these are mostly children (for whom the film is 

a tad too violent). Sporadically funny and not entirely terrible, 

but it never really takes off. (101 min) 

Cinemas 6 62 63 80 81 82 83 85 86 90 91 92 93 94 95 

JAck AnD Jill 

note to any remaining Adam 

Sandler fans that still doubt the 

man’s deep contempt for his 

audience: go see this slapdash, 

noxious collection of bodily-fluid 

references, racist Latino jokes, 

farts, poorly conceived sight gags 

and blatant product placement (notably a cruise line). you’ll get 

what you deserve, but you’ll be cured. Sandler plays a regular 

Joe who dreads the thanksgiving visit of his socially abhorrent 

twin sister, also played, ineptly and lazily, by Sandler in lipstick. 

Laughing yet? And note to Al Pacino: you provided the film’s 

only watchable moments. But get a new agent. (93 min) 

Cinemas 2 27 45 63 91 92 

Also showing 

PAul 

two Brit fanboys touring UFo spots in the 

US encounter and help the somewhat pottymouthed 

title alien. Sweet, good-hearted fun. 

Japanese title: Uchujin Paul. (109 min) 

Cinemas 21 52 62 78 88 95 

26 • doWNload our podcast at • podcast.mEtropolis.co.jp 

feature isn’t perfect. the most glaring flaw is James 

Frecheville as the central character. I realize the 

part calls for a callow fellow, but this guy does a great 

imitation of a pine tree. Fortunately, this black hole 

is offset by some top Down-Under talent, including 

Guy Pearce (a virtuous cop), Ben Mendelsohn (the 

family’s main maniac) and Jacki Weaver. the latter’s 

performance, as grandma, is the one that will stay 

with you. Call it a grubby, brutally unsentimental 

Australian Goodfellas without the humor. ominous 

is a good word. Lurking fear. Creepy. And absolutely 

absorbing. (113 min) 

Cinemas 7 40 

NEW 

the GooD Doctor 

A bl a nd you n g B r it i s h do c tor 

working in an American hospital 

(a bland, perfectly cast orlando 

B l o o m ) u s e s h i s k n o w l e d g e 

of internal medicine to keep a 

pretty, easily treatable young girl 

under his care. When she dies, he 

finds it necessary to commit an escalating series of crimes and 

murders to elude detection. His milquetoast manner helps in this 

subterfuge, but it is not at all entertaining. Bloom’s abominable 

character is more pathetic than sympathetic, difficult to relate to 

or even want to understand. Kind of like the actor. this pointless, 

half-baked psychodrama is a big yawn. (93 min) 

Cinema 13 

NEW NEW 

the DeAD 

Perh ap s even G e orge romero 

never thought of staging a zombie 

mov ie i n t he harsh , w it her i n g 

arena of West Africa, but British 

filmmaking brothers Howard J. and 

Jonathan Ford did, and it works. 

I n d e e d , t h e D a rk C o nt i n e nt ’s 

ravaged geopolitical reputation adds an exceedingly disturbing 

authenticity, if that’s the word. A white military engineer (rob 

Freeman) seeking rescue and a native soldier (Prince David 

oseia) seeking his son combine forces in a kind of road movie 

and fight their way through relentless armies of traditional, 

slowly shuffling, eerily white-eyed black undead. Gorgeous 

cinematography. (105 min) 

Cinema 33 

restless 

Gus Van Sant misfire about a death-obsessed 

young man and a terminally ill young woman 

is more twee than affective. Japanese title: Eien 

no Bokutachi. (91 min) 

Cinemas 7 22 86 91 95 97 

new yeAr’s eve 

It’s not easy to assemble two dozen actors and 

give them absolutely nothing interesting to say 

or do. (118 min) 

Cinemas 27 52 61 62 80 81 83 85 88 90 93 95 

NEW 

Don’t Be AfrAiD of 

the DArk 

tired of haunted-house movies 

that rely on gore and mere “Boo!” 

