Tokyo Weekender August 2017

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Society TOKYO’S LONGEST RUNNING SOCIAL COLUMN WITH BILL HERSEY I really hope it’s cooled down by the time you read this, but I don’t have my hopes up too high. If you’ve lived here any time at all, you know that it can be hot and humid well into September. We can’t really complain though, as Tokyo has more than its share of air-conditioned public transportation, shopping malls, museums, restaurants, coffee shops, convenience stores, and more. Anyway, it’ll be autumn, a really nice season here in Japan, before we know it. With lots of people traveling abroad, always busy Tokyo has slowed down a bit. Even so, there are always all kinds of happenings all over Japan. For me, these included an American production of one of my all-time favorite Broadway musicals, West Side Story, as well as the super Drum Tao show. Unfortunately, schedule mix ups and other commitments kept me from several important events. These included the 119th anniversary celebration for the Philippines, a country I love, which was hosted by new Ambassador Jose C. Laurel and his wife Milagros. The reception and fashion show was held in the Fuji Room at the Imperial Hotel. From all reports it was a very exciting, colorful celebration. I was out of Tokyo on July 15, so I didn’t get to the Makuhari Messe Convention Center for the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu Jitsu World Tour Tokyo 2017. My thanks to United Arab Emirates Ambassador Khaled Omran Alamen for the invitation to this very special sports event. Kudos to the many who participated in what had to be a great international sports event. Sorry to say I’m not traveling as much as I used to, but it seems like our crazy old world with its terrorism, travel bans, rules, regulations and occasional flaky passengers make traveling more difficult and often more expensive than before. Hopefully this will all get better in the future. TOKYO FLASHBACK Bill and cinematic bad boy Johnny Depp In closing this part of the column – how about helping our friends at the Franciscan Chapel help others? Here’s information Father Grimm gave me on some of the chapel’s current projects: Have you noticed that though shopping centers may be crowded, relatively few people are carrying shopping bags? It’s a sign that all is not well with the economy. Another sign is the recent declaration by the welfare ministry that the situation of poor children has “improved” so that now only one in every seven kids lives below the poverty level in a household that struggles to make ends meet. To help struggling families, the Second Harvest Japan food bank gathers surplus food from retailers, manufacturers and individuals and makes it available to those in need. If you want to learn more or help with contributions of food, money or time as a volunteer, see the Second Harvest website at 2hj.org/english/. Now let’s move on to the many happenings around Old Edo OPENING FESTIVAL – SAISEIKAI’S NEW BUILDING Time as we all know really flies. It’s been three years and four months since I had to spend six weeks in Saiseikai Hospital. I really thank my doctor Kempei Matsuoka. He’s the man who recommended the hospital, and one of the many staff there who helped me through what could have been some rough times. In May, I had the privilege of joining him, his wife Yasue, his daughter Sachiko, who’s also a diabetes specialist, and her two daughters Sakura and Aoi at the opening festival of the hospital’s new big super modern facilities. In 1911, Emperor Meiji donated ¥1.5 million for the establishment of a public medical institution. Now they have 41 branch offices (hospitals, clinics, etc.) in 37 prefectures. This includes a clinic ship, the Saisei Maru, which visits 68 islands in the Japanese Inland Sea. I don’t have the space or technical knowhow to list all their hospitals, clinics, schools for nursing welfare and everything, but all together they total 331 with a staff of about 35,000. The new building behind Tokyo Tower has the latest medical equipment from all over the world and the nurses’ stations, the operating rooms, and doctors’ consultation rooms are really the ultimate in high tech. They’ve also gone all out to make it as pleasant and comfortable for patients, and for their visitors as possible. The hospital staff look great in their new uniforms and go all out to make their patients’ stay as comfortable as a hospital stay can be. Language can be a problem, but with more and more foreign patients and the Olympics coming up, more of the staff are learning basic English. Most of the doctors studied abroad as well as here, and many do speak English. If you need any more information on Saiseikai, call 03-3451-8211 and ask for Yoshihara-san. She really knows her work. I should add she was the interpreter for Donald Trump when he visited Japan about 35 years ago. ISRAEL’S INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATION Israeli Ambassador Ruth Kahanoff hosted a big reception for her country’s Independence Day celebration at the New Otani Hotel. The program opened with a very informative speech by Ruth emphasizing Israel’s long and good relationship with Japan. This was followed by a group of beautiful kids from Tohoku who sang several Israeli songs. They really put their hearts and voices into their performance. 42 | AUGUST 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER
THE ISMAYILZADES’ AZERBAIJAN NATIONAL DAY 1. Photographer Hiroyuki Suzuki, his wife fashion designer Junko Koshino and Masahiro Imamura 2. The host’s son Nursel with Nareiz Talibova and her daughter Arzu and Aydan 3. Hiroyuki, Rana, the host Amb. Ismayilzade, Diet member Akira Amari, Junko Koshino, Dewi Sukarno, Miss Sake Kanagawa 2017 4. Leila Masamoto, her mother Dinara, Rana, Junko 5. Panama Amb. Ritter Diaz, the host Amb. Gursel Ismayilzade 6. Yamamoto-san sang Azerbaijan’s national anthem 1 2 7 3 4 5 9 10 6 8 12 11 13 MIN-ON 7. New Min-On Concert Assoc. President Kazuto Ito and opera stars Li Shengsu, Yu Kuizhi 8. Soka Gakkai Int’l liaison officer Joan M. Anderson and opera cast member 9. Cast beauty and outgoing Singapore Amb. & Mrs. Chin Siat Yoon 10. Bill and opera cast member 14 THAI FESTIVAL 11. New Indonesian Amb. Arifin Tasrif and his wife, outgoing Singaporean Amb. Chin Siat Yoon 12. Two former Japanese ambassadors to Thailand (Seiji Kojima, left, Hiroyuki Yoshita, right) flanking the current Thai ambassador Bansarn Bunnag 13. Bill with Thai Deputy Prime Minister, General Thanasak Patimapragorn 14. Thai puppeteers putting on a show TOKYO WEEKENDER | | AUGUST 2017 | 43
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Page 10 and 11: STYLE CHLOÉ SANDALS Reminiscent of
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Page 14 and 15: FORGED BY FIRE Words by Lisa Wallin
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Page 18 and 19: Looking for a great place to eat, s
Page 20 and 21: SEEKING WHITE SAND Words and photos
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Page 26 and 27: UNIQUE SUMMER CRUISES IN TOKYO Word
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Page 38 and 39: ART & ILLUMINATIONS YOKOHAMA TRIENN
Page 40 and 41: 1 3 2 4 7 8 5 6 AGENDA: THE WEEKEND
Page 44 and 45: ISRAELI INDEPENDENCE DAY RECEPTION
Page 47 and 48: Looking for your next job in Japan?

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