Tokyo Weekender - November 2017

Society
TOKYO’S LONGEST RUNNING SOCIAL COLUMN WITH BILL HERSEY
These days, 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 improve in the
near future. As we all know, Tokyo is a really busy city and there’s so
much to do. My recent discoveries and a few re-discoveries include
Takeshita-Dori near Harajuku Station. This is such a fun, colorful,
funky street with its fashion shops, restaurants, sweets shops, music
studios, cat café, and the Harajuku Owl’s Forest – and it also has a
currency exchange and information center for tourists. The street is
well known, and very popular with Japanese and Korean pop stars,
and many international
visitors just looking
for unusual fashion and
souvenirs at reasonable
prices. For more information,
visit www.takeshita-street.com.
Thanks to CNN news
correspondent Christiane
Amanpour, I learned
about Vera Lynn, the
English songbird whose
music helped her country
get through WWI
with the many – and I do
mean many – patriotic
songs she sang. I wanted
to buy one of her CDs, so
I dropped by Tower Records
and was really surprised
at how busy they (and now King) Mohammed VI of Morocco
TOKYO FLASHBACK: Bill with then Crown Prince
were. They have a great
selection of CDs, DVDs, showbiz-related books and even some fashion
items. There’s also a nice café with a great ambiance. You might
have to queue for a table there, though. Tower also has a pretty full
schedule of press conferences – especially with visiting K-pop superstars.
While there, I found two CDs by Vera as well as the original
cast recordings of the top Broadway shows Hamilton and The Book of
Mormon.
BOUHLAL’S NATIONAL DAY RECEPTION
AT THE PALACE HOTEL
Talk about wonderful memories. Moroccan Ambassador Mohammed
Bouhlal and his wife Fatima’s reception to celebrate the 18th
anniversary of King H.M. Mohammed VI’s ascension to the throne.
It really brought back wonderful memories of my 11 visits to their
beautiful country. These took me from Tangiers in the north to Tan-
Tan (home of the Blue Men in the south), and of course to mystical
Marrakech.
I’m sure some of you remember Masako Ohya, the colorful, eccentric,
very rich and always fun wife of the President of Teijin. She spent
considerable time in Morocco playing golf, and when the king – who
was still crown prince at the time – was visiting Japan, Masako made
sure I got to meet and spend some time with him and his entourage.
This year’s National Day was held in the spacious Yamabuki room
at the Palace Hotel. It was perfect for the occasion. It was good timing
as Takashimaya was having a big Morocco promotion and let several
of the musicians and craftsmen, whom they had flown in for the promotion,
join the embassy event. It was really nice catching up with
Japanese VIPs I hadn’t seen for a long time. These included Prime
Minister Abe’s younger brother Nobuo Kishi (who was State Minister
for Foreign Affairs at the time of the reception) and former Prime
Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone’s son Hirofumi (who is now President of
the Japan-Morocco Parliamentary League). I don’t like to think about
how fast time flies, but I was so surprised to hear that his father is 99
years old now.
Former Tokyoite
Kathy Kriger, who used
to be with the US embassy
here, was at the party
too. I had dinner with her
in Prague, where she was
later posted and made
many VIP connections.
She moved on to Casablanca
where she was
able to fulfill her dream
and open Rick’s Café
Casablanca, inspired by
the legendary Warner
Brothers film. I'm happy
to say that she, with her
strong personality, good
connections and business
knowhow, was able
to open the super popular
bar and restaurant
in Casablanca in 2004, and it’s been a huge success. Read her book,
Rick’s Café: Bringing the Film Legend to Life in Casablanca, and you’ll
learn a lot about how people can make their dreams come true – but
it’s seldom easy. Morocco’s a great country to visit. If you’re lucky
enough to get there, be sure to drop by Rick’s Café.
DJIBOUTI INDEPENDENCE DAY
Djibouti Ambassador Ahmed Araita Ali, his lovely wife, their
children and the embassy staff went all out to make the country’s
40th Independence Day celebration at the Okura a special evening.
The program opened with a welcome speech by the host about his
country’s strong and important diplomatic relationship with Japan
and the many projects between the two countries.
In 1992 Rachad Ahmed Saleh Farah – the Djibouti Ambassador
at that time – invited me to spend eight days in his country, and in
Weekender's June 19, 1992, issue I had a cover story on my many
wonderful experiences there.
My busy visit included a visit to the presidential palace and meeting
President Aptidon. I had a car and a guide when I needed him
and really enjoyed playing tourist in the small, beautiful country.
Highlights of my visit included accidentally crashing a big wedding
50 | NOVEMBER 2017 | TOKYO WEEKENDER