moments? then try on this scarierthan-most 

effort from writer/ 

producer Guillermo del toro (Pan’s 

Labyrinth). A lonely 10-year-old girl 

(an astounding Bailee Madison) trying to deal with her new life 

in an impossibly gothic manor with her workaholic dad (Guy 

Pearce) and potential stepmother (Katie Holmes) releases these 

rat-size, not-so-cute tooth-Fairy beasties, which then begin to 

stalk and torment her. Unless the lights are on. Quibble: the CG 

monsters, though gradually revealed, were scarier when you 

could only imagine them. Japanese title: Dark Fairy. (99 min) 

Cinemas 45 50 97 

BunrAku 

Josh Hartnett and Japanese pop 

star Gackt team up with a few fellow 

has-beens to create this smotheringly 

artificial, frustratingly empty 

fanboy feast, a graphic-novelish, 

video -gamey gen re potpou r r i . 

two drifters come to a small town 

controlled by a vicious gang leader. this two hours of special 

effects and runaway art direction jumps gleefully from genre to 

genre, (western, noir, samurai, gangster, German expressionism, 

Hong Kong action), succeeding at none but perfectly creating one 

big bore. thinks it’s subversive and inventive. Isn’t. Makes Sucker 

Punch seem like art. oh. And Demi Moore, too. (118 min) 

Cinemas 2 45 

the Devil’s DouBle 

An Iraqi Scarface? Latif yahia was a 

soldier who so resembled Saddam 

Hussein’s monstrous son Uday that 

he was pressed into acting as the 

man’s double in dicey situations. 

Dominic Cooper bravely plays 

both men, and almost pulls it off. 

But this is not a story; it’s a situation. Lee tamahori’s film is heavy 

on sensationalized sadism, self-serious, repetitive in the middle, 

and the redemptive denouement is frankly preposterous. At the 

film’s end, it is grandiosely declared that “the rest is history,” but 

considerable doubt has been voiced that any of this particular 

history actually took place. Look it up. (108 min) 

Cinemas 8 35 53 86 91 

roAD to nowhere 

Monte Hellman, who achieved 

“legendary” status with 1971’s 

Two Lane Blacktop, comes out of 

retirement to make this enigmatic 

a nd h au nt i n g h a l l of m i r rors . 

Summarizing the plot is futile, but 

it’s basically about a crew making 

a movie based on a true scandal involving a murder, a cover-up, a 

double-cross and a femme fatale (a stunning Shannyn Sossamon). 

the fuzzy reality keeps shifting, with “now” actors playing “then” 

characters in flashbacks, and parallels emerge. As do, inevitably, 

Rashomon comparisons. It’s frustratingly opaque, but individual 

scenes stand alone. Paced like a tai chi workout. Japanese title: 

Hatenaki Michi. (121 min) 

Cinema 34 

Perfect sense 

A plague is causing everyone to 

lose their ability to sense the world 

a rou nd t he m . o ne by one t he 

senses disappear, each preceded 

by a period of intense emotion. 

First to go is the sense of smell, after 

a time of unutterable grief. then 

taste, after a phase of overwhelming hunger. the latter is particularly 

disastrous to Ewan McGregor, a chef who is just getting to 

know with his neighbor (Eva Green), an epidemiologist. there is 

no explanation, and no cure forthcoming. this is not Outbreak, or 

even Contagion. It’s a look at how humanity would react to such a 

pandemic. Frightening as well as, yes, sensual. (92 min) 

Cinemas 40 84 95 

lonDon BoulevArD 

All the ingredients but no glue. Brit crime thriller 

a watchable exercise in style over substance. 

(103 min) 

Cinemas 13 27

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MORE INFO AT: http://metropolis.co.jp/events

B i t e s 

opening 

The Tokyo relaunch of Wendy’s is taking 

place in upscale Omotesando with a new 

“premium burger” range. Not content with 

just “Where’s the beef?” Wendy’s has developed four 

new upscale burgers exclusive to Japan. The foie 

gras rossini burger (¥1,280) tops the bill while the 

avocado wasabi burger (¥820) brings sunshine and 

spice to the menu. Rounding ’em out are the truffle 

and porcini grill chicken (¥920) and the more downto-earth 

chili burger (¥780). Don’t let the chic digs 

and fare scare you, you can still order it all up with 

fries, salad and a drink—or the usual Frosty for that 

classic Wendy’s feeling. 

cost 

Absolutely everything is cost price at Genka 

Bar (2-3F, 2-5-8 Nishi-Gotanda; www. 

genkabar.jp) upon paying ¥1,500 entry fee. 

