Tokyo Weekender - February 2016
Hidetoshi Nakata a soccer all-star on the sake trail. The Tokyo Marathon turns ten. Scaling Japan’s frozen heights.
Hidetoshi Nakata a soccer all-star on the sake trail. The Tokyo Marathon turns ten. Scaling Japan’s frozen heights.
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THIS MONTH IN THE WEEKENDER<br />
FEBRUARY <strong>2016</strong><br />
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ICE<br />
CLIMBER<br />
Scaling Japan’s<br />
Frozen Heights<br />
RUNNING<br />
THE CITY<br />
The <strong>Tokyo</strong> Marathon<br />
Turns Ten<br />
HIDETOSHI<br />
NAKATA<br />
A Soccer All-Star on<br />
the Sake Trail<br />
FEBRUARY <strong>2016</strong><br />
ALSO: The Latest Updates from <strong>Tokyo</strong>’s International Schools, Valentine’s Day Activities, Hitting the Snow in<br />
www.tokyoweekender.com<br />
Hakuba Valley,<br />
FEBRUARY<br />
and More<br />
<strong>2016</strong><br />
Cover Photo by Junichi Takahashi<br />
s British School in<br />
A<br />
<strong>Tokyo</strong> Principal Brian<br />
Christian reminds us in<br />
his introduction to our<br />
education section, <strong>February</strong> can be a<br />
trying month. The hints of spring lie just<br />
a few weeks away, but winter’s cold grip<br />
is still firmly on us. It makes sense, then,<br />
for this to be a time to celebrate that<br />
spirit of determination that enables us to<br />
face the frigid days with something that<br />
approaches a grin now and again.<br />
Some of us might find some cheer<br />
in the call of Setsubun—“Demons<br />
out! Happiness in!”—that exhorts<br />
participants in that Japanese tradition<br />
of jettisoning the negative baggage of the<br />
past and making room for better things.<br />
It is certainly encouraging to witness<br />
the runners who take to the streets for<br />
the often grim weather of the <strong>Tokyo</strong><br />
Marathon. And as we see in the case of<br />
our story on ice climbing, another way<br />
to demonstrate what the poet Wallace<br />
Stevens calls “a mind of winter” is to<br />
simply take on adversity in one of the<br />
most aggressive ways possible: scaling<br />
cliffs by driving titanium screws into a<br />
surface that leaves precious little margin<br />
for error.<br />
As our cover star Hidetoshi Nakata<br />
explains, the best sake comes out in<br />
the coldest months. It’s a detail about<br />
Japan’s national beverage that the former<br />
soccer star has learned in his new role:<br />
promoting sake to the world at large. It’s<br />
clear from our interview with him that he<br />
is putting the same passion and precision<br />
into this endeavor that he did on the field.<br />
Finally, lest you get the idea that<br />
the month is nothing but clenched teeth<br />
and frozen hearts, we haven’t forgotten<br />
about the lovers out there. Even though<br />
Japan does things differently when it<br />
comes to gender roles on Valentine’s Day,<br />
we’ve assembled a collection of romantic<br />
activities that should make any significant<br />
other happy—or at the very least, make<br />
sure you’re not left out in the cold.<br />
To our neighbors to the West, we’d like<br />
to extend our Chinese New Year greetings,<br />
and we’ll see you all next month.<br />
Editor<br />
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are not necessarily those of the publisher<br />
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FEBRUARY <strong>2016</strong> www.tokyoweekender.com
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