Imported beer (¥210-370), Japanese beer on tap 

(¥130-180/pint), cocktails (¥90-330), spirits (¥60-180), 

brandy (¥150-600), wine (from ¥120/glass, ¥840/ 

bottle) are all genka (cost price). The same system 

applies for whiskies (¥60-810) such as Taketeru and 

Yoichi, and an extensive homemade food menu 

(¥30-450). Unsurprisingly grown after a year, their 

new third floor allows more chugalugging with lesser 

queuing time. 

THE laTEST DISH ON FOOD & DRINK IN THE BIG CITY Dining Out 

bubbles 

Prestigious champagne producer Perrier Jouët 

has opened up its Japanese flagship bar (www. 

meturl.com/perrierjouetbar), to be hosted until 

the end of March by premium jaunting space Beige 

Alain Ducasse Tokyo (10F, 3-5-3 Ginza, Chuo-ku; 

03-5159-5500). Celebrating its 200-year anniversary, 

Perrier Jouët will make its champion bubbly trinity 

Grand Brut, Blazon Rose, and Belle Époque 2004 

available by glass (¥2,000-4,500). To stop it all fizzing 

up to your head, accompany the elegant tipple with 

exquisite hors d’oeuvres (from ¥2,500) and sweets 

(from ¥300), all prepared at this luxurious spot atop 

Ginza’s Chanel Building. 

fried 

Craving chicken karaage but requiring more 

quality and quantity than the ubiquitous 

KFC? Visit Zangi (4-12-7 Takadanobaba, 

Shinjuku-ku; http://meturl.com/zangi) a small 

tachinomi (all-standing izakaya) that serves zangi, 

Hokkaido’s generic term for deep-fried food. Chicken 

(¥280/3pcs; ¥550/6pcs), wings (¥280/2pcs), cartilage 

(¥300) etc. are as crispy and juicy as they can get. 

You’ll find your greasy fingers reaching quickly out 

for drinks, all economically priced at about ¥300. The 

place is always packed out, but shove your way in for 

some fried goodness. 

MaRGaRITa 

sweets 

You’ll need a sweet jaw rather than a mere 

tooth to cope with the saccharine splendor 

of this new concept bar. Al Deira Sweets 

(20-9 Daikanyama, Shibuya; www.lotus-creates. 

co.jp/al-deira-sweets), whose chef/patissier has been 

working at a two-Michelin-starred restaurant in Ginza, 

offers a full sweet menu for those who find dessert 

just not enough. Go for à la carte dishes, or a set menu 

(¥2,980) with pre-sweets of fig dip, fruit soup and 

jasmine jelly, followed by season’s sweets that vary… 

by season. Each course is lovingly paired with wine or 

liquor (soft drinks are also available), to enjoy in their 

lush lounge-like interior. 

diet 

For the antidote to Zangi, try the Marunouchi 

Tanita Shokudou (B1 Marunouchi Kokusai 

Bldg., 3-1-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku; www. 

tanita.jp/company/shokudo). Opened this month, the 

canteen-style restaurant is run by the same company 

that produces diet cookbooks, scales and other related 

goods. Its low-calorie dishes are bought via tickets in a 

vending machine and carried self-service on your tray, 

so you get a little bit of exercise, too. People who want to 

discuss what they have just eaten, or come to terms with 

their chocolate cravings, can get a free consultation in 

the restaurant’s dietary counseling booth. 

#930 • www.metropolis.co.jp • 29

estaurant review 

Ivy Place 

Dine and 

dally about in 

Daikanyama 

By Jessica Ocheltree 

Most expats in Tokyo have 

been to a T.Y. Express 

restaurant. However, its 

latest offering, in chic 

Daikanyama, marks a departure. 

Ivy Place’s aspiration is to be a 

bit of everything—from breakfast 

spot to late-night dining locale. The 

building itself, part of the new T-Site 

complex [for more on T-Site Daikanyama, 

see p.8—Eds], is split into café, 

bar and dining sections, with a terrace 

on each. It somehow combines 

modern and classic, with its sloping 

roofs, glass doors, stucco walls and 

wood accents, and fits T-Site’s vibe of 

understated luxury. 

Inside, designer Kenichi Nagasaki 

has gone for natural wood and 

shades of beige, with Scandinavian-esque 

furnishings. The bland 

monotone palette was livened by a 

few nice touches, such as wroughtiron 

lanterns and sconces. Either 

natural daylight, or the orange-hued 

bulbs used at night, suffuse the place 

with a dynamic atmosphere. 

On our visit, we ended up in the 

café, next to the patio door, as the 

place was packed. The opening of 

the door behind was distracting, 

and I was surprised such a layout 

was allowed, given T.Y. Express’s 

usual attention to detail. During 

the warmer months when that wall 

opens to the outside, it won’t be an 

issue. In the meantime—reservations, 

people! 

Chef Ryohei Kobayashi’s menu, 

however, was just what I’ve come 

to expect: delicious choices, a few 

happy surprises and good value. As 

a starter, we tried the shiitake and 

ThE LATEST DISh ON FOOD & DrINk IN ThE BIG CITy Dining Out 

smoked Gouda fritters (¥900)—mild, 

yet full of flavor. Next came the flatbread 

pizza with ricotta, semi-dried 

tomato, roasted garlic, anchovy and 

basil (¥1,400)—with a hearty wholewheat 

crust. Fans of sister restaurant 

Breadworks will be happy to know it 

supplies the bread items. 

Naturally, T.Y. Harbor-brewed 

beers are on offer. The wine list is 

worth a look, as there are a few varieties 

available by the glass or carafe. 

The Yamanashi domestics in particular 

caught my eye, but in the end, 

I settled on a tart Reisling by Karl 

Scheafer (¥1,200). Our server was not 

very knowledgeable about the wines 

and told us they didn’t have any port, 

though there are three on the bar 

menu. Given T.Y.’s usual standards, 

perhaps it’s just growing pains. 

For dessert, the chai crème brulee 

(¥900) and mango pudding with 

coconut cream (¥900) vied for my 

attention until I broke down and 

got both—and had no regrets. All 

told, my companion and I whiled 

away several pleasant hours enjoying 

t he food, conversat ion and 

late-afternoon sun, so despite a few 

discordant notes, I’ll be back for 

another leisurely meal next time I’m 

in Daikanyama. 

J/E Menu in Japanese and English 

Lunch: ¥2,500, dinner: ¥5,000 (per 

person) 

Entirely nonsmoking 

Bar, café, dining room and terrace 

seating available 

Very tasty global menu with a 

variety of atmospheres 

Busy, busy, busy 

16-15 Sarugaku-cho, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 

03-6415-3232. Nearest stn: 

Daikanyama 

Open daily 7am-2am 

www.tyharborbrewing.co.jp/ivy 

COurTESy OF IVy pLACE 

bar review 

Good 

Beer 

Faucets 

Tapping the 

warmth in 

Shibuya 

By Amy Holdsworth 

It’s perhaps unfair to judge a bar 

after three days of operation. 

But clutch your hats, dear readers: 

we had to send back a beer. 

Though facing competition from 

stalwarts Craftheads and Baird 

Taproom, the latest craft-beer bar, 

Goodbeer Faucets comes with a pedigree—it 

is owned by the Goodbeer 

Club, which sells premium beer at 

goodbeer.jp. Expectations were high. 

The setup is nice: a smoke-free 

interior (a respite in hazy Shibuya), 

counter space and windows, and 

a minimal decor. We found hints, 

however, that form had been chosen 

over function: the stylish stools were 

uncomfortable, and the tap system 

was not adequately cooled. 

The menu was underwhelming. 

Though consisting of 42 pours, 

one-third was Baird’s entire lineup 

and the remainder was dominated 

by trendy hoppy brews, like Ballast 

Point Sculpin and BrewDog. 

We skipped the food—Ibérico ham 

(¥500), goat-cheese salad (¥1,200)— 

and ordered Left Coast Trestles IPA 

(previously enjoyed at Craftheads) 

and BrewDog Chaos Theory (first tasting). 

Both were ¥1,100 for 400ml—a 

200ml glass is usually about ¥750. The 

beers arrived separately, thanks to a 

German-style pouring technique plus 

some extraneous technology used by 

the waiters, who delivered orders to 

the bar via iPod Touch. 

Thus, the Trestles came warmish. 

Most Indian Pale Ales can be served 

“cel la r” temperat ure (12-14ºC), 

though you’ll often get them cooler 

from tap or bottle. US-style IPAs 

are best at slightly cooler (7-10 ºC), 

as they are often hop-heavy with a 

thinner body. Here, the ale had to be 

chugged down in two minutes or it 

became undrinkable. 

The Chaos Theory was interesting, 

but a bit too heavy on the Simcoe 

hop for me. Again, it was undermined 

by treacly warmth; a bit colder, and it 

might have been earthily fragrant. It 

was a struggle to finish the pint. 

At this point, we should have 

sw itched to heav ier beers, best 

served warmer. There was an Imperial 

Red Ale on tap, as well as some 

stouts. Instead, we mistakenly opted 

for Shiroyama’s Lemongrass Ale, 

remembered as a slightly sweet, 

herbal beer, and of a lighter persuasion. 

After several minutes, during 

which the ale was spied warming up 

on the counter, it arrived. After the 

first unpleasant tepid sip we sent it 

back and asked for the check. 

Our server graciously removed 

the last beer from our check, while 

explaining that the beer was warm 

because “we don’t chill our glasses 

here, unlike other bars.” Still, we were 

urged to return, and the problems 

would be fixed. Let’s hope so, as Goodbeer 

Faucets could offer a smoke-free 

break from Shibuya’s buzz. 

Nonsmoking seats available 

¥900-1,100 for 400ml; ¥600-750 for 

200ml. Food from ¥500 

At windows for a good view 

Nice ambiance, wide selection, no 

table charge 

Beer served at wrong temperature 

2F Crossroads, 1-29-1 Shoto, 

Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-3770-5544. 

Nearest stn: Shibuya 

Open daily 5pm-midnight 

http://goodbeerfaucets.jp 


COurTESy OF GOOD BEEr FAuCETS

♥ Love ¥ Money ♣ Luck 

ARIES 

Watch for fun, life and lights in the relationship 

department. Pallas Athene and 

Neptune, already there, invite the Sun 

to join them as it moves into your solar seventh 

house on Friday. Try something unconventional, 

take a chance, laugh at yourself as you realize 

you’re having a great week without even trying. 

You are about to receive something lovely (Venus 

nearby) from your partner or an organization. 

TAURUS 

GEMINI 

Mar 21~Apr 19 ♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣ Apr 20~May 20 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣ 

May 21~June 21 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣ 

June 22~July 22 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣ 

This is a hot week for you in terms of 

seeing what you desire. Money is likely 

to come in. Don’t worry if you use your 

wiles to achieve your ends. Lilith manifests magic, 

conjuncting Jupiter to increase your luck. You’ll be 

lauded as a power-broker type, so why not enjoy the 

kudos of the moment? Mars is still in Virgo and driving 

everyone nuts as the details need to be sorted. 

Nevertheless, you are on top of your game. 

LEO 

July 23~Aug 22 ♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣♣♣ 

SAGITTARIUS 

Nov 22~Dec 21 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣ 

You really are innocent, you didn’t get 

into this planning to be tricky. Now that 

all paths lead to your desires, do you 

have to choose between romance and work? Keep 

your eye on business, but your heart where it truly 

is. Hold your personal truth this week. Those who 

appear uncomprehending may understand more 

than they show. Connect with the Sun’s broadmindedness 

to save yourself, starting Friday. 

Metropolis Mediabox 

Food For thought 

Regarding “A Spoonful of Cesium” 

(The Last Word, Jan 6): The only 

“safe level amount” of cesium I 

want to consume is 0.00%. If that 

means boycotting anything from 

Fukushima, and possibly even its 

neighboring prefectures—then 

so be it. Sure it’s sad that people’s 

livelihoods are being affected by 

the lack of trade from the region, but 

I don’t want to use my 8-month-old 

son as a test bed for seeing how much 

radioactive material a human body 

can take without being affected by it. 

Just the fact that I’ve decided to stay 

All is well though you may still be reeling 

from current events. The holidays and 

New Year brought shocks to everyone 

but only in the sense of how you responded to 

news that dissolved into puddles of others’ overreactions. 

Taurus can stand firm, but you are ruled 

by Venus, and your heart needs to feel warm and 

warmly received to have the motivation to continue 

your tasks. You will prevail; success is near. 

VIRGO 

Aug 23~Sep 22 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣ 

Virgos are able to make strides this 

week. You still have Mars in your Sign, 

and Venus approaching Vesta brings 

you a gift. But what you may really want to know 

is, are the signals you’ve been picking up actually 

accurate? On Friday, you’re left with Mercury 

flying solo in your house of romance and creativity. 

In an Earth Sign, it’s grounded, it’s real—and it 

wants to find out more about you. 

CAPRICORN 

Dec 22~Jan 19 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣ 

You’re in luck as Mercury the Messenger 

moves away from Pluto in 

Capricorn this week. Finally, you can 

make sense of an undercurrent of intrigue (with 

others intrigued about you!). Feelings are deep as 

this month progresses. You are moving to a new 

time in your life where you make decisions based 

more on what is real for you, regardless of old 

paradigm consequences. Tricky but worth it. 

in Japan with 

my family and 

contribute to 

the economy as 

a whole should 

be enough. 

—Charltzy 

I have a double 

feeling about 

this. Safety: 

yes, but on the 

other hand I 

want to support 

Fukushima farmers, who lost so much.— 

Eija Niskanen 

@Eija Niskanen I feel the same...also re: 

fish...maybe if they have the scanners 

so you can check radiation on what you 

buy I would feel better. But it is not just 

fresh food; look at the radiated baby 

formula scandal and the company (was it 

Meiji?) had ignored the problem. How are 

consumers supposed to trust any food 

prepared in Japan?—Janelle Truman 

I feel for the farmers!! 

—@melanie_brock 

SHANE BUSATO 

Friday begins with whispers of 

freedom in your schedule as the Sun 

moves into your solar ninth house. 

Travel, interesting conversations, and joy in just 

being you fills your days. Money or an increase in 

income may come your way with the Part of Fortune 

in your house of finance. You’re on the move 

and noticed everywhere you go. Mars in your 

homebase requires specifics and on-line focus. 

LIbRA 

Sep 23~Oct 22 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣ 

While immersed in all the responsibility 

the universe can throw at you, 

you’re becoming elegant in your handling 

of it. Proficient as you have become, you’re 

not through this master class. It’s worth taking 

time to strengthen your foundation, moving 

finances to top of the list. This way you’ll have the 

flexibility and prerogative to choose to follow your 

heart, which is, after all, what you were born for. 

AQUARIUS 

CANCER 

There’s so much information at your 

fingertips these days, but your gut feeling 

is the one to follow this week. The 

Part of Fortune is in your Sign, bringing luck and 

prosperity in the most obscure places. The main 

thing is to hold to your impressions, for they will be 

correct, regardless of the whirls and swirls around 

you. Ceres enters your career sector to protect you 

as Uranus continues shaking things down. 

SCORPIO 

Oct 23~Nov 21 ♥♥ ¥¥ ♣♣♣ 

The thing about Scorpio is, you’re sexy. 

It’s not as if you have to plan it, it’s something 

ethereal that people just pick up on. 

It’s beyond logic, and often so is your handling of 

this blessed gift. At the moment, being the natural 

detective you are, you may have noticed a heart 

beating faster when you’re near. Juno in your Sign 

points at long-term relationships. This one may be 

a keeper. 

PISCES 

Jan 20~Feb 18 ♥♥♥♥ ¥¥¥ ♣♣♣♣ Feb 19~Mar 20 ♥♥♥ ¥¥¥¥ ♣♣♣ 

The Sun moves into your Sign on Friday. 

You’re now in the Happy Birthday Zone! 

For those of you born this week, true celebratory 

wishes come your way. This is an exciting 

and creative week for all Aquarians. Pallas Athene 

moves towards Neptune, bringing music, film and 

expression of what is real for unique you. This is 

the beginning of “nothing will ever be the same”— 

because it will be better! 

facebook.com/MetropolisMagazine 

twitter.com/MetropolisTokyo 

BY CATHRYN MOE Horoscope 

Far simpler and safer to avoid it all. 

—@twocutedogs 

Covering up 

Greets! I usually read Met on the train 

during my commute so am in the habit 

of folding it over to keep it small in the 

crowded environment. I was rather 

tickled when I turned the Jan 9-16 (#928) 

issue inside out and saw the front and 

back covers side-by-side. No other 

promo pics of these fighters available? 

An intentional visual pun? The 

cover artist was lazy or overworked? 

Whatever the reason, thanks for the 

unexpected chuckle. It seems I only 

ever write to you about your covers. 

Rest assured, I really enjoy the insides of 

Met as well! Cheers!—joe.gardner 

i WAnt A neW drug 

Regarding “Taxing the Floating World” 

(The Last Word, Dec 2): Drugs are drugs, 

period. They come in all shapes and 

sizes, some legal, some illegal. Like 

most other countries, Japan’s drugs 

of choice are alcohol and tobacco, 

from which the government is already 

creaming a tidy sum via taxes, however, 

tobacco is far too cheap in Japan and 

Don’t let confusing conversations 

distract you. You have bigger fish to 

fry (apologies for the metaphor to the 

Sign of the Fishes). You are about to come into 

your own. If you have been shy, you will suddenly 

attract attention and revel in it. If you want love, 

you will find it. If you want to express your musical 

taste or talent, there is someone bound to swoon, 

thinking you are the answer to their dreams. 

metropolis.co.jp/community 

metrodining.jp 

should be taxed to the point where 

it becomes prohibitively expensive. 

The government’s vested interest 

in the tobacco (drug) industry via 

its majority shareholding in Japan 

Tobacco is farcical.—mk461 

god Bless don 

Morton 

Re. “God Bless Ozzy Osbourne” 

(Movie Reviews, Dec 16): Biggest 

asshole in rock? Do you [Movie 

critic Don Morton] even know who 

Ted Nugent is? Sharon Osbourne is 

thrice the asshole Ozzy is. You also 

said his biggest accomplishment is 

going sober which means you are 

omitting the fact that he was singer 

for the band that is almost totally 

responsible for distinguishing metal 

as a genre. You might be ignorant of 

this fact or you might have omitted 

it, deeming it not worth mentioning. 

Either way you are clearly a talentless 

writer who doesn’t know how to write 

a concise review without using it as 

a soapbox for personal opinions. I 

expect nothing less from a magazine 

that selects its writers by availability 

rather than ability.—adhd 

Metropolis wants to hear from you. Send your comments to letters@metropolis.co.jp. Note that letters may be edited for length and clarity. 


The Last Word 

ComingupinmETRopoLiS 

feature: otaku love, the intimate spaces of 

japan’s obsessive collectors music: emerging 

uk torch singer anna calvi the last WorD: 

expat Wives of tokyo reDux 

Want to have The Last Word? Send your article 

to: editor@metropolis.co.jp 

Half-Price Home 

Fix up your life by 

fixing up a house 

By gregory Strong 

My wife and I used to 

live in a rental house. 

The neighbor on one 

side had an ancient, 

cr ippled-up dog. 

Each morning, he walked that mutt 

by our door just in time for the dog to 

relieve itself. On the other side was a 

lady who kept Rikki, a frisky young 

Akita, penned up and yelping in her 

yard. She also took in stray cats. That 

might have been admirable—except 

she never had them sterilized. We 

soon had generations of cats howling 

and scrapping over territory. Meanwhile, 

Rikki would snooze in the sun 

all day, saving his strength. Then he’d 

be up all night chasing the cats from 

the yard. Screeching felines ran into 

our garden and scrambled up onto 

our roof. One night, a tomcat flipped 

open the window screen and dropped 

onto our bed. The most shocking 

part? It took us ten years to move. 

O r i g i n a l l y, w e ’d p a i d t w o 

months rent as a damage deposit, 

or shikikin. I still can’t imagine what 

the sum was for, as the place didn’t 

even come with light fixtures. The 

landlady must have been afraid 

we’d steal the boards. Of course, 

there was also the two-month reikin 

(key money). On top of that, we’d 


pay another month’s rent every two 

years to renew the lease. We never 

moved because we never thought 

we’d get anything better. 

Then we learned about another 

option, known here as a “DIY house,” 

better known in the US as a “fixerupper.” 

You buy an old house and do 

it up yourself. This is not something 

you’ll hear about from Japanese realtors—the 

commissions are too small 

for them to bother. Instead, they’ll 

tell you the roof leaks. Or the house 

has ants. 

But buying a DIY house makes a 

lot of sense if you’re planning to stay 

in Japan a while. First, there’s not 

much demand, so they’re cheap. 

That’s because most Japanese purchasers 

won’t look at old goods. 

And not just the Japanese. A foreign 

friend of mine just bought a new 

house. “Happy wife, happy life,” he 

chimed, grinning at me. Then he 

figured out it would take him more 

than 30 years to pay it off. 

As for people whose in-laws 

offer them cash for a new house? My 

advice is to buy a DIY house—and 

bank the rest. 

The main point in favor of the DIY 

home is that buying a new house in 

Japan is no investment. Until the 

2008 crunch, Japan must have been 

the only G-20 country where prices 

kept dropping. Buying a new home 

here is like driving a new car off the 

lot. Try selling that car for the same 

price even a few hours later. After 20 

or 30 years, a Japanese home is considered 

a knock-down. The owner 

sells the land and then pays to demolish 

his own house. 

DIY houses, on the other hand, 

have a l ready depreciated. A nd 

qualifying for a mortgage is no different—or 

maybe even easier—than 

for a new house. Even teachers like 

us on three-year visas can qualify 

for a UFJ loan. 

That’s not to say all DIY homes 

are wonderful. We saw some that 

needed a bomb or a bulldozer, not a 

builder’s renovation. After looking 

for a few weeks and seeing about a 

dozen places, we found a nine-yearold 

house: it was half the price of a 

new one. 

We renovated. And made some 

mistakes, too. For one thing, never 

hire another English teacher to help 

renovate. Even if their hobby is carpentry, 

they have a much higher 

hourly rate than most Japanese carpenters. 

Few Japanese carpenters 

can teach English, but they’re better 

at carpentry than most teachers. 

While renovating was sometimes 

exhausting, it was fun, too. Home 

improvement has changed in Japan 

with the introduction of US-style bigbox 

home stores like Cainz Home, 

Tostem, and my personal favorite, 

Unidy. And some men love tools the 

way some women love shoes. So, cruising 

down shopping lanes of stacked 

lumber, insulation, and plumbing 

fixtures, I now had the perfect excuse 

to buy myself a power saw and a fourspeed 

electric drill. I just told my wife I 

needed it for home repairs. 

Ultimately, the best thing about 

your ow n place is t he freedom. 

Besides the added comfort and security, 

you can decorate. We painted 

the oatmeal-colored walls in our 

house yellow, ochre and pink. And 

doing-it-yourself means you can go 

a little crazy—because you want to, 

not because your neighbor’s dogs 

and cats are driving you there. 

buying a neW home 

here is like Driving 

a neW car off the 

lot. try selling 

that car for the 

same price even a 

feW hours later” 

■ Gregory Strong is an English teacher 

and freelance writer living in a DIY home 

in Tokyo with his wife 

check us out 

www.metropolis.co.jp 

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feb 3 

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